bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring the relationship between breastfeeding and the incidence of infant illnesses in Ireland: evidence from a nationally representative prospective cohort study
Authors: Murphy Sarah , Carter Laura , Al Shizawi Tasneem , Queally Michelle , Brennan Sarah , O’Neill Stephen
Published: January 2023

Background

Ireland has one of the lowest BF rates in the world. This study investigates the association between breastfeeding and infant health in Ireland.

Methods

A cross-sectional, secondary analysis of data collected from Growing Up in Ireland (GUI): the National Longitudinal Study of Children was conducted. The average morbidity for 2212.

infants exclusively breastfed for at least 90 days (EBF90days) was compared to data for 3987 infants in the non-breastfed (Non-BF) group. Data were weighted using entropy balancing to ensure the comparability of groups. Sensitivity analyses considered alternative definitions of the breastfeeding group.

Results

Infants who were EBF90days were significantly less likely to be admitted to hospital (CI: − 0.06 to − 0.03), spent less nights in hospital (CI: − 0.37 to − 0.11), and were less likely to develop respiratory diseases including asthma (CI: − 0.03 to − 0.01), chest infections (CI: − 0.12 to − 0.08), snuffles/common colds (CI: − 0.07 to − 0.02), ear infections (CI: − 0.08 to − 0.04), eczema (CI: − 0.08 to − 0.04), skin problems (CI: − 0.04 to − 0.00), wheezing or asthma (CI: − 0.06 to − 0.03), vomiting (CI: − 0.03 to − 0.00), and colic (CI: − 0.04 to − 0.01). Further outcomes such as current health of the infant at time of interview (CI: − 0.04 to − 0.00), feeding problems (CI: − 0.04 to − 0.02) and sleeping problems (CI: − 0.02 to − 0.00) indicated a protective effect of EBF90days versus Non-BF. However, these infants were also more likely to fail to gain weight (CI: 0.01 to 0.02) and were at a slightly higher risk of developing nappy rash (CI: 0.00 to 0.02).

Conclusion

Exclusive breastfeeding for 90+ days is associated with protection against childhood morbidity. Given the protective effect of breastfeeding on adverse health effects in infants, policy makers should prioritise policies that support, promote and protect exclusive breastfeeding.
Endometriosis, infertility and occupational life: women's plea for recognition
Authors: Gremillet Letizia , Netter Antoine , Sari-Minodier Irène , Miquel Laura , Lacan Arnaud , Courbiere Blandine
Published: January 2023

The objective of this study was to explore and describe the specificities of the occupational life of infertile endometriotic women treated by in vitro fertilization. We conducted a qualitative monocentric study between December 2020 and June 2021. Twelve semi-structured in-depth interviews using a theme-based interview guide with open questions were undertaken with infertile women with deep infiltrating endometriosis. Data analysis was conducted using an inductive approach according to the grounded theory method. Three main themes emerged from the interviews: (i) barriers to reconciling illness and work life, (ii) facilitating factors for well-being at work, and (iii) consequences and outlooks. It appeared that the time of infertility treatment represents a particular period of change in the working lives of women with endometriosis. For most women, these changes are experienced negatively, often with a renunciation of goals. For others, this is the time to communicate the difficulties linked to their illness to their professional entourage. There is a long path ahead to finally achieving recognition of endometriosis in the context of professional life.
A qualitative description of barriers to visual rehabilitation experienced by stroke survivors with visual impairment in Alberta, Canada
Authors: Manhas Kiran Pohar , Brehon Katelyn , Jiang Jennis , Damji Karim F. , Costello Fiona
Published: January 2023

Background

Post-stroke visual impairment (VI) is a common but under-recognized care challenge. Common manifestations of post-stroke VI include: diplopia, homonymous hemianopia, oscillopsia secondary to nystagmus, and visual inattention or neglect. In acute care settings, post-stroke VI recognition and treatment are often sub-optimal as emphasis is placed on survival. Stroke survivors with VI often face inconsistencies when accessing care out of hospital because variable availability and subsidization of visual rehabilitation. We sought to identify gaps in care experienced by stroke survivors with VI from stroke survivors’ and care providers’ perspectives.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative description study across 12 care sites in Alberta, Canada, using semi-structured interviews. Survivor interviews focused on the health system experience. Provider interviews discussed approaches to care, perceived gaps, and current resources. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Iterative content analysis was completed using NVivo 12. We promoted rigour through an audit trail, open-ended questions, thick description, and collaborative coding.

Results

We completed 50 interviews: 19 survivor interviews and 31 provider interviews. The majority of survivors were male (n = 14) and recruited from community settings (n = 16). Providers varied in profession and location within the care continuum. Two key themes emerged from the provider and survivor interviews pertaining to (a) facets of visual rehabilitation (sub-themes: access, resources, and multidisciplinary professional interaction); and (b) functioning with post-stroke VI (sub-themes: early experiences post-stroke and living with VI in the real world).

Conclusions

The visual rehabilitation model needs to be optimized to ensure transparent inter-disciplinary communication and efficient referral pathways. Future research will focus on evaluating the effectiveness of post-stroke care from multiple perspectives in Alberta.
Good practice in medicine and biology: scientific integrity needs global bioethics
Authors: Stoeklé Henri-Corto , Ivasilevitch Achille , Hervé Christian
Published: January 2023

We consider scientific integrity to constitute a new theory of morality of science, in a very specific deontological sense. Indeed, at least in practice, scientific integrity extends beyond scientific concerns, seeking to develop specific moral duties and/or procedures based on general moral values and/or standards, leading to common moral frameworks for usual scientific practices. This is, of course, necessary. Contemporary history has shown us only too well that usual scientific practices need common moral frameworks, especially in medicine and biology. However, like scientific practices, and medical and biological practices in particular, the persistence of certain moral values and/or standards and the priority attributed to them, can change significantly, due to changes in society, people, the times and/or environments, and they may be under strong tension. We therefore believe that a new theory of ethics of science, in a very specific teleological sense, may be required in this case, particularly in medicine and biology, in addition to scientific integrity. This ethical theory, through research, professionals and structures in ethics of science— also called medical ethics, research ethics or bioethics in the fields of medicine and biology—, should seek to identify and find specific ethical solutions to these tensions, applicable at a particular place and time, based on common ethical purposes and/or consequences. As a result, these specific ethical solutions may, or may not, lead to an evolution of common moral frameworks, which may, or may not, be developed on the basis of scientific integrity. In the fields of medicine and biology, this ethical theory is closely related to another theory, global bioethics, but with a number of new conceptual and methodological developments.
Requirement for hippocampal CA3 NMDA receptors in artificial association of memory events stored in CA3 cell ensembles
Authors: Nomoto Masanori , Ohkawa Noriaki , Inokuchi Kaoru , Oishi Naoya
Published: January 2023

The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NRs) in hippocampal CA3 are crucial for the synaptic transmission and plasticity within the CA3 recurrent circuit, which supports the hippocampal functions, such as pattern completion, and reverberatory association of sensory inputs. Previous study showed that synchronous activation of distinct cell populations in CA3, which correspond to distinct events, associated independent events, suggesting that the recurrent circuit expressing NRs in CA3 mediates the artificial association of memory events stored in CA3 ensembles. However, it is still unclear whether CA3 NRs are crucial for the artificial association of memory events stored in the CA3 ensembles. Here we report that the triple transgenic mice (cfos-tTA/KA1-Cre/NR1 flox/flox), which specifically lack NRs in the CA3 cell ensembles, showed impairment in artificial association between two events, which in control mice triggered artificial association. This result indicates that NRs in the hippocampal CA3 are required for the artificial association of memory events stored in the CA3 cell ensembles.
The safety and efficacy of mesenchymal stromal cells in ARDS: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Wang Fengyun , Li Yiming , Wang Bingqing , Li Jianguo , Peng Zhiyong
Published: January 2023

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have shown potential efficacy in both animal and human trials of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, MSC was intensely studied for treating COVID-19-induced ARDS. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of MSC in ARDS via a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Therefore, a meta-analysis of RCTs of MSC as a therapy for ARDS was conducted. The protocol of this review was registered on Open Science Framework. With no language restriction and according to the “PICOs” principle, searches were conducted on Pubmed and Embase to retrieve any clinical literature on MSC for ARDS. Any RCT, which compared MSC to controls for ARDS, where MSC and controls were intravenously infused, of any dosage, was eligible for inclusion. A total of 13 RCTs, which evaluated MSC versus control for treating ARDS, enrolling a total of 655 cases, met the inclusion criteria and appeared in this meta-analysis. A heterogeneity assessment was carried out using the χ2 test, where a P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. The choice of a fixed-effect or a random-effect model was decided by the I2 value in each of the analyses. This meta-analysis indicated that there was no significant difference in terms of adverse events between MSC and control for ARDS (OR = 0.64, 95% CI [0.34, 1.20], P = 0.17, and I2 = 0%). In comparison with control, MSC could reduce the mortality of ARDS (OR = 0.66, 95% CI [0.46, 0.96], P = 0.03, and I2 = 10%). Based on the results of our meta-analysis, the safety of MSC was demonstrated to be non-inferior to that of standard treatment, and MSC may reduce the mortality rate of ARDS. Though the heterogeneity in the main results was low (I2 < 25%), more high-quality and large-scale clinical trials are needed to further confirm our findings.
Respiratory viruses and postoperative hemodynamics in patients with unrestrictive congenital cardiac communications: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Abud Kelly C. O. , Machado Clarisse M. , Vilas Boas Lucy S. , Maeda Nair Y. , Carvalho Eloisa S. , Souza Maria Francilene S. , Gaiolla Paula V. , Castro Claudia R. P. , Pereira Juliana , Rabinovitch Marlene , Lopes Antonio Augusto
Published: January 2023

Background

Pulmonary vascular abnormalities pose a risk for severe life-threatening hemodynamic disturbances following surgical repair of congenital cardiac communications (CCCs). In the distal lung, small airways and vessels share a common microenvironment, where biological crosstalks take place. Because respiratory cells infected by viruses express a number of molecules with potential impact on airway and vascular remodeling, we decided to test the hypothesis that CCC patients carrying viral genomes in the airways might be at a higher risk for pulmonary (and systemic) hemodynamic disturbances postoperatively.

Methods

Sixty patients were prospectively enrolled (age 11 [7–16] months, median with interquartile range). Preoperative pulmonary/systemic mean arterial pressure ratio (PAP/SAP) was 0.78 (0.63–0.88). The presence or absence of genetic material for respiratory viruses in nasopharyngeal and tracheal aspirates was investigated preoperatively in the absence of respiratory symptoms using real-time polymerase chain reaction (kit for detection of 19 pathogens). Post-cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) inflammatory reaction was analyzed by measuring serum levels of 36 inflammatory proteins (immunoblotting) 4 h after its termination. Postoperative hemodynamics was assessed using continuous recording of PAP and SAP with calculation of PAP/SAP ratio.

Results

Viral genomes were detected in nasopharynx and the trachea in 64% and 38% of patients, respectively. Rhinovirus was the most prevalent agent. The presence of viral genomes in the trachea was associated with an upward shift of postoperative PAP curve (p = 0.011) with a PAP/SAP of 0.44 (0.36–0.50) in patients who were positive versus 0.34 (0.30–0.45) in those who were negative (p = 0.008). The presence or absence of viral genomes in nasopharynx did not help predict postoperative hemodynamics. Postoperative PAP/SAP was positively correlated with post-CPB levels of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (p = 0.026), macrophage migration inhibitory factor (p = 0.019) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (p = 0.031), particularly in patients with virus-positive tracheal aspirates.

Conclusions

Patients with CCCs carrying respiratory viral genomes in lower airways are at a higher risk for postoperative pulmonary hypertension, thus deserving special attention and care. Preoperative exposure to respiratory viruses and post-CPB inflammatory reaction seem to play a combined role in determining the postoperative behavior of the pulmonary circulation.
Physical home-learning environments of traditional and non-traditional students during the COVID pandemic: exploring the impact of learning space on students’ motivation, stress and well-being
Authors: Brachtl Sonja , Ipser Christina , Keser Aschenberger Filiz , Oppl Sabrina , Oppl Stefan , Pakoy Emre Kevin , Radinger Gregor
Published: January 2023

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education institutions to implement their programs in an online setting, different groups of students were influenced to different extents. In many cases, the main locus of learning moved to students' homes, and their learning experiences were suddenly contextualized in their residential situation and immediate physical learning environment. The present study consequently examines the role of physical learning environments on different factors influencing students’ learning when pursuing their study from at home. It contrasts the situation of traditional students in a higher education institution and non-traditional students in an academic continuing education institution, which address target groups with different living conditions and needs in learning support. Data were collected via an online survey sent to students enrolled in these two institutions, with a total of 353 students participating during a timeframe impacted by COVID-related lockdowns. We found that stress and well-being is strongly linked to the quality of the surrounding environment of the learning place, whereas perceived motivation is more strongly related to the quality of the learning place itself. How strongly students are affected by these factors is moderated by their overall socio-spatial context. Academic continuing education students are more resilient to sub-optimal physical learning environment than traditional students. Altering the design of the immediate learning environment consequently can help to mitigate factors that negatively impact students’ well-being and learning motivation, which is particularly important for traditional students, who primarily dedicate their time to pursuing their studies.
Design and piloting of a proposal for intervention with educational robotics for the development of lexical relationships in early childhood education
Authors: Campos Verónica Moreno , Muñoz Francisco José Rodríguez
Published: January 2023

An applied research proposal for integrated learning based on the use of educational robotics has been proposed. The design has been implemented with a sample of 21 four-year-old students applying twenty-first-century competencies (collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication) to learn the curricula related to the development of lexical relations. This research aims to apply data directly derived from the application of educational robotics in the classroom. The research aims focus on two fundamental questions: on the one hand, to verify whether the use of educational robotics in teaching practice is related to greater conceptual achievement and, on the other hand, to validate whether students apply transversal competencies through educational robotics. The results allow us to affirm that the didactic application of robotics activities achieves a high degree of conceptual integration when establishing lexical relationships and allows students to put into practice key transversal problem-solving and critical thinking competencies.
Association of Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone With All-Cause Mortality: A 2-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study
Authors: Gu Yeqing , Song Zimin , Li Qingkui , Wang Jinhan , Song Yanqi , Meng Ge , Wu Hongmei , Zhang Shunming , Wang Xuena , Zhang Juanjuan , Lu Xinran , Liu Qiang , Huang Tao , Yang Jian , Niu Kaijun
Published: January 2023

Context

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), as the most sensitive and specific marker of thyroid status, is associated with multiple health outcomes, including mortality. However, whether TSH levels are causally associated with the risk of mortality remains unclear.

Objective

This study aims to investigate the causal association between TSH levels and all-cause mortality using Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses.

Methods

MR analyses using single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with TSH levels (P < 5 × 10−8) as instruments. Mortality data were obtained from the UK Biobank, including 384 344 participants who were recruited from 22 assessment centers across the UK taken between 2006 and 2010. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate the association of the TSH genetic risk score (GRS) with all-cause and cause-specific mortality.

Results

15 557 individuals died during a median of 9.00 years of follow-up in the UK Biobank. A total of 70 SNPs were included in the MR analysis. The main MR analyses showed that 1 SD increase in TSH was associated with a decreased risk of all-cause mortality (OR 0.972, 95% CI 0.948-0.996), which may be largely attributed to respiratory disease mortality (OR 0.881, 95% CI 0.805-0.963). The multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) (95% CI) of all-cause mortality across 3 TSH GRS categories were 1.00 (reference), 0.976 (0.940-1.014), and 0.947 (0.911-0.985), respectively (P for trend < .01). Moreover, except digestive diseases mortality, genetically predicted TSH levels were negatively associated with mortality from CVD, cancer, noncancer diseases causes, and dementia, although not statistically significant.

Conclusion

Higher TSH levels were causally associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality, which may be largely attributed to respiratory disease mortality.
The Impact of Acute Nutritional Interventions on the Plasma Proteome
Authors: Vernardis Spyros I , Demichev Vadim , Lemke Oliver , Grüning Nana-Maria , Messner Christoph , White Matt , Pietzner Maik , Peluso Alina , Collet Tinh-Hai , Henning Elana , Gille Christoph , Campbell Archie , Hayward Caroline , Porteous David J , Marioni Riccardo E , Mülleder Michael , Zelezniak Aleksej , Wareham Nicholas J , Langenberg Claudia , Farooqi I Sadaf , Ralser Markus
Published: January 2023

Context

Humans respond profoundly to changes in diet, while nutrition and environment have a great impact on population health. It is therefore important to deeply characterize the human nutritional responses.

Objective

Endocrine parameters and the metabolome of human plasma are rapidly responding to acute nutritional interventions such as caloric restriction or a glucose challenge. It is less well understood whether the plasma proteome would be equally dynamic, and whether it could be a source of corresponding biomarkers.

Methods

We used high-throughput mass spectrometry to determine changes in the plasma proteome of i) 10 healthy, young, male individuals in response to 2 days of acute caloric restriction followed by refeeding; ii) 200 individuals of the Ely epidemiological study before and after a glucose tolerance test at 4 time points (0, 30, 60, 120 minutes); and iii) 200 random individuals from the Generation Scotland study. We compared the proteomic changes detected with metabolome data and endocrine parameters.

Results

Both caloric restriction and the glucose challenge substantially impacted the plasma proteome. Proteins responded across individuals or in an individual-specific manner. We identified nutrient-responsive plasma proteins that correlate with changes in the metabolome, as well as with endocrine parameters. In particular, our study highlights the role of apolipoprotein C1 (APOC1), a small, understudied apolipoprotein that was affected by caloric restriction and dominated the response to glucose consumption and differed in abundance between individuals with and without type 2 diabetes.

Conclusion

Our study identifies APOC1 as a dominant nutritional responder in humans and highlights the interdependency of acute nutritional response proteins and the endocrine system.
Censurer pour la gloire
Authors: Delons Catherine
Published: January 2023

À sa mort, Baudelaire laissait une œuvre en partie inachevée. Malgré le titre général d’Œuvres complètes donné par Banville et Asselineau à l’édition de l’œuvre poétique, critique, et des traductions d’Edgar Poe (1868–1870), nombre de textes avaient été écartés en raison de leur inachèvement ou de leur violence ; il s’agissait d’imposer durablement l’œuvre d’un poète méconnu. Par la suite, les éditeurs de Baudelaire (comme Eugène Crépet, en 1887), tout en révélant des textes écartés des Œuvres complètes, fragments posthumes ou correspondance, censurèrent les éléments qui pouvaient heurter le lecteur. L’intégralité des Journaux intimes, titre imposé par Eugène Crépet, ne sera livrée au public qu’en 1952. La publication de lettres de Baudelaire à sa mère, totalement censurée, sera retardée jusqu’en 1917, année où la Revue de Paris en livra une partie. Jacques Crépet, qui en donna, en 1918 et en 1926, une version améliorée et complétée, ne publia qu’avec précautions les lettres à Mme Aupick du 27 février 1858, où Baudelaire laisse éclater sa colère contre Ancelle. La durable et tenace hostilité des critiques fait comprendre l’intérêt de la censure stratégique pratiquée par les éditeurs de Baudelaire pendant trois quarts de siècle.
La querelle du quiétisme dansJulie ou la Nouvelle Héloïse
Authors: Starczewski Jan
Published: January 2023

Dans une des lettres de la Nouvelle Héloïse, Saint-Preux, l’ancien amant de Julie, l’accuse de quiétisme. Or, le quiétisme n’a pas bonne presse au dix-huitième siècle. Julie est accusée de suivre l’enseignement de Jeanne Guyon, mystique du dix-septième siècle. Bien qu’elle s’en défende et cherche à démontrer à Saint-Preux en quoi son cheminement est différent, de bien des manières, la dévotion de Julie fait écho à celle de Guyon. Cet essai cherche à répondre à cette ambivalence. Si Julie n’embrasse pas le quiétisme comme il a été reproché à Guyon, elle depend d’une forme de transcendance divine pour échapper à ses conventions sociales et se remettre de son amour impossible avec son ancien amant. En cela, sa vie de prière lui procure, dans une certaine mesure, un espace de liberté dans lequel elle peut s’épanouir en tant que femme.
Le feu magique du regard
Authors: Jongeneel Else
Published: January 2023

Le présent article comporte une analyse d’« À travers l’Europe » (1914), le poème d’Apollinaire dédié à Marc Chagall. Le poète s’y réfère à plusieurs tableaux du peintre qu’il avait vus lors de ses nombreuses visites aux « Salons » de l’époque et aussi à l’occasion d’une visite à l’atelier de celui-ci vers 1913. Significativement Apollinaire ne se présente pas comme un médiateur esthète prêt à recréer en poésie les artéfacts chagalliens, mais se laisse inspirer par les tableaux pour aller à la recherche de sa propre identité personnelle et esthétique.
Psychoanalysis of the Excommunicated
Authors: Mukherjee Ankhi
Published: January 2023

This essay examines singular traumas suffered by Tibetan refugees and expedient and culture-specific cures for the same. Drawing on Honey Oberoi Vahali’s Lives in Exile and other ethnographic studies of the Tibetan community in Dharamsala, India, it shows how classic trauma theory can be revised and expanded by including the vocabulary and symptomatology of the sufferance of exile and homelessness by displaced Tibetans.
Bearing the Intolerable: Analytic Love
Authors: Chatterjee Ronjaunee
Published: January 2023

This essay considers psychoanalytic theories of love in the work of Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein, and Jacques Lacan. Though there is no coherent theory of love in psychoanalysis, paying attention to love in the analytic situation—that is, to transference—allows us to read analytic love as a transformative practice through which subjects affiliate with one another as subjects rather than as objects. In considering the importance of love to solidarity, the work of Alain Badiou, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Black feminist theory is mobilized to offer two short readings of Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved and the autobiography of Dorothy Day. Across these theoretical and narrative works, the author formulates an account of analytic love as a site of negative plenitude that rearranges conventional accounts of identity and difference.
On Being Brought In
Authors: Hines Andy , Armstrong Hannah , Moore Kassie
Published: January 2023

This essay argues for shifting the focus of a literary theory and criticism course to the institutional, social, and historical forces that shape English studies. Rather than promoting disciplinary introspection, the authors understand their approach as raising questions regarding elitism and the long historical entanglement of knowledge making with the interlocking forces of racism, colonialism, and sexism.
Popular Literature in the Inter-imperial Space of Hong Kong and Singapore/Malaya
Authors: Shen Shuang
Published: January 2023

This article addresses the neglect toward popular literary networks with Hong Kong in the Cold War period by influential Mahua scholars. Aiming to make way for a more robust discourse of cultural politics in tandem with a regional conceptualization of Sinophone cultural production, the article proposes to understand popular forms such as romance fiction as arising from and coconstituting a regional Sinosphere that can only be understood, following Laura Doyle's recent study, as inter-imperial. Offering a reading of the Hong Kong writer Liu Yichang's romantic fiction and immigrant stories, I show how the stories signify a geopolitical reckoning with the Cold War patterning of the world. This perspective offers more ways for us to evaluate how the regional literary field intersected with the Cold War beyond the singular defense of its “literariness.”
Iridescent Corners
Authors: Bernards Brian
Published: January 2023

Starting in the 1970s, flash fiction developed into an outsized literary practice relative to other Sinophone forms in Singapore. Flash fiction's smallness and brevity cohere with the fast pace of urban Singaporean life and transformation of its cityscape, the compartmentalized relationship between the nation's four official languages, the marginality of literary spaces and challenges to maintaining literature as a profession, and Southeast Asia's relative obscurity as a world literary center (with Singapore as a small but important connective hub). Taking Yeng Pway Ngon's fleeting scene of Speakers' Corner (a flash platform of “gestural politics”) as a point of departure, this article charts a short history of Sinophone flash and its relationship to literary community building in Singapore through integrative readings of representative works by Jun Yinglü, Ai Yu, Wong Meng Voon, Xi Ni Er, and Wu Yeow Chong, recognizing their formal and thematic intersections not as “big ideas in tiny spaces” but as iridescent corners that traverse the state's cultural, political, and geographical out-of-bounds (OB) markers. Rather than privileging professional mastery, their works trace flash fiction's iridescent literariness and worldliness to hyperlocality (the physical and literary “corners” they illuminate), compressed temporality, a participatory culture of authorship, and a spirit of amateurism. This amateurism is derived not from a sense of linguistic underdevelopment or technical lack among these authors, but from their passionate and vulnerable engagement with the flash form, as well as the dissident moral conscience of their thematically and stylistically intersecting critiques of Singapore's sociopolitical OB markers.
A Case Series of Trigeminal Neuralgia With Pure Venous Compression: Postoperative Outcomes Associated With Intraoperative Venous Transposition Versus Coagulation
Authors: So Raymond J. , Kalluri Anita L. , Materi Joshua , Nair Sumil K. , Lim Michael , Huang Judy , Bettegowda Chetan , Xu Risheng
Published: January 2023

BACKGROUND:

Microvascular decompressions (MVDs) are effective open-surgical procedures for trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Intraoperative management of compressive veins may include either venous transposition or coagulation. Although both are generally considered safe, which technique results in optimal postoperative outcomes remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE:

To compare postoperative pain and numbness outcomes after an MVD in patients with TN of exclusive venous compression.

METHODS:

We retrospectively reviewed all patients with TN who underwent MVDs at our institution from 2007 to 2020. Patients with TN of pure venous compression were identified using MRI imaging, which was subsequently confirmed intraoperatively. Patient demographics, procedural characteristics, and postoperative pain and numbness scores were recorded and compared. Factors associated with pain recurrence were assessed using survival analyses and multivariate regressions.

RESULTS:

We identified 181 patients who presented with TN of pure venous compression. Using a multivariate linear regression, adjusted for age, sex, and presence of multiple sclerosis, use of venous transposition vs coagulation was not significantly associated with the Barrow Neurological Institute pain score at final follow-up, although venous transposition was significantly predictive of a worse postoperative Barrow Neurological Institute numbness score (P = .003). Using a Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and a multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression, respectively, venous transposition was significantly associated with faster (P = .01) as well as higher risk for pain recurrence (P = .01).

CONCLUSION:

The use of venous coagulation during an MVD is associated with better postoperative pain and numbness outcomes. The results of our study may help inform preoperative patient counseling and surgical management for TN cases that involve pure venous compression.
Site-directed A → I RNA editing as a therapeutic tool: moving beyond genetic mutations
Authors: Diaz Quiroz Juan F. , Siskel Louise D. , Rosenthal Joshua J.C.
Published: January 2023

Adenosine deamination by the ADAR family of enzymes is a natural process that edits genetic information as it passes through messenger RNA. Adenosine is converted to inosine in mRNAs, and this base is interpreted as guanosine during translation. Realizing the potential of this activity for therapeutics, a number of researchers have developed systems that redirect ADAR activity to new targets, ones that are not normally edited. These site-directed RNA editing (SDRE) systems can be broadly classified into two categories: ones that deliver an antisense RNA oligonucleotide to bind opposite a target adenosine, creating an editable structure that endogenously expressed ADARs recognize, and ones that tether the catalytic domain of recombinant ADAR to an antisense RNA oligonucleotide that serves as a targeting mechanism, much like with CRISPR-Cas or RNAi. To date, SDRE has been used mostly to try and correct genetic mutations. Here we argue that these applications are not ideal SDRE, mostly because RNA edits are transient and genetic mutations are not. Instead, we suggest that SDRE could be used to tune cell physiology to achieve temporary outcomes that are therapeutically advantageous, particularly in the nervous system. These include manipulating excitability in nociceptive neural circuits, abolishing specific phosphorylation events to reduce protein aggregation related to neurodegeneration or reduce the glial scarring that inhibits nerve regeneration, or enhancing G protein-coupled receptor signaling to increase nerve proliferation for the treatment of sensory disorders like blindness and deafness.
Μελέτη του ρόλου της έλλειψης της Hsp70 στη φλεγμονώδη απόκριση in vivo και in vitro
Authors: Πλατή Ιωάννα
Published: January 2023

Οι πρωτεΐνες θερμικής καταπληξίας (Heat Shock Proteins - HSPs),συμπεριλαμβανομένης της πρωτεΐνης των 70-kDa (HSP70), είναι μια οικογένειαπρωτεϊνών υψηλής συντήρησης, γνωστές και ως «πρωτεΐνες απόκρισης στο στρες»,που εμπλέκονται στους βασικούς μηχανισμούς κυτταρικής προστασίας καιδιαδραματίζουν βασικό ρόλο στην ρύθμιση της ανοσολογικής απόκρισης. Η έκφρασητων HSPs επάγεται σημαντικά από πληθώρα παραγόντων και καταβολικά ερεθίσματα,όπως οξειδωτικό, θερμικό και μεταβολικό στρες, καθώς και, λοίμωξη, φλεγμονή καιέντονη άσκηση.Η γλουταμίνη (GLN) έχει δειχθεί ότι διαδραματίζει προστατευτικό ρόλο έναντιφλεγμονωδών τραυματισμών και ασθενειών σε πειραματικά και κλινικά μοντέλα.Αρκετές μελέτες έχουν προτείνει μια αμφίδρομη σχέση μεταξύ της μεσολαβούμενηςαπό GLN προστασίας και της ενισχυμένης έκφρασης της HSP70, αλλά ο ακριβήςμηχανισμός δεν είναι ακόμη πλήρως κατανοητός.Ο στόχος της παρούσας μελέτης ήταν να διερευνήσει τον μηχανισμό μέσω τουοποίου η HSP εμπλέκεται στη συστηματική φλεγμονή και την πιθανή αλληλεπίδρασηκαι συμμετοχή της στο μηχανισμό δράσης της GLN. Για το σκοπό αυτόχρησιμοποιήθηκαν μύες με ειδική διαγραφή των γονιδίων Hsp70.1 και Hsp70.3 για τιςin vivo μελέτες και πρωτογενείς καλλιέργειες μακροφάγων που συλλέχθηκαν απόHsp70 + / + και Hsp70 - / - μύες για τις in vitro μελέτες. Τα μακροφάγα παίζουνουσιαστικό ρόλο στη φλεγμονή και την άμυνα του ξενιστή, ρυθμίζοντας τηνανοσοαπόκριση και διατηρώντας την ομοιόσταση των ιστών. Έτσι, διερευνήσαμε τορόλο της HSP70 στη συστηματική φλεγμονή που προκαλείται από LPS τόσο in vivoόσο και in vitro.Η μελέτη μας παρέχει σαφείς ενδείξεις ότι η ανεπάρκεια HSP70 σχετίζεται μεχαμηλότερα επίπεδα κυτοκινών στο πλάσμα και στους πνεύμονες. Αντίθετα, ηδιαγραφή του γονιδίου της HSP70 οδηγεί σε αυξημένη φλεγμονώδη απόκριση απόπεριτοναϊκά μακροφάγα Hsp70-/- μυών, τα οποία παρήγαν σημαντικά αυξημέναεπίπεδα TNFα, IL-6 και IL-8 σε σύγκριση με τα μακροφάγα που προέρχονται απόHsp70+/+, μύες μετά από διέγερση με LPS. Χορήγηση γλουταμίνης δεν είχεστατιστικά σημαντική επίδραση στην έκφραση των κυτοκινών που μελετήθηκαν καιστους δύο γονότυπους. Είναι ενδιαφέρον ότι οι μύες Hsp70-/- εκκρίνουν σημαντικάαυξημένα επίπεδα κορτικοστερόνης σε σύγκριση με τους αντίστοιχους αγρίου τύπου,στις τέσσερις ώρες μετά τη συστηματική φλεγμονή επαγόμενη από LPS.Συμπερασματικά, η παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή έδειξε πως η απαλοιφή τηςHSP70 σχετίζεται in vivo με μειωμένη φλεγμονώδη απόκριση, ενώ in vitro, η έλλειψητης HSP70 σχετίζεται με προφλεγμονώδη φαινότυπο. Τα δεδομένα μας, υποδηλώνουνότι η μειωμένη φλεγμονώδης απόκριση, που παρατηρείται απουσία της HSP70 in vivo,πιθανότατα να εξαρτάται από την αντι-φλεγμονώδη δράση τωνγλυκοκορτικοστεροειδών. Επιπλέον, η HSP70 μπορεί να μην παίζει σημαντικό ρόλοστην εξασθένιση της φλεγμονώδους απόκρισης μετά τη χορήγηση της γλουταμίνηςστην LPS-επαγόμενη φλεγμονή, υποδηλώνοντας εναλλακτικά μονοπάτια τα οποίαπαρακάμπτουν την εγγενή ανοσολογική απόκριση. Εναλλακτικά, απουσία της HSP70,η έκφραση της HSP90 πιθανά να είναι απαραίτητη για την ανάπτυξη φλεγμονώδουςαπόκρισης.
A pointed falsework or a false decentering:
Authors: Papageorgiou Angelos , Lolos Lampros
Published: January 2023

Tsipiani bridge (1875) is located at the East Zagori region in Epirus Greece, near the village of Miliotades. It is a peculiar single-arched bridge, the arch of which appears pointed, with an opening of 26 m. Traditional stone bridges have no wedge-shaped voussoirs, and the final round shape is formed by variable mortar amount amongst the flat sandstones of the area. The current stake is the salvation of the bridge. In the institutional framework of protection, the exact wording of the question is «whether or not» the study is approved. Bridges do not stand by democratic procedures but by the decisive intervention of the engi-neer corresponding to that of the master builder who in this case seems to have carried out a false decentering. In this case our proposal was the method of “stitching” which is used to reinforce existing structures made of stone or brick to increase the resistance of the masonry against compressive, shear and tensile forces and to connect loose parts in the body of the masonry.
ICT tools in Designing Preschool Educational Activities on Historical Events
Authors: Pange Jenny , Degteva Alina , Nikiforidou Zoi
Published: January 2023

Digital technology is advancing at a rapid pace today. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the forced transition to e-learning promoted non-traditional work practices and time-sensitive tools. In Greek universities, like in most parts of the world, the lockdown changed curricula and lecturers responded by modi-fying course designs. Different academic disciplines and specific topics began to be delivered in different ways using the non-traditional teaching approaches of microlearning. In this study, conducted during the 2021 spring semester, we re-viewed the digital material that undergraduate students studying to become teach-ers had prepared as part of their ICT course. One hundred seventy students com-pleted their teaching internship reports with the help of digital infrastructure and ICT tools. The students were asked to deliver a preschool lesson addressing the historically significant topic of the Greek Revolution of 1821. Participants used 90 different ICT tools, lying in 5 categories: web search engines, social media, game-based learning platforms, collaboration platforms and task-specific tools. These ICT tools had different functionality, as some helped to create digital ma-terial, some helped to edit it, while others served to transmit it through online communication channels. Digital material and ICT tools can enhance and support educational experiences by providing various pathways to overcome the possible disruptions caused by the Coronavirus Era.
Heritage Preservation Education for the General Public – The role of Hands-on Education
Authors: Lobovikov-Katz Anna , Moropoulou Antonia , Konstanti Agoritsa , Lampropoulos Kyriakos
Published: January 2023

Heritage education for the general public by conservation experts is the key to success in preserving the world cultural heritage. An extended State-of-the-Art Review on educational activities for the general public on conserva-tion of cultural heritage (CCH) was undertaken in 2009, as part of the European Project ELAICH (Educational Linkage Approach In Cultural Heritage). Its re-sults have not yet been published. This article revisits some selected data from the conclusions of the Review, drawn up by the leading partner of the project, with a glimpse into some present aspects of heritage education, concentrating specifically on educating the general public in CCH.
Preface
Authors: Moropoulou Antonia
Published: January 2023

Innovative scientific methodologies and challenging projects marking future trends in the protection of culturalheritage have initiated through a holistic approach, by merging competence from the scientific fields ofarchitecture, civil engineering, surveying engineering, materials science and engineering, information technology,and archaeology, a universal conversation among scholars, heritage professionals on restoration andconservation, stakeholders, industry representatives, and policy makers. The combined utilization of digitaldocumentation technologies with innovative analytical and non-destructive techniques; numerical, computational;and 3D techniques; and archaeometric and archaeogene methods supports the development of a transdisciplinarymultispectral modeling methodology towards the sustainable preservation of cultural heritage.Innovation is enhancing and revealing a critical dimension of the preservation of cultural heritage along withsocial participation and communication.
Virtual medical education accreditation survey visits and viability for the future
Authors: DeShetler Lori M.
Published: January 2023

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) drastically disrupted daily life and abruptly forced curricular modifications in undergraduate medical education. Despite level of preparedness, medical schools moved instruction online for students to access remotely. Similarly, accreditation visits by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) were also moved from in-person to virtual formats during these chaotic times. Little guidance was available to transition to the new process. Medical schools that were scheduled for a virtual survey visit were required to pivot without tried experience on how to prepare for and conduct these high stakes online visits. New processes needed to be developed to successfully navigate a virtual accreditation visit. To date, there has been nothing in the literature from those who have participated on LCME teams nor from medical schools who have undergone a virtual survey visit. This article accounts for one medical school’s experience from its 2021 LCME virtual visit and makes recommendations to consider when planning for such a significant event. The future of virtual visits is taken into account as this method has its benefits including elimination of travel and the associated time and cost. Yet, the perspectives from others who have participated in a virtual LCME accreditation visit should be studied. While the LCME will return to in-person visits in 2022-23, it is important for medical schools to share their experiences and lessons learned from their virtual accreditation visit should the need arise to reinstate virtual visits in the future.
Finite element method in the form of a classical mixed method of structural mechanics (theory, mathematical models and algorithms)
Authors:   Volgograd State Technical University, Ignatyev Vladimir A. , Ignatyev Alexander V. ,   Volgograd State Technical University
Published: January 2023

The theoretical foundations of the FEM in the form of a classical mixed method in the problems of structural mechanics are presented. Based on this theory, algorithms for solving problems of statics, dynamics and stability of structures of various types have been developed, which are not inferior in their simplicity and efficiency to algorithms based on FEM in the form of the displacement method. Examples illustrating the computational algorithm of the FEM in a mixed form are given. The book is intended for researchers, postgraduates, masters and specialists in the field of theory and methods of calculation of complex structures by numerical methods in structural mechanics and mechanics of deformable solids.
Content Analysis of Management Doctoral Thesis in Indian Universities
Authors: Sufi Tahir , Bhardwaj Seema , Kumar Dilip , Malik Mariya
Published: January 2023

The discipline of Business management is witnessing a considerable increase in the number of applicants in Ph.D. programs in Indian Universities.Amidst the growing demand for studies based on content analysis of doctoral thesis, this study explores the trends in management thesis submitted during the last twenty years in Indian Universities. The study utilizes quantitative content analysis on dissertations published by Indian Universities within the last twenty years (2000–2020) to present a research business thesis submitted in Indian Universities. The results from the quantitative content analysis of the business management thesis shall help the researchers understand scholarship expectations and identify deficiencies for better policy and practices.
Economics of Artisanal Fish Production in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria
Authors: Boro Francis Eele , Agbugba Ikechi Kelechi
Published: January 2023

The study economically analyzed artisanal fish production in Gokana Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study described the socio-economic characteristics of the artisanal fishers; determined the profitability of artisanal fishing; examined the technical, allocative and economic efficiency of artisanal fishers; and identified the constraints militating against artisanal fish production. Multistage sampling technique was employed in selecting cross-sectional data from a total of 140 fishers in the area. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in analysing the data for the study. Gross margin analysis indicated that the fishers earned N2, 060,277.50 (5,679.84 USD), per year and net returns of N1, 891,110.83 (5,213.47 USD) per annum with an average of N157, 592.65 (434.46 USD), per month. The benefit-cost ratio was 2.71 with rate of returns as 71%. The maximum likelihood estimated for the technical efficiency of the fishers indicates that gears, kerosene, bait, outboard engine were significant in the fish catch function (P<0.01). Age, gender, household size and mode of operations were significant factors defining the level of efficiency as revealed by the inefficiency functions of the fishers. The mean technical efficiency, average allocative efficiency and average economic efficiency recorded 0.77, 0.91 and 0.82, respectively. The study concludes that artisanal fish production is profitable and lucrative. The study recommends that in order to raise the level of efficiency amongst fishers, government and financial institutions should grant more credit facility to practicing fishers as lack of funds and inadequate capital are constraining factors facing the fishers.
AI in Dubai
Authors: Harry Rachelle
Published: January 2023

This year Gulf Traffic (which will take place in Dubai from December 4-6) is evolving – not only will there be a host of new exhibitors and an expanded conference program, there’s also a whole new sector being showcased: artificial intelligence.
Prepare for the Worst
Authors: Willis Paul
Published: January 2023

As Hurricane Florence approached the USA in September 2018, it became the most powerful storm ever recorded in the region. Fortunately, winds had eased slightly by the time it made landfall, but that didn’t stop a full-scale evacuation of over one million people. State DOTs used the latest real-time information tools as well as advanced GIS to aid the process
Magipass
Authors: Roper Jack
Published: January 2023

The North Carolina Turnpike Authority has become the first tolling agency in the USA to crack the tri-protocol interoperability challenge, and in doing so is waving a wand that will change the future of tolling across the USA
Using Alpr to Tailor Tolls
Authors: Self Casey
Published: January 2023

Analyzing drivers’ behavior on roads by means of ALPR data enables road authorities to anticipate traffic volumes and ultimately reduce congestion by bringing in appropriate tolling services