bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Art-Based Workshops for Women: An Opportunity for Reflection on Identity and Transformation following Cancer Treatment
Authors: Ranger Marie-Christine , Houle Sandra , Rheault Alysson , Thomas Roanne
Published: July 2023

Individuals experiencing cancer often report feelings of abandonment by the healthcare system after medical treatment has ended. Specifically, women with cancer have expressed the need for support beyond traditional medical and rehabilitation periods, especially with the process of reconstructing the self in the context of enduring illness. Occupational therapists could play a critical role in providing opportunities for self-reflection and transformation through occupation for this population. Art-based occupations may be especially useful for providing space for self-reflection and personal change. This article describes the experiences of women living with cancer who participated in community art-based workshops that focused on the themes of identity and transformation. The project consisted of mixed-media workshops that were held at a community-based facility providing supportive programs for people living with cancer. Eleven women participated in the workshops led by an art-based rehabilitation researcher and a visual artist. Workshops were audio-recorded, and photographs of the participants’ artwork were taken. Individual postworkshop interviews were conducted with the participants, within 4 to 6 weeks following the last workshop. Interpretive description was used to capture four themes with implications for personal change, transformation, and occupational therapy: (1) revealing: therapeutic potential; (2) sharing: vulnerability and new perspectives; (3) transforming: the self; and (4) creating: regular practices. The findings point to ways occupational therapists can form new partnerships with other disciplines and professionals to generate positive outcomes for people living with cancer.
Fourier Series Approximation in Besov Spaces
Authors: Singh Birendra , Singh Uaday
Published: July 2023

Defined on the top of classical

L

p

-spaces, the Besov spaces of periodic functions are good at encoding the smoothness properties of their elements. These spaces are also characterized in terms of summability conditions on the coefficients in trigonometric series expansions of their elements. In this paper, we study the approximation properties of

2
π

-periodic functions in a Besov space under a norm involving the seminorm associated with the space. To achieve our results, we use a summability method presented by a lower triangular matrix with monotonic rows.
Thermomechanical Behaviors of a Novel Double-Layer Corrugated Core Structure for Thermal Protection System
Authors: Li Bin , Hang Zixuan , Dai Ting
Published: July 2023

Corrugated core sandwich structures have great potential in the application to thermal protection system of aerospace vehicles. However, the traditional layout of web plates could inevitably lead to thermal short effects and high risk of buckling failure of the integrated thermal protection system (ITPS). In this paper, a novel double-layer ITPS is proposed by splitting and reorganizing a classical corrugated sandwich structure without additional introducing of weight. Distribution types of parallel, symmetric, and orthogonal of the double layers are designed and studied in detail. Basic theory of the thermomechanical problem as well as finite element simulation is carried out to study the responses of the ITPS. Numerical results show that the orthogonal type has more excellent yield resistance at high temperature and large temperature gradient than the others, while the parallel type has a relatively stronger buckling resistance. In addition, the structural stiffness variation caused by temperature dependencies of material parameters is greater than that caused by thermal stress, which shows the significance of consideration of temperature-dependent material properties in structure vibration analysis.
Enhancing the Hybrid Microgrid Performance with Jellyfish Optimization for Efficient MPPT and THD Estimation by the Unscented Kalman Filter
Authors: Singh Nivedita , Ansari M. A. , Tripathy Manoj , Gupta Pratiksha , Ali Ikbal , Rawea Adel Saleh
Published: July 2023

Power management in advanced grid systems requires the seamless integration of diverse renewable energy sources. This study investigates the optimization of a grid-connected system comprising a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel, energy storage system, fuel cell (FC), and diesel generator (DG) using the bioinspired metaheuristic technique called jellyfish optimization (JF). The objective is to maximize power generation from the PV system under normal and partial shading conditions. The performance of JF is compared against particle swarm optimization (PSO) using various parameters. As India heavily relies on solar PV, the results highlight JF’s exceptional effectiveness in extracting maximum power during partial shading scenarios. Inspired by the active and passive motions of jellyfish in the ocean, the JF algorithm is utilized. To further optimize the power output, the system is integrated with an efficient battery management system, PEM fuel cell stacking, and diesel generators. The system’s performance is analyzed using fast Fourier transform (FFT) to evaluate harmonic distortions, which consistently meet the limits specified in IEEE STD 1547-2018. Furthermore, unscented Kalman filter-based analysis is employed to assess total harmonic distortion (THD) and power rating for the grid system across various renewable energy scenarios. The contribution of the jellyfish optimization (JF) algorithm lies in its ability to efficiently and effectively maximize power generation from the PV system, regardless of normal or partial shading conditions. JF, a bioinspired metaheuristic optimization technique, successfully emulates the collective behavior of jellyfish in the ocean to identify optimal solutions. In this study, JF outperforms particle swarm optimization (PSO) in terms of power generation under partial shading conditions. Notably, JF exhibits remarkable capability in exploring the search space and discovering the global optimum, even when the system operates under challenging conditions. Overall, this study demonstrates the tremendous potential of JF in maximizing power generation in grid-connected systems with renewable energy sources while also highlighting the benefits of integrating additional components to further enhance the system performance.
Edaravone Improved Behavioral Abnormalities, Alleviated Oxidative Stress Inflammation, and Metabolic Homeostasis Pathways in Depression
Authors: Montazeri Sina , Bijani Soroush , Anoush Mahdieh , Sharafi Ali , Kalantari-Hesari Ali , Hosseini Mir-Jamal
Published: July 2023

Depression is one of the main factors affecting our daily performance. Among many putative compounds with effect on behavioral and pathophysiological alterations in depression, edaravone (EDV) demonstrates antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties. To investigate possible antidepressive and anxiolytic-like effects of EDV, Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups: (1) control; (2) EDV (6 mg/kg); (3) post weaning social isolation (PWSI); (4) PWSI+EDV (1.5 mg/kg); (5) PWSI+EDV (3 mg/kg); and (6) PWSI+EDV (6 mg/kg). After the series of behavioral tests, animals were sacrificed, and their hippocampi were dissected for further biochemical and gene expression assays. Our results showed that treatment with 3 and 6 mg/kg EDV after social isolation would improve anxiety, depressive and anhedonic-like behavior in OFT, EPM, FST, and splash tests. In addition, treatment at the aforementioned doses achieved to recover total cellular antioxidant and GSH level. These effects were accompanied with the suppressive effect of EDV on MDA and PCO levels. EDV treatment also modulated the expression of AMPK, Tlr-4, BDNF, nNOS, and iNOS genes. The treatment with 3 and 6 mg/kg EDV would lead to the recovery of behavioral impairments, cellular free radical surge that could be in correlation with the effect of this substance on immune system response, improved energy production system, and more efficacy in the recovery of neural tissue. In conclusion, EDV ameliorates depressive-like disorder by modulating neuroinflammation, energy production, and neural tissue recovery.
Selection of Soil and Water Conservation Technologies and Native Tree Species for Rehabilitation of Degraded Arid Lands in Southeast Ethiopia
Authors: Eshete Abeje , Teshome Shambel , Edaso Aliyi , Yilma Getaw , Furo Gemedo
Published: July 2023

The large-scale commercial agriculture, mining, expansion of sedentary agricultural settlements, and overgrazing in Ethiopian pastoral areas have become a major cause of land degradation. Such activities reduce grazing capacities and impoverish already fragile living conditions of the pastoralists. Such an increase in land degradations necessitates urgent calls for interventions. The main objectives of this study were to select the best performing soil and water conservation technologies and native tree species to restore degraded lands of arid and semiarid conditions in Liben District of Guji Zone, Oromia Reginal State, Ethiopia. Four locally grown and locally preferred tree species, namely, Cordia africana, Acacia tortilis, Acacia goetzei, and Combretum molle, were planted in five soil and moisture conservation structures (control, half-moon, spot hoeing, mowing, and trench). The survival rate and height and root collar diameter (RCD) growth of planted tree species were collected two years after planting. A significantly higher survival rate, RCD, and height growth of planted seedlings were recorded from half-moon (52.44 ± 12.48%; 1.66 ± 0.31 cm; 51.57 ± 2.79 cm) and trench (64.00 ± 11.49%; 1.92 ± 0.27; 69.67 ± 2.62 cm) moisture conservation structures, respectively. Acacia tortilis (58.22 ± 12.38%) and Acacia goetzei (42.99 ± 8.81%) had better survival rate than Cordia africana (4.00 ± 1.91%) and Combretum molle (24.22 ± 7.34). Cordia africana attained the largest RCD (2.50 ± 0.34 cm) and height (95.83 ± 17.25 cm) growth, followed by Acacia tortilis and Acacia goetzei. It is concluded that Acacia tortilis and Acacia goetzei are better species to grow in degraded lands. The half-moon and trench moisture conservation structures have a great potential for degraded areas of the arid and semiarid conditions of Ethiopia for better tree establishment, survival, and enhanced growth thereby rehabilitation of degraded lands.
An Effective Method to Determine the Available Transmission Capacity with Variable Frequency Transformer
Authors: Eidiani Mostafa , Zeynal Hossein
Published: July 2023

Available transmission capacity (ATC) is a top priority and lucrative solution for electricity market players. Fast and accurate ATC solutions enable participants to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. In order to procure a competitive solution, we propose the differential power flow equation-based static ATC. Using the proposed method, the entire time-domain trajectory of a dynamic system can be solved along with a differential equation based on a fictional time. In this paper, a variable frequency transformer (VFT) was used to control and increase the transmission power, which made the calculations more complex. In addition, the proposed method was used in seven different systems and 50% of the time was saved on small systems. It also enjoyed a much better performance (up to 90%) on large systems. It can be concluded that the proposed static ATC introduces promising results and is suitable for online applications.
LncRNA AGPG Confers Endocrine Resistance in Breast Cancer by Promoting E2F1 Activity
Authors: Yu Shiyi , Wang Ying , Gong Xue , Fan Zhehao , Wang Zheng , Liang Zhengyan , Wu Rui , Cao Binjie , Wang Ning , Bi Caili , Lv Dan , Sun Haibo
Published: July 2023

Resistance to endocrine therapy represents a major concern for patients with estrogen receptor α–positive (ERα+) breast cancer. Endocrine therapy resistance is commonly mediated by activated E2F signaling. A better understanding of the mechanisms governing E2F1 activity in resistant cells could reveal strategies for overcoming resistance. Here, we identified the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) actin gamma 1 pseudogene 25 (AGPG) as a regulator of E2F1 activity in endocrine-resistant breast cancer. Expression of AGPG was increased in endocrine-resistant breast cancer cells, which was driven by epigenomic activation of an enhancer. AGPG was also abnormally upregulated in patient breast tumors, especially in the luminal B subtype, and high AGPG expression was associated with poor survival of patients with ERα+ breast cancer receiving endocrine therapy. The upregulation of AGPG mediated resistance to endocrine therapy and cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibition in breast cancer cells. Mechanistically, AGPG physically interacted with PURα, thus releasing E2F1 from PURα and leading to E2F1 signaling activation in ERα+ breast cancer cells. In patients with breast cancer, E2F1 target genes were positively and negatively correlated with expression of AGPG and PURα, respectively. Coadministration of chemically modified AGPG siRNA and tamoxifen strongly suppressed tumor growth in endocrine-resistant cell line–derived xenografts. Together, these results demonstrate that AGPG can drive endocrine therapy resistance and indicate that it is a promising biomarker and potential therapeutic target in breast cancer.

Significance:

Blockade of formation of the PURα/E2F1 complex by lncRNA AGPG activates E2F1 and promotes endocrine resistance, providing potential strategies for combatting endocrine-resistant breast cancer.
Learning Individual Survival Models from PanCancer Whole Transcriptome Data
Authors: Kumar Neeraj , Skubleny Daniel , Parkes Michael , Verma Ruchika , Davis Sacha , Kumar Luke , Aissiou Amira , Greiner Russell
Published: July 2023

Purpose:

Personalized medicine attempts to predict survival time for each patient, based on their individual tumor molecular profile. We investigate whether our survival learner in combination with a dimension reduction method can produce useful survival estimates for a variety of patients with cancer.

Experimental Design:

This article provides a method that learns a model for predicting the survival time for individual patients with cancer from the PanCancer Atlas: given the (16,335 dimensional) gene expression profiles from 10,173 patients, each having one of 33 cancers, this method uses unsupervised nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) to reexpress the gene expression data for each patient in terms of 100 learned NMF factors. It then feeds these 100 factors into the Multi-Task Logistic Regression (MTLR) learner to produce cancer-specific models for each of 20 cancers (with >50 uncensored instances); this produces “individual survival distributions” (ISD), which provide survival probabilities at each future time for each individual patient, which provides a patient's risk score and estimated survival time.

Results:

Our NMF-MTLR concordance indices outperformed the VAECox benchmark by 14.9% overall. We achieved optimal survival prediction using pan-cancer NMF in combination with cancer-specific MTLR models. We provide biological interpretation of the NMF model and clinical implications of ISDs for prognosis and therapeutic response prediction.

Conclusions:

NMF-MTLR provides many benefits over other models: superior model discrimination, superior calibration, meaningful survival time estimates, and accurate probabilistic estimates of survival over time for each individual patient. We advocate for the adoption of these cancer survival models in clinical and research settings.
Cancer Prediction With Machine Learning of Thrombi From Thrombectomy in Stroke: Multicenter Development and Validation
Authors: Heo JoonNyung , Lee Hyungwoo , Seog Young , Kim Sungeun , Baek Jang-Hyun , Park Hyungjong , Seo Kwon-Duk , Kim Gyu Sik , Cho Han-Jin , Baik Minyoul , Yoo Joonsang , Kim Jinkwon , Lee Jun , Chang Yoonkyung , Song Tae-Jin , Seo Jung Hwa , Ahn Seong Hwan , Lee Heow Won , Kwon Il , Park Eunjeong , Kim Byung Moon , Kim Dong Joon , Kim Young Dae , Nam Hyo Suk
Published: July 2023

BACKGROUND:

We aimed to develop and validate machine learning models to diagnose patients with ischemic stroke with cancer through the analysis of histopathologic images of thrombi obtained during endovascular thrombectomy.

METHODS:

This was a retrospective study using a prospective multicenter registry which enrolled consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke from South Korea who underwent endovascular thrombectomy. This study included patients admitted between July 1, 2017 and December 31, 2021 from 6 academic university hospitals. Whole-slide scanning was performed for immunohistochemically stained thrombi. Machine learning models were developed using transfer learning with image slices as input to classify patients into 2 groups: cancer group or other determined cause group. The models were developed and internally validated using thrombi from patients of the primary center, and external validation was conducted in 5 centers. The model was also applied to patients with hidden cancer who were diagnosed with cancer within 1 month of their index stroke.

RESULTS:

The study included 70 561 images from 182 patients in both internal and external datasets (119 patients in internal and 63 in external). Machine learning models were developed for each immunohistochemical staining using antibodies against platelets, fibrin, and erythrocytes. The platelet model demonstrated consistently high accuracy in classifying patients with cancer, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.986 (95% CI, 0.983–0.989) during training, 0.954 (95% CI, 0.937–0.972) during internal validation, and 0.949 (95% CI, 0.891–1.000) during external validation. When applied to patients with occult cancer, the model accurately predicted the presence of cancer with high probabilities ranging from 88.5% to 99.2%.

CONCLUSIONS:

Machine learning models may be used for prediction of cancer as the underlying cause or detection of occult cancer, using platelet-stained immunohistochemical slide images of thrombi obtained during endovascular thrombectomy.
Why Children Believe They Are Owned
Authors: Starmans Christina , Friedman Ori
Published: July 2023

Owners decide what happens to their property, and so adults typically view autonomous beings as non-owned. If children likewise consider autonomy when judging what is owned, this may have implications for how they view themselves. If children believe that parents have power over them, that they themselves lack autonomy, and that only the autonomous cannot be owned, this may lead them to believe that they are owned by their parents. Across three experiments, we found that 4- to 7-year-old children (N = 206) consistently affirm that children are owned by their parents. In Experiment 1, children judged that children and domesticated animals are owned, but denied this for adults and wild animals. In Experiment 2, children were more likely to see children as owned by their parents than by their teachers, and also denied that children own either kind of adult. Finally, in Experiment 3, children were less likely to view a child who makes decisions against parental authority as owned. These judgments are unlikely to mirror what children have been told. Instead, they likely result from children spontaneously using autonomy principles, and possibly other principles of ownership, in reasoning about the ownership of living entities.
A New Definition of Ethical Mentophobia
Authors: Chauvet David
Published: July 2023

It has become difficult to deny animal consciousness. However, we have nonepistemic reasons for denying it that are related to our interests. In particular, research has shown that we reject animal consciousness to morally preserve our meat consumption. It is therefore possible that mentophobia is expressed in ways other than the denial of the nonhuman animal mind. We revisit the concept of mentophobia to show that it includes at least one other way of belittling other animals by attacking their mental abilities or traits, namely, through denigration. We thus distinguish denial-mentophobia and denigration-mentophobia, paving the way for empirical research that may be useful in debates on the moral or political status of nonhuman animals. This distinction also has important consequences for the concept of mentophobia regarding the concept of dementalization in that it increases their nonredundancy.
Prospects for State and Individual Responsibility in Cases of Aggression in the Context of Russia’s Armed Aggression Against Ukraine
Authors: Shatilo Volodymyr A. , Kharytonov Sergiy O. , Kovbasa Volodymyr M. , Svintsytskyi Andrii V. , Lyseiuk Andrii M.
Published: July 2023

Notwithstanding the war that raged through the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is admittedly the first armed conflict of such a scale to take place almost in the heart of Europe. The Russian–Ukrainian war poses a threat to the international order, and risks escalating into a Third World War, especially if Belarus sides with Russia to participate in the armed conflict. While it could seem that in the 21st century all issues and conflicts arising between states should be resolved at the diplomatic level, in accordance with the requirements and norms of relevant international pacts and treaties, humanity still turns to such a destructive and cruel way of resolving them as war. This article explores the issue of accountability prospects for crimes perpetrated in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both from the viewpoint of State responsibility and from that of individual criminal responsibility.
French-Rwandan Foreign Relations: Depth and Rebirth of Diplomatic Relations
Authors: Beloff Jonathan R.
Published: July 2023

This research examines France and Rwanda’s historical, current and future relations. The consequences of France’s past support for Rwanda’s pre-genocide regimes indirectly resulted in nearly one million deaths during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. France’s role during the Rwandan Civil War (1990–1994) against the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) significantly influenced how the post-genocide Rwandan government engaged with France. Since 1994, French-Rwandan relations experienced significant lows, with Rwanda forming closer ties with the United States, European Union and the United Kingdom. However, there have been improved relations under Nicolas Sarkozy and President Emmanuel Macron. Bilateral relations increased under Macron through his personal interests in restoring Rwandan-French relations. This research relies on interpretivist and triangulation methods from interview data collected during multiple fieldwork period to understand through a Neorealist theoretical framework how Rwandan government elites, responsible for the state’s foreign policy, perceptions and desired diplomatic relations with France since 1994.
An emotions agenda for peace: Connections beyond feelings, power beyond violence
Authors: Travouillon Katrin , Lemay-Hébert Nicolas , Wallis Joanne
Published: July 2023

While the ‘emotion turn’ has emerged as an influential analytical lens in International Relations (IR), there is not yet a well-developed understanding of the role that emotions play in facilitating or inhibiting peace. This special issue of Cooperation and Conflict engages with the analytical potential of emotions and the promise this perspective holds for innovative analyses of peace processes and peacebuilding. To demonstrate the political significance of emotions to peace, the contributors explore how emotions shape the bounds and boundaries of actors and alliances committed to fostering peaceful societies. This introductory article offers possible avenues to leverage the analytical potential of IR’s emotions agenda to engage with peace and peacebuilding. First, we discuss how the emotions agenda contributes to the conversation about what peace is and should look like. Second, we argue that emotions can help us to articulate peace as an embodied knowledge of complex socio-political relations and power dynamics. To visualize ‘peace’ without the permanent contrast of violence, we mobilize this perspective to illuminate actors’ practices and the constraints they face in the pursuit of a peaceful political order. Third, we discuss what an emotions agenda for peace might entail for critical and constructive peacebuilding studies.
Food Waste and Survival in Times of the Soviet Famines in Ukraine
Authors: Skubii Iryna
Published: July 2023

This article focuses on the interconnections and interrelations between food, waste, people and state during a series of survival crises in the famines of 1921–3, 1932–3 and 1946–7 in Soviet Ukraine. Owing to grain and food requisitions, the collectivization of agriculture and rationing, as part of the state's growing control over the flow of economic resources from the 1920s to the 1940s, discarded food acquired particular importance for people's survival during these times of extremes. Focusing on both individual and institutional levels of waste production and regulation, this study explores the role of food waste in the survival practices of the starving and traces the development of their individual resourcefulness and interconnectedness with wider social and natural environments. The article explores different types of food waste, including husks, leftover food, carrion and spoiled and rotten food and the spaces of its collection. By ‘following’ the traces of waste in urban and rural landscapes, including, among others, dumpsters, slaughterhouses, cattle cemeteries and railway stations, the article brings into focus the critical changes in human–food, human–waste and human–nature relationships in times of extremes.
Rethinking the dominant modernist planning narrative: Investigating pedestrianisation in Europe, 1960s–1970s
Authors: Feriel Cédric
Published: July 2023

This article intends to discuss the 1970s as a breaking point in both urban and transport history. The dominant narrative of urban planning sets two periods after 1945 in opposition: the post-war modernist and car-oriented city on the one hand, and on the other hand the (more) sustainable and pedestrian-oriented city that supposedly started to arise in the 1980s. This time frame reveals the importance given to the narrative of the avant-garde, the great intellectual figures, and the national policies in urban history. The paper decentres the investigation into the history of pedestrianisation in Europe and highlights how “anonymous” city engineers and local urban planners produced alternative pathways to modernisation as early as the 1950s. The European municipal movement for pedestrianisation appears as the missing link between the radical functionalist approach of post-war modern planning, and the present trend in favour of public space and walkability.
Antitrust and Equal Liberty
Authors: Jackson Kate
Published: July 2023

As Robert Bork once asserted, “Antitrust policy cannot be made rational until we are able to give a firm answer to one question: What is the point of the law—what are its goals? Everything else follows from the answer we give.” The appropriate answer, however, is not, as Bork suggested, consumer welfare. Instead, antitrust should serve the equal liberties that citizens give themselves when they engage in economic activity. Given the complexity and interconnectivity of the economy, however, the deliberations in which citizens and policymakers engage will produce a messy cacophony. While leaving the precise content and scope of citizens’ equal liberties open, this article provides a cognitive framework that should nevertheless prove useful as they make sense of the noise. It explains that while business can claim associational freedoms, those freedoms challenge the autonomy of rights of corporate insiders and outsiders alike and should be constrained accordingly. Indeed, this is how citizens have historically understood antitrust—and they can and should do so again.
Investigating the Viability of Transfer Pathways to STEM Degrees: Do Community Colleges Prepare Students for Success in University STEM Courses?
Authors: Bahr Peter Riley , Jones Elizabeth S. , Skiles Joshua
Published: July 2023

Objective: Community colleges have considerable potential to grow the number of individuals who complete STEM baccalaureate degrees and to broaden access to educational opportunities in STEM. However, efforts to tap this potential have been hampered by nagging questions about whether community colleges prepare students adequately for advanced STEM courses at universities. In this study, we draw on data from four universities in Michigan to investigate differences in the course and degree outcomes of students who completed prerequisite STEM courses in community colleges versus students who completed prerequisites at the university. Methods: We use logistic and linear regression to control for several potentially confounding variables, including prior academic achievement as measured by high school grade point average. Results: In three of the universities, we did not find evidence of consistently weaker outcomes among students who completed STEM prerequisites at community colleges or among transfer students generally. In the fourth university, students taking STEM prerequisites in a community college had weaker course outcomes than did non-transfer students. Intersecting qualitative evidence points to differences in levels of support for transfer students as a probable explanation for the differences in students’ outcomes, rather than inadequate rigor of community college STEM coursework. Conclusion: Our findings generally align with prior evidence of minor or inconsistent differences in outcomes for students who previously attended a community college, but also point to the probable role of institutional factors at universities in influencing the chances of success among students who utilize community college to complete STEM coursework.
Assessing the longitudinal relationship between whole egg consumption and cognition in Chinese older adults
Authors: An Ruopeng , Wang Shanshan
Published: July 2023

Background

Given China's fast-growing aging population, cognitive decline is a leading public health concern. Eggs are an affordable food rich in several shortfall nutrients that may benefit cognitive health.

Aim

This study assessed the longitudinal relationship between whole egg consumption and cognition among older adults in China.

Methods

Individual-level data of 4737 Chinese adults 55+ years came from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) 1997–2006 waves. Daily egg consumption was measured using 3-day 24-h dietary recalls. Cognitive functioning was assessed with immediate and delayed recall of a 10-word list, counting backward from 20, and serial 7 subtraction. Multivariate mixed-effects regressions were performed to estimate the longitudinal associations between daily whole egg consumption and cognitive functioning in older Chinese adults.

Results

Approximately 46% of CHNS participants were whole egg consumers, and their daily intake averaged 47.4 g. The overall cognitive functioning test scores, separate scores for cognitive functioning subdomains, and the prevalence of cognitive impairment at the baseline were modestly higher among whole egg consumers than nonconsumers. However, after adjusting for individual characteristics, multivariate mixed-effects regressions did not find daily whole egg consumption to be associated with cognitive functioning among CHNS participants. By contrast, several demographic and socioeconomic factors, such as age, education attainment, and health insurance coverage, were found to correlate with older Chinese adults’ cognition.

Conclusion

This study has measurement and design limitations. Future research should investigate the causal impact of habitual egg intake on different domains of cognition using experimental designs with an extended follow-up period.
The effects of extra virgin olive oil or butter on cardiovascular biomarkers in European and Chinese males in the UK: A pilot randomised crossover trial
Authors: Liang Fan , Young Julie , Koutsidis Georgios , Lara Gallegos Jose
Published: July 2023

Purpose: No dietary interventional studies have reported the impact of olive oil on cardiovascular risk markers in groups of different ethnic origins. We report a pilot randomised controlled trial of an intervention supplementing extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) on markers of cardiovascular risk among East Asian Chinese, and European Caucasian individuals. Methods: A cross-over, randomised controlled dietary intervention for 2 weeks was undertaken. Thirty-two adults, healthy, individuals of Chinese and European origin took part in this study. 24-h ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), and blood lipids, were assessed. Results: Positive benefits of EVOO consumption were observed in all participants. Lower 24-h ambulatory SBP (−4.3 mmHg; p = 0.020), and day-time SBP (5.528 mmHg; p = 0.008), night-time DBP (−3.784 mmHg; p = 0.008) and night-time MAP (−3.747 mmHg; p = 0.007) were seen in all participants independently of covariates. In addition, total cholesterol (7.9 mg/dL; p = 0.017) and LDL-cholesterol (6.5 mg/dL; p = 0.028) were increased with butter but not with olive oil. No significant difference in other cardiovascular risk factors were observed. However, differences were observed between Caucasians and East Asian individuals in the absence of significant differences in lifestyle. Conclusion: This pilot study suggests that consumption of EVOO should be advocated as a healthier dietary fat and recommended to replace butter as a dietary strategy to improve cardiovascular health in both Caucasians and East Asian individuals.
The spiritual dimension of parenting a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition: A mixed-methods systematic review
Authors: Engel Marijanne , Brouwer Marije A , Jansen Nienke , Leget Carlo , Teunissen Saskia CCM , Kars Marijke C
Published: July 2023

Background:

Spirituality refers to the dynamic dimension of human life that relates to the way that persons experience meaning, purpose, and transcendence. The complex task of parenting a child with a life-limiting condition may raise existential questions, which are easily overlooked by healthcare professionals.

Aim:

We explored how the spiritual dimension becomes manifest in parents of children in pediatric palliative care.

Design:

A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted, registered in Prospero (2021 CRD42021285318).

Data sources:

PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, PsycInfo, and Cochrane were searched for articles published between January 1, 2015 and January 1, 2023. We included original empirical studies that reported on spirituality of parents of seriously ill children, from parents’ perspectives.

Results:

Sixty-three studies were included: 22 North-American, 19 Asian, 13 European, 9 other. Studies varied in defining spirituality. We identified five different aspects of spirituality: religion, hope, parental identity, personal development, and feeling connected with others. All aspects could function as source of spirituality or cause of spiritual concern. Sources of spirituality helped parents to give meaning to their experiences and made them feel supported. However, parents also reported struggling with spiritual concerns. Several parents highlighted their need for professional support.

Conclusions:

Although studies vary in defining spirituality, reports on spirituality focus on how parents connect to their faith, others, and themselves as parents. Healthcare professionals can support parents by paying attention to the spiritual process parents are going through. More research is needed into how healthcare professionals can support parents of seriously ill children in this process.
Longitudinal Assessment of Postconcussion Driving: Evidence of Acute Driving Impairment
Authors: Schmidt Julianne D. , Lynall Robert C. , Lempke Landon B. , Miller L. Stephen , Gore Russell K. , Devos Hannes
Published: July 2023

Background:

Current medical practices and recommendations largely ignore the safety of postconcussion driving, even though commonly used measures of neurocognition, balance, and vestibulo-ocular function show impairment.

Purpose:

To compare simulated driving between patients with concussion and controls throughout concussion recovery using a case-control design.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods:

A total of 26 concussed and 23 control Division I collegiate athletes completed a driving simulation assessment at 3 time points (within 72 hours, asymptomatic, and return to sport). Cumulative driving simulation outcome variables included total number of collisions, speed exceedances, stop signs missed, lane excursions, total drive time, percentage of time over the speed limit, and percentage of time out of the lane. The mean speed, standard deviation of speed (SDS), lateral lane position, and standard deviation of lateral lane position (SDLP) were examined for each of the 11 drive segments. Outcomes were compared using generalized linear mixed models with random intercepts by participant with Poisson or normal distributions.

Results:

Within 72 hours of injury, the concussion group committed more lane excursions (median difference, 2; P = .003), exhibited greater SDS while avoiding a child pedestrian crossing the road (Cohen d = 0.73; P = .011), drove ~7 inches (~18 cm) closer to the centerline during a residential left curve ( d = 0.90; P = .015), and had greater SDLP while navigating around a car crash compared with controls ( d = 0.72; P = .016). When asymptomatic, the concussion group committed fewer speed exceedances (median difference, 2; P = .002) and had lower SDLP while navigating through a traffic light compared with controls ( d = 0.60; P = .045). No differences were evident at return to sport. Groups did not differ in total collisions at any time point.

Conclusion:

The concussion group showed more impaired driving patterns within 72 hours of injury, drove more conservatively once asymptomatic, and had similar driving performance at the time they returned fully to sport. Clinicians should consider these findings when discussing driving with patients acutely after concussion. Further research is needed to determine whether on-road collision risk is elevated after concussion.
‘Disability Is an Art. It's an Ingenious Way to Live.’: Integrating Disability Justice Principles and Critical Feminisms in Social Work to Promote Inclusion and Anti-Ableism in Professional Praxis
Authors: Goulden Ami , Kattari Shanna K. , Slayter Elspeth M. , Norris Sarah E.
Published: July 2023

Disability communities engaged with social work recognize how critical feminist inquiry and disability justice principles often overlap to promote anti-ableist theorizing, research, practice, and education. Both the feminist scholarship and the disability justice movement center the voices and perspectives of those most excluded, reflecting the intersectional experiences of disability communities in social work. In this brief, we draw on significant events, such as the impact of climate change and criminal legal systems on disabled people, to map connections between critical feminisms, disability justice principles, and social work values. In re-imagining disability justice as a form of critical feminism, we highlight parallels in their guiding principles and explore how their multi-issue frameworks interrogate the same systems of power and oppression. Through this re-envisioning, we build upon the knowledge offered by intersectional disability communities that center interdependence as practices of survival and resistance. The authors suggest that social workers engaged with principles of disability justice and critical feminisms would do well to consider interdependence, collective care, and mutual aid as pathways toward inclusive and anti-ableist professional praxis.
‘Let Justice Roll Down’: Confronting Injustice in Theological Education for Māori Flourishing
Authors: Picard Andrew , Rapana Jordyn
Published: July 2023

Theological education in Aotearoa New Zealand has developed within the structures of whiteness which inhibit the flourishing of indigenous students. This article employs Willie Jennings’s work, especially from After Whiteness, as an analytical frame to interpret the experience of a wahine Māori (an indigenous woman) student and her Pākehā (European) supervisor during the completion of her capstone integrative theology project at Carey Baptist College in Aotearoa. This project, which intersected Māori knowledges with theology to develop a theological account of land, unveiled the structural injustices that often prevent Māori from flourishing in theological education. We examine the historical legacy of theology's role in instituting educational injustice in Aotearoa and detail the shape this legacy takes in contemporary theological education. We reflect on our distinct experiences in the process of change undertaken to address some of the educational injustices and develop a form of assessment that enabled a Māori student to flourish as Māori.
Freedom in Community: The Importance of Anthropology in Maintaining and Developing our Narratives of Common Life
Authors: Hoggard Creegan Nicola
Published: July 2023

In this article I am assuming that freedom and flourishing are linked concepts. Freedom of will, liberty and freedom are all slightly different, but freedom is a deep-seated human value, as is equality. Here I hope to examine the communal aspects of freedom and flourishing in light of our deep history. I argue that what individuals need in order to flourish is to be a part of a community which recognises and supports equality and freedom. And I argue further that our collective story of origins deeply affects our view of human nature, and how hopeful we are able to be that humans can thrive and adapt. To this end, I delve into what we know of our nature from anthropology/pre-history, and then examine what the consequences are of this pre-history for some of our theological doctrines about human nature and sinfulness.
Financial Statement Analysis: Case Study of Apar Industries
Authors: Shawl Sana , Nayak Keyur M.
Published: July 2023

The case study is focused on the financial statement analysis of Apar Industries, one of the leading corporations working in electrical and metallurgical engineering at home and in foreign markets. This is a teaching case that aims to teach early-stage business and commerce students how to assess a real company’s performance and financial condition through ratio analysis using published secondary data. The interpretation strategy uses both internal and external (industry comparison) methods in order to assess the financial health of Apar Industries in a better and more holistic manner.
Building Bridges in Palliative Rehabilitation: An Evidence-Based Toolkit to Promote Collaboration
Authors: Henshaw Ann M. , Winstead Sunny R.
Published: July 2023

Background: Palliative care and rehabilitation professionals caring for seriously ill people and their families face barriers to effective, timely collaboration. Barriers such as ineffective communication processes, role misunderstanding across professions, and resource limitations can lead to underutilization of rehabilitation services for this vulnerable population. Objectives: To create practical connections between palliative care and rehabilitation professionals and to provide tools and strategies for teams to develop the core competencies (role clarity, communication, teamwork, and shared values) necessary to provide coordinated, timely, effective care to people living with serious illness. Design: With Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Core Competencies1 as a framework for interprofessional collaborative practice, a quality improvement project was conducted at a large academic medical center. The 5-phase project included literature review, expert interviews, identification of barriers and facilitators, development of strategies to mitigate barriers, and pilot testing of select strategies. Results: The PalRehab Toolkit consists of strategies to enhance interprofessional collaborative practice and infuse rehabilitation into palliative care in the acute care setting. Preliminary evaluation of piloted strategies suggests increased communication across professions, improved role clarity, and an increased likelihood of collaboration. Conclusion: Providing educational offerings, establishing efficient communication channels, and infusing rehabilitation concepts into palliative care practices, as outlined in the PalRehab Toolkit, may positively impact interprofessional collaborative practice and improve care delivery for people with serious illness and their families.
Keratin-Positive Giant Cell-Rich Tumor of Bone Harboring an HMGA2::NCOR2 Fusion: Two Cases, Including a Patient With Metastatic Disease, and Review of the Literature
Authors: Patton Ashley , Ilaslan Hakan , Armstrong Susan M. , Bakhshwin Ahmed , Cheng Yu-Wei , Minhas Farooq , Fritchie Karen J.
Published: July 2023

Giant cell-rich lesions of bone represent a heterogeneous group of entities which classically include giant cell tumor of bone, aneurysmal bone cyst, nonossifying fibroma, and Brown tumor of hyperparathyroidism. A recently described subset of giant cell-rich tumors involving bone and soft tissue has been characterized by recurrent HMGA2::NCOR2 fusions and keratin expression. The overlapping clinical, radiographic, and morphological features of these giant cell-rich lesions provide a unique diagnostic challenge, particularly on biopsy. We present 2 additional cases of keratin-positive giant cell-rich tumor of bone with HMGA2::NCOR2 fusions, including 1 patient who developed metastatic disease.
Fibro-Adipose Vascular Anomaly (FAVA): Not Another Vascular Anagram
Authors: Barwad Adarsh , Narwal Anubhav , Dutta Rimlee , Behera Rajendra , Kumar Venkatesh Sampath , Rastogi Sameer , Mridha Asit Ranjan
Published: July 2023

Background. Fibro-adipose vascular anomaly (FAVA) is a rare benign mesenchymal lesion. Characterized primarily by intramuscular vascular malformation with secondary overgrowth of other mesenchymal elements, particularly fibro-adipose tissue, the condition is sometimes complicated by nonspecific clinical and imaging features, causing diagnostic dilemma. Herein, we attempted to outline and correlate the clinical characteristics, imaging findings, and histopathological features of this unusual entity. Method. The study design was retrospective in nature. Computerized database of our institute was searched for tumors, and archived slides were reviewed. Pertinent clinical data including imaging findings and treatment details were also recovered for correlation. Result. Among total of 24 patients identified, mean age was approximately 16 years, with the presence of nearly equal gender distribution. Pain along with swelling was most common symptoms with the presence of movement limitation, in few. Most lesions were long-standing and anatomically confined to lower limb with no side predilection. Using imaging, the majority of the lesions were identified as vascular anomaly or venous malformation, with FAVA being a differential diagnosis in few lesions. However, in a couple of patients, likelihood of mesenchymal tumors was also suggested, radiologically. On histology, the lesions showed the presence of clustered back to back, abnormal thin-walled, variably dilated, blood-filled sac-like vessels amid skeletal muscle bundles, along with extensive fibro-adipose tissue and variably atrophic skeletal muscle bundles, at the periphery, diagnostic of FAVA. Conclusion. Owing to the presence of overlapping clinical and imaging features, FAVA is often misdiagnosed, causing dilemma in clinical management. Clinical, radiological, and histopathological correlation is thereby warranted for clinching the correct diagnosis.