bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Data Analysis of the Factors Influencing the Industrial Land Leasing in Shanghai Based on Mathematical Models
Authors: Cheng Jing
Published: April 2020

By analyzing the background of land leasing in Shanghai, the hypotheses of the mathematical models of industrial land leasing in Shanghai are proposed, and then, the mathematical models of the land price and land area are presented for analyzing the factors of industrial land leasing. Based on the mathematical models and the district data of Shanghai from 2007 to 2015, the factors influencing industrial land leasing by the district government are studied. It is shown that the influencing factors, such as the land area, GDP, tenure of district mayor, and the distance between the land and the nearest subway station, affect the government behavior on industrial land leasing.
On Compound Distributions for Natural Disaster Modelling in Kenya
Authors: Rono Antony , Ogutu Carolyne , Weke Patrick
Published: April 2020

Kenyan communities are exposed to natural disasters by an amalgamation of factors such as poverty, aridity, and settlements in areas susceptible to natural disasters or in areas with poor infrastructure. This is expected to increase due to the effects of climate change. In an attempt to explain some of these variabilities, we model the extreme damages from natural disasters in Kenya by developing a compound distribution that takes into account both the frequency and the severity of the extreme events. The resulting distribution is based on a threshold model and compound extreme value distribution. For frequency of events exceeding a threshold of 150,000, we found that it follows a negative binomial distribution, while severity of exceedance follows a generalized Pareto distribution. This distribution fits the data well and is found to be a better model for natural disasters in Kenya than the traditional extreme value threshold model.
Geospatial Investigation of Nigerian Honey and Detection of Anti‐Enteric Biomarker
Authors: Akinduti P. Akinniyi , Ejilude Oluwaseun , Olugbuyiro Joseph , Adewale Adeyemi G. , Onagbesan Okanlawon , Afolabi Oluwadun
Published: April 2020

Geospatial mapping and antibacterial biomarkers were investigated in Nigerian honey used for therapeutic purposes in several communities affected with prevalent antibiotic‐resistant enteric bacilli. Randomly collected enteric bacilli from faecal samples were biotyped and phenotypically assayed for antibiotic resistance and profiled for R plasmids. R plasmid molecular weight and multiantibiotic resistance index (MARI) relatedness were evaluated for resistance among phylogroups. Honey cidal activity, time kill kinetics, and bioactive markers were determined and analysed for geospatial distribution. More than 30% enteric biotypes were resistant to cotrimoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline at MIC ≥16 μg/ml (P = 0.004). Two unrelated cluster complexes with diverse antibiotic resistance indices expressed high molecular weight plasmid (14.17 kbp) with 0.73 MARI to two classes of antibiotics. Among the resistant bacilli, only 24.3% (MIC90 500 mg/mL) and 8.1% (MBC90 1000 mg/mL) were susceptible to honey with evidence of 14.85% and 5.94% significant viable reduction at 2 × MIC to less than 2.50 Log10 CFU/mL (P < 0.05). Only alkaloids significantly regressed (P = 0.028) with susceptibility of resistant bacilli significantly correlate with bacteria inhibition (r = 0.534, P = 0.049) at optimal cutoff limit of 0.32 mg/ml. Antibacterial honey with significant alkaloid biomarkers was detected at 3°10′0–3°30′0E and 6°30′0–7°30′0N of Southwest Nigeria. Spatial mapping evidently indicated variation in honey physicochemical and bioactive compounds and identified geographical locations suitable for production of anti‐enteric honey rich in alkaloids marker required for prevention and treatment of resistant enteric bacilli infections.
Demographic Factors Associated with Toxicity in Patients Treated with Anti–Programmed Cell Death-1 Therapy
Authors: Shah Kaustav P. , Song Haocan , Ye Fei , Moslehi Javid J. , Balko Justin M. , Salem Joe-Elie , Johnson Douglas B.
Published: April 2020

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are now routinely used in multiple cancers but may induce autoimmune-like side effects known as immune-related adverse events (irAE). Although classical autoimmune diseases have well-known risk factors, including age, gender, and seasonality, the clinical factors that lead to irAEs are not well-defined. To explore these questions, we assessed 455 patients with advanced melanoma treated with ICI at our center and a large pharmacovigilance database (VigiBase). We found that younger age was associated with a similar rate of any irAEs but more frequent severe irAEs and more hospitalizations (OR, 0.97 per year). Paradoxically, however, older patients had more deaths and increased length of stay (LOS) when hospitalized. This was partially due to a distinct toxicity profile: Colitis and hepatitis were more common in younger patients, whereas myocarditis and pneumonitis had an older age distribution both in our center and in VigiBase. This pattern was particularly apparent with combination checkpoint blockade with ipilimumab and nivolumab. We did not find a link between gender or seasonality on development of irAEs in univariate or multivariate analyses, although winter hospitalizations were associated with marginally increased LOS. This study identifies age-specific associations of irAEs.
Pain-Induced Beta Activity in the Subthalamic Nucleus of Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Parker Tariq , Huang Yongzhi , Gong Chen , Chen Yue , Wang Shouyan , Green Alexander L. , Aziz Tipu , Li Luming
Published: April 2020

Background: The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a common target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is believed to serve a role in sensorimotor integration. In addition to therapeutic neuromodulation, DBS facilitates the recording of local-field potentials (LFPs) in order to further understand the neurophysiological basis of disease. The capacity to wirelessly transmit these signals in real time has overcome the obstacle of externalization of electrodes during LFP recordings. Objective: Using the G102RS device (PINS Medical, China), we investigated the LFP changes in response to mechanical pain stimulation to further elucidate the representation of pain sensation in the basal ganglia. Methods: LFPs from 2 patients who had undergone bilateral STN-DBS were wirelessly recorded during no stimulation, low-frequency stimulation (60 and 90 Hz), and high-frequency stimulation (130 and 150 Hz) while introducing painful and nonpainful stimuli. Power spectral analysis was conducted to compare the changes in β frequency (13–30 Hz) during each stimulus. Results: During painful stimuli, STN power spectra (n = 4) revealed a significant increase in β activity compared to non-painful and no-stimulus epochs. Both low- and high-frequency stimulation produced a significant decrease in pain-related β activity. Conclusion: These 2 cases have demonstrated the potential for acute noxious stimuli to exacerbate pathologic β oscillatory activity in the STN. Our findings represent novel evidence of the neurophysiologic representation of pain in the STN of PD patients.
Obesity and Insulin Resistance, Not Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Are Independent Predictors of Bone Mineral Density in Adolescents and Young Women
Authors: Pereira-Eshraghi Camila F. , Chiuzan Codruta , Zhang Yuan , Tao Rachel H. , McCann Matthew , Neugut Y. Dana , Printz Alison , Fennoy Ilene , Cree-Green Melanie , Oberfield Sharon E. , Sopher Aviva B.
Published: April 2020

Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders that affects females of reproductive age. The characteristic features of PCOS individually have opposing effects on bone mineral density (BMD); however, their cumulative effect on BMD has not been clearly defined. Adolescence and young adulthood span a crucial period in achieving peak bone mass. Thus, a better understanding of the impact of PCOS on BMD in this age group is needed. Objectives: To determine whether BMD is different between young females with PCOS and controls and to identify factors that influence BMD in this population. Methods: Data from four cross-sectional studies with a total of 170 females aged 12–25 years with PCOS (n = 123) and controls (n = 47) with a wide range of BMIs (18.7–53.4 kg/m2) were analyzed. Participants had fasting glucose, insulin, and free and total testosterone concentrations measured. HOMA-IR was calculated. Whole-body BMD was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Multiple regression analysis for predicting BMD included PCOS status, menstrual age, obesity, HOMA-IR, and free testosterone. Results: HOMA-IR and total and free testosterone were significantly higher in PCOS compared to controls but there was no difference in BMD z-score between PCOS (0.8 ± 1.0) and controls (0.6 ± 1.0) (p = 0.36). Obesity (p = 0.03) and HOMA-IR (p = 0.02) were associated with BMD z-score. Conclusions: Obesity status and insulin resistance, but not PCOS status, were each independently associated with BMD in adolescents and young women who spanned a wide range of BMIs.
Chronic Kidney Disease Awareness and Longitudinal Health Outcomes: Results from the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke Study
Authors: Tummalapalli Sri Lekha , Vittinghoff Eric , Crews Deidra C. , Cushman Mary , Gutiérrez Orlando M. , Judd Suzanne E. , Kramer Holly J. , Peralta Carmen A. , Tuot Delphine S. , Shlipak Michael G. , Estrella Michelle M.
Published: April 2020

Background: The majority of people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are unaware of their kidney disease. Assessing the clinical significance of increasing CKD awareness has critical public health and healthcare delivery implications. Whether CKD awareness among persons with CKD is associated with longitudinal health behaviors, disease management, and health outcomes is unknown. Methods: We analyzed data from participants with CKD in the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke study, a national, longitudinal, population-based cohort. Our predictor was participant CKD awareness. Outcomes were (1) health behaviors (smoking avoidance, exercise, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use); (2) CKD management indicators (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker use, statin use, systolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and body mass index); (3) change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR); and (4) health outcomes (incident end-stage kidney disease [ESKD], coronary heart disease [CHD], stroke, and death). Logistic and linear regressions were used to examine the association of baseline CKD awareness with outcomes of interest, adjusted for CKD stage and participant demographic and clinical factors. Results: Of 6,529 participants with baseline CKD, 285 (4.4%) were aware of their CKD. Among the 3,586 participants who survived until follow-up (median 9.5 years), baseline awareness was not associated with subsequent odds of health behaviors, CKD management indicators, or changes in eGFR and UACR in adjusted analyses. Baseline CKD awareness was associated with increased risk of ESKD (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.44; 95% CI 1.08–1.92) and death (aHR 1.18; 95% CI 1.00–1.39), but not with subsequent CHD or stroke, in adjusted models. Conclusions: Individuals aware of their CKD were more likely to experience ESKD and death, suggesting that CKD awareness reflects disease severity. Most persons with CKD, including those that are high-risk, remain unaware of their CKD. There was no evidence of associations between baseline CKD awareness and longitudinal health behaviors, CKD management indicators, or eGFR decline and albuminuria.
Access to Cardiovascular Disease and Hypertension Medicines in Developing Countries: An Analysis of Essential Medicine Lists, Price, Availability, and Affordability
Authors: Husain Muhammad Jami , Datta Biplab Kumar , Kostova Deliana , Joseph Kristy T. , Asma Samira , Richter Patricia , Jaffe Marc G. , Kishore Sandeep P.
Published: April 2020

Background

Access to medicines is important for long‐term care of cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. This study provides a cross‐country assessment of availability, prices, and affordability of cardiovascular disease and hypertension medicines to identify areas for improvement in access to medication treatment.

Methods and Results

We used the World Health Organization online repository of national essential medicines lists (
EML
s) for 53 countries to transcribe the information on the inclusion of 12 cardiovascular disease/hypertension medications within each country's essential medicines list. Data on availability, price, and affordability were obtained from 84 surveys in 59 countries that used the World Health Organization's Health Action International survey methodology. We summarized and compared the indicators across lowest‐price generic and originator brand medicines in the public and private sectors and by country income groups. The average availability of the select medications was 54% in low‐ and lower‐middle‐income countries and 60% in high‐ and upper‐middle‐income countries, and was higher for generic (61%) than brand medicines (41%). The average patient median price ratio was 80.3 for brand and 16.7 for generic medicines and was higher for patients in low‐ and lower‐middle‐income countries compared with high‐ and upper‐middle‐income countries across all medicine categories. The costs of 1 month's antihypertensive medications were, on average, 6.0 days’ wage for brand medicine and 1.8 days’ wage for generics. Affordability was lower in low‐ and lower‐middle‐income countries than high‐ and upper‐middle‐income countries for both brand and generic medications.

Conclusions

The availability and accessibility of pharmaceuticals is an ongoing challenge for health systems. Low availability and high costs are major barriers to the use of and adherence to essential cardiovascular disease and antihypertensive medications worldwide, particularly in low‐ and lower‐middle‐income countries.
“The Theory of Practice”
Authors: Luciano Erika , Pizzarelli Chiara
Published: April 2020

During the first half of the nineteenth century many protagonists of Italian science took part in the renewal of techno-scientific studies with their use of mundane, everyday objects and a model-based didactic methodology. The Kingdom of Sardinia was relatively advanced in this regard, mostly thanks to the work of renowned mathematics professors at the University of Turin such as Carlo Ignazio Giulio and his pupil Quintino Sella. In 1852 they founded the Regio Istituto Tecnico, which in 1861 would become the Reale Scuola di Applicazione per gli Ingegneri and later, in 1906, the Polytechnic. With a review of unpublished material held in the Turin and Biella archives, this work will show how a willingness to merge theoretical knowledge and practical know-how was the mainstay of education in these three schools, and how their students were able to work in cabinets and laboratories, enjoying access to high-quality scientific collections.
Ὀδοντίζω
Authors: Blanco Cesteros Miriam
Published: April 2020

The multidisciplinary approach to different dyeing techniques of the papyri of Leiden (P.Leid. X) and Stockholm (P.Holm.) is entangled with Greco-Egyptian alchemy; yet, it is not an impediment for the recipes – or the processes described in them – to originate from an artisanal environment. In this regard, the lexical study of these recipes is the key to understanding the technical backgrounds of Greco-Egyptian alchemy. With this aim, this paper analyses the verb ὀδοντίζω (odontizō), which appears in a number of ink recipes of the Leiden and Stockholm papyri with a very technical meaning. The comparison to some Latin sources will help us to better understand its meaning and will lead us to explore the technical field from whence the recipes in which this verb appears came: ancient book production.
Pathos, Eros, and Curiosity
Authors: Buckley Cali
Published: April 2020

Miniature ivory anatomical models or manikins were first created in the late 1600s, but their history as props for man-midwives as well as kunstkammer objects has not been fully explored until now. Through an investigation of 180 models and texts surrounding them, their roles as props, playthings, and luxury objects is presented against a background of changes in craftsmanship, women’s medicine, and the art and commodity market starting in the seventeenth century. The manikins are explored in terms of their reception for various owners and audiences as well as differences in their making over time to give a framework for further study on these objects.
Religion and Prison Art in Ming China (1368–1644)
Authors: Zhang Ying
Published: April 2020

Approaching the prison as a creative environment and imprisoned officials as creative subjects in Ming China (1368–1644), Ying Zhang introduces a few important themes at the intersection of premodern Chinese religion, poetry, and visual and material culture. The Ming is known for its extraordinary cultural and economic accomplishments in the increasingly globalized early modern world. For scholars of Chinese religion and art, this era crystallizes the essential and enduring characteristics in these two spheres. Drawing on scholarship on Chinese philosophy, religion, aesthetics, poetry, music, and visual and material culture, Zhang illustrates how the prisoners understood their environment as creative and engaged it creatively. She then offers a literature survey on the characteristics of premodern Chinese religion and art that helps situate the questions of “creative environment” and “creative subject” within multiple fields of scholarship.
A Historical Morphology of Western Karaim: the -a-d- Continuative Present
Authors: Németh Michał
Published: April 2020

In this paper the author presents the hitherto undescribed Western Karaim -a-d- ~ -a-dy- ~ -a-dyr- verbal forms. The description of these forms is based on philological data collected from 18th- and 19th-century manuscripts and the final conclusion is that it was primarily used to express continuative present. The author also argues in favour of treating the first half of the 19th century as the terminus ante quem for its final disappearance in colloquial Karaim. This paper is the second in a series of articles introducing previously undocumented Karaim grammatical categories.
Dolgan naada—a Nominal Predicator and Its History
Authors: Siegl Florian
Published: April 2020

Several indigenous languages of Siberia have borrowed the Russian deonctic nominal predicator nado (ru: надо). Whereas equivalents of Russian nado can be found in a variety of languages today as the outcome of long-lasting bilingualism, there are several languages which have borrowed nado rather early and most likely already before the Soviet Period. Among these languages are two Turkic languages Dolgan and Sakha, the isolates Tundra and Kolyma Yukaghir (Paleosiberian), Central and Southern Selkup (Uralic) and probably Ket (Yeniseian). Although Dolgan naada is undoubtedly of Russian origin, naada replaced an Old Turkic nominal predictor kärgäk which used to appear in a similar predication frame. Therefore, this instance of borrowing classifies as borrowing on the lexical and not on the constructional level.
Three new species of Polana (Varpulana) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Gyponini) from Brazil, with updated key to males and taxonomic notes on the female genitalia
Authors: DOMAHOVSKI ALEXANDRE CRUZ , CAVICHIOLI RODNEY RAMIRO
Published: April 2020

Three new Brazilian species of Polana (Varpulana) are described and illustrated, based on males and females: P. (V.) agualimpa sp. nov., from Distrito Federal; P. (V.) feitosai sp. nov., from Piauí and P. (V.) recurva sp. nov. from Paraná. An updated key to males of P. (Varpulana) is presented, the diagnosis of the subgenus is revised and a new state record is presented to P. (V.) pandara. Additionally, morphological differences found in the dorsal sculpturing of the first valvula between the species of Polana are reported.
New records, notes and new synonymies in American Cerambycidae (Coleoptera)
Authors: HEFFERN DANIEL , SANTOS-SILVA ANTONIO
Published: April 2020

New country records are provided for Caperonotus superbus (Aurivillius, 1897), Heterachthes picturatus Martins, 1970, Neocompsa macrotricha Martins, 1970, Neocompsa spinosa Martins, 1970, Helvina strandi (Breuning, 1942), Bebelis furcula (Bates, 1880), and Bebelis longipennis (Bates, 1885). New state records are provided for Amphicnaeia lineolata Galileo & Martins, 2011, and Dorcasta parkeri Bezark, Santos-Silva & Nascimento, 2018. The geographical distribution of Equescollum birai Nascimento, Botero & Lezama, 2019 is discussed. Chromatic variation in Heterachthes picturatus is discussed. Dorcasta gracilis Fisher, 1932 is synonymized with Dorcasta dasycera Erichson, 1849, and a new country record for the species is reported. Falsestoloides Breuning, 1954 is synonymized with Parestola Bates, 1880, Falsestoloides mexicana Breuning, 1954 is synonymized with Parestola zapotensis Bates, 1880, and a new state record is provided for the species.
The larvae of Rhopalopsole vespertilio Chen & Du (Plecoptera: Leuctridae), with biological notes on sympatric Nemoura nankinensis Wu (Plecoptera: Nemouridae)
Authors: CHEN ZHI-TENG
Published: April 2020

At least 56 species of the leuctrid genus Rhopalopsole Klapálek, 1912 are recorded from China. Only the larvae of R. hamata Yang & Yang, 1995 has been previously associated with adults. The larvae of R. vespertilio Chen & Du, 2017 are described for the first time based on specimens from Jurong City, Jiangsu Province of southeastern China. Brief biological notes are provided for R. vespertilio and the sympatric Nemoura nankinensis Wu, 1926.
Geographical clusters and social risk factors for suicide in the city of São Paulo, 2006–2015: An ecologic study
Authors: Bando Daniel Hideki , Barrozo Ligia Vizeu , Volpe Fernando Madalena
Published: April 2020

Background:

To identify geographical clusters of suicide in São Paulo, Brazil (2006–2015) and to verify the associations of suicide with sociocultural characteristics of its 96 districts.

Methods:

Spatial scan test was used to detect the geographical clusters. Correlation and multiple regression techniques were used to estimate the association of socioeconomic and cultural variables with suicide.

Results:

The mean suicide rate was 4.8/100,000. Three clusters were identified which are as follows: one of increased risk in downtown and two of decreased risk in the South and in the Southeast. The mean suicide rate of the high-risk clustered districts (7.99/100,000) presented significantly higher average incomes per household, higher proportion of formally educated, of no religious affiliation, of recent migrants, of all-times migrants and lower proportion of married. The multiple model selected two independent risk factors – people with no religious affiliation (β = 0.182) and of recent migrants (β = 0.278) – and two protective factors – the proportion of married (β = –0.185) and of total migrants (β = –0.075), which jointly explained 58.4% of the variance.

Conclusion:

Durkheimian social and cultural risk factors for suicide were confirmed. Compared to a previous study period (1996–2005), suicide rates and geographical clusters remained relatively stable in the subsequent decade (2006–2015).
Microbiological profile of chronic osteomyelitis with special reference to anaerobic osteomyelitis in a tertiary care hospital of coastal Karnataka
Authors: Shenoy Padmaja A , Vishwanath Shashidhar , Bhat Shyamasunder N , Mukhopadhyay Chiranjay , Chawla Kiran
Published: April 2020

Chronic osteomyelitis is a relapsing, persistent, low-grade inflammation of bone caused by various infectious agents. The present study, conducted over a two-year period, on specimens received from cases of chronic osteomyelitis was, to determine the frequency of isolation of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and to analyse their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. Specimens were processed for Gram stain, aerobic and anaerobic culture, and were identified according to standard techniques. Significant growth was observed in 102/204 specimens, in which aerobic growth was observed in 62 (60.8%) and anaerobic in 40 (39.2%). Resistance to metronidazole and clindamycin was observed in 6.7% and 30% of the anaerobic isolates, respectively. None of these were resistant to meropenem. A significant proportion of anaerobic isolates were found to be resistant to commonly used empirical drugs, such as clindamycin, thus necessitating a need for routine anaerobic susceptibility testing.
STP at 75: Membership & Member Communication
Authors: Hill G. William
Published: April 2020

As part of the exploration of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology's (STP) history, subsets of STP leaders participated in panel discussions on various topics that represent areas of dramatic change and evolution over the last 25 years. This panel focused on membership recruitment and management as well as the evolution of how STP communicated key information with its members.
Data with its boots on the ground: Datawalking as research method
Authors: van Es Karin , de Lange Michiel
Published: April 2020

This article explores datawalking as a novel method in media and communication research for studying datafication. Drawing from existing literature, datawalking is characterized as an embodied, situated and generative practice. These affordances of walking help to tackle existing research challenges and connect lived experiences to data infrastructural concerns. More specifically, contemporary research on the deep mediatized city faces challenges that pertain to the invisibility, loss of context and access to data and its infrastructures. It is argued that datawalks, as an empirical method in media and communication research, offers a much-needed anchoring of data as material and situated, and constitutive of everyday life.
Response and role of palliative care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A national telephone survey of hospices in Italy
Authors: Costantini Massimo , Sleeman Katherine E , Peruselli Carlo , Higginson Irene J
Published: April 2020

Background:

Palliative care is an important component of health care in pandemics, contributing to symptom control, psychological support, and supporting triage and complex decision making.

Aim:

To examine preparedness for, and impact of, the COVID-19 pandemic on hospices in Italy to inform the response in other countries.

Design:

Cross-sectional telephone survey, in March 2020.

Setting:

Italian hospices, purposively sampled according to COVID-19 regional prevalence categorised as high (>25), medium (15–25) and low prevalence (<15) COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. A brief questionnaire was developed to guide the interviews. Analysis was descriptive.

Results:

Seven high, five medium and four low prevalence hospices provided data. Two high prevalence hospices had experienced COVID-19 cases among both patients and staff. All hospices had implemented policy changes, and several had rapidly implemented changes in practice including transfer of staff from inpatient to community settings, change in admission criteria and daily telephone support for families. Concerns included scarcity of personal protective equipment, a lack of hospice-specific guidance on COVID-19, anxiety about needing to care for children and other relatives, and poor integration of palliative care in the acute planning response.

Conclusion:

The hospice sector is capable of responding flexibly and rapidly to the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments must urgently recognise the essential contribution of hospice and palliative care to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure these services are integrated into the health care system response. Availability of personal protective equipment and setting-specific guidance is essential. Hospices may also need to be proactive in connecting with the acute pandemic response.
Cerebral perfusion and blood–brain barrier assessment in brain trauma using contrast-enhanced near-infrared spectroscopy with indocyanine green: A review
Authors: Forcione Mario , Chiarelli Antonio M , Davies David J , Perpetuini David , Sawosz Piotr , Merla Arcangelo , Belli Antonio
Published: April 2020

Contrast-enhanced near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) with indocyanine green (ICG) can be a valid non-invasive, continuous, bedside neuromonitoring tool. However, its usage in moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients can be unprecise due to their clinical status. This review is targeted at researchers and clinicians involved in the development and application of contrast-enhanced NIRS for the care of TBI patients and can be used to design future studies. This review describes the methods developed to monitor the brain perfusion and the blood–brain barrier integrity using the changes of diffuse reflectance during the ICG passage and the results on studies in animals and humans. The limitations in accuracy of these methods when applied on TBI patients and the proposed solutions to overcome them are discussed. Finally, the analysis of relative parameters is proposed as a valid alternative over absolute values to address some current clinical needs in brain trauma care. In conclusion, care should be taken in the translation of the optical signal into absolute physiological parameters of TBI patients, as their clinical status must be taken into consideration. Discussion on where and how future studies should be directed to effectively incorporate contrast-enhanced NIRS into brain trauma care is given.
Effects of surgery and topical medication on eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis with otitis media and sinusitis: a case report
Authors: Wang Zijing , Han Lin , Yu Lisheng
Published: April 2020

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), also known as Churg–Strauss syndrome, is eosinophil-rich, necrotizing granulomatous inflammation often involving the respiratory tract. Furthermore, EGPA is necrotizing vasculitis that predominantly affects small to medium vessels and is associated with asthma and eosinophilia. Most patients with EGPA have sinusitis and some complain of hearing loss and refractory otitis media with effusion. Systemic use of immunosuppressants and glucocorticoids is currently recommended, despite the inevitable associated side effects. However, systemic treatment is not always effective for nasal and ear symptoms. We report a case of EGPA with refractory otitis media and chronic sinusitis, which were resistant to systemic high-dose steroids and immunosuppressants. However, these symptoms responded well to functional endoscopic sinus surgery and myringotomy and grommet insertion. We also administered budesonide nasal irrigation and glucocorticoid injection by intratympanic and postaural methods in this patient. The therapeutic effect was satisfactory.
Giant Cell Sarcomas in Domestic Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Authors: Bertram Christof A. , Garner Michael M. , Reavill Drury , Klopfleisch Robert , Kiupel Matti
Published: April 2020

Multinucleated giant cells (MGCs) are a prominent histological feature of various mesenchymal neoplasms and are often considered a criterion of malignancy. Mesenchymal neoplasms with MGCs for which the cell lineage is unclear generally are referred to as giant cell sarcomas. Here we characterize the gross, histologic, and immunohistochemical features of 90 giant cell sarcomas in domestic pet rabbits. Based on the anatomic location and histologic and immunohistochemical findings, 18 cases were classified as histiocytic sarcomas (HS) and 72 cases as anaplastic sarcomas (AS). At postmortem examination, HS was either localized HS ( n = 7) always affecting the lungs, or disseminated HS ( n = 10) that affected the lungs ( n = 10), liver ( n = 6), kidneys ( n = 4), pleura ( n = 2), mediastinum ( n = 2), heart ( n = 4), skeletal muscle ( n = 1), adipose tissue ( n = 1), and lymph node ( n = 1). Additionally, one cecal biopsy was consistent with HS. Microscopically, HS were characterized by sheets of neoplastic polygonal to round cells that contained single to several, often greatly enlarged nuclei as well as abundant cytoplasm. HS were always positive for CD204 and always negative for SMA and desmin. In contrast, AS arose most commonly from the skin or subcutis ( n = 62) and rarely the skeletal muscle ( n = 8) or abdominal organs ( n = 2). In 29% of extra-abdominal AS, the tumor deeply invaded into surrounding connective tissue, skeletal muscle, tendons, and bone causing pathological fractures. Five of 9 postmortem cases metastasized to various organs often including the lungs. Microscopically, AS were characterized by sheets of spindle or pleomorphic cells admixed with variable numbers of MGCs. Immunohistochemically, AS were always negative for CD204 and often (71%) positive for SMA and/or desmin.
Formulating a New Orthodontic Index: An Indian Board of Orthodontics Initiative
Authors: George Ashwin Mathew , Vakil Ketan K. , Govindaraj Aravinthrajkumar , Kumar M. Vadivel , Gautam Rajaganesh , Nene Salil
Published: April 2020

A proposal to formulate an orthodontic index specific for the Indian Board of Orthodontics (IBO) to determine the acceptability and degree of difficulty of a cases submitted for the phase III examination was discussed at the College of Diplomates meet (CDIBO). To ascertain the degree of difficulty of a case is very subjective; therefore, the need to quantify the complexity of a case in a standard format is required. To develop a Discrepancy Index for the IBO, 20 Dental and Cephalometric components of a malocclusion and 20 intraoral frontal photographs would have to be evaluated and a weightage score for each component would be assigned. Components such as upper and lower anterior proclination, commonly seen in our Asian population which have been omitted in the commonly used indices such as PAR (Peer Assessment Review) IOTN (Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need) and the ICON (Index of Complexity,Outcome and Need) have been included. The proposed IBO Index would add uniformity and standardization in assessing the degree of difficulty and also the degree of improvement of a case, which would be a beneficial tool for a fair evaluation.
“You Should Have Known Better”: The Social Ramifications of Victimization-Focused Sexual Assault Prevention Tips
Authors: Cherniawsky Sydney , Morrison Melanie
Published: April 2020

Common sexual assault prevention strategies emphasize individuals’ responsibility to protect themselves from victimization. Using a feminist theoretical approach, the present study was the first to assess the unintended, negative consequences that result when taking a victimization-focused approach to sexual assault prevention. Participants ( N = 321) were primarily heterosexual, Caucasian undergraduate students from a Western postsecondary institution. A between-participants experimental design was employed, whereby participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) victimization-focused prevention tips ( n = 114; e.g., “Be alert and aware of your surroundings”); (b) perpetration-focused prevention tips ( n = 103; e.g., “Don’t slip any unwanted substances into drinks at bars or parties”); or (c) study tips for control purposes ( n = 104; e.g., “Take a ten-minute break every hour”). Following prevention tip exposure, participants read a sexual assault vignette and completed measures of victim culpability and several related constructs (i.e., ambivalent sexism, belief in a just world, and rape myth acceptance). Results indicated that participants who received victimization-focused prevention tips attributed significantly more blame to the victimized woman in the vignette than participants in both the control condition and perpetration-focused condition. Based on these results, it is recommended that social institutions further evaluate the efficacy and unintended consequences of prevalent victimization-focused sexual assault prevention strategies. Specifically, institutions should consider the implications of endorsing strategies that are evidenced to enhance victim blame, thereby perpetuating rape culture. Prevention strategies that engage bystanders and seek to prevent perpetration should be considered as an alternative approach.
Suicidality Among Transgender Youth: Elucidating the Role of Interpersonal Risk Factors
Authors: Austin Ashley , Craig Shelley L. , D’Souza Sandra , McInroy Lauren B.
Published: April 2020

Data indicate that 82% of transgender individuals have considered killing themselves and 40% have attempted suicide, with suicidality highest among transgender youth. Using minority stress theory and the interpersonal theory of suicide, this study aims to better understand suicide risk among transgender youth. The present study examines the influence of intervenable risk factors: interpersonal and environmental microaggressions, internalized self-stigma, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and protective factors: school belonging, family support, and peer support on both lifetime suicide attempts and past 6-month suicidality in a sample of transgender youth ( n = 372). SPSS 22 was utilized to examine the impact of the independent variables on both suicidality and lifetime suicide attempt through two separate logistic regressions. Fifty six percent of youth reported a previous suicide attempt and 86% reported suicidality. Logistic regressions indicated that models for both lifetime suicide attempts and suicidality were significant. Interpersonal microaggressions, made a unique, statistically significant contribution to lifetime suicide attempts and emotional neglect by family approached significance. School belonging, emotional neglect by family, and internalized self-stigma made a unique, statistically significant contribution to past 6-month suicidality. Results have significant practice and policy implications. Findings offer guidance for practitioners working with parents and caregivers of trans youth, as well as, for the creation of practices which foster interpersonal belonging for transgender youth.
Incentives and Firm Migration: An Interstate Comparison Approach
Authors: Pan Yuxuan , Conroy Tessa , Tsvetkova Alexandra , Kures Matthew
Published: April 2020

The authors model how state business incentives influence interstate relocation patterns of manufacturers using a panel (2000-2011) of 32 states. The National Establishment Time Series database and the Panel Database on Incentives and Taxes are used to study relocation by manufacturing establishments based on differences between the origin and destination states. The authors find that traditional factors associated with business climate, such as taxation and subsidies, statistically influence manufacturing interstate relocation. Further analysis shows that policy changes (e.g., increasing incentives and reducing taxes) to induce manufacturers to relocate may need to be infeasibly large or used in combination to evoke an economically meaningful increase in relocations.
Debunking the Myths Behind Nonviolent Civil Resistance
Authors: Anisin Alexei
Published: April 2020

Scholars argue that nonviolence is likelier to cause political change in comparison to other strategies, including violence. This study identifies issues throughout this literature ranging from coding procedures, observational sampling, to interpretations of phenomena. If unarmed violence, reactive violence, and omitted cases are analyzed, nonviolent success rates are worse than formerly considered. Inclusion of 19th century (1800–99) cases and previously unanalyzed cases from the 20th century reveals that nonviolent campaigns experienced a 48% rate of success, whereas campaigns that adopted unarmed violence were 61% successful, campaigns utilizing reactive unarmed violence were 60% successful, and 30% of fully violent campaigns were successful. Nonviolence is not a causal determinant of political change, but rather, its implementation falls short of a probabilistic coin toss. There is reason to presume this literature is biased toward elite interests in similar ways to how scientific inquiry on dietary and substance guidelines has historically been skewed by corporatism.
A critical perspective on industry involvement in higher education learning: Enhancing graduates’ knowledge and skills for job creation in Nigeria
Authors: Okolie Ugochukwu Chinonso , Nwajiuba Chinyere Augusta , Eneje Beatrice , Binuomote Michael Olayinka , Ehiobuche Christian , Hack-Polay Dieu
Published: April 2020

This study explores how Nigerian higher education institutions can facilitate industry involvement in the design of programmes and activities that enhance the development of students’ knowledge and skills for business start-ups, leading to job creation. Using interview and focus group methodologies, the researchers obtained rich information from 50 participants, including higher education teachers, final year undergraduate students who had taken part in the compulsory Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme and industry executives with an understanding of how industry can make a meaningful contribution to learning in higher education. Focusing on four dominant themes from the thematic analysis, the authors analyse the factors that contribute to students’ knowledge and skill development. Building on human capital theory, they make recommendations for curriculum restructuring, renewed pedagogical approaches and competencies, building linkages between higher education and industry and career training and mentoring to enhance the development of students’ knowledge and skills for job creation.
Rethinking the time’s arrow: Beginnings and the sociology of the future
Authors: da Silva Filipe Carreira , Vieira Mónica Brito
Published: April 2020

This article asks: What is, sociologically speaking, a beginning? And why has sociology so relatively little to say about beginnings, that point of discontinuity between past meaning and future meaning? We answer these questions in four successive steps. First, we suggest that the existing literature on beginnings can be organized in light of Lévi-Strauss’ distinction between the irreversible time of social practices and the reversible time of analytic models. We use this distinction in the next two sections as we review existing approaches on beginnings. The next section discuss works that have studied beginnings from the perspective of irreversible time. The following section analyses approaches that centre on the perspective of the reversible time of the observer, that collapse the two, or that distinguish them in purely methodological grounds. Building upon the foregoing, we advance a sociological conception of beginnings as a future-oriented duration involving a non-linear succession of temporalities.
The Rise of Iran as a Regional Power
Authors: Kidwai Saman Ayesha
Published: April 2020

Emerging as a destabilising factor for the Arab world and the Western powers in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has over time established itself as a strong regional power. Standing tall in the face of isolationism, threats, sanctions and wars, it has cleverly embedded itself across the region. Taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the Arab Spring, it has solidified its base of loyalists in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Palestine. Despite the economic instability and upheaval, it has continued to expand its power in the region.
Elements, origins and future of Great Transformations: Eastern Europe and global capitalism
Authors: Gabrisch Hubert
Published: April 2020

This essay analyses the relationship of two ‘Great Transformations’: the first from socialism to capitalism, more specifically in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, and the second from regulated to unregulated capitalism in the global economy since the 1980s, with respect to their common origins, elements and social results. Applying Karl Polanyi’s double-movement concept, it is concluded that these two, in essence neoliberal, transformations have led to societies being deeply divided economically, socially and culturally. Moreover, the self-protection of transformation losers is generating adverse political outcomes on a global scale. For both reasons, the outcomes of neoliberal transformations are jeopardising also the viability of the European Union, which was initially built on the basis of a regulated capitalism. The future of the global economy and also of the European Union depends on how the conflicts between the deepening of unregulated globalisation, national sovereignty and democratic politics can be solved.
Bruch’s membrane pathology: A mechanistic perspective
Authors: Murali Aishwarya , Krishnakumar Subramanian , Subramanian Anuradha , Parameswaran Sowmya
Published: April 2020

Bruch’s membrane, an extracellular matrix located between the retinal pigment epithelium and the choroid, plays a vital role as structural and functional support to the retinal pigment epithelium. Dysfunction of Bruch’s membrane in both age-related macular degeneration and other ocular diseases is caused mostly by extracellular matrix degeneration, deposit formation, and angiogenesis. Although these factors are dealt in greater detail with respect to the cells that are degenerated such as the retinal pigment epithelium and the endothelial cells, the pathology involving the Bruch’s membrane is often underrated. Since in most of the macular degenerations early degenerative changes are also observed in the Bruch’s membrane, addressing only the cellular component without the underlying membrane will not yield an ideal clinical benefit. This review aims to discuss the factors and the mechanisms affecting the integrity of the Bruch’s membrane, which would aid in developing an effective therapy for these pathologies.
An elixir of life? Emotional labour in cultural journalism
Authors: Kotisova Johana
Published: April 2020

Recent technological and institutional changes in journalism are believed to have dragged cultural journalism into a crisis. This article looks closely at one thing that makes the job of cultural journalists, in particular critics, distinct from other journalistic beats – the openly acknowledged importance of emotionality and subjectivity in these media workers’ professional practices – and explores the role of emotions in dealing with the crisis in the profession. Based on 14 semi-structured interviews with film and food critics, this article addresses the following questions: What emotional labour do the cultural critics perform? How does professional cultural criticism legitimize itself in the digital era? I suggest that both the film and food critics cherish the fact that their work processes draw heavily on their subjectivity: emotional experiences, political opinions and personal memories. However, to be able do their job, the critics cannot allow such elements of subjectivity to take the reins, and therefore, they perform emotional labour for the successful objectivization of their emotionality: making use of their emotions to better recognize what moments or aspects are significant for the assessment of the quality of the cultural object being reviewed. Furthermore, I suggest that in the context where digitalization has threatened the exceptional position of the professional cultural critic, emotional labour together with some other strategies of handling one’s subjectivity can help them to construct boundaries of professional cultural criticism and thus to reclaim professional legitimacy.