bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards a Democratic Theory of Silence
Authors: Gray Sean WD
Published: September 2021

Contemporary democratic theory is focused on empowering the voices of citizens in collective decision-making. The opposite of voice is silence. Increasingly, citizens are remaining silent rather than vocally participating in politics. Among democratic theorists, silent citizenship is equated to civic disengagement and disempowerment. I expand this view by theorizing the conditions under which silence is also a political expression. My analysis identifies four types of silence that can politically communicate. The resulting framework draws out the communicative dimension of silence, providing new tools to assess the unique interpretative challenges and dangers that silent citizenship presents for a democratic system.
Pooling in a Pod: A Strategy for COVID-19 Testing to Facilitate a Safe Return to School
Authors: Berke Ethan M. , Newman Lori M. , Jemsby Suzanna , Hyde Bethany , Bhalla Natasha , Sheils Natalie E. , Oomman Nandini , Reppas John , Verma Prateek , Cangelosi Gerard A.
Published: September 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted widespread closures of primary and secondary schools. Routine testing of asymptomatic students and staff members, as part of a comprehensive mitigation program, can help schools open safely. “Pooling in a pod” is a public health surveillance strategy whereby testing cohorts (pods) are based on social relationships and physical proximity. Pooled testing provides a single laboratory test result for the entire pod, rather than a separate result for each person in the pod. During the 2020-2021 school year, an independent preschool–grade 12 school in Washington, DC, used pooling in a pod for weekly on-site point-of-care testing of all staff members and students. Staff members and older students self-collected anterior nares samples, and trained staff members collected samples from younger students. Overall, 12 885 samples were tested in 1737 pools for 863 students and 264 staff members from November 30, 2020, through April 30, 2021. The average pool size was 7.4 people. The average time from sample collection to pool test result was 40 minutes. The direct testing cost per person per week was $24.24, including swabs. During the study period, 4 surveillance test pools received positive test results for COVID-19. A post-launch survey found most parents (90.3%), students (93.4%), and staff members (98.8%) were willing to participate in pooled testing with confirmatory tests for pool members who received a positive test result. The proportion of students in remote learning decreased by 62.2% for students in grades 6-12 ( P < .001) and by 92.4% for students in preschool to grade 5 after program initiation ( P < .001). Pooling in a pod is a feasible, cost-effective surveillance strategy that may facilitate safe, sustainable, in-person schooling during a pandemic.
Development of a real-time machine vision system for functional textile fabric defect detection using a deep YOLOv4 model
Authors: Dlamini Sifundvolesihle , Kao Chih-Yuan , Su Shun-Lian , Jeffrey Kuo Chung-Feng
Published: September 2021

We introduce a real-time machine vision system we developed with the aim of detecting defects in functional textile fabrics with good precision at relatively fast detection speeds to assist in textile industry quality control. The system consists of image acquisition hardware and image processing software. The software we developed uses data preprocessing techniques to break down raw images to smaller suitable sizes. Filtering is employed to denoise and enhance some features. To generalize and multiply the data to create robustness, we use data augmentation, which is followed by labeling where the defects in the images are labeled and tagged. Lastly, we utilize YOLOv4 for localization where the system is trained with weights of a pretrained model. Our software is deployed with the hardware that we designed to implement the detection system. The designed system shows strong performance in defect detection with precision of [Formula: see text], and recall and [Formula: see text] scores of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], respectively. The detection speed is relatively fast at [Formula: see text] fps with a prediction speed of [Formula: see text] ms. Our system can automatically locate functional textile fabric defects with high confidence in real time.
Effect of benzoyl treatment on the performance of sugar palm/kenaf fiber-reinforced polypropylene hybrid composites
Authors: Mohd Izwan S , Sapuan SM , Zuhri MYM , Muhamed AR
Published: September 2021

The main purpose of this work is to investigate the effect of benzoyl treatment on the performance of sugar palm/kenaf fiber-reinforced polypropylene hybrid composites. Water absorption tests were carried out to confirm the effect of benzoylation treatment toward fabricating a more hydrophobic behavior of the hybrid composites. Both treated and untreated composites that have 10 wt.% of fiber loading with three different fiber ratios between sugar palm and kenaf (7:3, 5:5, 3:7) were analyzed. Physical and mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural, and impact strength were determined from this study. Morphological properties were obtained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the tensile strength of sugar palm/kenaf-reinforced polypropylene hybrid composites was improved with the treatment of benzoyl with a value of 19.41 MPa. In addition, hybrid composite with treated sugar palm and kenaf fiber T-SP3K7 recorded the highest impact and flexural strength of 19.4 MPa and 18.4 MPa, respectively. In addition, SEM demonstrated that surface treatment enhanced the mechanical properties of the hybrid composites. Overall, it can be suggested that benzoyl-treated composites with a higher volume of kenaf fiber than sugar palm fiber will improve the mechanical characteristics of the hybrid composites.
Numerical and experimental approach towards an energy-efficient compact spinning system
Authors: Saty Malik YH , Akankwasa Nicholus Tayari , Wang Jun
Published: September 2021

Compact spinning with a lattice apron has recently become a very attractive approach for pneumatic compact yarn production spinning systems. One of the main challenges with use of this method is the high negative pressure that leads to high energy consumption. In response to this challenge, we present a numerical and experimental investigation of the effects of a three-dimensional (3D) printed guiding device on the airflow characteristics and yarn properties. Initially, the 3D numerical model of the compact spinning system was set up based on the real geometrical dimensions. Secondly, the 3D prototype was developed, simulated, and analyzed using Solidworks and Ansys. Ultimately, the design, which exhibited low negative pressure along the model domain, was adopted and then 3D printed to enable further experimental investigation. Airflow analysis results illustrated that when using the guiding device with low negative pressure, the active area of negative pressure was increased. This was due to the existence and the special design of the guiding device that prevented the decrease of the negative pressure with atmospheric pressure. This increased the transverse condensing force, which was beneficial for twisting the free-end fiber around the fiber bundle. Experimental results revealed that the three yarns spun with the guiding device achieved significant energy saving when the guiding device was used. Moreover, these yarns spun with the guiding device had better strength, hairiness, and evenness than those spun without a guiding device. The model developed can be further improved and utilized for commercial purposes, as it significantly reduces energy costs while improving yarn properties.
The Negative Impact of Shining Path on Indigenous Mobilization in Peru: An Approach from Political Opportunity and New Social Movements Theories
Authors: Jima-González Alexandra , Paradela-López Miguel
Published: September 2021

The rise of Shining Path in the rural areas of Peru and its revolutionary war between 1980 and 1992 contributed significantly to the weakening of indigenous mobilization in that country. From the perspective of a combination of political opportunity and new social movements theories, Shining Path took advantage of a history of rural isolation and a political vacuum to take control of rural areas and impose extreme repression of counterrevolutionary mobilization. It systematically pressured the indigenous communities to collaborate with it and embrace a materialist-based peasant identity. At the same time, the erratic and disproportionate response of the government negatively affected the indigenous communities. Merging the two theories allows a better understanding of this situation.

El ascenso de Sendero Luminoso en las zonas rurales del Perú y su guerra revolucionaria entre 1980 y 1992 contribuyeron significativamente al debilitamiento de la movilización indígena en dicho país. Desde la perspectiva combinada de la teoría oportunidades políticas y nuevas teorías de movimientos sociales, Sendero Luminoso aprovechó una historia de aislamiento rural y un vacío político para tomar el control de las zonas rurales y llevar a cabo una represión extrema de la movilización contrarrevolucionaria. Presionó sistemáticamente a las comunidades indígenas para que colaboraran y adoptaran una identidad campesina de base materialista. Al mismo tiempo, la respuesta errática y desproporcionada del gobierno también afectó negativamente a las comunidades indígenas. La fusión de las dos teorías permite una mejor comprensión de esta situación.
Synergistic effect and mechanism of polysilazane and platinum on the thermal stability of silicone rubber
Authors: Chen Wanjuan , Zhang Xueyi , Liang Caiying , Chen Dongchu , Zhang Min , Miao Lei
Published: September 2021

Polysilazane and platinum were adopted to enhance the thermal stability of silicone rubber. The effect and mechanism of polysilazane and platinum on enhancing thermal stability were investigated via thermogravimetry, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, thermogravimetry-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. Remarkable synergism between polysilazane and platinum was found in enhancing thermal stability of silicone rubber. When 1.34 wt% polysilazane and 8 ppm platinum were added, the degradation temperatures were elevated. Furthermore, the thermal residues of silicone rubbers were increased from 30–45 to 66–76 wt%, and maximum degradation rates were reduced from 8.81–15.8 to 4.55–5.02 wt%/min. Besides, silicone rubber demonstrated excellent shape retention at high temperature in the presence of polysilazane and platinum. The mechanism may be that platinum cooperated with polysilazane and efficiently catalyzed radical crosslinking between polysilazane and silicone chains. As a result, a tightly crosslinked network was developed, and degradation of silicone rubber was suppressed.
State of health prediction based on multi-kernel relevance vector machine and whale optimization algorithm for lithium-ion battery
Authors: Wang Shuai , Zhang Xiaochen , Chen Wengxiang , Han Wei , Zhou Shoubin , Pecht Michael
Published: September 2021

The state of health (SOH) reflects the health status of the lithium-ion battery and is expected to accurately predicted, so as the corresponding maintenance measures can be taken to ensure the safe operation of the battery. This paper proposed a SOH prediction method based on multi-kernel relevance vector machine (RVM) and whale optimization algorithm (WOA). Firstly, the original features were obtained from the battery voltage and temperature data in charging and discharging phases. Secondly, the minimal-redundancy-maximal-relevance (mRMR) algorithm was introduced to select the optimal feature set. Then, the online model and offline model based on multi-kernel RVM and WOA were constructed. Finally, a hybrid model which combines the online model and offline model was proposed to prediction the SOH of the lithium-ion battery. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated with two kinds of data sets. The experimental results showed that the proposed method obtained higher prediction accuracy in both long-term and short-term periods than other methods.
Application of a neuro-fuzzy controller for single machine infinite bus power system to damp low-frequency oscillations
Authors: Sabo Aliyu , Abdul Wahab Noor Izzri , Othman Mohammad Lutfi , Mohd Jaffar Mai Zurwatul Ahlam , Beiranvand Hamzeh , Acikgoz Hakan
Published: September 2021

Generally, power systems experience a variety of disturbances that can result in low frequency electromechanical oscillations. These low frequency oscillations (LFOs) take place among the rotors of synchronous generators connected to the power system. These oscillations may sustain and grow to cause system separation if no adequate damping is provided. Power system stabilizers (PSSs) are one of the alternative devices used to solve this rotor oscillation problem. The major limitation of using PSSs at the excitation system of synchronous machine is that the conventional PSS is a permanent parameter type operating under a particular system operating condition, and its parameters are acquired through trial and error. An efficient way of operating the PSS has been by designing the PSS parameters using a powerful optimization procedure. However, designing PSS damping controller is a cumbersome task as it needs a comprehensive test system modeling and a heavy computational burden on the system. In this research, a novel, model-free neuro-fuzzy controller (NFC) is designed as the LFOs’ damping controller to substitute the traditional PSS system making the power system simple without complications in PSS design and parameter optimization. The proposed controller application implements the LFOs’ control without a linearized mathematical model of the system, as such it makes the system less complex and bulky. Single machine infinite bus (SMIB) test system was simulated in SIMULINK domain with the PSSs and with the proposed controller to compare the NFC effectiveness. The simulation outcome for the eigenvalue study with NFC stabilizer yields steady eigenvalues that enhanced the damping status of the system greater than 0.1 with decreased overshoots and time to rise via the proposed NFC process than with the conventional FFA-PSS. Similarly, the generator transient reaction also presents the ω and δ based on the time to settle was improved by 64.66% and 28.78%, respectively, via the proposed NFC process than with the conventional FFA-PSS. Finally, the conventional PSS was found to be complicated in its design, parameter optimization and less effective than the proposed controller for the LFOs’ control.
The role of socio-economic embeddedness in promoting cooperation in the workplace: Evidence from family-owned Italian firms
Authors: Geary John , Signoretti Andrea
Published: September 2021

Workplace relations can be defined as cooperative when actors are satisfied that both their work organization and material concerns are met. However, cooperation is difficult to achieve and especially to maintain over time. A useful point of reference is the work of Bélanger and Edwards, who argue that technology, product markets and institutional regulations are necessary preconditions. Their model is derived mainly from studies of large, publicly-listed enterprises based in particular institutional (Anglo-American) contexts. In the present article the authors examine the case of family-owned, medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in Northeast Italy. Bélanger and Edwards’ model provides some but limited theoretical purchase in explaining the high level of ongoing cooperation witnessed in the case firms. In addition, the firms’ concentrated, financially patient capital and family-ownership together with their local embeddedness increase their commitment to their community and facilitate collaboration and investments in it. The authors term these features firms’ socio-economic embeddedness.
Bonding Family Social Capital and Agency Among Native-Born and Immigrant College Women With Low Parental Financial Support
Authors: Ostroot Ashley L. , Backstrom Laura
Published: September 2021

Using in-depth interviews with 23 immigrant and native-born college women who receive little to no financial support from their parents, this study finds that variation in bonding family social capital shapes how college students perceive financial constraints in their past, present, and future, and how they enact their future plans. Among native-born and immigrant women alike, those with high family social capital tied their motivation to family support and centered their own sense of agency. Students with low family social capital aimed to distance themselves from their families of origin and expressed uncertainty about their ability to reach their future goals. By focusing on students facing similar financial constraints, we provide insight into factors that reproduce inequality among disadvantaged students.
Intraoperative angiography for visceral arteries originating from false lumen
Authors: Takago Shintaro , Nishida Satoru , Noda Yukihiro , Nosaka Yu , Yamamura Ryo , Katoh Hiromasa
Published: September 2021

A 70-year-old man had an acute type B aortic dissection 9 years before his admission. The last enhanced computed tomography that was performed revealed an aneurysm that extended from the ascending aorta to the aortic arch, associated with a chronic aortic dissection, which extended from the aortic arch to the left external iliac artery. His visceral arteries originated from the false lumen. We performed a total arch replacement with a frozen elephant trunk in the hybrid operating room. Immediately after the circulatory arrest termination, using intraoperative angiography, we verified that the blood supply to the visceral arteries was patent.
Clinical Situations in Which the Diagnosis of Autism is Debatable: An Analysis and Recommendations
Authors: Defresne Pierre , Mottron Laurent
Published: September 2021

The “autism spectrum disorder” (ASD) construct and its current diagnostic criteria have led to the inclusion of increasingly heterogeneous and decreasingly atypical individuals under its definition. This broad category, based on the polymorphic clinical expression of common genetic variants underpinning the risk of autism, is likely beneficial for certain individuals. However, determining the boundaries between ASD and typical individuals, as well as those with other neurodevelopmental conditions, remains an issue of which the importance is growing with the increase in ASD prevalence. We identified four clinical contexts associated with a questionable, poorly justified, or unhelpful ASD diagnosis: (1) those in which diagnostic instruments raise uncertainties, (2) in the context of a subclinical presentation, (3) when early autistic signs tend to fade away during development, and (4) when comorbidities are prominent. We argue that in certain cases, a diagnosis of ASD may not be the most suitable, timely, or helpful medical act and provide recommendations for clinical practice when facing such situations.
Bidirectional Association Between Depression and Hearing Loss: Evidence From the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study
Authors: Wu Chao
Published: September 2021

The relationship between depression and age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is not fully understood. This study tested the bidirectional associations between clinically significant depressive symptoms (CSDSs) and ARHL in middle-aged and older adults using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Among 3,418 participants free of baseline ARHL, baseline CSDS was associated with an increased odds of incident ARHL (odds ratio [OR]: 1.51). Cognitive decline, BMI, and arthritis partially mediated the longitudinal CSDS–ARHL association and explained 24% of the variance in the total effect. Among 4,921 participants without baseline CSDS, baseline ARHL was associated with an increased odds of incident CSDS (OR: 1.37). The bidirectional associations remained significant after adjustments for baseline demographic factors, comorbidities, and other health-related covariates. Depression may contribute to the development of ARHL, and vice versa. Interventions in depression, cognitive decline, and arthritis may delay the onset of ARHL and break the vicious circle between them.
BPA-induced prostatic hyperplasia in vitro is correlated with the unbalanced gene expression of AR and ER in the epithelium and stroma
Authors: Wang Kaiyue , Huang Dongyan , Zhou Ping , Su Xin , Yang Rongfu , Shao Congcong , Wu Jianhui
Published: September 2021

As a typical environmental endocrine disruptor (EED), bisphenol A (BPA) can induce pathological hyperplasia of the prostatic epithelium and stroma. This study concentrates mainly on the effect and underlying mechanisms of BPA on prostatic hyperplasia, which is based on the culture of primary human prostate epithelial cells (HPEpiC) and human prostate fibroblasts (HPrF). In an effect to screen the optimal pro-survival BPA levels, HPEpiC and HPrF were, respectively, exposed to concentration gradients of BPA (10−12 M–10−4 M) solution diluted with two corresponding medium and incubated for 72 h at 37°C. CCK-8 assay showed that 10−9 M–10−5 M BPA could facilitate the proliferation of HPEpiC, while similar proliferative effect of HPrF only needed 10−11 M–10−7 M BPA. HPrF were more sensitive to BPA than HPEpiC. The qualification of PCNA gene expression measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) also mirrored the BPA-induced cell proliferation. Additionally, our results considered that androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor (ERα, ERβ), and NFKB1 gene expressions exhibited up-regulation in HPEpiC treated with 10−9 M BPA for 72 h. However, in HPrF, the identical BPA treatment could activate ERα, ERβ, and NFKB1 gene expressions and down-regulated the expression of AR levels. It is further confirmed that low-dose BPA can indeed promote the proliferation of human prostate cells in vitro, and the mechanisms of BPA for prostatic epithelial and stromal hyperplasia may not be consistent.
ei.Datasets: Real Data Sets for Assessing Ecological Inference Algorithms
Authors: Pavía Jose M.
Published: September 2021

Ecological inference models aim to infer individual-level relationships using aggregate data. They are routinely used to estimate voter transitions between elections, disclose split-ticket voting behaviors, or infer racial voting patterns in U.S. elections. A large number of procedures have been proposed in the literature to solve these problems; therefore, an assessment and comparison of them are overdue. The secret ballot however makes this a difficult endeavor since real individual data are usually not accessible. The most recent work on ecological inference has assessed methods using a very small number of data sets with ground truth, combined with artificial, simulated data. This article dramatically increases the number of real instances by presenting a unique database (available in the R package ei.Datasets) composed of data from more than 550 elections where the true inner-cell values of the global cross-classification tables are known. The article describes how the data sets are organized, details the data curation and data wrangling processes performed, and analyses the main features characterizing the different data sets.
A comparative study between weldability of polycarbonate and nylon-6 using different pin geometries in friction stir welding
Authors: Sahu Santosh K , Mishra Debasish , Pal Kamal
Published: September 2021

The solid state friction stir welding (FSW) has been recently the choice for joining of thermoplastics. The present work aims at analyzing the implementation of FSW in joining of different thermoplastics namely, polycarbonate and nylon-6 sheets using varying tool pin profiles, cylindrical, square, and triangular. The novelty of this article is the comparative assessment that has been made on the weldability of these two thermoplastics by determining the mechanical properties of the joint along with real-time acquired force, torque, and temperature signals. Higher axial force with reduced torque has been observed for nylon-6 as compared to polycarbonate. The joint efficiency was found to be maximum (>50%) at tool rotational speed 1800 rpm and welding speed 20 mm/min using square tool pin profile for each of the base materials. Minor undercut defect along with improved material mixing has been seen during the tool stirring process. The study would be helpful for the industries to choose thermoplastics based on their applications.
A feasibility assessment of multi-modelling approaches for rail decarbonisation systems simulation
Authors: Golightly David , Pierce Ken , Palacin Roberto , Gamble Carl
Published: September 2021

Simulation is an important tool to support rail decarbonisation but can be challenging due to heterogeneous models, simulation tools and skill sets, and concerns around intellectual property. Multi-modelling, a proven methodology in sectors such as aerospace and automotive, uses Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) and co-simulation to potentially overcome these problems. This paper presents a feasibility study of multi-modelling for rail decarbonisation, using a combination of audit of current state of the art, technical implementation and stakeholder consultation. The audit showed that while current uptake of FMI in rail is low, there is potential to repurpose models from pre-existing tools and apply them within multi-modelling. The technical feasibility assessment demonstrated how multi-modelling could generate flexible simulation outputs to identify decarbonisation systems effects both for urban and mainline rail, including rapid integration of pre-existing MATLAB Simulink models. Work with industry stakeholders identified use cases where multi-modelling would benefit rail decarbonisation, as well as barriers and enablers to adoption. Overall, the study demonstrates the feasibility and considerations for multi-modelling to support rail decarbonisation efforts, and the future developments necessary for wider rollout.
Comparison of Fenton Versus Intergrowth-21 Growth Charts for Preterm Neonates
Authors: Patel Dipen Vasudev , Upadhyay Vaishali , Phatak Ajay G. , Thakker Biraj , Nimbalkar Somashekhar M.
Published: September 2021

Background:

Fenton charts from developed world are commonly used for growth assessment of preterm newborns. Recently prescribed Intergrowth-21 (IG-21) charts look more promising as they include mixed population from economically diverse nations.

Objective:

We compared IG-21 with Fenton charts for birth size classification and extrauterine growth in preterm infants.

Study design:

A prospective collection of growth parameters.

Participants:

Preterm newborns (<37 weeks).

Intervention:

Weight (W), length (L), and head circumference (HC) were collected at weekly interval during the stay as well as follow-up.

Outcomes:

Growth of preterm newborns at birth and last follow-up was assessed using Fenton and IG-21 charts. Agreement between Fenton and IG-21 for percentiles and z-scores of growth parameters was assessed using Bland-Altman plot.

Results:

A total of 301 preterm newborns were enrolled in the study. Mean (standard deviation [SD]) gestational age at birth was 34.08 (1.84) weeks, while at last follow-up (N = 296) it was 37.62 (1.85) weeks. The mean (SD) of birth W, L, and HC were 1889.24 (418.9) g, 44.69 (3.03) cm, and 30.6 (1.84) cm, respectively, while for last follow-up, they were 2114.76 (397.7) g, 47.64 (2.97) cm, and 32.65 (1.7) cm, respectively. The agreement of z-score/percentile between the 2 growth charts was not good for all the anthropometric parameters. Overall, Fenton reported more intrauterine (42.9% vs 36.9%) and extrauterine (92.9% vs 73%) growth restriction as compared to IG-21.

Conclusion:

The agreement between the 2 charts was poor. More proportions of the preterm population were growth restricted using Fenton charts.
Influence of Age on 2040 Cancer Burden in the Older Population of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries: Public Health Implications
Authors: Cheema Sohaila , Maisonneuve Patrick , Lowenfels Albert B. , Abraham Amit , Doraiswamy Sathyanarayanan , Mamtani Ravinder
Published: September 2021

Introduction and Study Aims:

The underlying population of global regions varies widely and is a major determinant of regional cancer differences. The aims were to: (1) estimate the cancer burden in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in 2040 for the ≥70 population and (2) assess the public health implications for this cancer increase.

Methods:

We used Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) estimates of cancer incidence and mortality for people aged 70 years or more in GCC countries from 2018 to 2040 from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. For population growth, we used data for the same period from the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. From these, we calculated the predicted increase in the number of cancer cases and cancer deaths from 2018 to 2040 and the proportion of cases/deaths represented by those aged 70+ for the 2 time periods.

Findings:

In the GCC countries, the predicted number of newly diagnosed cancers and cancer deaths in the older population will increase by 465% and 462% respectively due to demographic changes—greater than other countries in the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region, or in countries of similar economic development. The largest predicted increases will be for Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Based on the predicted population age, cancer burden among older people in the GCC countries will increase by approximately 460%.

Conclusion:

By the year 2040, the relationship between cancer and age will cause a 4- to 5-fold increase in the cancer burden in the GCC. These predictable changes will require additional planning and resources to provide appropriate healthcare.
Clinical features and management of presumed ocular tuberculosis: A long-term follow-up cohort study in a tertiary referral center in Brazil
Authors: Fernández Zamora Yuslay , Peixoto Finamor Luciana , P Silva Luci Meire , Rodrigues Denise S , Casaroli-Marano Ricardo P , Muccioli Cristina
Published: September 2021

Purpose:

To evaluate the clinical features and management of presumed ocular tuberculosis (OTB).

Method:

A prospective 3-year follow-up study of patients with ocular inflammation that performed Interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) and tuberculin skin test (TST) was conducted in a tertiary referral center in Brazil. Patients with clinical signs highly suspect of OTB with a positive TST and/or IGRA with other causes ruled out were prescribed anti-tuberculosis therapy (ATT) during 9 months. Clinical features and treatment outcomes were recorded.

Results:

Seventy-two patients (mean age 48.3 ± 15.7 years) were included in the study, and most were female (65.3%, n = 47). Posterior uveitis (43.1%, n = 31) was the main clinical feature. Multifocal choroiditis (25%, n = 18) was the most common choroidal involvement. Concomitant oral prednisone (45.8%, n = 33) during ATT was associated with more recurrences ( p = 0.04). A significant difference ( p < 0.001) between initial and final best-corrected visual acuity after ATT conclusion was observed. Cure or remission was observed in 58 (85.3%) patients that completed follow-up ( n = 68).

Conclusion:

In our cohort some variation in demographics and ocular phenotypes of presumed OTB was observed. The high rates of cure or remission of our patients strongly support the ATT in presumed OTB. Oral corticosteroids during ATT were associated with higher recurrences rates.
Peripapillary capillary network in dominant optic atrophy linked to OPA1 gene
Authors: Rahhal-Ortuño Miriam , Aviñó-Martínez Juan Aurelio , Fernández-Santodomingo Alex Samir , Aguilar-González Marina , Placinta-Tat Ioan Alexandru , España-Gregori Enrique
Published: September 2021

Peripapillary capillary network using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) was analysed in two siblings suffering from dominant optic atrophy linked to OPA-1 gene mutation. Peripapillary capillary network has been scarcely described in this type of optic atrophy.
Party structures and organization building in Africa
Authors: Lockwood Sarah J , Krönke Matthias , Mattes Robert
Published: September 2021

Political parties are a vital element in the quality of representative democracy, playing a crucial role in mobilization, competition, governance, and accountability. Despite their importance, however, we currently know relatively little about how political parties in Africa are organized, with most evidence restricted to journalistic accounts or country-specific scholarly accounts. This symposium, which comes out of a conference on political parties held at the University of Cape Town, takes a closer look at the development of party structures and organization across the continent. It seeks to answer a number of critical questions including: What affects the organizational structure of parties? How do party primaries affect party-building and electoral success? And what effect does the shrinking of open political space have on the ways in which parties organize? Taken as a whole, this symposium brings together established and emerging scholars, to systematically explore, for the first time, what party organization looks like on the African continent, and how it affects critical issues of governance, mobilization, and accountability.
Creating a patchwork of unruliness: The grumpy old woman as affect alien
Authors: De Vuyst Sara
Published: September 2021

Narratives on ageing are deeply entangled with discourses on happiness. This article draws on Sara Ahmed’s critique on the disciplinary dynamics of the promise of happiness to explore how happiness scripts make certain ‘happy objects’ such as beauty aspirations, sexual desires, and life choices seen as ‘right’ for older women and others as ‘wrong’. My aim is to contribute to new feminist theorisations of women’s ageing by exploring the unhappy archives of older women and looking for ways in which normative happiness scripts are challenged, destabilised and rewritten. Articulations of resistance are found through interpretative engagement with representations of older women who feel alienated by the ‘right’ happy objects, deliberately make ‘wrong’ object choices or turn the ‘right’ happy objects into tools to dismantle ageist, sexist and heteronormative structures. These resistance strategies come together in my theorising of the grumpy old women as affect alien and a patchwork of unruliness.
The state of the discipline: Australian sociology and its future
Authors: Collyer Fran M , Williams Veazey Leah
Published: September 2021

Debates about the state of Australian sociology have raged for as long as sociology has existed in Australia. Concerns about the discipline’s future may be inevitable for a critical, reflexive discipline, but to those entering the discipline, it is neither instructive nor productive to be subjected to lingering disciplinary anxieties. After more than fifty years, it is time to take stock of the differing visions of sociology, and examine the arguments about the health, or otherwise, of Australian sociology. To advance this debate, we consider the signs and benchmarks of a ‘successful’ sociology as expressed in The Australian Sociological Association magazine, NEXUS, and key writings from Australian sociologists. We suggest that much of the disagreement over the status of sociology derives from the way ‘disciplines’ and ‘success’ are defined. Regarding sociology to be an heterogeneous, multi-modal, social institution and practice, we propose a way forward in our efforts to represent ourselves.
Decreasing complications of pectoralis major muscle flap reconstruction with two modalities of negative pressure wound therapy
Authors: Myllykangas Heidi-Mari , Halonen Jari , Husso Annastiina , Berg Leena T.
Published: September 2021

Background and objective:

Deep sternal wound infection is a feared complication of open-heart surgery. Negative pressure wound therapy has gained an important role in the treatment of deep sternal wound infection. Incisional negative pressure wound therapy has been introduced as a method to prevent wound complications after sternotomy, and lately, after flap reconstructions in the treatment of deep sternal wound infection. We aimed to study if incisional negative pressure wound therapy with PICO™ had similar beneficial effect described earlier with competing commercial devices.

Methods:

This study included 82 patients treated with pectoralis major muscle flap for deep sternal wound infection during the years 2006–2020. PICO group consisted of 24 patients treated with preoperative negative pressure wound therapy and postoperative incisional negative pressure wound therapy (PICO™). Two control groups included 48 patients with conventional treatment and 10 patients with preoperative negative pressure wound therapy only.

Results:

In the PICO group, the complication rate declined from 50.0% to 33.30%, major complication rate from 29.2% to 12.5%, and need for an additional flap from 14.6.% to 4.2% when compared to conventional treatment. The length of hospital stay decreased as well. Preoperative negative pressure wound therapy alone was associated with moderate decline in the complication rates. In addition, we described the use of split pectoralis major muscle flap reconstruction in 57 patients. To our knowledge, this is the largest published patient series describing this method in the treatment of deep sternal wound infection.

Conclusions:

Incisional negative pressure wound therapy with PICO™ seems beneficial after flap reconstruction. Split pectoralis major muscle flap is a versatile reconstruction option suitable to be used as a workhorse in the treatment of deep sternal wound infection.
A social semiotic perspective on emoji: How emoji and language interact to make meaning in digital messages
Authors: Logi Lorenzo , Zappavigna Michele
Published: September 2021

This article presents a social semiotic analysis of emoji-language semiosis. Combining the theoretical architecture of Systemic Functional Linguistics and methodology of Multimodal Discourse Analysis, we propose an analytical framework that can identify how emoji make meaning both individually and in interaction with language. Using the web-based coding software WebAnno, we apply this framework to a dataset of text messages and social media posts. The results identify typical realisations of particular semiotic features by emoji as well as noteworthy dynamics in how emoji interact with language to realise meaning. We observe (1) how emoji and language jointly construing ideational meaning realise intermodal taxonomies (where hyper/hyponyms are distributed across modes) and particular fields of discourse (domains of experiential meaning), (2) how resources in one mode can serve to foreground particular regions of meaning potential in other modes, and (3) how attitudinal meaning realised by emoji appears to differ from the prosodic patterning of linguistic attitude.
Corporate sovereignty: Negotiating permissive power for profit in Southern Africa
Authors: Diphoorn Tessa , Wiegink Nikkie
Published: September 2021

The growing engagement with sovereignty in anthropology has resulted in a range of concepts that encapsulate how various (non-state) actors execute power. In this paper, we further unpack the concept of ‘corporate sovereignty’ and outline its conceptual significance. Corporate sovereignty refers to performative claims to power undertaken by (individuals aligned to) corporate entities with profit-making objectives within a state-sanctioned space. This contrasts with claims made by other (non-state) actors who operate in a permissive space that (regularly) lacks this legally grounded relationship with the state. By unpacking this state-sanctioned permissive space and highlighting the role of the state as the arbiter, our approach to corporate sovereignty offers a new comparative analytical perspective to theorize how sovereignty is performed and opens ethnographic avenues to explore how sovereignty is negotiated and co-produced across diverse localities. To elucidate our argument, we draw from ethnographic fieldwork conducted on coal mining companies in Mozambique and private security companies in South Africa. By focusing on cases that differ, we want to show the multitude of ways in which corporate sovereignty is enacted and takes shape.
Euroscepticism and the use of negative, uncivil and emotional campaigns in the 2019 European Parliament election: A winning combination
Authors: Nai Alessandro , Medeiros Mike , Maier Michaela , Maier Jürgen
Published: September 2021

Are Eurosceptic parties more likely to run negative, uncivil and emotional campaigns, as it is often intuitively argued? And with what consequences? In this article, we shed light on the effectiveness of these campaign strategies for Eurosceptic parties during the 2019 European elections. We argue that ‘harsher’ campaigns are ‘in character’ for Eurosceptic parties, and are as such more likely to be electorally successful for them. We use data from the 2019 European Parliament Elections Expert Survey, covering 191 unique parties, and show that, indeed, Eurosceptic parties are more likely to campaign in a harsh way, and more likely than Europhile parties to benefit electorally from it. All data and materials are openly available for replication.
Brazil’s Stealth Military Intervention
Authors: Akkoyunlu Karabekir , Lima José Antonio
Published: September 2021

Between 2016 and 2020, a group of activist generals successfully plotted the Brazilian military's gradual return to the political center stage with powers unseen since the dictatorship. They achieved this without formally breaking the law, suspending the democratic process or overthrowing the government. We call this a “stealth intervention,” an incremental yet systematic attempt to redesign politics without causing a rupture, that fits neither in the existing typology of coups nor in the literature on democratic backsliding. We argue that Brazil’s stealth intervention, built upon the military’s existing tutelary prerogatives and driven by an unreformed praetorian worldview that resurfaced amidst a sustained crisis of democracy, challenges the prevalent view of the armed forces as a reactive force that intervenes in civilian politics only when its institutional interests are threatened. Finally, we show that democratic backsliding in Brazil started under Bolsonaro’s predecessor, Michel Temer, and point to the generals’ understudied role in this process.
German Translation, Linguistic Validation, and Cultural Adaptation of the Environmental Audit Tool—High Care
Authors: Fahsold Anne , Fleming Richard , Verbeek Hilde , Holle Bernhard , Palm Rebecca
Published: September 2021

Background:

In dementia-specific care, the design of the environment is regarded as an influential element in the support and maintenance of skills and can improve the quality of life of residents. To date, there is no valid instrument in the German-speaking countries with which the quality of the physical environment in residential long-term care facilities can be systematically assessed.

Objective:

To report the translation, linguistic validation, cultural adaptation, and content validity evaluation of the Australian Environmental Audit Tool—High Care in preparation for use in German nursing homes.

Method:

The procedure was guided by an adapted multistep process of the World Health Organization (1998) and included focus groups involving potential users of the new tool such as scientific experts and healthcare professionals ( n = 40). Content validity indices were calculated following a two-step expert survey.

Results:

The final draft versions of the German Environmental Audit Tool (G-EAT) included 74 and 77 items, for non-secured units and secure units, respectively, divided into 10 key design principles according to the Australian original. The evaluation of content validity showed that cultural differences existed in several items.

Conclusions:

The G-EAT provides the means for conducting a valid assessment of the environmental quality of people with dementia in German nursing homes. However, its usability in healthcare research must be preceded by testing its interrater reliability.
Loneliness During a Nationwide Lockdown and the Moderating Effect of Extroversion
Authors: Entringer Theresa M. , Gosling Samuel D.
Published: September 2021

Loneliness levels were assessed in a longitudinal, nationwide sample ( N total = 6,010) collected over the course of the first 3 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. When in-person social contact restrictions were put in place, loneliness increased significantly compared to prepandemic levels but began to decrease again even before contact restrictions were eased. The loneliness costs were distributed unequally, such that greater increases in loneliness were experienced by women, younger, and extraverted, neurotic, and conscientious individuals. Our findings add to the growing literature on the importance of individual differences in crisis situations.
Hunting Conspiracy Theories During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Moffitt J. D. , King Catherine , Carley Kathleen M.
Published: September 2021

The fear of the unknown combined with the isolation generated by COVID-19 has created a fertile environment for strong disinformation, otherwise known as conspiracy theories, to flourish. Because conspiracy theories often contain a kernel of truth and feature a strong adversarial “other,” they serve as the perfect vehicle for maligned actors to use in influence campaigns. To explore the importance of conspiracies in the spread of dis-/mis-information, we propose the usage of state-of-the-art, tuned language models to classify tweets as conspiratorial or not. This model is based on the Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) model developed by Google researchers. The classification method expedites analysis by automating a process that is currently done manually (identifying tweets that promote conspiracy theories). We identified COVID-19 origin conspiracy theory tweets using this method and then used social cybersecurity methods to analyze communities, spreaders, and characteristics of the different origin-related conspiracy theory narratives. We found that tweets about conspiracy theories were supported by news sites with low fact-checking scores and amplified by bots who were more likely to link to prominent Twitter users than in non-conspiracy tweets. We also found different patterns in conspiracy vs. non-conspiracy conversations in terms of hashtag usage, identity, and country of origin. This analysis shows how we can better understand who spreads conspiracy theories and how they are spreading them.
Demystifying the Belt and Road Initiative: China’s domestic and non-strategic policy?
Authors: Jiang Yuan
Published: September 2021

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a central policy of the Chinese government. The initiative is directly associated with President Xi Jinping, who first put forward the BRI in Kazakhstan and Indonesia in 2013, initially as One Belt One Road. Different from repetitive literature that concludes the BRI as China's global strategy, this article makes a contribution to argue that the BRI is China's domestic and non-strategic policy.

To justify this argument, this article analyses how the BRI has been embedded into aspects of Chinese domestic policy by revealing its nexuses with Chinese domestic economy, politics and ideology. To deepen the understanding of the BRI's connection with the Chinese economy, this article explores the link between the BRI and China's supply-side structural reform. Meanwhile, this research demystifies the BRI as a global strategy and the difference between joining and rejecting the BRI to prove the BRI's non-strategic essence. In the end, this article discusses the BRI's far-reaching geopolitical influence.