bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mathematical Analysis of the Role of Treatment and Vaccination in the Management of the HIV/AIDS and Pneumococcal Pneumonia Co‐Infection
Authors: Byamukama Michael , Karuhanga Martin , Kajunguri Damian
Published: January 2025

Concomitant infections by two or more pathogens are on upsurge and among these is the interplay between HIV/AIDS and pneumococcal pneumonia infections. A mathematical co‐infection model that fronts vaccination and treatment against pneumococcal pneumonia and antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS in the management of the co‐infection burden is presented. The model is also extended to include optimal control plans, in line with protection, early detection, and treatment of both HIV/AIDS and pneumococcal pneumonia. Co‐infection model analysis manifests that the solutions are positive and bounded, and the disease equilibria stabilities are established in reference to the computed effective reproduction numbers. Sensitivity analysis indicated that infection rate parameters are by far the most influential in the co‐infection escalation, whereas treatment and vaccination associated parameters have inhibiting effect towards the co‐infection. Numerical simulations reveal that treatment and vaccination interventions are important in co‐infection reduction but not sufficient for co‐infection elimination. Further analysis indicates that, in addition to treatment and vaccination, adopting all optimal control plans can be a concrete start to co‐infection elimination.
Preoperative Ketamine Gargle for Prevention of Postoperative Sore Throat After Tracheal Intubation in Adults: A Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Fu Saihao , Miao Mengrong , Bian Jing , Fu Yunxiang , Zhang Jiaqiang , Sun Mingyang
Published: January 2025

Objective: This meta‐analysis aims to evaluate the impact of preoperative ketamine gargle on postoperative throat pain in patients undergoing general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation (ETI).

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus, ClinicalTrials.gov, and others. Data analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 and Stata Statistical Software 18 (StataCorp., Texas., United States of America). Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) and mean difference were calculated for outcomes: incidence of postoperative 0, 2, 4, 8, and 24 h sore throat and anesthesia time. The overall certainty of evidence was evaluated with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach, with trial sequential analysis (TSA) performed to establish implications for further research.

Main outcome: A total of ten RCTs involving 593 patients were included in the analysis. The results demonstrated a significant reduction in the incidence of postoperative sore throat at 0, 2, 4, 8, and 24 h after the operation (0 h: OR: 0.14; 95% CI: 0.04–0.47; p = 0.002; I2 = 67%; 2 h: OR: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.17–0.52; p < 0.0001; I2 = 31%; 4 h: OR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.20–0.52; p < 0.00001; I2 = 0%; 8 h: OR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.23–0.70; p = 0.001; I2 = 29%; 24 h: OR: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.25–0.51; p < 0.00001; I2 = 0%) in patients who received ketamine gargle compared to those who received a placebo. In addition, our meta‐analysis indicated that ketamine gargle did not result in a reduction in anesthesia time (min) (MD: −1.16; 95% CI: −6.44–4.11; p = 0.67).

Conclusion: Our meta‐analysis demonstrated the efficacy of prophylactic ketamine gargle in reducing the incidence of POST across all studied time intervals in patients requiring tracheal intubation of general anesthesia compared to placebo.
Full‐Field Dynamic Displacement Reconstruction of Bridge Based on Modal Learning
Authors: He Wen-Yu , Li Yi-Fan , Gao Ao , Ren Wei-Xin
Published: January 2025

Full‐field dynamic displacement (FFDD) is important for bridge condition assessment. However, it is challenging to monitor the FFDD with high accuracy due to limited sensors and environment variation. This paper proposes a FFDD reconstruction method for bridge based on modal learning. Firstly, the transfer function of dynamic strain response of finite points (SRFP) and FFDD are derived based on the beam bending theory and modal superposition method. Then iterative particle swarm optimization (IPSO) is employed to facilitate self‐learning of mode shape with the ability of adapting environment variation. Subsequently, the procedure for reconstructing bridge FFDD by utilizing SRFP and the learned transfer function is provided. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by numerical and experimental examples of bridge under random load, impact load, and moving load excitation, and effects of sensor placement, road roughness, and measurement noise on the reconstruction accuracy are systematically investigated. The results indicate that the proposed method can accurately reconstruct the FFDD in the presence of environment variation, road roughness, and measurement noise at the cost of limited sensors.
LINE-1 Retrotransposons as Cell-free DNA Biomarkers for Multicancer Early Detection
Authors: Szymanski Jeffrey J. , Chauhan Pradeep S. , Chaudhuri Aadel A.
Published: January 2025

LINE-1 retrotransposons, comprising 17% of the genome, drive cancer instability through hypomethylation. The Detection of long Interspersed nuclear element Altered Methylation ON plasma DNA (DIAMOND) assay, targeting LINE-1 hypomethylation with bisulfite sequencing of cell-free DNA, achieved AUCs of 88% to 100% across six cancer types, surpassing mutation-based diagnostics and suggesting utility in early cancer detection and management.

See related article by Michel et al., p. XX .
Table S4 from Potential Synergistic Effect between Niraparib and Statins in Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trials
Authors: Zhang Hailei , Rutkowska Anna , González-Martín Antonio , Mirza Mansoor R. , Monk Bradley J. , Vergote Ignace , Pothuri Bhavana , Graybill Whitney A. Spannuth , Goessel Carsten , Barbash Olena , Bergamini Giovanna , Feng Bin
Published: January 2025

Adverse events in the different subgroups of the PRIMA study
Figure S4 from Potential Synergistic Effect between Niraparib and Statins in Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trials
Authors: Zhang Hailei , Rutkowska Anna , González-Martín Antonio , Mirza Mansoor R. , Monk Bradley J. , Vergote Ignace , Pothuri Bhavana , Graybill Whitney A. Spannuth , Goessel Carsten , Barbash Olena , Bergamini Giovanna , Feng Bin
Published: January 2025

Retrospective analysis of NOVA clinical trial
Figure 4 from Potential Synergistic Effect between Niraparib and Statins in Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trials
Authors: Zhang Hailei , Rutkowska Anna , González-Martín Antonio , Mirza Mansoor R. , Monk Bradley J. , Vergote Ignace , Pothuri Bhavana , Graybill Whitney A. Spannuth , Goessel Carsten , Barbash Olena , Bergamini Giovanna , Feng Bin
Published: January 2025

Retrospective analysis of the QUADRA clinical trial. A, Kaplan–Meier estimation of PFS comparing patients treated with niraparib in the cohort with statin concomitant (n = 105) and patients not receiving stains (n = 356); placebo arm was missing; a Cox proportional hazards model using line of therapy, response to last platinum regiment, and HRd status as stratification factors; mPFS, HR, and log-rank test P value are reported. B, Kaplan–Meier estimation of OS comparing patients as described in A. Statin–niraparib combination shows directionally better efficacy than niraparib. OS, overall survival.
Data from Potential Synergistic Effect between Niraparib and Statins in Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trials
Authors: Zhang Hailei , Rutkowska Anna , González-Martín Antonio , Mirza Mansoor R. , Monk Bradley J. , Vergote Ignace , Pothuri Bhavana , Graybill Whitney A. Spannuth , Goessel Carsten , Barbash Olena , Bergamini Giovanna , Feng Bin
Published: January 2025

Abstract
This study investigates the potential clinical synergy between the PARP inhibitor niraparib (Zejula) and concomitant statins, exploring their combined effects on progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with ovarian cancer. We retrospectively analyzed niraparib registrational clinical trials in ovarian cancer to investigate potential interactions between niraparib and statins. In the PRIMA trial, patients receiving niraparib demonstrated improved PFS compared with those on placebo (HR = 0.62; P < 0.001; median PFS 13.8 vs. 8.2 months). The post hoc analysis revealed that patients receiving maintenance niraparib who reported concomitant use of statins exhibited significantly improved PFS compared with those on placebo with concomitant statins (HR = 0.34; P < 0.001; median PFS 18.2 vs. 6.0 months). Notably, the improved efficacy in the two-arm comparison of concomitant statin patients was much better than that in the two-arm comparison of those patients without statin, as reflected in the niraparib–statin interaction (P = 0.005). These findings suggest novel opportunities in oncology for the use of statins in combination therapies with PARP inhibitors and emphasize the need for further investigation.
Significance:
The presented retrospective analysis suggests, to the best of our knowledge for the first time, a potential significant interaction between statins and niraparib in clinical settings. Nevertheless, further investigations are required to gain a better understanding of the potential clinical benefit.
O movimento sionista e sua relação com a tradição e a secularidade
Authors: Mazak Alexandre
Published: January 2025

Apresentado no I Congresso Internacional de Estudos Judaicos da Universidade de São Paulo.
A proposta da nação judaica passa pela emancipação, que teve como consequência a fragmentação identitária judaica e a emancipação. No caso dos judeus, ela substituiu a redenção e sepultou o Galut e a espera pelo Messias. Aqueles que se emancipavam assumiam de fato uma identidade civil europeia ocidental. A urbanização e a mecanização produzidos pela Revolução Industrial dissolveram os hábitos tradicionais judaicos e as gerações seguintes se aculturaram no ambiente europeu laico. O sionismo surgiu a reboque dessa emancipação e foi influenciado pelo dilema entre judeus emancipados e tradicionais. Pretende-se discutir as propostas de criação do Estado judaico e o embate entre judeus tradicionais e emancipados na Europa entre os séculos XIX e XX.
Cotidiano e memória coletiva no varejo: compreendendo a resiliência das lojas físicas da Americanas
Authors: Nassar Paulo , Nóbrega Juliano Chaves da
Published: January 2025

Este artículo analiza la resiliencia de las tiendas físicas de Americanas S.A. en comparación con la caída de su comercio electrónico tras la revelación de un gigantesco fraude contable en 2023. Americanas, después de más de 90 años de historia, vio caer su comercio electrónico 75 , 7% a lo largo de 2023, mientras que las tiendas físicas mostraron una modesta reducción del 2,3% en las ventas durante el mismo período. El artículo explora cómo los conceptos de "memoria colectiva" y también los "espacios cotidianos" de Michel de Certeau pueden ayudar a comprender por qué los consumidores mantienen la fidelidad a las tiendas físicas, a pesar de las múltiples crisis de confianza que experimenta la empresa.
Rituais e narrativas na organização da experiência: um olhar para as organizações na pandemia da COVID-19
Authors: Farias Luiz Alberto de , Cruz Leonardo Mastelini da
Published: January 2025

O tema deste artigo envolve rituais organizacionais. O objeto é entender como as organizações procuraram utilizar rituais e narrativas para organizar a experiência social durante a pandemia da COVID-19. O objetivo principal é identificar quais práticas foram feitas para manter a coesão social diante dos desafios impostos. O método inclui uma revisão teórica baseada em conceitos de rituais, narrativas e organizações por autores clássicos e contemporâneos, além de fontes de veículos de comunicação para pontuar marcos da pandemia. Por fim, foram analisados documentos das empresas Itaú, Ambev e Magazine Luiza para identificar suas iniciativas rituais adotadas durante o período. As considerações apontam a criação e também a adaptação de ritos organizacionais durante a pandemia da COVID-19, como comitês decisórios de liderança, linhas específicas de comunicação interna e externa, além de palestras e rodas de conversa sobre saúde mental.
Slum-Driven Design: Inclusion and Incursion Around Essential Entrepreneurship in Brazil’s Urban Favelas
Authors: Khara Arjun , Curcio Gustavo Orlando Fudaba
Published: January 2025

Understanding the complexity and potential of favelas around the world has been a challenge for entrepreneurs. Many have realized the potential for wealth generation in peripheral communities in cities like São Paulo or Mumbai. Startups based on design-based communication strategies quickly flourished. Such strategies are decisive for the success of these innovative business models, which overcome the difficulties and infrastructure impasses of these regions outside the cities. In this article, we present examples developed in Brazil, as part of collaborative research between FAUUSP and the School of Design at the University of Leeds.
Uma jornada em busca do pertencimento
Authors: Nassar Paulo
Published: January 2025

In a world that destroys stories and memories, JM Coetzee's Jesus Trilogy invites us to think about what it really means to be human.
The East Asian Communicative Body
Authors: Goulding Jay
Published: January 2025

As a philosophical scholar of phenomenology, literature, art, and philosophy of the social sciences and humanities, John O’Neill’s (1933–2022) writings are translated into Chinese. As a sociological translator of Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–1961), O’Neill’s five phenomenal bodies culminate in the communicative body as an intermingling of material and spiritual relations. I distill by own version of three phenomenal bodies that I call the East Asian communicative body. This essay traces the communicative body through horizontal and vertical phenomenology on the way to Merleau-Ponty’s brief interaction with Chinese philosophy.
1 Kings 19 and Its Emotional Repertoires
Authors: Kozlova Ekaterina E.
Published: January 2025

Biblical scholarship and cognate disciplines have seen a surge in publications on emotions, affects, and related matters. The focus of this article is on human and divine emotions in the Horeb theophany in 1 Kgs 19. Analysing the prophet Elijah’s suicidal ideation, which is expressed verbally, somatically, and ritually, this article argues that YHWH’s self-disclosure at Horeb is tailored to address Elijah’s condition, and the enigmatic קול דממה דקה (1 Kgs 19:12) is part of YHWH’s emotional response to it. Given Elijah’s state of mind, i.e., fear, loneliness, dejection, and his resolve to end it all, YHWH’s appearance at Horeb should be viewed as a compassionate reaction to the suicidal prophet.
The EGTK (Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army): Aymara Insurgency in Bolivia
Authors: Escárzaga Fabiola
Published: January 2025

This article gives an account of the EGTK uprising during the 1980s and 1990s. It played a key part in the indigenous resistance to Bolivia’s ethnic and class divisions and helped expedite the first indigenous presidency in 2006. Many of the key figures from both within the Morales-led MAS regime and the left groups that remained in opposition came to public attention in the history detailed below. The article documents Bolivia’s twentieth-century experience under an oligarchy, giving way to a coalition of workers and indigenous peasants opposed to neoliberal restructuring.
The Biblical Key Word ḥeseḏ: What Exactly Does It Mean?
Authors: Habib Sandy
Published: January 2025

The Biblical Hebrew word ḥeseḏ (often rendered in English as ‘mercy’ or ‘lovingkindness’) can be regarded as a biblical key word. Prophet Hosea (6:6) uses it in a sentence best known in English as “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”. In the New Testament, when Jesus quotes Hosea’s sentence, he would have quoted it in the original language, Biblical Hebrew. On the other hand, the New Testament was written in Greek, which has neither exact nor near-equivalent of Biblical Hebrew ḥeseḏ. It is important that the word ḥeseḏ is well understood given its prominence in the Bible and the influence of the Bible on many languages. In this paper, I investigate its semantics and explicate it using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (nsm). I also shed light on its Greek counterpart, eleos. In addition, I seek to elucidate the meaning of Hosea’s key sentence 6:6, of Jesus’ interpretation of it, and of the key Christian phrase kyrie eleison.
Metaphors can Help Humanities Students Learn Data Analytics
Authors: Tay Dennis
Published: January 2025

Courses combining ai, data analytics, and humanities are increasing, offering new research opportunities in curriculum design and teaching methods. This paper examines how metaphors can help teach data analytics to humanities students, going beyond just cognitive benefits. To guide relevant research, I propose four overlapping areas of inquiry – representation, affect, production, and interaction. I then review key results from some of my recent studies that investigate i) the effects of different metaphor types on learner competencies and attitudes, ii) learners’ creative ability to transform data analytics concepts from metaphorical targets to sources, and iii) learners’ and teachers’ unconscious affective engagement with metaphor in an interactional setting. The studies employ different methodologies from classroom quasi-experiments to surveys, skin conductance analysis, and discourse analysis. While each study carries its own pedagogical implications, the synthesized conclusion is that metaphors can help humanities students – when we bear in mind their ‘Customizability’, ‘Agility’, and ‘Naturalness’.
Empowering Christian Communities: Greek and Armenian Endowments in the Ottoman Empire
Authors: Doğan Nejla
Published: January 2025

Despite the significant role of the waqf institution in Islamic societies, research has not yet fully explained the complex structure of waqfs. This study aims to contribute to the field by examining the waqf activities and practices of non-Muslims through a literature review and archival sources. The study seeks to reveal the impact of legal practices and the socio-economic characteristics of the Galata region on the established waqfs and to analyze the fundamental characteristics of these waqfs. Furthermore, the relationships between Christians in Galata and Muslim sharia courts, as well as their motivations for approaching these courts, are examined. By the conclusion of the study, the goal is to illustrate how waqfs facilitated the legal and social cohesion of the Ottoman Empire’s diverse multicultural, multi-religious and multi-ethnic society. Therefore, the study aims to gain a deeper understanding of how the Ottoman legal system affected non-Muslims and contributed to the social solidarity of dhimmis. Additionally, it explores how Christians used waqfs to support their community members and places of worship.
Maṭhas in Early Medieval Bengal: A Delineation from Two Inscriptions
Authors: Furui Ryosuke
Published: January 2025

The Brahmanical monastic institution called maṭha was an important element of the religious landscape of early medieval Bengal. Its history from the mid-sixth century onwards can be traced in fragmentary inscriptional references. The Paschimbhag copperplate inscription and the Bangarh stone slab inscription give exceptionally rich information on the organisation of the maṭha and activities around it. The maṭhas in both inscriptions were complexes established by royal patronage and functioned as centres of worship and learning. They do, however, show some differences closely related to their different locational and social contexts. The maṭha in the Paschimbhag plate functioned as the centre of a newly-settled brāhmaṇa community in a rural area, while that in the Bangarh inscription functioned as the semi-urban residence of a lineage of Śaiva ascetics connected with a wider monastic network. This difference had implications for the later histories of their respective constituencies.
Maṭhas in the Early Medieval Deccan: Three Examples from the Rāṣṭrakūṭa, Śilāhāra and Yādava Epigraphical Corpora
Authors: Schmiedchen Annette
Published: January 2025

This paper will focus on Sanskrit references to maṭhas and maṭhikās in the early medieval epigraphical corpora of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas, Śilāhāras and Yādavas, ruling in the Deccan from the eighth to the thirteenth centuries. The most prominent evidence is provided by the five famous Chinchani copper-plate charters covering a period from 926 to 1053 ce, when the Rāṣṭrakūṭas and later the Śilāhāras and their subordinates ruled over the region north of Mumbai. A few late-twelfth-century Śilāhāra stone inscriptions from Kolhapur in south Maharashtra shed light on the multi-functional character of maṭhas. Finally, a Yādava-period stone epigraph from northwestern Maharashtra testifies to the existence of and the endowment for a very special maṭha in 1207 ce.
Religions and the Development of Taiwan’s Welfare Regime
Authors: Laliberté André
Published: January 2025

This article seeks to evaluate the applicability of theories on the influence of religion on the development of the welfare state in an East Asian society like Taiwan. To achieve this, I will present four hypotheses discussed in this new research tradition about the effects of religious cleavages, the legacy of relations between religions and state, the influence of theology, and the consequence of political participation by religious actors. To assess the effects of these factors on the evolution of Taiwan’s successive welfare regimes, I use a historical neo-institutional perspective to examine the path dependency of previous policy decisions and actions after 1945 and distinguish between three stages of authoritarian rule and four presidencies during the democratic period. I argue that religious diversity and largely positive relations with the state have facilitated the inclusion of religious organisations as providers of social services but limited their influence on the design of social policies. The diversity of theologies and the absence of any party identified with one religion have undermined their capacity to shape social policies.
Health is Everyone’s Business: Integrating Business and Public Health for Lasting Impact
Authors: Park Junghoon , Brown Jill A. , Husted Bryan W.
Published: January 2025

This Special Issue explores the vital connection between business and public health, highlighting their interdependence in addressing today’s global challenges. First, we demonstrate how firms are both contributors to and recipients of public health outcomes. Second, we examine the complexities business faces in defining its public health responsibilities, particularly when navigating diverse and often ambiguous stakeholders, such as communities. Third, we emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary research in addressing the multifaceted challenges at the intersection of business and public health, calling for a holistic approach that integrates insights from public health, medical research, management, and policy. The contributions affirm that public health is everyone’s business — both a societal concern and a business imperative that demands attention from all sectors. We hope the insights from this Special Issue spark ongoing dialogue and inspire firms to take a more proactive role in shaping a healthier, more sustainable future for all.
The effects of ‘The Don’t Waste! – Recycle Programme’ on waste management among preschool children: A cluster randomised controlled trial
Authors: Arslan Nesrin , Sisman Fatma Nevin
Published: January 2025

Objectives:

The habit of recycling should be acquired at an early age in order to promote the sustainable use of natural resources. The limited number of studies carried out with early-years children highlights the need for more research with members of this age group. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the ‘Don’t Waste! – Recycle’ Programme on developing waste management awareness in preschool children.

Methods:

A cluster-randomised experimental study design was used with a pretest-posttest control group and repeated measurements. A total of 164 Turkish preschool children, matched in terms of socioeconomic aspect, were selected to participate in the study by random sampling. The intervention group received the Don’t Waste! – Recycle Programme for 4 weeks, with 30-minute sessions 3 days a week. Data collection took place using a demographic form and a Waste Knowledge and Behaviour Form before the intervention, in the first week, and during the third month after the intervention. Data were also collected simultaneously from a matched control group.

Results:

The intervention group showed statistically significant improvement in knowledge and behaviour scores in comparison to the control group ( p < .05). Progress was observed to be sustained for 3 months after the intervention with a large (.87–3.83) effect size.

Conclusion:

The Don’t Waste! – Recycle Programme was found to be efficacious in raising waste management awareness among children. By starting recycling programmes in schools, health professionals and educators can help children build good habits early, which benefits both the environment and the community’s health and well-being.
Class identity vs intersectional solidarities: Divergent models for organizing gig workers in Seoul and Toronto
Authors: Lee Youngrong
Published: January 2025

Studies indicate that gig workers, one of the leading groups revitalizing labor movements globally, have organized by diverging from traditional union strategies. How do they achieve this in diverse local contexts? Drawing on 21 months of international ethnographic fieldwork with gig workers’ unions in Seoul and Toronto, this article examines how and why these two unions develop different strategies for addressing critical crises. Comparative analysis reveals that while the shared labor process and the multinational parent company drive the unions toward new unionism, different worker subjectivities are emphasized by each union based on specific axes of oppression: working-class citizen men in Seoul and racialized immigrants in Toronto. These union orientations are linked to the unions’ distinct histories, including the biographies of founding members. My argument is twofold. First, to better understand rising gig workers’ organizing efforts around the globe, we must consider both global and local contexts. While gig labor processes push gig workers’ unions to move away from traditional union tactics, two key local factors—the workforce’s demographic makeup and union histories—shape their divergent models. Second, it is critical to understand the process of cultivating solidarity—not only building solidarity itself but also deciding which groups to be in solidarity within the local context.
Intrinsic production of metal-carbon fiber reinforced plastic hybrid shafts using vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding
Authors: Chalicheemalapalli Jayasankar Deviprasad , Tröster Thomas , Ellouz Manel , Kordisch Thomas
Published: January 2025

Over the past decades, the importance of lightweight structures in the aircraft and automotive industries has steadily increased due to regulations aimed at reducing global warming. Work hardened steel alloys are commonly used for lightweight applications, but they face stability issues when the material thickness reaches certain thresholds. Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP) offer a viable alternative due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, but they are often expensive due to long production cycles and high material costs. A feasible solution lies in hybrid lightweight designs that utilize expensive FRP materials only in highly stressed areas, achieving a balance between low mass and acceptable cost. These hybrid structures are lighter than metal components and more cost-effective compared to fully FRP structures, without compromising mechanical properties. This study focuses on producing rotationally symmetrical hybrid structures using Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) combined with vacuum assistance in a single-stage process. The research examines the effects of injection pressure, mold temperature, and the interface between metal and FRP. The mechanical characterization of these hybrid structures was conducted to assess their performance under torsion, compression, and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) loading conditions. The results indicate that hybrid designs can offer a lightweight alternative without compromising mechanical properties.
Nationality Questions and War: How Ethnic Configurations Affect Conflict Within and Between States
Authors: Cederman Lars-Erik , Pengl Yannick I. , Atzenhofer Dennis , Girardin Luc
Published: January 2025

It is generally accepted that violations of state-nation congruence can cause conflict, but it remains unclear which configurations cause civil and interstate conflict, and how these conflict types interact. Inspired by Myron Weiner’s classical model of the “Macedonian Syndrome,” we propose an integrated theoretical framework that links specific nationality questions to both conflict types. Using spatial data on state borders and ethnic settlements in Europe since 1816, we show that excluded and divided groups are more likely to rebel and, where they govern on only one side of the border, to initiate territorial claims and militarized disputes. To make things worse, rebellion and interstate conflict reinforce each other where ethnic division coincides with partial home rule. We obtain similar findings for civil wars and territorial claims in a global sample post-1945. Yet governments shy away from engaging in interstate disputes to address nationality questions and instead support ethnic rebels abroad.
The 1970s Energy Crises and the Threat to Czechoslovak Consumer Socialism
Authors: Mead Julia
Published: January 2025

In Czechoslovakia, the 1970s oil shocks could not have come at a worse time. Shortly after the 1968 suppression of the Prague Spring, state officials announced a permanent price freeze on electricity, gasoline, and coal for home heating. This effort to satisfy citizens’ energetic needs – while restricting political expression – came to be called the ‘cheap energy policy.’ The cheap energy policy bedeviled officials almost as soon as it was established, when, in the wake of the 1973 global energy shock and for years thereafter, wholesale prices of oil skyrocketed. This article focuses on the evolution of Czechoslovak energy consumption in the 1970s and how it navigated conflicting circumstances: a popular belief that socialist citizens had a right to cheap energy and increasing prices of imported oil and gas. It argues that Czechoslovak state planners aspired to rely on domestic coal reserves and strove for a policy of energy independence but were ultimately unable to disentangle their economy, and their citizens’ consumer desires, from oil.
Unveiling the Etiopathogenic Role of Epstein-Barr Virus in Periodontitis
Authors: Tonoyan L. , Mounier C. , Fassy J. , Leymarie S. , Mouraret S. , Monneyron P. , Vincent-Bugnas S. , Mari B. , Doglio A.
Published: January 2025

Periodontitis, a prevalent and costly oral disease, remains incompletely understood in its etiopathogenesis. The conventional model attributes it to pathogenic bacteria, but emerging evidence suggests dysbiosis involving bacteria, herpesviruses, and an exaggerated host immune response. Among herpesviruses, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) closely links to severe periodontitis, yet the mechanisms underlying EBV-related pathogenesis remain elusive. This study examined the presence, methylation patterns, and infection states of EBV in gingival tissues from healthy patients and those with periodontitis. It also assessed gene expression differences associated with EBV through whole-genome transcriptomic profiling in healthy and periodontitis-affected tissues. EBV DNA was found at similar frequencies in healthy and periodontitis tissues, suggesting common EBV infection even before disease manifestation. In healthy tissues, mostly unmethylated EBV genomes indicated lytic infection in gums, consistent with the literature on lytic EBV spread in epithelia and continual significant virus release in the saliva of healthy carriers. Conversely, EBV DNA in periodontitis tissues showed both methylated and unmethylated patterns, suggesting a mix of latent and lytic genomes. This indicates the coexistence of latent EBV in B-cells and lytic EBV in plasma cells (PCs), linking EBV presence with both cell types in periodontitis. Whole-genome transcriptomic analysis revealed distinct expression profiles in EBV-positive periodontitis tissues, with upregulated genes associated with inflammatory/immune responses and B-cell and PC markers, while downregulated genes were related to epithelial structure and organization. The EBV-positive periodontitis signature differed distinctly from that of EBV-positive healthy gums, eliciting only a typical viral-induced immune response. These findings provide new insights into EBV physiopathology in the gum, notably assigning a direct etiopathogenetic contribution to EBV in periodontitis. The results suggest a model where EBV can commonly, and apparently asymptomatically, spread in healthy gingiva but may also aggravate inflammation in the context of gum dysbiosis, involving infiltration of B-cells and PCs and loss of epithelial integrity.
Substance Use, Treatment, and Mental Health Among People Who Resolved an Addiction: Comparing Abstinent and Non-abstinent Individuals
Authors: Beaugard Corinne A. , Walley Alexander Y. , Amodeo Maryann
Published: January 2025

Historically, the addiction field considered abstinence to be the key marker of recovery and abstinence has been a primary treatment outcome and focus of mutual aid groups. The centrality of abstinence has limited the exploration of non-abstinence recovery or addiction resolution pathways. As the field becomes more inclusive of different recovery paths, it is increasingly important to learn more about this population. This study was designed to: (1) explore the substance use, treatment history, and mental health of individuals who resolved an addiction; and (2) compare abstinent and non-abstinent participants on substance use, treatment, and mental health measures. A cross-sectional survey was administered via online platforms. Eligibility criteria included adults who resolved an addiction through self-reported (1) reduced use, or (2) reduced negative consequences, or (3) improved social or occupational experiences. Chi-squared and t-tests were run for bivariate comparisons. A multivariable linear regression was run to test the association between abstinence and depression. Analyses were conducted in SAS. The sample ( N = 267) was 55% women, 56% White ( n = 150), 17% Black ( n = 44), 11% Asian ( n = 30), 10% Hispanic-White ( n = 27), and 6.0% other ( n = 16). Forty-five percent ( n = 146) were abstinent. The most frequent primary addictions were alcohol (46%) and opioids (23%). In the multivariable model, abstinence was not associated with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). This study enhances our understanding of substance use and mental health among individuals who resolved an addiction. Future research should explore patterns of substance use and mental health over time.
Young Voters, Abstainers and Unregistered: Generation Z Turnout in a Compulsory System
Authors: Ammassari Sofia , Martinez i Coma Ferran , McDonnell Duncan
Published: January 2025

While young people’s electoral behaviour in voluntary voting systems has been extensively studied, we know little about this in compulsory systems. To investigate, we examine the drivers of voting, not voting and not registering of Generation Z youths in Australia, which has long had compulsory registration and voting. We argue that Gen-Z voters, abstainers (registered, but who do not vote) and unregistered will differ according to their socio-demographics, socio-political engagement and political attitudes, following a ‘hierarchy of disengagement’. Drawing on original survey data from around 1500 Gen-Z Australians, we find that non-voters are distinguished by their unemployment status, lower political interest and weaker faith in democracy. Among non-voters, the differences between abstainers and unregistered mostly relate to their socio-economic backgrounds. Finally, we show that the most common reason for voting is not to get fined, while almost a third of unregistered Gen-Z citizens attribute their behaviour to lack of knowledge.
Research Note: When Is a Day Reporting Center Evaluation Not a Day Reporting Center Evaluation? Lessons From a Systematic Review
Authors: Miller Joel , Azari Anthony
Published: January 2025

We offer practical lessons from a systematic review of day reporting centers (DRCs). The review involved electronic searches, bibliographic reviews, and expert consultations followed by full text reviews of potentially eligible studies. Search results highlight the substantial role of nonacademic studies in the DRC literature, loose relationships between program characteristics and the DRC label, variations in the nature of both DRC and comparison group treatments, and a variety of methodological oversights in evaluation studies. We make a variety of recommendations both to program developers and evaluators, including an encouragement to focus on the content of programming alongside formal program titles.
Jealousy or Abuse? Dispositional Mindfulness Helps Chinese College Students Understand and Save From Cyber Dating Abuse
Authors: Xu Tianyun , Liu Yu , Sim Charles , Cui Xuyang , Lin Lin
Published: January 2025

Technology advances lead to a high prevalence of cyber dating abuse among youth. Previous studies had demonstrated its detrimental outcomes and predictors, but neglected the characters in Eastern countries. Therefore, exploring the comprehensive mechanisms of cyber dating abuse in different cultures and mitigating it are necessary. The current study first recruited 242 participants (65.7% women, Mage = 20.79 years, SD = 1.89) through social media to revise a localized Cyber Dating Abuse Questionnaire. Then, we conducted a moderated mediation model with 300 participants (60.0% women, Mage = 20.92 years, SD = 1.86) recruited through snowball sampling to examine the utilities of anxious attachment, jealousy, and dispositional mindfulness on cyber dating abuse perpetration. The two samples were integrated to examine the prevalence of cyber dating abuse, including 542 Chinese college students who were in heterosexual relationships the past year. The results showed that both perpetrators and victims of cyber dating abuse were 48.5% respectively. Women reported more perpetration behaviors (men = 40.9%; women = 53.1%) and less victimization (men = 56.2%; women = 44.0%) than men. Jealousy mediated the association between anxious attachment and cyber dating abuse perpetration. Moreover, dispositional mindfulness, particularly its non-judgment facet, could be a protective factor. These findings underscored the commonalities and expanded theories in understanding cyber dating abuse, facilitating the development of preventive and interventive strategies. Future studies should focus on this phenomenon and provide more comprehensive protection and psychosocial education for youth and adolescents.
The Effectiveness of Online Mindfulness Training for Psychologists – A Brief Report
Authors: Pickard Judy A. , Deane Frank P. , Gonsalvez Craig J.
Published: January 2025

Objective

Mindfulness training (MT) in healthcare training has been associated with improvement in mental wellbeing and clinical skills such as empathy. Despite this, it is often challenging for professional psychology programs to include MT in the curriculum due to competing coursework demands and staffing requirements. The current study aimed to determine whether changes in mindfulness, self-compassion and tolerance of uncertainty were equivalent for those completing MT face-to-face on campus or online.

Method

Ninety-eight professional psychology trainees completed pre-post measures of Mindfulness, Self-compassion, and Tolerance of Uncertainty. Fifty-eight participants completed it on campus and 40 participants completed it online.

Results

A series of one-way ANOVAs found no significant differences in change between the two delivery mode groups on seven of the eight variables. There was a very small significant difference for self-compassion with those in the campus group showing slightly higher increases compared to the online group.

Conclusion

Changes in mindfulness and related variables appear to be similar whether MT occurs face-to-face or via online delivery. Thus, providing online MT may address difficulties related to staffing and timetabling that previously prohibited its inclusion in coursework.
Neuroticism and Executive Functioning Deficits: The Moderating Role of Negative Urgency
Authors: Hart William , Castagna Peter , Wahlers Danielle E.
Published: January 2025

Neuroticism predicts behaviors symptomatic of behavior dysregulation. One idea is that Neuroticism encompasses deficits in executive functioning; despite this link being empirically substantiated, it remains poorly understood. If Neuroticism is associated with executive functioning deficits due to it activating impulsivity in response to negative emotion, and if Negative Urgency (NU) is the specific aspect of emotional impulsivity that amplifies impulsivity in response to negative emotion, then Neuroticism’s link to executive functioning deficits should be enhanced in individuals higher in NU. A large representative sample of US adults ( N = 446; Mage = 46.10; 51.1% female; 78.0% White) completed validated measures of Neuroticism, NU and Positive Urgency (PU), and executive functioning deficits. As predicted, we found that Neuroticism’s link to executive functioning deficits was moderated by NU (after controlling for PU) but not PU (after controlling for NU); specifically, Neuroticism’s relation to executive functioning deficits was over twice as large for people with elevated (+1 SD) versus de-elevated (−1 SD) levels of NU. Furthermore, NU moderated relations between each Neuroticism facet (e.g., Anxiety, Anger) and executive functioning deficits. The findings extend understanding of how Neuroticism relates to executive functioning, suggesting utility in distinguishing between PU and NU and potentially studying Neuroticism and NU as interacting.
Mortality and Years of Life Lost From Cardiometabolic Diseases in Mexico: National and State-Level Trends, 1998-2022
Authors: Agudelo-Botero Marcela , Dávila-Cervantes Claudio A.
Published: January 2025

Objectives:

Cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) are highly prevalent in Mexico. We analyzed the evolution of mortality from CMDs in Mexico at the national and state level, as well as their contribution to years of life lost (YLL), from 1998 through 2022.

Methods:

We conducted an observational study based on a public database. We calculated age-standardized mortality rates, conducted joinpoint regression analyses to determine changes in the trend and magnitude of mortality over time, and calculated YLL from CMDs among people in Mexico nationally and by state.

Results:

From 1998 through 2022, the age-standardized mortality rate from CMDs increased by 14.9% in Mexico. These rates reached their highest levels in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, people aged 0 through 84 years had 3.9 YLL from CMDs, which represented an increase of 0.4 years compared with 1998. From 1998 through 2022, age-standardized mortality rates increased for heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension but decreased for stroke.

Conclusions:

Mortality and YLL from CMDs have steadily increased among people in Mexico, driven mainly by heart disease and diabetes mellitus. YLL attributable to CMDs could be prevented by early care and health prevention policies. Decision makers should work to implement robust and enduring health policies focused on shared risk factors underlying these diseases.
Exploring the Effects of Online Courses on Elementary Students’ Listening, Reading Abilities and Learning Anxiety
Authors: Hsu Hsiao-Ling , Chang Yuh-Fang
Published: January 2025

Limited access to English-speaking environments in contexts such as Taiwan presents a great challenge for learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Although synchronous online learning has shown promise in fostering authentic and interactive learning environments, its effectiveness for young learners of English as a foreign language, particularly those with limited resources, remained unclear. Therefore, this study examined the effects of synchronous online learning courses on EFL elementary school students’ listening and reading ability, as well as their levels of learning anxiety. Eighty-nine elementary school students participated in 10-week online courses, receiving around 160 minutes of instruction per week. Before and after the online courses, they received pre- and post-tests on their listening and reading ability and filled out learning anxiety surveys. Using paired sample t-tests, the analysis revealed significant enhancements in the students’ listening abilities after the online courses, accompanied by a significant reduction in anxiety associated with learning English. Although reading abilities showed some improvement, it was not statistically significant. The findings not only underscored the potential of synchronous online learning to enhance language abilities among young learners with limited resources but also highlighted its role in mitigating learning apprehensions. Therefore, this study offered pedagogical implications for the design and implementation of online language courses, particularly in contexts where traditional resources may be limited or inaccessible.
Insights for pastoral care inspired by Dr. deClaissé-Walford’s writings about the Psalms
Authors: Massey Denise , Gentry Averee Madison
Published: January 2025

Dr. Nancy deClaissé-Walford’s scholarship and teaching on the Psalms have provided ample resources to explore the wisdom of these ancient poems for pastoral care, emotional intelligence, faith development, active listening, and expressions of faith during times of grief or under oppressive circumstances. Her work as a professor and colleague exhibits the wisdom she has gleaned from the Psalms, and she has become a model for enacting these attributes for both her students and her colleagues.
Exploring generational othering through Internet memes
Authors: Giorgi Giulia
Published: January 2025

This article investigates the modalities through which Internet memes are involved in the process of generational othering. Existing research has emphasised that taking the distance from other cohorts is central to the reinforcement of generational cohesion. Nonetheless, studies empirically observing how generational categorisation occurs remain scarce. Internet memes, i.e. images or videos created and circulated online, can shed light on this process for their ability to express intergenerational conflicts and target specific cohorts. Using data coming from 41 semi-structured interviews, the article explores how memes contribute to the identification and portrayal of generational ‘others’, taking the Italian context as case study. The analysis leads to the identification of two generational ‘others’, the Old and the Young, whose characterisation relies on stereotyped beliefs related to digital literacy, media consumption, worldview and moral values. It is argued that memes partake in the process of generational othering as multimodal carriers of messages, which foster the construction, dissemination and consolidation of stereotypes associated with young and old people. Furthermore, the study shows how the memeification of conventional cohort labels (e.g. ‘boomer’) produces a semantic shift in the segmentation of generational categories, in which cultural aspects have a more prominent position than biographical age.