bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does surgical procedure type impact postoperative pain and recovery in deep inferior epigastric artery perforator flap breast reconstruction?
Authors: Azizi Alexander A. , Mohan Anita T. , Tomouk Taj , Brickley Elizabeth B. , Malata Charles M.
Published: July 2020

Background The deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flap is the commonest flap used for breast reconstruction after mastectomy. It is performed as a unilateral (based on one [unipedicled] or two [bipedicled] vascular pedicles) or bilateral procedure following unilateral or bilateral mastectomies. No previous studies have comprehensively analyzed analgesia requirements and hospital stay of these three forms of surgical reconstruction.

Methods A 7-year retrospective cohort study (2008–2015) of a single-surgeon’s DIEP-patients was conducted. Patient-reported pain scores, patient-controlled morphine requirements and recovery times were compared using non-parametric statistics and multivariable regression.

Results The study included 135 participants: unilateral unipedicled (n=84), unilateral bipedicled (n=24) and bilateral unipedicled (n=27). Univariate comparison of the three DIEP types showed a significant difference in 12-hour postoperative morphine requirements (P=0.020); bipedicled unilateral patients used significantly less morphine than unipedicled (unilateral) patients at 12 (P=0.005), 24 (P=0.020), and 48 (P=0.046) hours. Multivariable regression comparing these two groups revealed that both reconstruction type and smoking status were significant predictors for 12-hour postoperative morphine usage (P=0.038 and P=0.049, respectively), but only smoking, remained significant at 24 (P=0.010) and 48 (P=0.010) hours. Bilateral reconstruction patients’ mean hospital stay was 2 days longer than either unilateral reconstruction (P<0.001).

Conclusions Although all three forms of DIEP flap breast reconstruction had similar postoperative pain measures, a novel finding of our study was that bipedicled DIEP flap harvest might be associated with lower early postoperative morphine requirements. Bilateral and bipedicled procedures in appropriate patients might therefore be undertaken without significantly increased pain/morbidity compared to unilateral unipedicled reconstructions.
The Complicated but Plain Relationship of Intellectual Disability and Well-being
Authors: Gould James
Published: July 2020

The common belief is that disability is bad for the person who is disabled, that it has a negative effect on well-being. Some disability rights activists and philosophers, however, assert that disability has little or no impact on how well a person’s life goes, that it is neutral with respect to flourishing. In recent articles Stephen Campbell and Joseph Stramondo, while rejecting both views, claim that we cannot make any broad generalizations about the effect of disability on well-being. Whether they are right about physical and sensory disabilities, I do not know, but I argue that they are wrong about intellectual disabilities (ID). A broad generalization about intellectual disabilities is justified: it always has a negative impact on quality of life, even though there is no single negative impact. The disadvantages of ID are plain (all ID is bad) but complicated (its badness depends on multidimensional influences including biological condition, social environment and personal temperament).
Conceptions de la laïcité à l’école publique française : les raisons du succès du libéralisme moral
Authors: Vivarelli Clémentine
Published: July 2020

À partir d’une enquête de terrain basée sur des observations ethnographiques effectuées dans 25 collèges et lycées publics et sur des entretiens approfondis menés avec une cinquantaine d’acteurs scolaires aux profils variés, cet article met en lumière les tensions axiologiques dont l’idée de laïcité fait l’objet. La distinction entre une laïcité de type républicaine et une laïcité de type libérale permet d’éclairer l’évolution plus générale des conceptions contemporaines de la laïcité au sein de la population française. À ce titre, la laïcité républicaine semble peu à peu perdre du terrain au profit d’une laïcité de reconnaissance. Cette tendance peut sembler paradoxale de prime abord, dans la mesure où l’idée traditionnelle de la laïcité française puise son origine dans l’idéal républicain. Pourtant, le succès du libéralisme tient tout autant à la force intrinsèque du message libéral qu’à des raisons conjoncturelles.
La formation des enseignants à la « neutralité » en Belgique francophone : les formateurs et formatrices partagent-ils une vision commune du « vivre-ensemble » et de la « neutralité »? Enquête exploratoire.
Authors: Wolfs José-Luis , Tisseyre Laure , D’Hondt Delphine , Guillaume Julie
Published: July 2020

Depuis 2004, les futurs enseignants et enseignantes en Belgique francophone reçoivent une formation de 20 heures au sujet de la « neutralité ». Ce concept pouvant faire l’objet de multiples interprétations, cet article vise à : (1) en examiner l’évolution dans la législation scolaire en Belgique francophone, entre 1958 et 2018, puis à en dégager les tensions sous-jacentes, (2) le situer, en référence à une littérature plus internationale, par rapport à différentes conceptions du « vivre-ensemble » et de la « neutralité », (3) mieux comprendre la position des formateurs et formatrices chargés d’enseigner la « neutralité » aux futurs enseignants et enseignantes par rapport à ces différentes conceptions et, in fine, déterminer dans quelle mesure ces formateurs et formatrices partagent ou non une vision commune. Les résultats montrent une grande hybridité des conceptions à la fois du « vivre-ensemble » et de la « neutralité ».
Proposition d’un programme d’Éthique et vivre-ensemble pour les élèves du Québec1
Authors: Bouchard Nancy
Published: July 2020

Le programme d’Éthique et culture religieuseen vigueur depuis 2008 dans les écoles du Québec est aujourd’hui remis en question par le ministre de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur. Ce programme sera remplacé par un nouveau programme couvrant éventuellement les thèmes suivants : la participation citoyenne et la démocratie, l’éducation juridique, l’écocitoyenneté, l’éducation à la sexualité, le développement de soi et des relations interpersonnelles, l’éthique, la citoyenneté numérique et la culture des sociétés. Ces thèmes disparates peuvent-ils s’articuler dans un même programme? Nous pensons que cela est possible à la condition que l’éthique en soit l’axe central et, avec elle, la quête éthique du vivre-ensemble par le dialogue. Nous pensons aussi que le respect de la dignité humaine en tant que visée dudit programme serait une avenue prometteuse.
Former les futurs enseignants et enseignantes sur la discrimination et les rapports sociaux : d’une question en tension à une pratique sous tension
Authors: Dhume Fabrice
Published: July 2020

En France, le ministère de l’Éducation nationale a introduit en 2013 l’objectif de « lutte contre les discriminations » dans la formation des futurs enseignants et enseignantes. À partir d’une enquête menée dans trois ESPE (Écoles supérieures du professorat et de l’éducation), montrant la quasi-absence de ce thème, cet article se penche sur les quelques cas d’enseignements portant malgré tout sur les discriminations et les rapports sociaux. Il montre que, outre des contraintes structurelles qui précarisent et marginalisent ces enseignements, les formateurs et formatrices doivent faire face à des résistances de la part de leurs collègues comme des étudiants et étudiantes. Ces résistances s’appuient sur des ressources institutionnelles, ce qui fragilise la position d’autorité des formateurs et formatrices et de leurs savoirs scientifiques. Face à cela, les professionnels et professionnelles déploient une série de tactiques pour atténuer les oppositions, mais ces tactiques reviennent en fin de compte à affaiblir la conflictualité inhérente à ces sujets, au risque d’une dépolitisation des enjeux.
Iconographie genrée dans les manuels scolaires francophones au Cameroun (1951-2010)
Authors: Ngassou Loppa
Published: July 2020

Ayant d’abord fait l’objet d’une réorientation de la part des institutions internationales et gouvernementales camerounaises, la question féministe s’est par la suite heurtée aux cultures locales africano-camerounaises, lesquelles ne définissent pas l’égalité hommes-femmes de la même manière que l’entendent les femmes occidentales, bien que nous puissions observer certaines similitudes. Picturalement, le genre était déjà présent dans les manuels scolaires francophones au Cameroun en fonction des réalités culturelles. Toutefois, ce pays vient à peine d’amorcer sa marche selon le discours féministe mondial, que les Camerounaises aussi bien que les Camerounais ne cessent de recadrer. Bien que le mouvement féministe mondial enregistre déjà quatre vagues de revendications bien distinctes et que des courants de recherches féministes aient émergé, la question du genre n’en est qu’aux revendications de la première et, dans une moindre mesure, de la deuxième vague dans lesdits manuels scolaires.
Legal Governance in HTA: Environment, Health and Safety Issues / Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (EHSI/ELSI), the Ongoing Debate
Authors: Bernier Louise , Legault Georges-Auguste , Daniel Charles-Étienne , K.-Bédard Suzanne , Béland Jean-Pierre , Bellemare Christian A. , Dagenais Pierre , Gagnon Hubert , Parent Monelle , Patenaude Johane
Published: July 2020

This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the law circumscribing the social role of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and gain insight into the reasons challenging the inclusion of ethics into HTA. We focused on a debate at the core of the perceived role of regulatory law in health technology development, namely: Environment, Health and Safety Issues (EHSI) vs Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (ELSI) that arose in technology governance. Data collection was based on a literature review and a case study analysis. The former was founded on previous work. Three HTA agencies were selected for the latter using categories ranging from a greater to a lesser level of legal obligatory intensity. Our literature review revealed five different themes relating to the social role of HTA and a distinction between the role/use of “hard law” and “soft law” in regulatory law, thus providing an understanding of how agencies used law for handling ethics in HTA. Both approaches revealed that the debate, first observed in the EHSI/ELSI technology-governance and assessment, is reproduced in HTA. The main trend revealed by the literature review and the case study, is the presence of a pact between science and regulatory law. The social demand for integrating ELSI, and more precisely, ethical evaluation into HTA, is not the main preoccupation of the traditional legal frameworks governing HTA and remains to be considered primarily by alternative, soft law initiatives. The reported difficulties in integrating ethics into HTA demonstrate the need for rethinking legal governance in HTA.
Questioning the Ethics of Promoting Weight Loss in Clinical Practice
Authors: Bianchi Andria , Ricupero Maria
Published: July 2020

This case study considers the ethical defensibility of recommending weight loss as a treatment for patients with higher body mass indexes. Recommending weight loss may be motivated by clinicians’ biases toward people living in larger bodies, misperceptions about weight and its relevancy to overall health, and a failure to consider other ethical factors such as those related to equity and the social determinants of health.
Deploying the Precautionary Principle to Protect Vulnerable Populations in Canadian Post-Market Drug Surveillance
Authors: Smith Maxwell J. , Komparic Ana , Thompson Alison
Published: July 2020

Drug regulatory bodies aim to ensure that patients have access to safe and effective drugs; however, no matter the quality of pre-licensure studies, uncertainty will remain regarding the safety and effectiveness of newly approved drugs until a large and diverse population uses those drugs. Recent analyses of Canada’s post-market drug surveillance (PMDS) system have found that Canada’s PMDS system requires strengthening and that efforts must be improved to monitor and address the safety and effectiveness of approved drugs among vulnerable populations. Given the uncertainty that exists when drugs enter the market, some have suggested that the precautionary principle is relevant to guiding decision-making in this context. This paper responds to recommendations that the Canadian PMDS system should be responsive to the health needs of vulnerable populations by assessing the utility of deploying the precautionary principle to guide a post-market strategy for vulnerable populations.
Responding to Hospital Staff’s Paranormal Experiences Related to a Medical Assistance in Dying Room
Authors: Schuman Olivia , Chidwick Paula , Petropanagos Angel , Oliver Jill , Salis Marina , Gill Gurwinder , Kosacky Sula , Miller Burnett Michelle
Published: July 2020

Staff reported paranormal experiences in connection with the outpatient Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) room at the hospital. This case study reports on staff experiences and illustrates how the Ethics team’s role expanded to deal with this novel situation by facilitating an interdisciplinary response.
The Chinese Hukou System: Reforming Institutions of Inequality Between the Need for Roots and the Demands of Change
Authors: Raimondo Giulia
Published: July 2020

Since 1978, economic reform and opening-up in the People’s Republic of China have dramatically reoriented the previous planned economy towards the free market, generating an increasingly dynamic economy. The exodus of the rural labour force from the countryside to the industries of the cities significantly sustained the process of industrialization and economic reform. The rapid economic growth did not, however, coincide with appropriate social developments and has not yet led to a commensurate recognition and extension of socio-economic, civil and political rights. This dichotomy is reflected in the maintenance of the hukou (household registration) system, which limits the mobility of the population discriminating between citizens depending on their hukou status. This contribution will explore the evolution of the Chinese hukou system and its human rights implications. It will consider China’s human rights approach in relation to the management of internal migration and the recent proposals to reform the hukou system. Specific human rights concerns will be underscored with regard to the right of freedom of movement and residence within the territory of a State, which is inexorably intertwined with many other fundamental human rights. Unearthing the far-reaching and transversal human rights impact of the hukou system will unveil the overarching principle of equality and non-discrimination as the ultimate benchmark of protection for Chinese internal migrants. A holistic human rights approach to the recently propounded institutional changes is crucial to uphold China’s economic and social stability as well as to better safeguard its founding principle of equality.
En matière d’accès à l’avortement, les États-Unis rencontrent-ils leurs obligations internationales en vertu du Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques?
Authors: Pominville Archambault Félix
Published: July 2020

Aux États-Unis, l’accès à l’avortement demeure un enjeu politique hautement controversé. Depuis 2010, on assiste à une hausse significative du nombre de restrictions en limitant l’accès, et ce, dans plusieurs États, malgré le fait que la Cour suprême américaine définisse cet accès à l’avortement comme un droit constitutionnel depuis le jugement Roe v. Wade rendu en 1973. Le présent article aborde le sujet de l’accès à l’avortement aux États-Unis sous l’angle du droit international public. Précisément, il sera question de démontrer pourquoi, en matière d’accès à l’avortement, les États-Unis ne respectent pas leurs obligations en vertu du Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques (PIDCP) qu’ils ont ratifié en 1992. Afin de déterminer les obligations des États ayant ratifié le PIDCP, les protections que confère ce dernier en matière d’accès à l’avortement seront ensuite illustrées à travers une analyse de la « jurisprudence » du Comité des droits de l’homme. L’accès à l’avortement aux États-Unis sera ensuite examiné. Pour ce faire, l’évolution et l’état actuel de la jurisprudence de la Cour suprême en la matière seront analysés. La réalité sur le terrain le sera également afin de saisir l’effet réel des restrictions légales limitant l’accès. La situation politico-juridique entourant la composition de la Cour suprême sera exposée afin de mettre en lumière les nuances politiques relatives à l’avortement aux États-Unis.
New data about the oldest european lagomorpha: Description of the new genus Ephemerolagus nievae gen. nov. et sp. nov.
Authors: Vianey-Liaud Monique , Lebrun Ranaud
Published: July 2020

Early Oligocene lagomorphs from south-western France were previously known only from one isolated molar (Desmatolagus sp.) from Ravet (Quercy), an early Oligocene fissure-filling (MP21 level, 33 Ma). New material, a left lower jaw bearing P/3 to M/1, allows for the description of a new genus and a new species: Ephemerolagus nievae, on the bases of morphological analysis and micro-computed tomography (μCT) scan sections. It has been compared to the German contemporaneous specimens (“Shamolagus” franconicus from Möhren 19 and Möhren 20, MP21), and to the Asian and North American Palaeogene genera. This species displays peculiar derived characters, like the very short incisor (ending below P/3), not found in Asian or North American early lagomorphs, or in late Palaeogene European genera, or the lack of M/3 and the highly molarized P/4
Artistic reconstruction of the appearance of Prosantorhinus Heissig, 1974, the teleoceratine rhinoceros from the Middle Miocene of Somosaguas
Authors: Ansón Marco , Hernández Fernández Manuel
Published: July 2020

We show the methodology used to perform the artistic palaeoreconstruction of the teleoceratine rhinoceros Prosantorhinus, which is found in the middle Miocene fossil site of Somosaguas-Norte (Pozuelo de Alarcón, middle Aragonian). Successive phases within this work involved (1) the interpretation of the fossils in comparative anatomy terms; (2) the use of modern analogues, considering the systematic relationships among the extinct species and their extant relatives, which allows us to infer the condition of unpreserved attributes such as soft tissues; and (3) addition of palaeoecological information in order to establish the palaeoenvironmental framework of the species. Our finished work shows a plausible reconstruction of the inferred life appearance of Prosantorhinus
New mosasaurid teeth (Reptilia: Squamata) from the Maastrichtian of Albaina (Laño quarry, condado de Treviño)
Authors: Bardet Nathalie , Martin Gorka , Corral J Carmelo , Pereda Suberbiola Xabier , Astibia Humberto
Published: July 2020

We report on new mosasaurid remains, namely isolated teeth, from the Upper Maastrichtian shallow marine environment of Albaina in the Laño quarry (Condado de Treviño). The new specimens belong mostly to mosasaurines, i.e., Mosasaurus hoffmanni, Prognathodon solvayi, Prognathodon sectorius, and to the russellosaurine plioplatecarpine Platecarpus cf. ictericus. Prognathodon solvayi and Platecarpus cf. ictericus were previously known from Albaina. This is the first mention in the site of Mosasaurus hoffmanni, widespread in Maastrichtian outcrops located around palaeolatidude 30- 40ºN, from New Jersey (USA) to Turkey passing through Europe where it is commonly found. Prognathodon sectorius has a comparable palaeobiogeographical distribution, though not so expanded, that M. hoffmanni, being known in the Maastrichtian of New Jersey (USA) and Europe and, since recently, in the Campanian of Navarre. With six different taxa reported here, Albaina is the richest outcrop in specific mosasaurid diversity from the Maastrichtian of southern Europe
Recent debate and heavy evidence on human origin
Authors: Aguirre Emiliano
Published: July 2020

The discovery and the study of Australopithecus sediba has brought the debate between its supporters as the only immediate ancestor of Homo erectus excluding H. habilis out of that ancestry as well as any other eventual species of genus Homo, and on the other side the defenders of Homo habilis as the direct ancestor of Homo erectus and following humans. Here the second opinion is supported, with the view that the succession between two species is not instantaneous, the new distinctive traits appearing, generally inherited in several individuals of a single living species, and tribe, coexisting with other individuals bearing primitive traits, until these disappear, even a time after the separation of the groups with different inheritance prevalent. Besides the known sites yielding lithic tools more than 2 Ma old the fossil group of Dmanissi (Rep. Georgia) is a solid proof: one of the earliest tribes of H. erectus/ergaster, leaving Africa to Eurasia near 1.8 Ma, including individuals with prevalent traits of H. habilis. The climate and environment crises between near 2.5-1.8 Ma ago with harsh aridity in Africa may have influenced such complexes process. In South Africa similar genetic changes may have occurred at a near time, but accompanying evidences of direct effect on the origin of H. erectus populations are still missing
Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous freshwater bivalves from Turiasaurus riodevensis bearing strata of Teruel (Spain)
Authors: Delvene Graciela , Munt Martin , Royo-Torres Rafael , Cobos Alberto , Alcalá Luis
Published: July 2020

Three freshwater bivalve taxa are described from the Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous) of Riodeva, Teruel, Spain. The stratigraphic range of the large and geographically widely distributed bivalve Margaritifera, previously recorded from the Early Cretaceous of Spain and southern England, is recognised to extend back probably into the Late Jurassic. This new record extends the palaeogeographic and temporal distribution of the family Margaritiferidae in Europe
Stenolaemate bryozoan fauna from the Mississippian of Guadiato Area, southwestern Spain
Authors: Ernst Andrej , Rodríguez Sergio
Published: July 2020

Stenolaemate bryozoan fauna from the Lower Carboniferous (Mississippian) of southwestern Spain (Los Santos de Maimona Basin and Guadiato Area – Ossa Morena Zone) contains eight bryozoan species including three cystoporates, three trepostomes, and two cryptostomes. They range from Asbian (Upper Viséan) to Pendleian (Serpukhovian). This fauna displays distinct palaeobiogeographic relationships to the Mississippian of Europe, USA, Siberia, and Japan
New ideas on the systematics of Gliridae (Rodentia, Mammalia)
Authors: Freudenthal Matthijs , Martínez-Suárez Elvira
Published: July 2020

Extant members of the family Gliridae lack a caecum and are not capable of digesting hard (cellulose) plant material. We assume that they did have a caecum at some time in the past and consequently may have had a different diet. We think that during the period of their maximum diversity in the Early Miocene, about 16 My ago, they still possessed the caecum, which allowed for a much greater variety in diet, as may be reflected by the existence of hypsodont taxons, and that they lost it afterwards. It is, however, unlikely that the three recent subfamilies that existed in the Miocene, Glirinae, Myomiminae and Dryomyinae, lost the caecum independently; the alternative is that all modern glirids are derived from one single Middle Miocene species. If that is true the few occurrences of the recent genera in MN4 or older, should be transferred to other, eventually new, genera. This is consistent with the fact that the distributions of the extant genera before MN9 are discontinuous and that, except for Muscardinus, they are absent in MN6-MN8 (14-11 My ago)
Diagnosis y nueva descripción de Propanochthus bullifer (Burmeister) (Xenarthra, Glyptodontidae). Consideraciones bioestratigráficas y cronológicas de su procedencia
Authors: Zamorano Martín
Published: July 2020

Burmeister reconoció la especie Panochthus bullifer basándose en restos procedentes de sedimentos neógenos de las sierras de Córdoba. El material tipo de esta especie procede del “Brocherense” de Castellanos. En esta contribución se presenta por primera vez la diagnosis formal de Propanochthus bullifer. Asimismo, se describe el material empleando una terminología más actualizada y apropiada, comparándolo con el de especies afines. El holotipo corresponde a un fragmento de la región posterodorsal de la coraza dorsal y al tubo caudal completo. La ornamentación de los osteodermos de la coraza tiene una gran figura central rodeada por varias hileras (hasta cinco) de figuritas periféricas. La figura central de la zona más anterior es plana y la de la zona posterior convexa, en algunos casos bastante abultada. En los osteodermos del margen posterior, la figura central se ubica caudalmente y está precedida por hasta siete hileras de figuritas. El tubo caudal es más grácil que en Panochthus; es deprimido y su extremo distal es notoriamente romo. Dorsalmente su ornamentación está constituida por figuras centrales planas rodeadas de una hilera de figuritas periféricas (excepcionalmente dos); lateralmente, posee cuatro grandes figuras subelípticas rugosas rodeadas por figuritas y separadas entre sí por dos figuras enfrentadas, menores, subelípticas y rugosas. A su vez, se señala la distribución estratigráfica y geográfica, Formación Brochero (Montehermosense-Chapadmalalense [Plioceno temprano-Plioceno tardío]) de las Sierras de Córdoba; también se discute y se aclara la cronológica
Recension of Collins, M.E., Manchester, S.R. & Wilde, W. 2012
Authors: Jiménez Moreno Gonzalo
Published: July 2020

Collins, M.E., Manchester, S.R. & Wilde, W. 2012. Fossil fruits and seeds of the Middle Eocene Messel biota, Germany.Abhandlungen der Senckenberg Gessellschaft für Naturforschung, 570, 251 pp. ISBN 978-3-510-61400-4
This book presents a survey of the extensive fruit and seed collection found at the Middle Eocene Messel site. The first part of the book is dedicated to a few introductory chapters about the site, geologic setting, age control of the sedimentary sequence and taphonomy of the fossil remains. It is worth pointing out that unlike many lacustrine deposits in which fruits are preserved as impressions, most of the Messel plant macrofossils are preserved as remnants of the original plant material.
Application of material from used car tyres in geotechnics—an environmental impact analysis
Authors: Duda Aleksander , Kida Małgorzata , Ziembowicz Sabina , Koszelnik Piotr
Published: July 2020

This work begins with a literature-based discussion of the hazardous-waste problem represented by car tyres as hazardous waste, along with possible ways in which they might be utilised or managed. The impact of the material on the environment is characterised in the process, not least in the context of pollutants leached to the aquatic environment. Input in terms of new research results concerns the impact on water and soil of material from used car tyres being used in geotechnics. Specifically, tyre bales comprising 100–140 car vehicle tyres compressed into a lightweight block and secured by galvanised steel tie wires running around the length and depth of the bale, were researched, having been immersed in basins with alkaline and acidic water following initial preparation and pre-washing. The aim was to in some sense simulate—respectively—conditions in which rain and surface/ground water are involved, or else acid rain. To do that, the tyre bales were placed in the water for 120 days, with emerging leachate analysed after set intervals of time, with a view to changes in key physicochemical parameters of water being noted, as well as signs of the leaching of both undesirable components and priority substances, from tyres into the aqueous medium. Washing of the tyre bales was shown to induce slight pollution of water, with limited exceedance of normative values in respect of OWO content. However, this increase was not due to leaching of the Persistent Organic Pollutants tested for, but may rather have reflected contamination of tyres used, e.g., of soil at the place of previous storage. In general, waste water arising does not therefore contain substances that would stand in the way (legally) of its being discharged into a combined sewer system. Similar conclusions were arrived at through analysis of the leaching of pollutants from tyre bales exposed in the aforementioned pools of water of neutral and acidic reaction. Wastewater arising was not enriched significantly in impurities (be these metals, PAHs, phthalates, selected anions or cations), and there were therefore no exceedances of standards imposed for wastewater discharged to either waters or soil.
Fruit Setting in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Varieties as Influenced by Genotype and Maternal Inheritance
Authors: Ukwu U. N. , Muojiama S. O. , Olasanmi B.
Published: July 2020

Hand pollination was carried out among five varieties of cassava in reciprocals to investigate the influence of genotype and maternal inheritance on fruit setting in cassava varieties. The experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Department of Agronomy University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Three yellow flesh varieties (IITA-TMS-I011412, IITA-TMS-I011368 and IITA-TMS-I070539) with high β-carotene content and two white flesh varieties (IITA-TMS-I30752 and COB-7-25) with high dry matter content were crossed in a reciprocal, with no selfing to produce fourteen hybrid seeds. Data obtained were subjected to correlation analysis and two-tailed t-test. The result showed that both genotype and maternal inheritance influenced fruit setting in cassava species. The cross IITA-TMS-I011368 x IITA-TMS-I011412 gave the highest fruit set percentage (57.1) and was followed by IITA-TMS-I30752 x IITA-TMS-I011412 (39.8) IITA-TMS-I011368 x IITA-TMS-I070539 (26.5) IITA-TMS-I070539 x IITA-TMS-I011412 (24.9) and IITA-TMS-I30752 x IITA-TMS-I011368 (24.1). Significant reciprocal difference (p = 0.02) was recorded between the F1 and the reciprocal crosses, which implies that fruit setting in cassava is significantly influenced by cytoplasmic genes which are exclusively transmitted by the maternal parent. IITA-TMS-I011368 and IITA-TMS-I011412 were the best female and male parent across the five genotypes, with mean fruit set percentage of 24.9 and 28.8, respectively. In this regard, the best female and male parents (IITA-TMS-I011368 and IITA-TMS-I011412) are good candidates for generation of large populations of β-caroten-rich cassava varieties.
Interest Rates and Foreign Investor Activity in Kenya: Evidence from Nairobi Securities Exchange
Authors: Koskei Loice
Published: July 2020

Interest rates play a key role in attracting foreign investor activity in the country. This study investigated the effect of interest rates on foreign investor activity at Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya. Monthly data was collected from Nairobi Securities Exchange, Central Bank of Kenya and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Time series data for eleven year period spanning from January 2009 to December 2019 was used.  The multiple regression model results disclosed that interest rates as measured by lending rate had a positive and statistically significant effect on foreign investor. Inflation rate results had a negatively but statistically significant effect on foreign investor. The results for exchange rate had a negative but statistically insignificant effect on foreign investor activity. The deposit rate results indicated a negative and statistically significant effect on foreign investor activity implying that commercial banks deposit rate has an effect on foreign investor activity. The results for 91-day treasury bills specified a positive and non-statistically insignificant relationship with foreign investor activity pointing that for 91- day treasury bills do not affect the foreign investor activity at Nairobi securities exchange in Kenya.
Stock Market Returns and Shareholders’ Wealth Sustainability of Companies Listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange
Authors: Koleosho Adekunle Orelope , Adegbie Folajimi Festus , Owoeye Ayooluwa Olotu Ajayi-
Published: July 2020

Sustainability of shareholder’s wealth has been a subject of discussion globally due to various decisions of the managers and the effect it has on company’s performance. Various corporate actions and information about the companies are disseminated over time and studies have shown the effect on shareholder's wealth. This study examined the effect of capital market returns on sustainability of shareholder's wealth in Nigeria Listed Companies. The study adopted ex-post facto research design. A sample of 57 companies from a target population of 168 companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as December 2018 was randomly drawn across the various market sectors for the panel data. The study used secondary data from the NSE, CBN and companies’ data on the Bloomberg Terminals. Validity and reliability were premised on the statutory audit of the financial statement. The study adopted descriptive and inferential (Regression and Correlation) statistics to analyze the data. The study found that the stock market returns indicators (dividend per share, earnings and Leverage) have joint and statistically significant relationship with market price per share: DPS, EPS and LEV with Adjusted R2 = 0.738, F(3, 796) = 54.74, p = 0.108 > 0.05. The study concluded that stock market returns measured by dividend and earnings have a significant effect on the shareholders' wealth while leverage exerts a negative effect on Market Price per share. The study recommended that the management of the companies should embrace the payment of dividend to shareholders while ensuring the growth of earnings over the period to sustain shareholder's wealth.
Mechanistic Investigation of Sol–Gel Reactions Using Alkoxysilane Precursor
Authors: Yousif Adam Hassan Elhaj , Eltoum Mohammed Sulieman Ali
Published: July 2020

The present study has been carried out to investigate the mechanisms of sol–gel reactions using TEOS as precursor in the presence of acid or base catalyst. The gels were prepared by hydrolysis of TEOS using hydrochloride acid or ammonium hydroxide catalyst. The obtained gels were also characterized by FTIR spectroscopy. The results of FTIR spectroscopy indicated the existence of silanol and siloxane bonds; due to the formation of hydrolyzed species as reactive intermediate compounds in initial stage converted by condensation reactions to gels as ultimate products. Accordingly, appropriate mechanisms have been proposed for sol – gel reaction using TEOS as precursor in the presence of acid or base catalyst. These mechanisms involve three-steps SN2 mechanisms for base catalyzed hydrolysis reaction of TEOS and SN1 mechanisms for acid catalyzed hydrolysis reaction of TEOS. Three mechanisms have been also proposed for condensation reaction as second stage in sol-gel process. These mechanisms include alcoxolation, oxolation and oltaion.
The Effects of Curcuma longa in Insulin Resistance
Authors: Salzedas Laís Maria Pescinini , Batista Giullia Trevisan Covre Simão , Barbalho Sandra Maria
Published: July 2020

Background: Curcumin is seen as an anti-hyperglycemic agent that acts by improving the expression of glucose transporters. It is also related to the reduction of glycosylated hemoglobin, improvement of insulin sensitivity, plasma lipids, and blood pressure.

Aim: The purpose of this article is to review the effects of Curcuma longa in insulin resistance.

Methodology: PUBMED and EMBASE databases were searched, and PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis) guidelines were followed to build the review.

Results: Nineteen Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) met the inclusion criteria and were described according to PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcomes).

Conclusion: Curcumin could be considered in the therapeutic approach of patients with Insulin Resistance, once it is related to the reduction of oxidative stress, inflammation, serum fasting blood glucose, HOMA-IR, blood pressure, serum lipids, and liver transaminases. However, the results depend on the dose, intervention time, and formulation of the compound.Insulin resistance
Inhibition of Snake Venom Enzymes and Antivenom Adjuvant Effects of Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Meliaceae) Leaf Extracts
Authors: Sani Ibrahim , Umar Rabi’u Aliyu , Hassan Sanusi Wara , Faruq Umar Zaki , Bello Fatima , Abdulhamid Abubakar
Published: July 2020

Snake venom enzymes are the key substances involved in snake venom toxicity. Thus, inactivating these enzymes is generally considered to be the fundamental step in the management of snakebite. Conventionally, snakebite envenomation is treated parenterally with serum-based antivenins, and adjuvants to these antivenins are required for maximum protection of victims. Hence, this research was aimed at evaluating the inhibitory effect of Azadirachta indica leaf extracts on Naja nigricollis Reinhardt venom enzymes and screens for their antivenom adjuvant effects. A. indica leaf was collected, authenticated and extracted using 95% methanol followed by fractionation using hexane and ethyl acetate. The venom enzymes inhibition assays was evaluated using in vitro methods, while, adjuvant effect was screened using Albino rats. The results revealed that both the hexane and the ethyl acetate fractions showed capability of inhibiting the venom enzymes significantly (P<0.05) when compared with the venom controls in varying degrees of efficacies. For the adjuvant effect, no significant effect (P>0.05) of the venom at the administered dose was observed on bleeding time, clotting time, defibrinogenating and haemorrhagic effects compared to the normal control. However, the size of necrotic lesion and the percentage haemolysis were significantly (P<0.05) higher in the venom control rats. Both the hexane and the ethyl acetate fractions significantly mitigated these effects in the treated animals. The degree of protection was about 3 folds more than when the antivenin was used alone. Finally, these findings would be of importance in the area of drug development with a view to actualizing the substitution or enhancing the effect of conventional snakebite therapeutic options.
Investigation of the Physico-Chemical Absorption Characterizations of Jute Polymer Clay Nanocomposites as a Function of Chemical Treatments
Authors: Hossen Md. Faruk , Asraf Md. Ali , Zahan Md. Kudrat-E- , Haque Md. Masuqul , Zamir Rausan , Zakaria Choudhury M.
Published: July 2020

In this study, jute polyethylene clay nanocomposites were developed using hot press technique. The hydrophilic nature of fiber and nanoclay exhibited poor interfacial interaction to hydrophobic polymer matrix. In order to enhance the interfacial interaction among fiber, polymer, and nanofillers, the chemically treated jute (with benzenediazonium salt, propionic anhydride, and 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxy silane) and organically modified nanoclay were used for the manufacturing of nanocomposites in this study. The effect of chemical treatments and nanoclay addition on the improvement of absorption characterizations of prepared nanocomposites against water and few chemical reagents have been investigated. It has been observed that the treated jute composites showed higher improvement in absorption properties than raw jute composite and silane treated jute composite found highest value. In addition, nanoclay filled composites showed higher improvement than composite without nanoclay and MMT-1.31PS nanoclay loaded nanocomposite exhibited highest improvement among five types of MMT nanoclay used in this work. The fabricated nanocomposites were resistant to all chemicals used except carbon tetrachloride.
Barriers to Diabetes Care in a Developing Country: Exploratory Evidence from Diabetes Healthcare Providers
Authors: Ugwu Ejiofor , Onung Samuel , Ezeani Ignatius , Olamoyegun Michael , Adeleye Olufunmilayo , Uloko Andrew
Published: July 2020

Aims: The morbidities and mortalities associated with diabetes are disproportionately high in low and middle income countries. This study aimed to explore important barriers and facilitators to diabetes care in Nigeria from the perspectives of diabetes healthcare providers (DHPs).

Study Design: A nationwide descriptive survey.

Place and Duration: Onsite (Calabar, Nigeria) and online surveys conducted between September 2016 and March 2017. 

Methodology: A validated self-administered questionnaire was used to assess barriers to diabetes care and strategies to improve care among DHPs in Nigeria.

Results: A total of 129 subjects with mean ± SD age and mean ± SD duration of practice of 42.4 ± 7.6 years and 8.5 ± 5.4 years respectively were surveyed. About 84.5% of the respondents perceived diabetes care in Nigeria as being remarkably challenging. The most common barriers identified include: poverty, low diabetes awareness, shortage of trained diabetes care specialists, poor diabetes care knowledge among primary care doctors, and poor knowledge of diabetes self care among patients and other institutional, cultural and religious barriers.

To improve care, respondents recommended, among other strategies, increasing healthcare funding, expansion of national health insurance coverage, introduction of government subsidy on diabetes medications, encouraging local production of diabetes medicines and supplies, increasing public diabetes awareness, periodic training of general practitioners and strict regulation of alternative medicine practitioners and faith healing centers.

Conclusion: This survey identified several barriers to diabetes care in Nigeria and proffered some useful and implementable strategies to improve care. In order to reduce the burden of diabetes in Nigeria and perhaps other countries in SSA, these expert opinions should form the basis for a blue print by major diabetes stakeholders and health policy makers.
A Molecular Docking Study against COVID-19 Protease with a Pomegranate Phyto-Constituents 'Urolithin' and Other Repurposing Drugs: From a Supplement to Ailment
Authors: Ahmad Varish
Published: July 2020

Aim: We conducted an in silico study on Urolithin and different antimicrobial agents targeting virus protease and peptidase.

Methodology: The docking study was completed by using docking tools. Drug compounds and COVID-19 receptor molecules were prepared, docking was performed and interaction was visualized through Discovery Studio visualizer.

Results: Urolithin A has interacted against peptidase (PDB ID:2GTB) with binding energy -6.93 kcal/mol and against protease (PDB ID:6LU7) with  the binding energy -5.46 kcal/mol, while Urolithin B has interacted to peptidase (PDB ID:2GTB)  with binding energy -6.74 kcal/mol  and with protease it interacted with a binding energy -4.67 kcal/mol. The antimicrobial agent Ofloxacin was found to interact against protease (PDB ID:6LU7) with a binding energy -6.84 kcal/mol and  against protease (PDB:6LU7)  with a binding energy -8.00 kcal/mol.

Conclusion: The most common interacting amino acids of target enzymes of the virus with studied drugs were His41, His164, Met165, Glu166, Gln189. From the docking studies, it is observed that Ofloxacin and Urolithin have the potential to inhibit the virus protease as well as peptidase significantly and these could prevent the entry of the virus to the inside of the host cell. Thus, further antiviral research on these antimicrobial agents and Urolithin could be helpful to control the COVID-19 disease.
Calcium and Neurotransmitter Release
Authors: Delaney Kerry R , Lin Jen‐We
Published: July 2020

Information is coded in the brain as patterns of electrical impulses that are transmitted along nerve processes. These impulses are passed from one neuron to the next primarily at chemical synapses where the electrical event is converted to the release of a neurotransmitter substance that activates the next neuron in the pathway. Neurotransmitter release is triggered by the opening of ‘voltage‐sensitive’ calcium channels, the admission of a pulse of Ca
2+
ions and the binding of these ions to the neurotransmitter secretion apparatus culminating in the fusion and discharge of a transmitter‐filled secretory vesicle. Increasing evidence suggests that at many synapses an individual release site is gated by ion influx through one or a few nearby calcium channels while at others Ca
2+
from many channels summates to drive release. In this section, we explore the physiology of this impulse‐to‐secretion gating mechanism.

Key Concepts

Information is transmitted between one neuron and the next at
synapses
where an upstream (presynaptic) neuron interacts with the membrane of the downstream (postsynaptic) one.

Synapses transmit by secreting a chemical neurotransmitter, often across a narrow space (cleft) between pre‐ and postsynaptic surface membranes.

Most neurotransmitters are stored in tiny membrane ‘packets’ called synaptic vesicles which can be triggered to secrete by fusing with the presynaptic membrane.

The synaptic vesicles are ‘docked’ at the release site ready for secretion which is dependent upon a large local increase in [Ca
2+
].

Transmitter secretion is triggered by an electrical impulse that travels down the presynaptic axon or into a dendrite to release sites.

Influx of calcium ions through Ca
2+
selective, voltage‐sensitive ion channels links the voltage transient of the action potential to the triggering of secretory vesicle discharge.

Ca
2+
channels are positioned very close to the secretory vesicles so that when they open the spurt of entering Ca
2+
ions, called a ‘calcium domain’, can rapidly and effectively access the triggering sites for synaptic vesicle fusion.
Genetics of Diabetic Retinopathy
Authors: Moore Spencer M , Chao Daniel L
Published: July 2020

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common, vision‐threatening microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). Early epidemiologic studies revealed a potential heritable component as differences in disease risk persisted between ethnic groups even when controlling for common diabetes risk factors. These insights spawned sib‐pair genetic linkage analyses which confirmed a genetic component to DR risk. Insights from large genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with DR risk, but these largely could not be replicated in other studies or across ethnic groups. Whole‐exome sequencing (WES) is an emerging technology better positioned than GWAS to identify rare variants conferring risk of DR among diabetic patients. Although the multifactorial, polygenic nature of DR complicates the search for significant genetic risk variants, advances in sequencing technology with large patient cohorts may provide novel actionable insights to improve care for DR patients.

Key Concepts

Diabetic retinopathy is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus.

Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness worldwide.

Early epidemiologic studies suggested a strong heritable component to risk of diabetic retinopathy.

Genome wide association studies have demonstrated many weak genetic associations with risk of developing diabetic retinopathy but are difficult to reproduce across ethnic groups.

Whole exome sequencing is a newer technology that provides more detailed analysis of rare genetic variants and has revealed several diabetic retinopathy risk variants.

Epigenetics and pharmacogenomics are emerging areas of research that may guide future personalised therapies for diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy are heterogeneous disorders with multifactorial causes, including environmental and genetic factors.