bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of refractive and visual acuity results after Contoura® Vision topography-guided LASIK planned with the Phorcides Analytic Engine to results after wavefront-optimized LASIK in eyes with oblique astigmatism
Authors: Brunson Phillip , Mann Paul M. , Mann Paul Michael , Potvin Richard
Published: December 2022

Purpose

To compare visual acuity and refractive results between topography-guided laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) planned with the Phorcides Analytic Engine (PAE) to results after wavefront-optimized (WFO) LASIK in subjects with preoperative oblique astigmatism in their manifest refraction.

Methods

This was a retrospective chart review of clinical results from eyes treated with topography-guided LASIK planned with PAE compared to eyes treated with WFO LASIK using the same Wavelight® excimer laser system. All included subjects had preoperative oblique astigmatism. Residual refractive error and visual acuity (uncorrected and corrected) were the measures of interest, at the visit closest to 90 days postoperative.

Results

A matched data set from 100 WFO and 97 PAE eyes was extracted from clinical records. At the postoperative visit the PAE group showed lower residual refractive cylinder (p = 0.04), uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) (-0.06 PAE vs. -0.02 WFO, p < 0.01) and distance corrected visual acuity (CDVA) (p < 0.01). The percentage of eyes with a mean refraction spherical equivalent (MRSE) magnitude within 0.25 D and 0.50 D of plano was statistically significantly higher in the PAE group (p = 0.04 and 0.01, respectively). A statistically significantly higher percentage of eyes in the PAE group had UDVA better than or equal to -0.10 logMAR (20/16 Snellen, 36% vs 22%, p = 0.04). More eyes gained CDVA after surgery in the PAE group (53% vs 32%, p < 0.01). There were five enhancements in the WFO group versus none in the PAE group, a statistically significant difference (p = 0.03).

Conclusions

Visual acuity and refractive outcomes after LASIK using PAE in eyes with oblique astigmatism in their preoperative refraction were statistically significantly better than those obtained when WFO treatment was used. The number of refractive outliers and the number of retreatments were also significantly lower with PAE treatment.
A cross-sectional study of health and well-being among newly settled refugee migrants in Sweden–The role of health literacy, social support and self-efficacy
Authors: Al-Adhami Maissa , Berglund Erik , Wångdahl Josefin , Salari Raziye
Published: December 2022

Structural barriers such as inadequate housing, lack of employment opportunities, and discrimination are known to adversely affect the health of newly settled refugee migrants. However, these barriers remain largely unresolved and unaddressed. Thus, there is a need to better understand how other factors, such as individual-level health resources, may influence health and mitigate ill health in the early post-migration phase. In this study, we aimed to explore the relationship between health outcomes and individual health resources including health literacy, social support, and self-efficacy in newly settled refugee migrants. Survey data was collected from 787 refugee migrants in Sweden. Logistical regression analysis showed that limited health literacy, lack of emotional support, and low self-efficacy were consistently associated with poor health outcomes. Demographic variables such as gender, education, and type of residence permit were not as imperative. Individual-level health resources may play an important role in the general and psychological well-being of newly settled migrants. Promoting health literacy and facilitating the attainment of social support may buffer for structural challenges in the establishment phase and enhance the prospects of later health and social integration.
Spectres of orientalism: Patty Chang and Chinese American art in the pandemic
Authors: Vikram Anuradha
Published: December 2022

This article addresses the work of Chinese American interdisciplinary artist Patty Chang over a 25-year period that begins with her groundbreaking short form videos in the 1990s, and considers transitional works in the mid-2000s that led the artist to create two major bodies of work connecting identity issues with climate change since 2009. I discuss Chang’s influence on subsequent generations of Chinese American and Asian American artists, her prescient use of online aesthetics and her complex engagement with the political, social and ecological realities of mainland China and neighbouring Uzbekistan. After contextualizing Chang’s influence through the lens of her inclusion in the group exhibition Wonderland with nine other Chinese Diasporic artists, I consider the impact of COVID-19 and anti-Asian violence in the United States and globally on the direction of Chang’s work and discuss the experience of curating her recent project during the pandemic shutdown.
Las lágrimas de Rambo: el regreso del (al) infierno
Authors: González de la Aleja Barberán Manuel
Published: December 2022

Este artículo pretende estudiar una serie de obras que recrean desde el recuerdo, la biografía y la ficción las vivencias de los soldados norteamericanos en la guerra de Vietnam. Son estas obras las que, más allá de los textos escritos por políticos, militares e historiadores, mejor han sabido ilustrar el impacto que la guerra tuvo sobre todo un país, Estados Unidos. Los textos seleccionados (First Blood de David Morrell, Paco’s Story de Larry Curtis Heinemann, Born the Fourth of July de Ron Kovic y The Things They Carried de Tim O’Brien) son analizados en este artículo con el objetivo de demostrar cómo todos ellos comparten una estructura narrativa muy parecida que, a través de las vivencias personales de sus personajes y su trauma, refleja el proceso de exaltación patriótica, decepción y rechazo que la guerra de Vietnam provocó en la nación.
Deméter y la revisión de los mitos clásicos: madres soñadas y madres cotidianas en la poesía contemporánea en lengua inglesa
Authors: Salcedo González Cristina
Published: December 2022

Este trabajo investiga la presencia de la figura de Deméter en la poesía inglesa contemporánea, con el fin de identificar qué modelos de madre se ofrecen a partir del recurso al mito clásico de Deméter. Para ello, se analizan las fuentes clásicas que más importancia conceden al vínculo madre-hija, y cuya descripción de la madre imprime una huella imborrable en el imaginario occidental. Después, se estudian cuatro acercamientos al mito (uno ensayístico y tres literarios) que son representativos de las principales tendencias en la representación de Deméter en la poesía inglesa actual. A través del estudio de los mecanismos de recepción del mito clásico y de la representación de Deméter en cada ejemplo, se llega a la conclusión de que existen dos lecturas diferenciadas de Deméter (ya como la madre soñada, ya como la madre cotidiana), que hacen referencia a dos formas distintas de entender la maternidad. En último término, se pone de manifiesto la capacidad del mito de Perséfone y Deméter para dar voz a la vivencia de las madres en épocas diferentes y bajo prismas diversos.
Using partial justice to interrogate the meanings and applications of social justice in service-learning
Authors:   University of the Free State, Mtawa Ntimi
Published: December 2022

This paper provides an account of the concept of social justice and how it is loosely and uncritically defined and applied in service-learning context. Social justice is deemed as an approach to service-learning, which allows all actors to actively participate in decision-making, share power and benefit equally. This framing of social justice in service-learning is largely within the realm of John Rawls’ perfect justice. There is relatively little attention given to small and actionable changes yielded in and through service-learning. As such, this paper uses the concept of ‘partial justice’ as purported by Amartya Sen to interrogate the meanings and applications of social justice in service-learning. The paper draws on qualitative data collected through document analysis, focus groups and semi-structured interviews with students, staff, and community members. The focus and contribution of the paper is timely and pertinent given the unexamined conceptions and use of social justice in service-learning context.
Inclusion of students as key stakeholders and agents in the induction of new university teachers: Disrupting the induction status quo
Authors:   University of Venda, Ravhuhali Fhatuwani , Mboweni Hlayisani , Nendauni Lutendo ,   Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Published: December 2022

Ample research exists on the induction of new academics (NAs) or new university teachers (NUTs), but scholars are silent on students’ inclusion in such inductions. It is on this basis that this paper prompted the views of NAs on the inclusion of students in the induction of new academics. As academic development practitioners, who are part of the New Academics’ Transitioning into Higher Education Project (NATHEP) from 2019 and 2022, we submit and argue that the inclusion of students as partners in the induction of NAs empowers students to take ownership of their learning as students and affords them an opportunity to amplify their voices and contribute meaningfully to higher education spaces. This paper, underpinned by the Theory of Human Care and the Ethics of Care Theory, adopted a qualitative research approach in which both exploratory and explanatory research designs were triangulated. Utilising thematic data analysis, the findings of this paper were drawn from the induction questionnaires distributed and collected from NAs during induction. This paper found that the inclusion of students during induction provides NAs with an opportunity to interact with students and understand students’ challenges and expectations regarding critical teaching and learning issues. This paper has implications for both AD practitioners and higher education institutions on how the inclusion of students should be understood concerning professional development initiatives such as the induction of NAs.
Hybrid approaches to teaching: Re-imagining the teaching of a foundational science course during a global pandemic
Authors:   University of Mpumalanga, Parker Daniel , Vorster Jo-Anne ,   Rhodes University, Quinn Lynn , Blackie Margaret
Published: December 2022

Access to scientific knowledge, and teaching in the sciences, is believed to be about training because scientific knowledge is, generally, specialised. However, for students to gain full epistemological access in the sciences, they also need to be inducted as scientists and learners of science. We use Bernstein’s regulative and instructional discourse to engage with the notion of epistemological access and effectiveness of a foundational science course. We examine how the course can cultivate scientific identities amongst first year students at a recently established South African university. Our analysis assesses the impact of the forced shift from contact teaching to Emergency Remote Teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We demonstrate that the course was able to begin to facilitate the cultivation of different kinds of knowers in science. However, several gaps remain. Thus, we argue that foundational science lecturers should focus on hybrid teaching approaches to promote enhanced learning amongst students.
Editorial
Authors:   University of Bath, Abbas Andrea
Published: December 2022

Taken together, the five papers in this edition of CRiSTaLpoint to the need forbroad sweeping, deep transformations on the part ofuniversitieswho arecurrently driven by the priorities of a massified, marketised, performative,and usually under resourced global higher education system. Thepapersparticularly draw out how new challenges arise within the context of more technology-based learning. For example, technology infuseshowmorals,charactereducation,knowledge, skills,and values for social justice can or cannot become embedded within curricula, pedagogy, administrativeprocesses, funding,and relationshipsbetween studentsplay out through higher education. In some respects,the five papers confirm what Davids and Whagid (2021:113)suggest is needed forprogress towards social justice in South African universities, which involves identifyingways in which the universities’studied,neglect to ‘actualise learning possibilities for humanity’ and drawing attention to structures, processesand practicesthat are(sometimes in ways accentuated by the pandemic)preoccupied‘with massification and performativity’. Which, in many of their current forms are alienating for all students. However, in focusing ona critical issuewithin specificuniversity contexts, each paper in this journal identifies and unpacks anoppressive practice that is embedded within the South African system,but each paper also developsa degree of optimism,by identifying concepts and practices that do or could help us build towards greater social justice through higher education.
The adoption of blended learning using Coursera MOOCs: A case study in a Vietnamese higher education institution
Authors: Thao Ho Nguyen Thi , Pham Hiep-Hung , Sivapalan Subarna , Dinh Viet-Hung
Published: December 2022

This research is unique to a Vietnamese higher education institution that adopted blended learning using Coursera MOOCs. Employing the service quality model, the objective was to investigate factors affecting the continuance intention and recommendation to others towards blended learning using Coursera MOOCs. This study was conducted an online survey with 637 students across four campuses of a Vietnamese higher education institution. The results of the structural equation modeling showed that the learning content and online responsiveness increased satisfaction with Coursera MOOCs whereas online reliability did not affect satisfaction with Coursera MOOCs. There were also positive relationships between empathy, tangibles, classroom responsiveness, and classroom activities. Assurance and classroom reliability had no significant impacts on classroom activities. Satisfaction and classroom activities positively influenced the continuance intention towards blended learning using Coursera MOOCs. Lastly, satisfaction, classroom activities, and continuance intention significantly affected the recommendation to others towards blended learning using Coursera MOOCs.
Implications for practice or policy:

A case study process for evaluating the quality of the blended learning using Coursera MOOCs is detailed.
Practical recommendations are made for curriculum development, teaching and learning, assessment, and professional development as universities implement the blended learning using MOOCs.
From the margins to the mainstream: The online learning rethink and its implications for enhancing student equity
Authors: Stone Cathy
Published: December 2022

From being largely at the margins of higher education for many years, online learning now finds itself in the mainstream. This paper offers a critique of the online learning literature both pre- and post-2020, looking at changes in response to this shift. Evidence tells us that online learning plays a significant role in enhancing student equity, widening higher education access and participation for many students who would have found it difficult, if not impossible, to attend university on campus. This includes students from government-identified equity backgrounds, as well as other student cohorts underrepresented at university, such as older working students, parents, and others with caring responsibilities, and those from families with no previous experience of university. The mainstreaming and normalising of online learning now presents an opportunity for universities to learn from both past and emerging evidence, to evaluate past practice and offer a more flexible learning experience that better meets the needs of an even wider range of students. Keeping online learning firmly in the mainstream, while taking an evidence-based approach to ensuring the quality of its design and delivery, has the potential to enhance student equity on a much broader scale.
Implications for practice or policy:

Improving the quality of online learning, using evidence-based research to design and deliver it more effectively, will enable more students to stay and succeed at university.
Continuing to offer online study options for all students, that is, keeping it in the mainstream, will further enhance student equity.
Mainstreaming online learning options as part of standard university practice will enable more students to benefit from the greater flexibility of both fully online and hybrid models.
The creation of high self-esteem as a voting incentive
Authors: Sokalski Miriam
Published: December 2022

“The statesman’s task is to hear God’s footsteps marching through history, and to try and catch on to His coattails as He marches past” (Otto von Bismarck). Populist movements all across the globe somehow managed to catch it. Additionally, this happens in the most highly advanced and well established democracies of the world. What is even more intriguing is that the explanatory power of classical variables to account for this dynamics seems limited. On the other hand the role of emotions and the constructivist power of the mind by which they are created prove to be enormously insightful. Despite those observations there exists no systematic approach to the affective dimension. In contrast to investigations, that mainly focus on one single emotion, such as the politics of fear, here the interplay of the whole emotional game is regarded key to uncover the unseen, but felt reality underneath: The analysis reveals that the emotional negativity is mainly generated as a means to an end, namely to create at the same time a positive antidote and remedy. The strongest common denominator of this emotional logic is the technique of Altercasting, whereby the negativity is projected onto alter while what is positive is used to construct auto-affirmative identity-concepts of ego. This in turn led to the conclusion that self-esteem, which is hardly ever analyzed in these contexts, lies at the heart of the emotional constellation. Populist voters are therefore not primarily seen as opponents to democracy, but much more as seekers of a positive self-concept. Therefore the democratic system´s diminuition could be understood as a collateral damage to something much deeper seated in the human psyche. The case study chosen here is the PiS party´s election victory in 2016, which, on the abstract level of rhetorical meta-frames, is regarded as a pars pro toto for what is observed globally.
Radio over plastic optical fibers – a tutorial and review
Authors: Adnan Usama , Abbas Zaheer , Gulistan Aamir , Ghafoor Salman
Published: December 2022

In this paper, recent advancements in radio over plastic optical fibers are reviewed. Plastic fibers are used in short-range, high data rate communication systems and are considered to be consumer-friendly as they are simpler to install, easy to maintain and its associated components are inexpensive. A few of the challenges faced in employing plastic fibers are its high attenuation and modal dispersion, which limits the transmission range. However, plastic fibers are considered to be a low-cost alternative to be employed in short-range fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks as compared to the commonly known silica optical fiber. Advancement from 4G to 5G has paved a way for plastic fiber, which can be employed for simultaneous multi-format transmissions supporting 5G networks. In this paper, the evolution of multi-format transmission and its challenges are also discussed, along with the applications of plastic fibers in systems employing various techniques. Furthermore, the paper discusses the challenges and future prospects of radio over plastic fibers to guide a way for further research in this domain for improving the quality of transmission and linking it with other cutting-edge technologies such as machine learning and blockchain.
‘Form is temporary, class is permanent’: identifying a longer-term hot hand in golf
Authors: Baker Rose , McHale Ian G.
Published: December 2022

The existence (or not) of the hot hand in sport continues to attract the attention of economists and psychologists. The paper presents analysis to test the belief prevalent in golfing circles that golfers go in and out of form quickly, while ‘class’ remains relatively constant. By going in and out of form, the golfer is effectively experiencing a longer-run hot hand: one can speculate that periods of confidence breed good performance. To test for the existence of ‘form’, we present a new application of the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model and use it to identify both a golfer’s class and form when modelling golf scores. The findings suggest that short-term form does exist in golf and that this hot hand lasts for about four weeks.
Sorption of hazardous industrial organic liquids with environmentally friendly functionalized cellulosic sorbents
Authors: Ji Seulgi , Park Chanwon , Lee Young Bum , Kim Seong K. , An Ki-Seok , Lee Sun Sook
Published: December 2022

The performances of five cellulosic polymers with different functional groups (cellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose phosphate, chitosan, and chitin) as sorbents of seven frequently used hazardous polar organic liquids (acrolein, butanone peroxide, epichlorohydrin, formaldehyde, furfuryl alcohol, propylene oxide, and vinyl acetate) are investigated in this study. Amongst the cellulosic sorbents, cellulose phosphate exhibited enhanced sorption properties (as high as 3.09–7.03 g/g) against all seven polar organic liquids investigated, and chitosan and chitin also demonstrated comparable sorption efficiencies (2.28–7.72 g/g and 2.55–5.86 g/g, respectively) to those of cellulose phosphate. According to our investigation, the enhanced sorption efficiency could be achieved due to low powder density of cellulose phosphate, which is caused by the weak intramolecular interaction amongst the polymer chains. In addition, cellulose phosphate, chitosan, and chitin also showed enhanced absorbed solvent recovery percents (71.4, 60.6, and 61.1%, respectively, in average) compared with that of pristine cellulose (43.8%). With excellent sorption efficiency, enhanced solvent recovery rate, and reusability after drying, these functionalized cellulosic sorbents can be excellent candidates to replace the conventional carbon and vermiculites-based sorbents, especially for liquid polar organic spill sorption.
Multimodal mitigation: how facial and body cues index politeness in Catalan requests
Authors: Hübscher Iris , Sánchez-Conde Cristina , Borràs-Comes Joan , Vincze Laura , Prieto Pilar
Published: December 2022

Recent cross-linguistic research has demonstrated that speakers use a prosodic mitigation strategy when addressing higher status interlocutors by talking more slowly, reducing the intensity and lowering the overall fundamental frequency (F0). Much less is known, however, about how politeness-related meaning is expressed multimodally (i.e., combining verbal and multimodal channels). The present study investigates how Catalan native speakers encode politeness-related meanings through facial and body cues. We test whether speakers apply a gestural mitigation strategy and use specific hedging devices in socially distant situations (e.g., when asking an older person of higher status for a favor). Twenty Catalan speakers were video-recorded while participating in a discourse elicitation task where they were required to produce requests in polite and non-polite contexts. In the resulting recordings, a set of 21 facial and body cues associated with speech were coded and analyzed. The results show that politeness-related meanings are expressed through gestural mitigation strategies that go hand-in-hand with previously reported prosodic mitigation strategies.
NCK1 Modulates Neuronal Actin Dynamics and Promotes Dendritic Spine, Synapse, and Memory Formation
Authors: Diab Antonios M. , Wigerius Michael , Quinn Dylan P. , Qi Jiansong , Shahin Ibrahim , Paffile Julia , Krueger Kavita , Karten Barbara , Krueger Stefan R. , Fawcett James P.
Published: December 2022

Memory formation and maintenance is a dynamic process involving the modulation of the actin cytoskeleton at synapses. Understanding the signaling pathways that contribute to actin modulation is important for our understanding of synapse formation and function, as well as learning and memory. Here, we focused on the importance of the actin regulator, noncatalytic region of tyrosine kinase adaptor protein 1 (NCK1), in hippocampal dependent behaviors and development. We report that male mice lacking NCK1 have impairments in both short-term and working memory, as well as spatial learning. Additionally, we report sex differences in memory impairment showing that female mice deficient in NCK1 fail at reversal learning in a spatial learning task. We find that NCK1 is expressed in postmitotic neurons but is dispensable for neuronal proliferation and migration in the developing hippocampus. Morphologically, NCK1 is not necessary for overall neuronal dendrite development. However, neurons lacking NCK1 have lower dendritic spine and synapse densitiesin vitroandin vivo. EM analysis reveal increased postsynaptic density (PSD) thickness in the hippocampal CA1 region of NCK1-deficient mice. Mechanistically, we find the turnover of actin-filaments in dendritic spines is accelerated in neurons that lack NCK1. Together, these findings suggest that NCK1 contributes to hippocampal-dependent memory by stabilizing actin dynamics and dendritic spine formation.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTUnderstanding the molecular signaling pathways that contribute to memory formation, maintenance, and elimination will lead to a better understanding of the genetic influences on cognition and cognitive disorders and will direct future therapeutics. Here, we report that the noncatalytic region of tyrosine kinase adaptor protein 1 (NCK1) adaptor protein modulates actin-filament turnover in hippocampal dendritic spines. Mice lacking NCK1 show sex-dependent deficits in hippocampal memory formation tasks, have altered postsynaptic densities, and reduced synaptic density. Together, our work implicates NCK1 in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton dynamics and normal synapse development which is essential for memory formation.
Proprioceptive and Visual Feedback Responses in Macaques Exploit Goal Redundancy
Authors: Cross Kevin P. , Guang Hui , Scott Stephen H.
Published: December 2022

A common problem in motor control concerns how to generate patterns of muscle activity when there are redundant solutions to attain a behavioral goal. Optimal feedback control is a theory that has guided many behavioral studies exploring how the motor system incorporates task redundancy. This theory predicts that kinematic errors that deviate the limb should not be corrected if one can still attain the behavioral goal. Studies in humans demonstrate that the motor system can flexibly integrate visual and proprioceptive feedback of the limb with goal redundancy within 90 ms and 70 ms, respectively. Here, we show monkeys (Macaca mulatta) demonstrate similar abilities to exploit goal redundancy. We trained four male monkeys to reach for a goal that was either a narrow square or a wide, spatially redundant rectangle. Monkeys exhibited greater trial-by-trial variability when reaching to the wide goal consistent with exploiting goal redundancy. On random trials we jumped the visual feedback of the hand and found monkeys corrected for the jump when reaching to the narrow goal and largely ignored the jump when reaching for the wide goal. In a separate set of experiments, we applied mechanical loads to the arm of the monkey and found similar corrective responses based on goal shape. Muscle activity reflecting these different corrective responses were detected for the visual and mechanical perturbations starting at ∼90 and ∼70 ms, respectively. Thus, rapid motor responses in macaques can exploit goal redundancy similar to humans, creating a paradigm to study the neural basis of goal-directed motor action and motor redundancy.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTMoving in the world requires selecting from an infinite set of possible motor commands. Theories predict that motor commands are selected that exploit redundancies. Corrective responses in humans to either visual or proprioceptive disturbances of the limb can rapidly exploit redundant trajectories to a goal in <100 ms after a disturbance. However, uncovering the neural correlates generating these rapid motor corrections has been hampered by the absence of an animal model. We developed a behavioral paradigm in monkeys that incorporates redundancy in the form of the shape of the goal. Critically, monkeys exhibit corrective responses and timings similar to humans performing the same task. Our paradigm provides a model for investigating the neural correlates of sophisticated rapid motor corrections.
Distinct biogenesis pathways may have led to functional divergence of the human and Drosophila Arglu1 sisRNA
Authors: Chan Seow Neng , Pek Jun Wei
Published: December 2022

Stable intronic sequence RNAs (sisRNAs) are stable, long noncoding RNAs containing intronic sequences. While sisRNAs have been found across diverse species, their level of conservation remains poorly understood. Here we report that the biogenesis and functions of a sisRNA transcribed from the highly conserved Arglu1 locus are distinct in human and Drosophila melanogaster. The Arglu1 genes in both species show similar exon‐intron structures where the intron 2 is orthologous and positionally conserved. In humans, Arglu1 sisRNA retains the entire intron 2 and promotes host gene splicing. Mechanistically, Arglu1 sisRNA represses the splicing‐inhibitory activity of ARGLU1 protein by binding to ARGLU1 protein and promoting its localization to nuclear speckles, away from the Arglu1 gene locus. In contrast, Drosophila dArglu1 sisRNA forms via premature cleavage of intron 2 and represses host gene splicing. This repression occurs through a local accumulation of dARGLU1 protein and inhibition of telescripting by U1 snRNPs at the dArglu1 locus. We propose that distinct biogenesis of positionally conserved Arglu1 sisRNAs in both species may have led to functional divergence.
Could the negative capacitance effect be used in field-effect transistors with a ferroelectric gate?
Authors: Eliseev E. A. , Morozovska A. N. , Yurchenko L. P. , Strikha M. V.
Published: December 2022

We analyze the electric potential and field, polarization and charge, and differential capacitance of a silicon metal-oxide-ferroelectric field effect transistor (MOSFET), in which a gate insulator consists of thin layers of dielectric SiO2 and weak ferroelectric HfO2. It appeared possible to achieve a quasi-steady-state negative capacitance (NC) of the HfO2 layer, , if the layer thickness is close to the critical thickness of the size-induced ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition. However, this effect disappears as the gate voltage increases above a certain critical value, which can be explained by the nonlinearity of the ferroelectric permittivity. The quasi-steady-state NC corresponds to a positive capacitance of the whole system. Implementation of the gate insulator NC, , can open the principal possibility to reduce the MOSFET subthreshold swing below the critical value, and to decrease the gate voltage below the fundamental Boltzmann limit. However, we failed to found the parameters for which  is negative in the quasi-steady states; and thus, the negative  cannot reduce the subthreshold swing below the fundamental limit. Nevertheless, the increase in , related with , can decrease the swing above the limit, reduce device heating during the operation cycles, and thus contribute to further improvements of MOSFET performances.
First-principles study for physical properties and stability of Li based chalcopyrite semiconductors: Reliable for green energy sources
Authors: Kumari J. , Singh C. , Choudhary B.L. , Verma A.S.
Published: December 2022

In this research study, we have been performed the first principles calculation for physical properties likewise structural, electronic, optical and mechanical properties of the lithium gallium chalcopyrites LiGaX2 (X= S, Se). We have used two exchange correlation potentials one is full potential augmented plane wave method (FP-LAPW) and second is pseudo-potential method. The reported lattice parameters in this work ranging from a = b = 5.28 Å to 5.82 Å and c = 10.11 Å to 11.25 Å and found that these materials have direct band-gap 4.41 eV for LiGaS2 and 2.90 eV for LiGaSe2­. Refractive indexes n(ω) is 2.1 and 2.3 respectively for these compounds. The study of optical and elastic properties for these materials ensures that these show the anisotropic behaviour and ductile in nature.
Turquía y Arabia Saudí: frenemies en Oriente Medio. La relación entre potencias regionales en un contexto de rivalidad
Authors: Hernández-Martínez David
Published: December 2022

Turquía y Arabia Saudí son dos de las grandes potencias de Oriente Medio. En las principales crisis y conflictos surgidos en la región en la últimos años, ambos países han asumido un papel destacado y determinante. Las políticas exteriores de Turquía y Arabia Saudí han tenido que adaptarse a un nuevo período caracterizado por la convulsión y la incertidumbre. Las estrategias desarrolladas por los dos Estados evidencian cierta incompatibilidad en la consecución de intereses y objetivos. Las relaciones bilaterales quedan marcadas por la rivalidad en distintos puntos del entorno, con dos acontecimientos relevantes: el bloqueo sobre Qatar en 2017 y el asesinato del periodista Jamal Khashoggi en 2018. El artículo analiza las relaciones entre Turquía y Arabia Saudí desde el marco conceptual de frenemy y en el período entre 2017-2021, donde priman tanto los espacios de tensión y confrontación, como los de cooperación entre los países.
Construction and analysis of universal 2D distributions with a bounded rectangular variation domain
Authors:   Pivdenne State Design Office, Hladkyi E.H. , Perlyk V.I. ,   Pivdenne State Design Office
Published: December 2022

When solving parametric reliability problems, one often has to construct distributions of statistical data to find the probability of containment in the operability region. This paper considers the problem of 2D statistical ensemble fitting. The use of a 2D normal distribution in statistical data description is not always justified because statistical ensembles rather frequently (at the level of marginal components and a stochastic relationship between them) have properties different from the normal case. From a practical standpoint, it is desirable for researchers to describe 2D statistical ensembles with the use of universal distributions, which allow one to cover a wide range of source data using a single analytical form. In the process of fitting, account should be made of bounded ranges of random variables. The paper considers who universal distribution construction methods, which are based on 1D orthogonal Jacobi polynomial expansions. In these distributions, the random variable range is a rectangle. In the first method, a 2D distribution is constructed using a direct expansion in the 1D Jacobi polynomials. A 2D Jacobi distribution function and regression lines are obtained, and methods to fit it are considered. In theory, a distribution obtained in this way can be used, up to the fourth order inclusive, for marginal and even reduced moments different from the normal case. However, its real capabilities are limited to values of reduced moments (1D and even) that differ from the normal case only very slightly. Otherwise, the probability surface may enter negative ranges with the occurrence of multiple modes. The second way to construct a 2D distribution is to use a normal copula and 1D Jacobi distributions as components. The resulting 2D distribution allows one to deal with 1D distributions different from the normal case and linear correlation. This approach is justified because, according to research data, it is a linear stochastic relationship that relates a significant part of 2D statistical ensembles, and marginal distributions deviate from the normal case. Regression lines of a distribution of this kind are obtained, and it is shown that they are curved because marginal distributions differ from the normal one. The paper considers the practical example of fitting a 2D ensemble of characteristics of a liquid-propellant rocket engine some components of which are related via a linear stochastic relationship (the parameters that characterize a nonlinear stochastic relationship proved to be insignificant) and have 1D distributions different from the normal one. The fitted and observed frequencies are in rather good agreement. It is shown that a distribution based on a normal copula is more universal, and it is recommended for practical calculations.
Under-representation of Women as Proceduralists and Patients in TAVR and TMVr Procedures: Data, Implications and Proposed Solutions
Authors: Burgess Sonya , Cader F Aaysha , Shaw Elizabeth , Banerjee Shrilla , Stehli Julia , Krishnamorthy Roopa , Khor Lynn , Forotan Homa , Bastiany Alexandra , Rao Sarita , Chandrasekhar Jaya , Zaman Sarah , Alasnag Mirvat , Chieffo Alaide , Coylewright Megan
Published: December 2022

Women are under-represented among transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr) operators. This review assesses the representation of women as patients and as proceduralists and trial authors in major structural interventions. Women are under-represented as proceduralists in structural interventions: only 2% of TAVR operators and 1% of TMVr operators are women. Only 1.5% of authors in landmark clinical TAVR and TMVr trials are interventional cardiologists who are women (4/260). Significant under-representation and under-enrolment of women in landmark TAVR trials is evident: the calculated participation-to-prevalence ratio (PPR) is 0.73, and in TMVr trials, the PPR is 0.69. Under-representation of women is also evident in registry data (PPR = 0.84 for TAVR registries and for TMVr registries). In structural interventional cardiology, women are under-represented as proceduralists, trial participants and patients. This under-representation has the potential to affect the recruitment of women to randomised trials, subsequent guideline recommendations, selection for treatment, patient outcomes and sex-specific data analysis.
Some Traits of Ekphrasis Interweaving with Hierotopy in Theodore Metochites’ Monastery Descriptions
Authors:   Ural Federal University, Makarov Dmitrii Igorevich
Published: December 2022

The article addresses Theodore Metochites’ assessment of the phenomenon of monastery and monastic life (mostly according to Chapter 40 of his Sententious Notes) in juxtaposition with his predecessors in the ekphrastic genre, such as Michael the Rhetor. The descriptions in question and the “conceptual portrait” of the monastic institution(s) and of the monk as an ascetic draw on a centuries-long Late Antique Jewish and, later on, Christian tradition of conceptualizing Temple, firstly that of Solomon, but then also every Christian one (first of all, St Sophia of Constantinople), as: a) a focal point of the believers’ life; b) antitype of the Heavenly Temple, i. e., of the New Jerusalem, the Divine Tabernacle, whereas its eschatological coming will be seen by the just in the Kingdom of God, according to the Bible. For Theodore, monastery is both spiritual and sensorial realization of the Divine Kingdom on earth, being a brilliant and luminous sacred space. In its description, which is being used by the author as a tool of its contraposition to the turmoil of the theatrum mundi (kosmikon theatron), some traits of hierotopicity are clearly to be seen. The description was carried out in the genre of ekphrasis, but different features of other genres as well (such as philosophical & theological essay or threnos) are discernible there. Metochites cries out that now all the Church buildings and monasteries are destroyed or put in disorder, all their magnificence remaining in the past, and it is Joseph Bryennios in the fifteenth century who picks up the corresponding topics. Also typical for the style of Metochites’ thought are some allusions at Pseudo-­Dionysius the Areopagite. Theodore’s Notes with its Ch. 40 allow us to support the fresher speculations of Byzantinists concerning creative freedom and wild imagination of those Byzantine intellectuals and polymaths who, like the Great logothete, used to construe their own virtual worlds and attract those keen on reading to them.
Ottoman Presence in Thessalonike in 1387–1402: The View of Late Byzantine Intellectuals
Authors:   Ural Federal University, Zhigalova Natal’ia Eduardovna
Published: December 2022

This article addresses the views of Late Byzantine writers on the problem of the Ottoman presence in Thessalonike in 1387–1402. Taking the materials from the works of the archbishops of the city Isidore Glabas (1380–1396) and Symeon (1416/17–1429), as well as Manuel Palaiologos, the governor of Thessalonike in 1382–1387, into account, this study analyses the circumstances that preceded the surrender of the city to the Ottomans, as well as the reasons that led to the transfer of Thessalonike under the rule of the Turks. The author concludes that the lack of assistance from Constantinople, the hardships of the siege (1383–1387), and the flight from the city of Despot Manuel and Archbishop Isidore Glabas led to the voluntary surrender of Thessalonike to the Turks. There were no significant changes in the city administration, and the city council continued working. However, in defiance of the agreement providing the Christian population of Thessalonike with a number of tax benefits and religious immunity, many churches in the city were looted, and the townspeople soon lost the previously promised tax privileges and were obliged to pay the “blood tax,” i. e. to participate in the devşirme system. Trying to turn their flocks away from cooperation with the Ottoman conquerors, the archbishops in their sermons urged the townspeople to avoid contact with the Turks and condemned marriages with Muslims contracted in Thessalonike as these, in their opinion, threatened the Romaioi’s religious identity. However, under the conditions of Thessalonike being under the rule of the Ottomans, the Turkish settlers actively developing the nearby lands, and the Romaioi having to interact with the Turks, the exhortations of church hierarchs did not find a response from the population wanting calm and peaceful life.
The Crusading Movement in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period
Authors:   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Bliznyuk Svetlana Vladimirovna
Published: December 2022

The crusading movement covers about 500 years of European history; the crusading idea affected all social groups in Europe and became an element of the knightly culture. This article highlights two main turning points in the history of the crusading movement: the Fourth Crusade and the conquest of Constantinople in 1204 and the end of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1291. These events lead to rethinking of the goals, objectives, and directions of the crusading movement and to expanding its geography. The crusades of the Late Middle Ages were generally more local, purposeful, pragmatic, prudent, professional, and less emotional than the campaigns of 1096–1291. The development of crusading forced the Europeans to look for explanations and justifications of their deeds. This led to the creation of the legends of their ancestors in the East. The idea of the Trojan origin of the Latins and revenge to the schismatic Greeks became important in the twelfth- and thirteenth-­century crusading literature. With the growing Turkish threat, the idea of the Frankish origin of the Turks appeared. The Trojans of Aeneas were replaced by the Trojan Turks, and in the sixteenth century by the Druze people, who were considered descendants of the first crusaders survived in the Holy Land. From the fourteenth to sixteenth century, the plans for new crusades and the legends concerning the ancestors of the crusaders were a nutritious cultural environment preserving the crusading idea. The demonstration of crusading piety and crusading zeal contributed to the achievement of the socio-­cultural and political goals of kings and knights. Through the historical memory of the ancestors of the crusaders, illusions and rhetoric about the return of the Holy Land or Constantinople, the myths and legends, the crusading idea gradually passed from real wars into a moral category and becomes a psycho-­cultural phenomenon of the political and intellectual elite of European society.
Tangenciamento e multifatorialidade da violência contra o docente: nuances vivenciadas na prática pedagógica em saúde
Authors: Alves Angela Gilda , César Flaviane Cristina Rocha , Barbosa Maria Alves , Oliveira Lizete Malagoni de Almeida Cavalcante , Rodríguez-Martín Dolors , Silva Edinamar Aparecida Santos da , Sousa Johnatan Martins , Souza Sara Oliveira
Published: December 2022

RESUMO Objetivo: identificar fatores que levam o professor a experienciar violência na prática pedagógica em saúde. Método: pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa ancorada no referencial da Teoria Fundamentada nos Dados com 11 docentes do curso de Enfermagem de uma universidade pública da região central do Brasil em 2020 e 2021. Entrevistas semiestruturadas online foram analisadas parcialmente à luz da Teoria Fundamentada nos Dados Construtivista. Resultados: fatores que levam os docentes a experienciar a violência são caracterizados por cultura institucional, gênero, percepção de violência pelo docente e gatilhos que ensejam os estudantes a praticarem violência. Origem social convertida em desigualdades desencadeia posições de dominação e, consequentemente, constitui-se em terreno fértil para a violência. Considerações finais: analisando a violência sob os fundamentos de Pierre Bourdieu, percebe-se que a violência de alunos contra professores merece pedagogicamente reflexões sobre os relatos contidos nas entrevistas. Contudo, faz-se necessário perpassar tais discussões como pano de fundo nos palcos de ensino.
Computed tomography assessment of body composition in patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer: what are the best prognostic markers?
Authors: Oliveira Júnior José Carlos , Miola Thais Manfrinato , Roman Stefânia Maria , Oliart-Guzmán Humberto , Oliveira Vinícius Silva , Souza Juliana de Oliveira , Makdissi Fabiana Baroni , Bitencourt Almir Galvão Vieira
Published: December 2022

Abstract Objective: To correlate body composition measures, based on computed tomography (CT) analysis of muscle mass and adipose tissue, with disease-free survival in breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: This single-center retrospective study included 262 female patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer. Body composition was assessed on a pretreatment CT scan (at the L3 level). The analysis included quantification of the areas of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and skeletal muscle mass, as well as of the mean skeletal muscle density. The VAT/SAT ratio, skeletal mass index (SMI), and skeletal muscle gauge (SMG) were calculated. Results: Of the 262 patients evaluated, 175 (66.8%) were classified as overweight or obese on the basis of their body mass index. We observed low SMI in 35 patients (13.4%) and elevated VAT in 123 (46.9%). Disease-free survival was significantly shorter in the patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p = 0.044), in those with a low SMI (p = 0.006), in those with low SMG (p = 0.013), and in those with a low VAT/SAT ratio (p = 0.050). In a multivariate analysis, only SMG, the VAT/SAT ratio, and having undergone neoadjuvant chemotherapy retained their statistical significance. Conclusion: Our results confirm that low SMG and the VAT/SAT ratio can be used as imaging biomarkers to assess prognosis in patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer.