bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Depression is related to edentulism and lack of functional dentition: An analysis of NHANES data, 2005–2016
Authors: Al‐Zahrani Mohammad S. , Alhassani Ahmed A. , Melis Marcello , Zawawi Khalid H.
Published: December 2020

Objective

Depression and tooth loss are significant health problems that affect individuals' functionality and quality of life. Comorbidity between depression and oral diseases has been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between depression and tooth loss in a US representative adult sample.

Methods

This study included data from 22,532 adults ≥18 years by combining six 2‐year cross‐sectional cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) administered between 2005 and 2016. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression adjusted for gender, age, race/ethnicity, smoking, education, socioeconomic status, body mass index, diabetes, and alcohol intake.

Results

Of the total sample, 4.5 percent were edentulous, 10.3 percent were lacking functional dentition (1–19 remaining teeth) and 85.2 percent had functional dentition (≥20 remaining teeth); among whom, the prevalence of depression was 12.4, 11.7, and 5.9 percent, respectively. Compared to individuals without depression, those with depression were more likely to be edentulous or lacking functional dentition versus having functional dentition (adjusted odds ratios (95% CI): 1.48 (1.16–1.89) and 1.43 (1.18–1.75), respectively).

Conclusions

Depression was associated with edentulism and a lack of functional dentition. Further longitudinal and interventional studies are needed to elucidate the nature and direction of the relationship between depression and tooth loss.
Resistance and resilience of genetic and phenotypic diversity to “black swan” flood events: A retrospective analysis with historical samples of guppies
Authors: Blondel Léa , Paterson Ian G. , Bentzen Paul , Hendry Andrew P.
Published: December 2020

Rare extreme “black swan” disturbances can impact ecosystems in many ways, such as destroying habitats, depleting resources, and causing high mortality. In rivers, for instance, exceptional floods that occur infrequently (e.g., so‐called “50‐year floods”) can strongly impact the abundance of fishes and other aquatic organisms. Beyond such ecological effects, these floods could also impact intraspecific diversity by elevating genetic drift or dispersal and by imposing strong selection, which could then influence the population's ability to recover from disturbance. And yet, natural systems might be resistant (show little change) or resilient (show rapid recovery) even to rare extreme events – perhaps as a result of selection due to past events. We considered these possibilities in two rivers where native guppies experienced two extreme floods – one in 2005 and another in 2016. For each river, we selected four sites and used archived “historical” samples to compare levels of genetic and phenotypic diversity before vs. after floods. Genetic diversity was represented by 33 neutral microsatellite markers, and phenotypic diversity was represented by body length and male melanic (black) colour. We found that genetic diversity and population structure was mostly “resistant” to even these extreme floods; whereas the larger impacts on phenotypic diversity were short‐lived, suggesting additional “resilience”. We discuss the determinants of these two outcomes for guppies facing floods, and then consider the general implications for the resistance and resilience of intraspecific variation to black swan disturbances.
Corumination, diet culture, intuitive eating, and body dissatisfaction among young adult women
Authors: Faw Meara H. , Davidson Kenzie , Hogan Laura , Thomas Kayla
Published: December 2020

Body dissatisfaction is pervasive among women in the United States. As a result, women feel pressured to participate in body‐related corumination. In response to evidence suggesting that diet culture and body‐related corumination can produce significant harm, scholars have increasingly proposed intuitive eating as a body‐positive alternative. This study explores the relationships between body‐specific corumination, body dissatisfaction, friendship quality, and intuitive eating. Results from this study's mixed‐methods investigation suggest that increase body‐related corumination is associated with increased body dissatisfaction and decreased intuitive eating. Relationship quality is associated with intuitive eating, and intuitive eating is negatively associated with body dissatisfaction. Results from this study's qualitative data indicate that women experience body‐related conversations in specific ways that can enforce unhealthy patterns of behavior and conversation.
Associations between satisfaction with one's own and partner's body and relationship outcomes
Authors: Côté Marilou , Vaillancourt‐Morel Marie‐Pier , Sabourin Stéphane , Bégin Catherine
Published: December 2020

Body dissatisfaction has been consistently associated with sexual and relationship dissatisfaction; however, much less is known about the association between satisfaction with the partner's body and relationship outcomes. Our aim was to examine the mediating role of sexual satisfaction in the associations between one's satisfaction with one's own and partner's body and relationship satisfaction. Two hundred and thirty‐one cohabiting heterosexual couples completed questionnaires online. The results of path analyses within an actor–partner interdependence model revealed that, for women, there was a significant negative indirect effect of body dissatisfaction on their own relationship satisfaction through their sexual satisfaction. For men, dissatisfaction with their partner's body was negatively related to their own relationship satisfaction with no significant indirect effect through sexual satisfaction. The present study extends previous research using dyadic analyses to test an integrative model that includes satisfaction with one's own and one's partner's body, which relates to sexual and relationship satisfaction in heterosexual couples. By broadening our understanding of body image issues within romantic relationships according to gender, we deepen our knowledge of personal relationships.
Interhemispheric differences in P1 and N1 amplitude in EEG and MEG differ across older individuals with a concussion compared with age‐matched controls
Authors: Desjardins Martine , Drisdelle Brandi Lee , Lefebvre Christine , Gagnon Jean‐Francois , De Beaumont Louis , Jolicoeur Pierre
Published: December 2020

We studied the effects of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in an aging population. We examined visual search with event‐related potentials (ERPs) and event‐related fields (ERF) for a lateral color singleton focusing on the P1 and N1 in each hemisphere. Forty participants (19 mTBI and 21 controls) aged 50 to 72 performed a visual search task, while we recorded their magnetoencephalogram (MEG) with simultaneous electroencephalogram (EEG). We compared visual ERPs and ERFs and associated cortical activity estimated using MEG source localization. Relative to matched controls, participants with an mTBI had a smaller P1 in the left hemisphere and a smaller N1 in the right hemisphere. Also, mTBI participants showed inversed activation patterns across the hemispheres during the N1 in MEG compared with controls. This is the first study to investigate the impact of mTBI on neuronal source activations during early visual processing in an aging population. Results showed that when aging individuals suffer from an mTBI, there are perturbations in the amplitude and hemispheric dominance patterns in the visual P1 and N1 responses that are visible for months to years following the injury. Our findings indicate that mTBI can lead to modifications of sensory and/or perceptual responses, suggesting possible adaptive functional reorganization following mTBI.
Innovations in Early Maritime Technology in Mesopotamia and the Arabian Gulf
Authors: Staples Eric
Published: December 2020

Objective

The objective of the article is to address the following fundamental questions: First, to what extent can Bronze Age maritime technology in Mesopotamia and the Gulf be considered an example of historical innovation, given the limited set of evidence? Second, what are the challenges of effectively measuring and analyzing maritime technological “innovation” in this period? Third, what methodologies have been recently developed to help us better understand these innovations?

Methods

The method relies on historical‐archaeological analysis of the evidence as well as experimental archaeological reconstruction.

Results

The study suggest that while the archaeological and textual evidence clearly shows that innovations took place, the paucity of that evidence limits any detailed analysis of innovation.

Conclusion

Due to the limited data currently available to us, maritime experimental archaeology provides the best methodology for potentially understanding these innovations until further archaeological discoveries are made related to the subject.
Selected advanced imaging techniques were unable to quantify in vivo parasitic burden in heartworm‐infested dogs
Authors: Lerer Assaf , Bowman Dwight D. , Luh Wen‐Ming , Ohmes Cameon M. , Scrivani Peter V.
Published: December 2020

This prospective exploratory study aimed to determine whether certain noninvasive advanced imaging techniques could estimate parasitic burden in heartworm‐infested dogs; a noninvasive method is needed for ethical considerations and permitting longitudinal drug studies. Three cardiac‐gated and respiratory‐gated 3T MRI techniques and CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) were performed in three healthy beagles to optimize imaging techniques. Once the imaging techniques were established, a pilot study was performed to determine which one of the MRI techniques would be used in an observer comparison study. Ultimately, spoiled gradient recalled (SPGR)‐cine‐MRI and CTPA were performed in four and five heartworm‐infested dogs, respectively. Heartworms were detected in the pulmonary arteries in all dogs during SPGR‐cine‐MRI and in no dog during CTPA. However, counting the number of worms was unsuccessful. In conclusion, CTPA and SPGR‐cine‐MRI were unable to replace necropsy for quantifying parasitic burden in heartworm‐infested dogs.
Single-Phase Natural Circulation Loop Using Oils and Ternary Hybrid Nanofluids: Steady-State and Transient Thermo-Hydraulics
Authors: Sahu Mayaram , Sarkar Jahar , Chandra Laltu
Published: December 2020

Steady-state and transient behaviors of single-phase natural circulation loop (SPNCL) are investigated using four thermal oils (Therminol VP1, Paratherm CR, Dowtherm A, and Dowtherm Q) and water-based ternary hybrid (various combinations of different nature and shaped nanoparticles: Al2O3, Cu, carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene) nanofluids as loop fluid. The influences of nanoparticle volume concentration and loop height-to-width ratio on the mass flow rate and total entropy generation rate of SPNCL are investigated. Results disclose that ternary hybrid nanofluids enhance flow initiation, reduce fluctuation and are expected to attain a steady-state faster than water. Steady-state mass flow rate increases/decreases for ternary hybrid nanofluid depending on the shape of the nanoparticle, and the total entropy generation rate decreases as compared to water. Thermal oil shows a higher mass flow rate and total entropy generation rate as compared to water. Al2O3–Cu–CNT–water and Paratherm CR show the best result among all ternary hybrid nanofluids and thermal oils, respectively. The nanoparticle shape decides the optimum nanoparticle volume fraction. Increasing the height-to-width ratio decreases the total entropy generation and upsurges the mass flow rate at specified input power. The optimum height-to-width ratio depends on the loop fluid.
Complete Genome Sequence of
Serratia
sp. Strain CC119, Associated with Inner Cotton Boll Rot via Insect Vector Transmission
Authors: Medrano Enrique G. , Smith Timothy P. L. , Glover James P. , Bell Alois A. , Brewer Michael J.
Published: December 2020

Serratia
species are Gram-negative bacteria that can infect both animals and plants. The annotated genome presented is the first for a
Serratia
sp. strain (called CC119) that is a cotton boll pathogen. The opportunistic strain is associated with the boll-piercing-sucking insect
Creontiades signatus
.
Mapping the Role of AcrAB-TolC Efflux Pumps in the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance Reveals Near-MIC Treatments Facilitate Resistance Acquisition
Authors: Langevin Ariel M. , El Meouche Imane , Dunlop Mary J.
Published: December 2020

Combatting the rise of antibiotic resistance is a significant challenge. Efflux pumps are an important contributor to drug resistance; they exist across many cell types and can export numerous classes of antibiotics.
A key role for comprehensive geriatric assessment in aortic valve replacement
Authors: El-Shakankery Karim Hussien , Mieiro Luis
Published: December 2020

As our population ages, the demand for surgical services in older people is increasing exponentially. Shown to be indispensable in the care of medical patients, use of the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is also growing in the perioperative setting. We present the case of a previously independent 82-year-old man who underwent a standard preoperative assessment and surgical aortic valve replacement. In the 7 months that followed, prior to his death, he suffered a rapid functional decline contributed to by slow postoperative recovery, delirium and recurrent falls. Post-mortem revealed cardiac amyloid deposition and extensive small vessel disease in the brain. This case highlights the importance of the CGA in the perioperative management of older patients, especially in identification and optimisation of geriatric syndromes and consideration of less-invasive alternative treatments. We review the existing literature on CGA use in cardiothoracic and vascular surgical settings, drawing on experiences learnt from the above case.
Neurobrucellosis associated with feral swine hunting in the southern United States
Authors: Powers Harry Ross , Nelson Jared R , Alvarez Salvador , Mendez Julio C
Published: December 2020

Although uncommon,Brucellainfection can occur outside the areas of high endemicity, such as the USA. In the southern USA, hunters of wild swine are at risk for brucellosis. We present a case of a patient with fever, headache and constitutional symptoms that were ongoing for 11 months. He was diagnosed with neurobrucellosis. The patient was treated successfully with intravenous ceftriaxone, oral doxycycline and oral rifampin therapy. He had persistent neurological sequelae after completing treatment. This case illustrates the high index of suspicion needed to diagnose neurobrucellosis in a non-endemic country because initial symptoms can be subtle. The disease can be treated successfully, but long-lasting neurological sequelae are common.
Italy and China: Much Ado about an MoU
Authors: PUGLIESE Giulio
Published: December 2020

Italy’s engagement with China, aptly represented by the Belt and Road Initiative Memorandum of Understanding signed in March 2019, is premised on continuity and on Rome’s economic calculations in the trade and investment agendas. Scraping the surface of populist Eurosceptic posturing, the engagement has hardly been at the detriment of the European Union’s China agenda. Yet, in light of the United States’ pushback against China and the growing fatigue following the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, Italy–China relations have quietly, but steadily, cooled.
MiRNA:RBP Interplay as a Key Regulatory Element in Health and Disease
Authors: Teneche Marcos G. , Carbó Neus , Casado F. Javier
Published: December 2020

Numerous crosstalk interactions between RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) have been recently reported, unveiling the complexity and importance of gene expression modulation in health and disease. They control physiological processes such as stem cell maintenance, neuronal development or energetic metabolism, but are also responsible for pathological conditions, such as muscle waste and dystrophies, atherosclerosis, obesity and cancer. MiRNAs and RBPs are two of the well-studied post-transcriptional regulators and they may even reciprocally regulate themselves. MiRNAs can act on RBPs expression while RBPs modulate miRNA biogenesis, function and degradation. RBPs and miRNAs modulate mRNA expression at different levels, affecting their stability, splicing and translation efficiency through either competition for overlapping binding or modulation of mRNA structure by binding, but several other forms of interaction have been described. In this review, we will address the current bibliography regarding miRNA:RBP interactions and crosstalk events as well as their implications in health and disease.
LLOV
Authors: Bora Utpal , Das Santanu , Kukreja Pankaj , Joshi Saurabh , Upadrasta Ramakrishna , Rajopadhye Sanjay
Published: December 2020

In the era of Exascale computing, writing efficient parallel programs is indispensable, and, at the same time, writing sound parallel programs is very difficult. Specifying parallelism with frameworks such as OpenMP is relatively easy, but data races in these programs are an important source of bugs. In this article, we propose LLOV, a fast, lightweight, language agnostic, and static data race checker for OpenMP programs based on the LLVM compiler framework. We compare LLOV with other state-of-the-art data race checkers on a variety of well-established benchmarks. We show that the precision, accuracy, and the F1 score of LLOV is comparable to other checkers while being orders of magnitude faster. To the best of our knowledge, LLOV is the only tool among the state-of-the-art data race checkers that can verify a C/C++ or FORTRAN program to be data race free.
Determining the Optimal Source Points in MFS by Minimizing an Energy Gap Functional for 3D Laplace Operator
Authors: Sajjadmanesh M. , Shakib Khanghah S. , Aydi H.
Published: December 2020

In this paper, an extended version of the method of minimizing an energy gap functional for determining the optimal source points in the method of fundamental solutions (MFS) is applied to the 3D Laplace operator subject to the Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. As we know, the MFS is a more popular meshless method for solving boundary or initial-boundary value problems due to its simplicity and high accuracy. However, the accuracy of the MFS depends strongly on the distribution of the source points. Finally, some of the numerical experiments are carried out to express the simplicity and effectiveness of the presented method.
BRD9 Is a Critical Regulator of Androgen Receptor Signaling and Prostate Cancer Progression
Authors: Alpsoy Aktan , Utturkar Sagar M. , Carter Benjamin C. , Dhiman Alisha , Torregrosa-Allen Sandra E. , Currie Melanie P. , Elzey Bennett D. , Dykhuizen Emily C.
Published: December 2020

Switch/sucrose-nonfermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin-remodeling complexes are critical regulators of chromatin dynamics during transcription, DNA replication, and DNA repair. A recently identified SWI/SNF subcomplex termed GLTSCR1/1L-BAF (GBAF; or “noncanonical BAF”, ncBAF) uniquely contains bromodomain-containing protein BRD9 and glioma tumor suppressor candidate region 1 (GLTSCR1) or its paralog GLTSCR1-like (GLTSCR1L). Recent studies have identified a unique dependency on GBAF (ncBAF) complexes in synovial sarcoma and malignant rhabdoid tumors, both of which possess aberrations in canonical BAF (cBAF) and Polybromo-BAF (PBAF) complexes. Dependencies on GBAF in malignancies without SWI/SNF aberrations, however, are less defined. Here, we show that GBAF, particularly its BRD9 subunit, is required for the viability of prostate cancer cell lines in vitro and for optimal xenograft tumor growth in vivo. BRD9 interacts with androgen receptor (AR) and CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF), and modulates AR-dependent gene expression. The GBAF complex exhibits overlapping genome localization and transcriptional targets as bromodomain and extraterminal domain–containing (BET) proteins, which are established AR coregulators. Our results demonstrate that GBAF is critical for coordinating SWI/SNF–BET cooperation and uncover a new druggable target for AR-positive prostate cancers, including those resistant to androgen deprivation or antiandrogen therapies.

Significance:

Advanced prostate cancers resistant to androgen receptor antagonists are still susceptible to nontoxic BRD9 inhibitors, making them a promising alternative for halting AR signaling in progressed disease.
Cancer-Associated Neurogenesis and Nerve-Cancer Cross-talk
Authors: Silverman Deborah A. , Martinez Vena K. , Dougherty Patrick M. , Myers Jeffrey N. , Calin George A. , Amit Moran
Published: December 2020

In this review, we highlight recent discoveries regarding mechanisms contributing to nerve-cancer cross-talk and the effects of nerve-cancer cross-talk on tumor progression and dissemination. High intratumoral nerve density correlates with poor prognosis and high recurrence across multiple solid tumor types. Recent research has shown that cancer cells express neurotrophic markers such as nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and glial cell–derived neurotrophic factor and release axon-guidance molecules such as ephrin B1 to promote axonogenesis. Tumor cells recruit new neural progenitors to the tumor milieu and facilitate their maturation into adrenergic infiltrating nerves. Tumors also rewire established nerves to adrenergic phenotypes via exosome-induced neural reprogramming by p53-deficient tumors. In turn, infiltrating sympathetic nerves facilitate cancer progression. Intratumoral adrenergic nerves release noradrenaline to stimulate angiogenesis via VEGF signaling and enhance the rate of tumor growth. Intratumoral parasympathetic nerves may have a dichotomous role in cancer progression and may induce Wnt–β-catenin signals that expand cancer stem cells. Importantly, infiltrating nerves not only influence the tumor cells themselves but also impact other cells of the tumor stroma. This leads to enhanced sympathetic signaling and glucocorticoid production, which influences neutrophil and macrophage differentiation, lymphocyte phenotype, and potentially lymphocyte function. Although much remains unexplored within this field, fundamental discoveries underscore the importance of nerve-cancer cross-talk to tumor progression and may provide the foundation for developing effective targets for the inhibition of tumor-induced neurogenesis and tumor progression.
Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitor Use and Risk of Conventional and Serrated Precursors of Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Zhang Yiwen , Lo Chun-Han , Giovannucci Edward L.
Published: December 2020

Background:

Phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors have been hypothesized to have chemoprotective effects in colorectal cancer. Current population-based epidemiologic evidence is, however, limited and inconsistent.

Methods:

Among 18,123 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study who had at least one lower gastrointestinal endoscopy, we evaluated the association between PDE5 inhibitor use and risk of conventional adenoma and serrated lesion between 2000 and 2010, adjusted for repeated observations and multiple risk factors. We stratified by erectile dysfunction to account for potential “confounding by indication.”

Results:

We documented 2,595 conventional adenomas and 1,395 serrated lesion polyps during the follow-up period. Using people without erectile dysfunction as reference group, recent PDE5 inhibitor use at baseline was not associated with lower risk of conventional adenoma [erectile dysfunction with PDE5 inhibitors: OR = 1.08; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.92–1.26; erectile dysfunction without PDE5 inhibitors: OR = 0.95; 95% CI, 0.85–1.06], serrated lesions (erectile dysfunction with PDE5 inhibitors: OR = 1.19; 95% CI = 0.97–1.45; erectile dysfunction without PDE5 inhibitors: OR = 1.03; 95% CI = 0.89–1.19), or advanced conventional adenomas (erectile dysfunction with PDE5 inhibitors: OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 0.94–1.53; erectile dysfunction without PDE5 inhibitors: OR = 0.95; 95% CI = 0.79–1.14). No association was found for PDE5 inhibitor use ever before as well.

Conclusions:

We found no evidence of an association between PDE5 inhibitor use and risk of conventional and serrated precursors of colorectal cancer.

Impact:

We show that PDE5 inhibitor use is not associated with precursors of colorectal cancer adjusted for medical and lifestyle risk factors among a large population of men with 10 years of follow-up.
VLA4-Targeted Nanoparticles Hijack Cell Adhesion–Mediated Drug Resistance to Target Refractory Myeloma Cells and Prolong Survival
Authors: Fontana Francesca , Scott Michael J. , Allen John S. , Yang Xiaoxia , Cui Grace , Pan Dipanjan , Yanaba Noriko , Fiala Mark A. , O'Neal Julie , Schmieder-Atteberry Anne H. , Ritchey Julie , Rettig Michael , Simons Kathleen , Fletcher Steven , Vij Ravi , DiPersio John F. , Lanza Gregory M.
Published: December 2020

Purpose:

In multiple myeloma, drug-resistant cells underlie relapse or progression following chemotherapy. Cell adhesion–mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR) is an established mechanism used by myeloma cells (MMC) to survive chemotherapy and its markers are upregulated in residual disease. The integrin very late antigen 4 (VLA4; α4β1) is a key mediator of CAM-DR and its expression affects drug sensitivity of MMCs. Rather than trying to inhibit its function, here, we hypothesized that upregulation of VLA4 by resistant MMCs could be exploited for targeted delivery of drugs, which would improve safety and efficacy of treatments.

Experimental Design:

We synthetized 20 nm VLA4-targeted micellar nanoparticles (V-NP) carrying DiI for tracing or a novel camptothecin prodrug (V-CP). Human or murine MMCs, alone or with stroma, and immunocompetent mice with orthotopic multiple myeloma were used to track delivery of NPs and response to treatments.

Results:

V-NPs selectively delivered their payload to MMCs in vitro and in vivo, and chemotherapy increased their uptake by surviving MMCs. V-CP, alone or in combination with melphalan, was well tolerated and prolonged survival in myeloma-bearing mice. V-CP also reduced the dose requirement for melphalan, reducing tumor burden in association with suboptimal dosing without increasing overall toxicity.

Conclusions:

V-CP may be a safe and effective strategy to prevent or treat relapsing or refractory myeloma. V-NP targeting of resistant cells may suggest a new approach to environment-induced resistance in cancer.
Retinal Pigment Epithelium Adenoma and Adenocarcinoma: A Review
Authors: Sreenivasan Janani  , Rishi Pukhraj , Das Kalpita , Krishnakumar Subramanian , Biswas Jyotirmay
Published: December 2020

Adenoma and adenocarcinoma of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) are rare intraocular tumours that are often misdiagnosed as posterior uveal melanoma or other simulating lesions. It is important to be able to differentiate these tumours from melanoma for 3 reasons. First, an inability to rule out melanoma often tilts the management towards enucleation. Second, management options like radiotherapy and local resection which work well for melanoma may not be easily applied to these tumours. Third, and most importantly, patients with melanoma need a lifetime follow-up to rule out metastases (metastatic dormancy) whereas RPE tumours hardly metastasize. An abruptly elevated, often deeply pigmented tumour, with a prominent retinal feeding artery and a draining vein causing exudation, should raise a suspicion of RPE tumours. RPE tumours have a remarkable local invasive potential but a low metastatic potential. Most RPE tumours require treatment due to local complications. Small, asymptomatic tumours can be generally observed. Enucleation is still the gold standard of treatment, although local resection has been reported in selected cases with good results. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the demographic, clinical, and imaging features of true acquired neoplasms of the RPE, namely adenoma and adenocarcinoma, the ways to differentiate them from melanoma, their clinical course and prognosis, and Options for their management.
Advances in Stroke
Authors: Silva Gisele Sampaio , Schwamm Lee H.
Published: December 2020

The year 2020 has undoubtedly made Digital Health a necessity and no longer an exception. Many technological advances that seemed futuristic became a reality in a few months due to the pandemic’s needs. Stroke was one of the diseases that most benefited from the digital health revolution. Due to the need for immediate care and a shortage of neurologists worldwide, telestroke has revolutionized the acute care of cerebrovascular diseases in many areas based on strong scientific evidence. In this brief article, we have tried to summarize all we have experienced in 2020, the year which irreversibly transformed the practice of medicine.
Iterated Local Search and Other Algorithms for Buffered Two-Machine Permutation Flow Shops with Constant Processing Times on One Machine
Authors: Le Hoang Thanh , Geser Philine , Middendorf Martin
Published: December 2020

The two-machine permutation flow shop scheduling problem with buffer is studied for the special case that all processing times on one of the two machines are equal to a constant c. This case is interesting because it occurs in various applications, for example, when one machine is a packing machine or when materials have to be transported. Different types of buffers and buffer usage are considered. It is shown that all considered buffer flow shop problems remain NP-hard for the makespan criterion even with the restriction to equal processing times on one machine. However, the special case where the constant c is larger or smaller than all processing times on the other machine is shown to be polynomially solvable by presenting an algorithm (2BF-OPT) that calculates optimal schedules in O(nlogn) steps. Two heuristics for solving the NP-hard flow shop problems are proposed: (i) a modification of the commonly used NEH heuristic (mNEH) and (ii) an Iterated Local Search heuristic (2BF-ILS) that uses the mNEH heuristic for computing its initial solution. It is shown experimentally that the proposed 2BF-ILS heuristic obtains better results than two state-of-the-art algorithms for buffered flow shop problems from the literature and an Ant Colony Optimization algorithm. In addition, it is shown experimentally that 2BF-ILS obtains the same solution quality as the standard NEH heuristic, however, with a smaller number of function evaluations.
Build Back Better? Effects of Crisis on Climate Change Adaptation Through Solar Power in Japan and the United States
Authors: Fraser Timothy , Cunningham Lily , Nasongo Amos
Published: December 2020

Do communities struck by disaster build back better, or not? Recent small- and medium- N studies have shown mixed effects. This mixed-methods study tests the effect of disasters on the adoption of solar power as a key form of building back better and adapting to climate change. To test this effect, we applied a large- N longitudinal matching experiment on cities affected and unaffected by disaster paired with qualitative case studies, focusing on the 2011 triple disaster in Japan and Hurricane Sandy in 2012 in the United States. We find that disaster-hit cities adopt more solar farms and rooftop solar than cities unaffected by crisis and that the social capital of these disaster-hit communities shapes their adoption patterns. By clarifying the effects of disasters on the build-back-better phenomenon in comparative cases, this article aims to guide recovery priorities after large-scale shocks.
Planetary Disasters: Wildness and the Perennial Struggle for Control
Authors: Wapner Paul
Published: December 2020

This Forum article explains how many of today’s calamities—specifically, climate change, biodiversity loss, and COVID-19—are the result of humanity’s ongoing relationship to wildness. For millennia, humans have pushed unpredictability and discomfort out of their immediate surroundings in search of security and convenience. They have been remarkably successful. Today, many people, but especially the affluent, rarely encounter wild animals, suffer exposure to the elements, or even have to tolerate the capriciousness of other people. But wildness is akin to energy: it cannot be created or destroyed. As people craft havens of stability, they do not eradicate wildness but shove it into the lives of the less fortunate and onto the global level. These days, marginalized people face profound vulnerability, and key biophysical and social systems on Earth are spiraling out of control. This article demonstrates the dynamics of global wildness. It shows how trying to banish wildness from one’s surroundings leads directly to climate change, mass extinction, and COVID-19. It ends by advancing a strategy of rewilding as a way to address these challenges. It suggests that opening to greater uncertainty and a modicum of discomfort—both individually and collectively—can relieve some of the pressure generating global wildness and offer an ethically appropriate orientation for this moment of planetary intensification.
Middle Bronze Age Long Distance Exchange through Europe and Beyond
Authors: Kaul Flemming
Published: December 2020

The introduction of the folding stool and the single-edged razor into Southern Scandinavia, as well as the testimony of chariot use during the Nordic Bronze Age Period II (1500-1300 BC), give evidence of the transfer of ideas from the Mediterranean to the North. Recent analyses of the chemical composition of blue glass beads from well-dated Danish Bronze Age burials have revealed evidence for the opening of long distance exchange routes around 1400 BC between Egypt, Mesopotamia and South Scandinavia. When including comparative material from glass workshops in Egypt and finds of glass from Mesopotamia, it becomes clear that glass from those distant lands reached Scandinavia. The routes of exchange can be traced through Europe based on finds of amber from the North and glass from the South.
Sarmatians on the Borders of the Roman Empire
Authors: Istvánovits Eszter , Kulcsár Valéria
Published: December 2020

The Jazygi, the westernmost tribe of the steppe Sarmatian coalition, migrated to the Great Hungarian Plain in the 1st century AD followed by several later waves. Their material culture changed in some generations, for they arrived into a completely new political and geographical environment and were separated from their steppe relatives. For several generations Hungarian scholarship has been dealing with a search for the eastern roots of the Alföld Sarmatians. Our study summarises this research, dealing also with some cultural phenomena imported from the Romans and with the possible ways of re-interpretation of the foreign ideas.
Self-Study, Obtaining or Viewing Terrorist Material Over the Internet: A Legitimacy Test of Consumer-Oriented Criminal Law Provisions in Four Western-European Countries
Authors: De Coensel Stéphanie
Published: December 2020

The internet is a key source of information, communication and propaganda in the context of terrorism. Policymakers increasingly resort to measures that monitor, control and punish internet-related activity. One type of measures concerns the criminalisation of consumers of certain terrorist material over the internet, ranging from self-study over more specific autonomous provisions. This contribution aims to subject this criminal law approach to a legitimacy test, studying the minimum standards of the European Union, as well as the legal framework of four Western-European countries (i.e. Belgium, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom). This critical-legal analysis consists of a remote harm analysis, a human rights assessment and a necessity argument. It is argued that the expansion of the scope of criminal liability to a pre-crime era conflicts with certain premises of criminal law and human rights law.
Wounded Words in a Wounded World: Opportunities for Mission in Central and Eastern Europe Today
Authors: Máté-Tóth András
Published: December 2020

The goal of this paper is both descriptive and prescriptive. The European sub-region called Central and Eastern Europe is understood and analyzed mostly through social scientific theories and models which have a Western European or North American origin. The region is often observed from the outside, and many interpretations of regional transformation are based on codes and categories of these external perspectives, which I will call heteropoiesis. I try to argue for an autopoietic approach from the opposite direction: from the inside. In my approach, I focus, first of all, on the historical and contemporary social experiences of the societies of the region. After authoring many theoretical and analytical works on it, I have come to believe that the key characteristic of the region is its wounded collective identity. The main narrative in the region is backward-looking and nostalgic, and also characterized by feelings of victimhood and revenge. Nationalism and xenophobia in the region are consequences of this traumatized self-understanding. To understand Central and Eastern Europe one must understand the wounds of history and the role of the trauma-centered narratives of today.
The Impact of American Involvement on National Liberation: Polarization and Repression in Palestine and Iraqi Kurdistan
Authors: El Kurd Dana
Published: December 2020

What is the effect of international involvement on national liberation movements? In the last few decades, movements transforming into states have increasingly operated in a globalized context and have had to contend with international pressures. However, the effects of international involvement on the internal dynamics of these movements should be more centrally considered. This paper thus examines the role of international involvement in the Kurdish national liberation movement in Iraqi Kurdistan and the Palestinian national liberation movement within the Palestinian territories. Specifically, I look at the role of the United States as the most powerful actor in the Middle East region. This paper argues that international involvement leads to authoritarian conditions within these state-building projects as well as paralyzes the efficacy and coherence of these movements. Specifically, international involvement creates polarization among political elites and a divergence between elite and public preferences, which creates authoritarian conditions.
Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will after the 17 October Protests in Lebanon
Authors: Halawi Ibrahim , Salloukh Bassel F.
Published: December 2020

This field note reflects on a persistent Gramscian dilemma that has haunted non- and anti-sectarian postwar protests in Lebanon on the road to 17 October 2019: how can genuine political transformation be brought about absent its meaningful, context-sensitive, and creative organizational forms and preconditions? We situate the 17 October protests in a long line of anti-sectarian protests that have overlooked the necessity of political organization in the pursuit of political change. In so doing, however, they have missed yet another strategic opportunity to sabotage the range of clientelist, institutional, and discursive practices reproducing sectarian modes of mobilization and identification in postwar Lebanon. We then magnify this omission by presenting the experience of Mouwatinoun wa Mouwatinat Fi Dawla (Citizens in a State): a political party that explicitly departs from the civil society handbook by politicizing opposition to the sectarian system.
‘We Don’t Drown our Partners in a Sea of Debt’: U.S. Policy Responses to China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Authors: Ashbee Edward
Published: December 2020

Whereas the Obama administration had equivocated, the Trump White House declared its vehement opposition to the Belt and Road Initiative (bri). This shift went together with the Trump administration’s designation of the People’s Republic of China (prc) as a strategic competitor and a broader deterioration in bilateral relations. However, as it began to posit alternatives to the bri, the Trump administration fell back on the policy thinking of the established foreign policy community. In doing this, it tacitly accepted the importance of soft power and the adoption of strategies requiring close cooperation with allies and partners so as to develop regional infrastructural “connectivity” projects. The White House thereby stepped back from the unilateralism, “principled realism,” and reliance upon hard power that had defined Donald J. Trump’s 2015–2016 presidential campaign. Nonetheless, U.S. efforts to develop policy alternatives to the bri were limited, unstable, and variegated. The Trump administration’s actions in other policy arenas often stymied efforts to counter the prc and initiatives such as the build Act and “Prosper Africa” received scant resources. On the basis of this policy pattern, the article argues that policy communities at times can “harness” other counter-positioned, political currents, but ongoing ideational stresses and abrasion will inevitably characterize the process.
Sociolinguistic Aspects and Language Contact: Evidence from Francoprovençal of Apulia
Authors: Perta Carmela
Published: December 2020

The aim of this paper is to investigate two Francoprovençal speaking communities in the Italian region of Apulia, Faeto and Celle di St. Vito. Despite the regional neighborhood of the two towns, and their common isolation from other Francoprovençal speaking communities, their sociolinguistic conditions are deeply different. They differ in reference to the functional distribution of the languages of the repertoire and speakers’ language uses, and in reference to the degree of ‘permeability’ of Francoprovençal varieties towards Italian and its dialects. The repertoire composition and the relationship between the codes have a key role both for minority language maintenance and for language contact processes. In this perspective, I analyse some language contact phenomena in a sample of speakers discourse. I report correlations between the choice of different code-mixing strategies and three sociolinguistic variables (age, sex and village), but not with occupation.
The Relationship of Nigerian English and Nigerian Pidgin in Nigeria: Evidence from Copula Constructions in Ice-Nigeria
Authors: Florence Agbo Ogechi , Plag Ingo
Published: December 2020

Deuber (2006) investigated variation in spoken Nigerian Pidgin data by educated speakers and found no evidence for a continuum of lects between Nigerian Pidgin and English. Many speakers, however, speak both languages, and both are in close contact with each other, which keeps the question of the nature of their relationship on the agenda. This paper investigates 67 conversations in Nigerian English by educated speakers as they occur in the International Corpus of English, Nigeria (ice-Nigeria, Wunder et al., 2010), using the variability in copula usage as a test bed. Implicational scaling, network analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis reveal that the use of variants is not randomly distributed over speakers. Particular clusters of speakers use particular constellations of variants. A qualitative investigation reveals this complex situation as a continuum of style, with code-switching as one of the stylistic devices, motivated by such social factors as formality, setting, participants and interpersonal relationships.
Fighting Fascism with ‘Verbal Bullets’: Kaji Wataru and the Antifascist Struggle in Wartime East Asia
Authors: Michielsen Edwin
Published: December 2020

This article examines the cultural production of Kaji Wataru, founder of the Zaika Nihonjinmin hansen dōmei [Japanese People’s Antiwar League in China] to illuminate what strategies Kaji used to train prisoners-of-war and to convert Japanese soldiers as a way to counter fascism during the second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). Scholars have tended to focus on unravelling the history surrounding Kaji Wataru and the Antiwar League. In doing so, they have often overlooked the constructive role his cultural works played in that history and in his antiwar thought. The author aims to show how Kaji’s reportage works, and plays, were the very media he used to develop and execute his antifascist visions and activities. The focus is on three reportage works and one play that best reflect Kaji’s antifascist strategies. Analyzing the texts, the author highlights descriptions dealing with the organization and activities of the Antiwar League as well as the cooperation with the Chinese resistance as part of the popular front in East Asia.
A Tactical Ecumenism of Shared Eucharistic Fasting?
Authors: Hallonsten Simon
Published: December 2020

Inspired by autoethnography, the article discusses experiences of joint worship between Lutherans and Catholics. Engaging the work of Michel de Certeau, I argue that both ecumenical strategies and ecumenical tactics are ways towards greater unity. Seeing the importance of ecumenical tactics in navigating the liturgy, I suggest that Durheim and Turnboolm’s concept of tactical ecumenism should be expanded to include a critical discussion of ecumenical tactics. Through a short personal narrative, I explore three ecumenical tactics that create spaces of unity. The article concludes with a discussion of possible tactical responses to the question of joint worship and Eucharistic sharing. I especially look at the ecumenical tactic of Eucharistic fasting and a possible sharing of the Eucharistic fast. Through these tactics Catholics and Lutherans can jointly acknowledge the existing division in hope of greater visible unity to come.
South Korea Boundary Disputes in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea
Authors: Becker-Weinberg Vasco
Published: December 2020

South Korea faces a complex situation of overlapping claims in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea, in addition to those in the East Sea (or Sea of Japan). The boundary disputes in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea raise two distinctive challenges. The first concerns the joint development agreement signed with Japan almost four decades ago. This agreement is at a stalemate and its initial term of fifty years is fast approaching. There are also reports that the dormancy of the agreement might be partly attributed to an alleged material breach by Japan. Therefore, South Korea should consider the available alternatives, particularly if Japan does not intend to renew the joint development agreement, but instead proceed with its termination. The second challenge concerns the inter-Korean relations and the legal relevance of the Northern Limit Line as a maritime boundary. Although there is no foreseeable timeline for North and South Korea to address the matter, mainly as there are no on-going negotiations, this will ultimately be a key aspect of a future settlement. This article examines these two challenges and attempts to put forward some tentative conclusions regarding the available options for South Korea in both situations.
Synthesis and properties of phthalonitrile-based resins containing spirocycle acetal
Authors: Li Ke , Yin Hua , Yang Kun , Dai Pei , Han Ling , Xu Riwei
Published: December 2020

Designing novel low-melting, high-rigidity phthalonitrile resin is of great significance in the current context of development. In this study, rigid spirocycle acetal structure was introduced into phthalonitrile to reduce the melting point and maintain their thermal stability. The chemical structure of resins was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The curing behaviors were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermal stability and mechanical properties of the cured resins were investigated by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The processability was studied by rheological analysis. The results indicated the three monomers had a low melting temperature, wide processing windows and low viscosities. These polymers did not exhibit Tg from room temperature to 400°C, exhibited superb dynamic mechanical property and thermal stability.