bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hierarchical Weighted LSTM with One-class Classifier for Preventive Protection of Cultural Heritage in Museums
Authors: Wang Chengtian , Shi Hongbo , Song Bing , Cai Lankun , Wu Laiming
Published: November 2024

Environmental monitoring and assessment of environmental risk levels are of great significance for the preventive protection of cultural relics in museums. Conventional methods focus on univariate statistical analysis, ignoring the interaction among variables and the time-related characteristics in environmental sequences. In addition, the environmental data is mostly unlabeled. Due to the strict requirements of museums on the environment, the monitoring data is mostly in the normal state, and there exists a serious problem of class imbalance. It increases the difficulty of establishing a supervised classification model for evaluating environmental risk levels. To solve the above problems, this article proposes a hierarchical weighted long-short-term memory (HWLSTM) with a one-class classifier for the preventive protection of cultural heritage in museums. Compared with the conventional methods, the proposed HWLSTM pays attention to the interaction among key variables and extracts dynamic features from the multivariate environmental time series. It hierarchically extracts short-term and long-term dynamic features to overcome the long-term dependency caused by long sequences. A dynamic weighting strategy is proposed to highlight the cumulative impact of continuous abnormal states. Furthermore, to address the issue of lacking labeled data, an unsupervised one-class classifier is proposed based on the one-class support vector machine (OCSVM) to achieve environmental monitoring and assessment of risk levels only using unlabeled data. Instead of constructing different models for each task, it provides a unified framework for the preventive protection of cultural relics. In this article, the proposed method is verified with the paper cultural heritage in Shanghai Museum. The experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Understanding Before Recommendation: Semantic Aspect-Aware Review Exploitation via Large Language Models
Authors: Liu Fan , Liu Yaqi , Chen Huilin , Cheng Zhiyong , Nie Liqiang , Kankanhalli Mohan
Published: November 2024

Recommendation systems harness user–item interactions like clicks and reviews to learn their representations. Previous studies improve recommendation accuracy and interpretability by modeling user preferences across various aspects and intents. However, the aspects and intents are inferred directly from user reviews or behavior patterns, suffering from the data noise and the data sparsity problem. Furthermore, it is difficult to understand the reasons behind recommendations due to the challenges of interpreting implicit aspects and intents. To address these constraints, we harness the sentiment analysis capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs) to enhance the accuracy and interpretability of the conventional recommendation methods. Specifically, inspired by the deep semantic understanding offered by LLMs, we introduce a chain-based prompting strategy to uncover semantic aspect-aware interactions, which provide clearer insights into user behaviors at a fine-grained semantic level. To incorporate the rich interactions of various aspects, we propose the simple yet effective Semantic Aspect-Based Graph Convolution Network (SAGCN). By performing graph convolutions on multiple semantic aspect graphs, SAGCN efficiently combines embeddings across multiple semantic aspects for final user and item representations. The effectiveness of the SAGCN was evaluated on four publicly available datasets through extensive experiments, which revealed that it outperforms all other competitors. Furthermore, interpretability analysis experiments were conducted to demonstrate the interpretability of incorporating semantic aspects into the model.
Stage Motion Control: Nonlinear Integrators Revisited
Authors: Heertjes Marcel F. , Hoogeveen Thomas P. , Eijnden Sebastiaan J.A.M. van den
Published: November 2024

Linear integrators are well known for their ability to counter static forces and improve low-frequency disturbance rejection properties in control systems. However, linear integrators introduce phase lag, which is a frequency-dependent time shift or delay. Since the early introduction of the Clegg integrator, nonlinear integrators have held the promise of providing phase advantages over linear integrators when evaluated from the perspective of a describing function. This could potentially reduce delay and therefore provide the means to surpass linear design limitations; for example, overshoot and settling times can be reduced or even avoided. In addition, loop gains can be increased, which improves the low-frequency disturbance rejection properties. For five nonlinear integrators—the Clegg integrator, a generalized first-order reset integrator called the constant-in-gain–lead-in-phase (CgLp) element, a hybrid integrator–gain system, a variable gain integrator, and a split-path integrator—this article provides a comparison and overview of recent developments in stage motion control. Benchmark examples are taken from the industrial practice of wafer scanners, which form the pivotal machines used in the manufacturing of computer chips.
Table S4 from Spatial Context of Immune Checkpoints as Predictors of Overall Survival in Patients with Resectable Colorectal Cancer Independent of Standard Tumor–Node–Metastasis Stages
Authors: Kong Hao , Yang Qingxin , Wu Chunwei , Wu Xiangji , Yan Xinrui , Huang Li-Bin , Chen Lu , Zhou Zong-Guang , Wang Ping , Jiang Hong
Published: November 2024

Clinical characteristics of training and validation cohorts
Table S2 from Spatial Context of Immune Checkpoints as Predictors of Overall Survival in Patients with Resectable Colorectal Cancer Independent of Standard Tumor–Node–Metastasis Stages
Authors: Kong Hao , Yang Qingxin , Wu Chunwei , Wu Xiangji , Yan Xinrui , Huang Li-Bin , Chen Lu , Zhou Zong-Guang , Wang Ping , Jiang Hong
Published: November 2024

Clinical characteristics of patients from TMA study
Table S1 from Spatial Context of Immune Checkpoints as Predictors of Overall Survival in Patients with Resectable Colorectal Cancer Independent of Standard Tumor–Node–Metastasis Stages
Authors: Kong Hao , Yang Qingxin , Wu Chunwei , Wu Xiangji , Yan Xinrui , Huang Li-Bin , Chen Lu , Zhou Zong-Guang , Wang Ping , Jiang Hong
Published: November 2024

Abs for mIHC staining
Figure 3 from Spatial Context of Immune Checkpoints as Predictors of Overall Survival in Patients with Resectable Colorectal Cancer Independent of Standard Tumor–Node–Metastasis Stages
Authors: Kong Hao , Yang Qingxin , Wu Chunwei , Wu Xiangji , Yan Xinrui , Huang Li-Bin , Chen Lu , Zhou Zong-Guang , Wang Ping , Jiang Hong
Published: November 2024

Construction of LASSO–Cox regression model based on immune spatial features. A, LASSO model coefficient profiles of significant features with the top included times in the training cohort. B, Parameter selection in the LASSO model, by 10-fold cross-validation via minimum criteria λ = 0.0779, was chosen in the training cohort. C, Multivariate Cox regression analysis for the prognosis-related genes. D, The nomogram predicts the OS of patients with colorectal cancer by incorporating multiple immunologic and clinical factors. The variables included are CD8+ T cells at distal sites, CD8+PD-1+ T cells at distal sites, PD-1+TIM-3+ T cells at distal sites, CD8+PD-1+ T cells at i.t. sites, and clinical stage. Each variable is assigned a score, which is then summed to provide a total score. This total score is used to estimate the probabilities of 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival. E and F, Comparison of the AUC values between the LASSO–Cox model and TNM stage model at 1, 3, and 5 years in the training cohort (n = 114) and the validation cohort (n = 75). G and H, Comparison of the risk score between deceased patients (event = 1) and living patients (event = 0) in the training cohort (n = 114) and the validation cohort (n = 75). Data were determined by a two-tailed unpaired t test. I and J, K–M curve survival analysis stratification based on a median risk score cutoff in the training and validation cohorts. CI, confidence interval; min, minimum; y, year; ys, years.
Diet composition and diet choice of Lesser Mouse-tailed Bat Rhinopoma hardwickii (Gray, 1831) (Rhinopomatidae: Chiroptera)
Authors: Misra Pawan Kumar , Farheen Sayma , Singh Shaktivardhan , Elangovan Vadamalai
Published: November 2024

The food composition and food choice of R. hardwickii were assessed through guano analysis at different seasons and geographical locations. Guano samples of R. hardwickii were collected from the roost sites of the Gangetic plains and arid region of Uttar Pradesh. Each intact pellet was dissolved and recognizable insect body parts like legs, antennae, wings, and mouth parts were separated and photographed. Each insect remnant was identified to its lowest rank as much as possible. A total of 10 roost sites of R. hardwickii were observed in the arid region and Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh and all of them were found in historical monuments. A total of 61 pellets of 10 sites yielded 1,035 remnants of insects. The highest percentage of remnants belongs to legs, followed by wings, antennae, abdominal segments, and mouthparts. The remnants belong to eight insect orders such as Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, Dermaptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Plecoptera. The remnants of order Hemiptera showed the highest frequency of occurrence followed by orders Coleoptera, Orthoptera, and Hymenoptera, and these four orders of insects constitute the major portion of the diet of R. hardwickii. The orders Dermaptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Plecoptera contributed a small proportion to the diet of R. hardwickii. The remnants of orders Lepidoptera and Plecoptera were occasional. The result of the current study shows that the food choice of R. hardwickii did not differ significantly across roost sites, while differed seasonally. Further, it reveals that the Lesser Mouse-tailed Bat acts as a potential and natural insect balancing agent.
Diving into diversity: aquatic beetles of Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, Chandigarh, India
Authors: Chaudhary Karmannye Om
Published: November 2024

The Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, located in the Shivalik Hills of Chandigarh, India, encompasses several freshwater ecosystems, including ponds, streams, and marshes. The objective of this study is to fill the current information void regarding the populations of aquatic beetles in the sanctuary. During the period from June to September 2023, a comprehensive study was conducted in the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, resulting in the identification and documentation of 164 specimens of aquatic Coleoptera. These specimens belonged to six species, five genera, and two families in which the Dytiscidae family was found to be the most prevalent. The study findings offer significant insights into the population magnitude and geographical dispersion of aquatic beetles within the investigated settings and show the need for comprehensive surveys to understand the intricate interplay of factors governing beetle distribution.
Endemicity and diversity of birds of the Kuvempu University Campus, Shivamogga District, Karnataka: an updated checklist
Authors: M.N. Harisha  , B.B. Hosetti
Published: November 2024

The updated checklist of birds at Kuvempu University Campus including present and past records, now contains 229 species, belonging to 16 orders and 62 families. A family-wise analysis showed that Accipitridae dominated the avifauna of the region (16 species), followed by Muscicapidae (14 species), Picidae (11 species), Columbidae (9 species), Strigidae (8 species), and Cuculidae, Alaudidae, Sturnidae, & Motacillidae (7 species each). The community consists of 83% (190 species) resident and 17% (39 species) winter migrant species. The study also documented four species of birds that are classified as ‘Near Threatened’ (Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, Malabar Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus, and Grey-headed Bulbul Microtarsus priocephalus), one ‘Endangered’ Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus, and one ‘Vulnerable’ Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus as per the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The campus harbours 69 species, of which 14 are endemic to both the Indian Subcontinent and the Western Ghats. The study highlights the impact of anthropogenic activities as the main cause for the loss of diversity of birds and their habitats and emphasizes the urgent need to conserve this biodiversity-rich area with long-term monitoring programs.
Habenaria spencei (Orchidaceae): rediscovery other than its type locality and new distribution record to Karnataka, India
Authors: Betageri Shreyas , Kotresha Katrahalli
Published: November 2024

Habenaria spencei Blatt. & McCann was described from Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra in 1930; since then it had not been collected so far. This orchid is not reported from any other location in India. This report is a rediscovery after 94 years other than its type location and forms a new state report for Karnataka.
Addressing Anti-Blackness in Education Through Psychological Approaches to Racial and Radical Healing
Authors: Leath Seanna , Mims Lauren , Butler-Barnes Sheretta
Published: November 2024

Anti-blackness remains endemic to the U.S. social order. As such, scholars have used theories of anti-blackness to contextualize the harm and violence that many Black youth experience in school settings. In the current article, we discuss the psychological framework of radical healing for communities of color and the Community Healing and Resistance Through Storytelling framework to highlight how schools and educational systems can be reenvisioned to support Black students’ identities, well-being, and humanity. We review how the underlying psychological principles across these healing frameworks (i.e., critical consciousness, cultural authenticity and self-knowledge, collective memory, justice, community resistance, and radical hope) can be leveraged to promote positive academic, social, and psychological outcomes among Black youth. More broadly, we discuss how these principles can be used to center the humanity and brilliance of Black children and address the structurally embedded anti-blackness in education.
A Transnational History of Bilingual Jewish Charters from Medieval Europe
Authors: Perry Micha J.
Published: November 2024

Throughout medieval Europe, Hebrew records were accepted as evidence of economic and legal activities. European archives, chanceries and cartularies are dotted with Hebrew signatures, lines of text and full-fledged documents. This article limits itself to one form of practical document that is defined, not by content, but by visual and linguistic features: Jewish bilingual charters, mainly in Latin and Hebrew. The article is an exercise in transnational history, comparing bilingual Jewish deeds from tenth- and eleventh-century Catalonia with parallel documents from thirteen-century England, fourteenth-century Germany and Austria at the turn of the fifteenth century. It analyses their bilingualism with particular attention to visuality and orality. The relationships between each pair of languages are examined using a visual criterion: the mise-en-page of the two languages on the parchment or in the book of records. Its conclusion applies as much to the tenth century as to the fourteenth century: Jews asserted their identity not by the content of their language but by the visual presence of Hebrew letters. Jews marked themselves with the Hebrew alphabet, while the content conveyed through these letters—whether in Aramaic, Hebrew, Norman-French, Catalan or German—was secondary.
Does Social Capital Matter for the Development of Scheduled Tribes in Kerala? An Inter-tribal Analysis
Authors: Balakrishnan U  , Hari Kurup K. K
Published: November 2024

The study intends to explore and substantiate the effectiveness of social capital in the development of different tribes in Kerala, specifically examining inter-tribal disparities. Primary data were gathered from the Kasaragod district in Kerala, encompassing 240 sample households representing the prominent tribes of the region, namely Mavilan, Marati and Malavettuvan. An index has been developed to evaluate the comparative level of social capital possessed by each tribe under investigation by incorporating its various dimensions. The results highlight that the overall effectiveness of social capital in the development of scheduled tribes in Kerala is marginal. However, there are statistically significant differences in the achievement of development outcomes between tribes with high social capital and those with low social capital. Tribes with a higher social capital index excel in bonding, bridging and linking dimensions. Hence, it is imperative to formulate tribal development initiatives with due regard to their distinctive social capital endowment.
Pooshing the Boundaries of Instagram Influencers: How Mainstream vs. Micro-celebrity Influencers Impact Source Credibility, Parasocial Interaction, and Intent to Follow
Authors: Connell Emma , Landreville Kristen D. , Schultz Cindy Price , Singh Reshmi L.
Published: November 2024

Individuals are increasingly turning to health influencers on social media for advice about nutrition, exercise, wellness, and more. This study addressed the impacts of two mechanisms of social influence—source credibility and parasocial interaction—on intent to follow health influencers. An online experiment of 202 participants was conducted to compare a celebrity health influencer and a micro-celebrity health influencer on Instagram. Results showed the micro-influencer had higher source credibility and parasocial interaction. A mediation model detected an indirect relationship between influencer and intent to follow, with parasocial interaction as the mediator. This implies that health communicators who want to increase their social media followers feature down-to-earth influencers who inspire familiarity and desire to learn more about the influencer.
Perception of Medical Students Regarding Clinical Trials and Its Impact After Educational Intervention – A Questionnaire-Based Study
Authors: Dharmendra Mehta Yash , Bhavsar Bhumika , Prajapati Vipul Dhanjibhai , Malhotra Supriya
Published: November 2024

Background and Aims:

Clinical trials are gold standard for research and evaluating the efficacy and safety of healthcare interventions. Teaching about clinical trials is part of the pharmacology curriculum for undergraduate medical students. The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and perception (KAP) of undergraduate medical students towards clinical trial.

Methodology:

An observational cross-sectional study was conducted at a medical college of Ahmedabad, using standardised self-administered questionnaires having total 25 questions regarding KAP, prepared by the authors. The pre- and post-KAP questionnaires (after educational intervention) were offered to the participants after taking an informed consent. Analysis was done using SPSS software, version 26. P value <.05 was considered as significant.

Results:

We surveyed 212 medical students; there was an improvement in the overall scores of knowledge domain from 79.67 to 92.19%, about 31.44% improvement in the attitude toward clinical trial and 78.17-91.12% improvement in the perception. There was improvement in median score of 84.76% in having ‘sufficient’ knowledge, 91.18% in having ‘positive’ attitude and 91.63% of respondents having ‘favourable’ perception, regarding clinical trials.

Conclusion:

The results of this study depict the intervention has enhanced KAP regarding clinical trial among the medical students. The medical undergraduates are future innovators, clinicians and scientific explorers. It would be better if they are trained at earlier days of learning about clinical trials/research and medical ethics to ensure that future medical students receive better training in understanding and conducting clinical trials.
Dynamics of Social Identities and Contemporary Citizenship Discourses of the Matuas in India’s Bengal
Authors: Mallick Pratick
Published: November 2024

Originally from the dalit Namasudras in eastern Bengal, Matuas were concerned with their own community development until they got actively involved in nationalist politics in British India. After partition, many Matuas settled in India’s Bengal—West Bengal—following their leader Pramatha Ranjan Thakur. But this Indian state was then suffering from acute resource shortage. So, accommodating the recurring refugee influx, mostly Namasudra-Matuas, led to rehabilitation outside the state. Thus, their caste concerns became suppressed by the necessity for permanent settlements and livelihood graduating into the recognition of Indian citizenship. The Government of India launched the Citizenship Act 1955, various rules and amendments thereto several times to tackle the discourses between refugeehood and citizenship of the Matuas. CAA 2019 and CAR 2024 tried to fulfil the Matuas’ prolonged demand for Indian citizenship but failed due to some conditions. This article seeks to investigate to what extent the social identities of the Matuas of West Bengal stand in intersections with the discourses of Indian citizenship. This is a qualitative article based on exploration of different legal documents on Indian citizenship, in the backdrop of various social and political imperatives. This approach of this article helps the readers to understand how the political parties are intertwined with the making, un-making and re-making of the social identities of the Matuas in West Bengal in different ways with the careful considerations of their electoral dividends and how these Matuas become mature enough to respond to them democratically with their evolutionary experiences.
Researching Young Masculinities During the Rise of ‘Misogyny Influencers’: Exploring Affective and Embodied Discomfort and Dilemmas of Feminist and Queer Researchers
Authors: Milne Betsy , Cambazoglu Idil , Haslop Craig , Ringrose Jessica
Published: November 2024

This article explores the affective dynamics of researching boys’ views on gender inequalities, (anti)feminism and ‘misogyny influencers’ such as Andrew Tate. We interviewed boys (aged 13–14) who had participated in ‘rethinking masculinity’ workshops delivered by an educational charity at their school. Using an affective ethnographic approach, this article focuses on a particular research encounter, where boys expressed heightened misogyny and homophobia. Through discussion of interview transcripts, field notes and retrospective memory work about the experience of participating in the research, we dwell within the deep discomfort and ethical challenges of conducting research with boys who express these views. We conclude with a set of recommendations for researchers working at the intersection of gender/sex/uality and feminist pedagogy and in dialogue with discourses and practices designed to critically engage with masculinities, considering how gender transformative work may need to disrupt the gender binary.
Educational gradients in the quality of mortality data: a nationwide, registry-based study on heart failure listed incorrectly as underlying cause of death in Norway
Authors: Sulo Gerhard , Knudsen Ann Kristin , Baravelli Carl , Lycke Ellingsen Christian , Sulo Enxhela
Published: November 2024

Aim:

In the context of mortality, heart failure (HF) represents an intermediate factor and should not be used to describe underlying cause of death (UCoD). We explored the potential educational gradients in use of HF to describe UCoD using national data spanning more than 30 years from Norway.

Methods:

Using a cross-sectional design, we linked data from the Cause of Death Registry and the National Education Database. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between highest attained education and the odds of HF being listed as the UCoD: odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) are reported.

Results:

HF was listed as UCoD in 46,331 (3.7%) of 1,254,249 deaths analyzed. Compared to primary education, secondary and tertiary education were associated with 10% (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.88–0.92) and 17% (OR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.80-0.86) lower odds of HF incorrectly listed as UCoD, respectively. We observed no significant differences for the association between education and study outcomes between men and women and across place of death categories. However, educational gradients were greater among younger compared to older individuals ( pinteraction, = 0.002). Similar educational gradients were observed in the analyses restricted to cardiovascular deaths (OR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.91–0.94 for secondary vs. primary education, and OR = 0.91; 95% CI: 0.88–0.95 for tertiary vs. primary education).

Conclusions:

Education was inversely associated with the use of HF to incorrectly describe UCoD. Addressing the observed educational gradients, would improve the quality of mortality data and allow for less biased descriptions of cause-specific mortality.
Quality Translator Training: Recent Experience in Mozambique
Authors: Alfredo Justino , Foster Stuart
Published: November 2024

During the pandemic restrictions of 2021 and 2022, the Mozambique Bible Society needed to train fifteen Bible translators from five neglected and minority languages, working spread out in four locations remote from the capital Maputo. These realities provoked debate: Was in-person training possible? Was it worth the cost? Could online remote learning do all or part of the job? Which parts, and how well? What resources could be made available? This paper sets that debate in our Mozambican context, reflects on these issues, and evaluates the actual training experience from the point of view of those responsible for teaching along with feedback from those trained, arguing that, in our situation, face-to-face, in-person learning is essential despite the high cost.
Chiasm and the Book of Micah: Micah 4.11-13 as its Structural and Theological Core
Authors: Ogden Graham
Published: November 2024

This brief note demonstrates the chiastic structure of the book of Micah with 4.11-13 serving as its numerical centre and establishing its primary theological focus.
A Little-Used Bible Translation: Sociolinguistic Considerations and Implications for Other Translations in a West African Context
Authors: Bossers Hannah
Published: November 2024

This article calls for consideration of sociolinguistic factors in how a Bible translation is used. Jula is a trade language spoken by millions in West Africa. Yet the Jula Bible that was published in Burkina Faso does not currently seem to be widely used in Bobo-Dioulasso. This paper examines this issue from various angles to explore the role of the written form of a language in church. The Jula Bible is used as an example to demonstrate that there might be various complex barriers to Scripture use. Language attitudes and ideologies as well as gender and age dynamics are considered to highlight the importance of examining translation need and user desire in current translation projects.
The Translation of Names for Unclean Birds in Kambera (Eastern Sumbanese)
Authors: Forth Gregory
Published: November 2024

Numbering no more than 200,000 speakers, Kambera, the language of the eastern region of the island of Sumba, is one of the few minority languages of Indonesia that has been provided with a translation of the Old Testament. The special interest of this paper concerns the translation of animal names in Kambera and more particularly the names of the unclean birds named in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Through a detailed review of the Kambera names selected and with reference to the available ethno-ornithological literature, an interpretation is offered of the strategies apparently followed by the translators, largely with reference to the general approaches known as “dynamic” and “formal” equivalence. Consideration is further given to the apparent influence of translations in Indonesian, Dutch, and other European languages and to apparent lacunae in their knowledge of local avifauna and bird nomenclature.
“I Dreamed a Dream”: Linguistic Features and Characteristics of Dreams in the Hebrew Bible and Their Application in Contemporary Translations
Authors: Greed Teija
Published: November 2024

Dreams play an important role in the Bible. They have been studied extensively from theological, hermeneutical, and cultural perspectives, but less attention has been given to more focused linguistic and discourse-analytic approaches. The key question of the current study is, How is “dream-ness” conveyed linguistically in the dreams of the Hebrew Bible? To this end, I explore four biblical dreams. Then, through four translations, I investigate how the biblical dream-ness has been transferred into these living languages. The frequent use of the discourse particle (wǝ)hinnēh together with the predicative “scenic” participle are identified as the key linguistic signals for biblical dream-ness. In the translations, a wide variety of linguistic choices are employed, including mirative and modal marking. This study shows that for a fuller appreciation of the functions of the elements in dream narratives, the researcher needs to go beyond linguistics to other domains, especially poetics.
Interdependence Between Energy Commodities and Global Stock Indices: A Volatility Transmission Approach
Authors: Bhullar Pritpal Singh , Gupta Pradeep Kumar , Kiranmai J.  , Tandon Deepak
Published: November 2024

This study aims to investigate the volatility transmission between energy commodities and global stock indices. Two primary energy commodities, Brent crude oil and Natural gas, are considered using monthly data from January 2001 to June 2023. Dynamic conditional correlation–GARCH method has been employed to examine the interdependence between two selected energy commodities and stock indices of India, the United States and Japan. The results show a high degree of interdependence between Brent crude oil and the global stock market indices of India, the United States and Japan compared to natural gas. The study also shows that long-run shocks persistent by the crude oil price variability have a more substantial influence on the global stock indices of India, the United States and Japan than short-run stocks. Swings in commodity prices and their effect on the stock market volatility indicate that policymakers and regulators should learn about financial system risks and vulnerability to external shocks.
Book review: S. Jaishankar, Why Bharat Matters
Authors: Kulkarni Nihar Kodandpani
Published: November 2024

S. Jaishankar, Why Bharat Matters. New Delhi: Rupa Publications, 2024, 248 pp., $40 (Hardcover) ISBN: 978-9357027601.
Book review: T. V. Paul, India’s Unfulfilled Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi
Authors: Godbole Nikhil
Published: November 2024

T. V. Paul, India’s Unfulfilled Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2024, 263 pp. (hardback) ISBN: 9780197669990.
Re-owning the Bible: Treasuring the Scriptures in a Multi-faith World
Authors: Maust Drew
Published: November 2024

What place remains for Christian Scriptures in a multi-faith world? How can they be treasured? Three sites of tension may be identified: scriptural imperialism, radical relativization, and biblicism. This article proposes that Christian Scriptures are treasured in a multi-faith world when they are made accessible to everyone and “re-owned” for a variety of purposes. This thesis is supported by four avenues of thought: 1) the Sermon on the Mount, 2) the trajectory of the transmission of the Bible, 3) the functions of the Bible, and 4) the reception of the Bible in translation today.
Caste, Dacoity and Countryside in the Nineteenth-century Bengal
Authors: Hari Bidyut
Published: November 2024

The increase of bandit groups in Bengal over the nineteenth century was a menace to the established law and order. The bandit gangs are known as dakat, a Hindi word for banditry. The article sheds light on several issues including whether people engaged in dacoities belonged to a particular caste, community, class or religion. It also examines how much they transcended these categories. It is important to understand how crime has a social impact; therefore, the analysis emphasizes this aspect by looking at the individuals and their reasons. The article on the other hand points out socio-economic backgrounds, motives and social origins of criminal behaviour in analysing various dacoity groups.
Translation as Transference of Identity and Resistance: (Re)presentations of Dalits in Pa. Ranjit’s Kaala
Authors: Swetha S  , Annem Naresh
Published: November 2024

Translation is generally defined as the rendering of a text from one language to another. But in its broadest etymological sense, translation means something that is being carried across. When the process of translation is considered an act of creativity, translation is the transference of the self-identity of the creator from one language or medium to another. Therefore, the process of transferring the identity into creativity itself is a form of translation. Social identity theory proposed by John Turner and Henri Tajfel explains that a person’s social group will contribute to their sense of self as well. In India, Dalit identity is a social identity that aids a Dalit individual to form his personal identity as well. Dalit identity gets formed as an after-effect of not only the distinctive experience that they live through but also the discrimination and oppression that they face being socially marginalized groups. The revocation of their Dalit identity gradually leads them to engage in various forms of resistance through mediums such as politics, literature, and arts, by ensuring the representation and participation of Dalits in the respective fields. Cinema is one such medium, which had not opened its doors to Dalit representations until the twenty-first century. This discrimination resulted in creating an unspoken void in representing true Dalithood, their history, resistance, and representation in the field of cinema. Tamil cinema industry is an example of a brave exception regarding this from the recent past. A number of directors, claiming their Dalit identity and their politics behind making films, which honestly talk about Dalit issues in a collective sense have come up. This article tries to analyse how these filmmakers translated their identity into representation and resistance through their films, taking Pa. Ranjit’s Kaala as an example.
Critiquing ‘Nation’ as an Ideological Construct in Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide
Authors: Chauhan Rajneesh , Bansal Hem Raj
Published: November 2024

The ideas of nation, nation-state and nationalism have been debated and contested. Nations emerge and recede, or, in many cases, are made to submerge into hegemonic nationalist ideologies. This study examines the ideas of nation, nation-state and nationalism in Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide (2004) through the prism of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s discourse theory. While doing so, this article will keep the concept of ideology as the central analytical reference point. Ghosh works through a variety of themes and concerns of the human as well as the natural world in this novel, most of which are deliberately excluded from the discussion in this article. Only a section of the book that may be termed as the ‘textualization’ of the Marichjhapi massacre of 1979 in West Bengal has been critically dealt with. In Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide, when refugee settlers begin to build a ‘Dalit nation’ for themselves, an antagonistic nationalist ideology emerges, challenging the hegemony of the discourse of the Indian nation-state. Will this emerging antagonistic ideology succeed against the nationalistic ideology of the Indian nation-state and be finally hegemonic? The study shall thoroughly investigate this postulation.
Comparison of survival, function and complication between intercalary frozen autograft versus massive allograft reconstruction after malignant bone tumors resection
Authors: Li Zhuoyu , Guo Haoyu , Deng Zhiping , Yang Yongkun , Zhang Qing , Liu Weifeng
Published: November 2024

Purpose

This study aims to compare the clinical outcomes of intercalary frozen autograft and allograft reconstruction for primary malignant bone tumors.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted on 144 patients who underwent intercalary biological reconstruction for primary malignant bone tumors at a single institution between January 2012 and July 2023. Seventy-two patients underwent intercalary liquid nitrogen-frozen autograft reconstruction, and 72 patients underwent intercalary allograft reconstruction in this study. A modified International Society of Limb Salvage classification system was used to evaluate the complications.

Results

The mean follow-up time was 60.2 ± 32.1 (range, 12–149) months. The mean union time was 9.6 months in the frozen autograft group and 15.9 months in the allograft group (p < 0.001). The 5-year overall survivorship was 86.8% in the frozen autograft group and 73.2% in the allograft group (p = 0.017). The average MSTS-93 score was comparable between the two groups (89.7% by autograft versus 87.6% by allograft, p > 0.05). Of the patients, 48.6% (70/144) had at least one complication. The most common complications were bone nonunion (20.8%, 30/144), followed by structural failure (17.4%, 25/144), tumor progression (10.4%, 15/144), infection (10.4%, 15/144), and soft tissue failures (5.6%, 8/144). Higher rates of bone nonunion (type 4B; p = 0.002) and structural failure (type 3B; p = 0.004) were obtained in the allograft group than in the frozen autograft group.

Conclusions

The intercalary frozen autografts had shorter union time and lower complication rates than allograft reconstruction. Therefore, we recommend that frozen autograft reconstruction be considered when the tumor bone has not suffered severe osteolytic injury or pathological fracture.

Level of evidence: level III, case–control study.
Fournier's gangrene mortality: peri-umbilical cutaneous involvement as a crucial clinical indicator
Authors: Ouanes Yassine , Chaker Kays , Marrak Mahdi , Gharbia Nader , Mosbahi Boutheina , Rahoui Moez , Bibi Mokhtar , Nouira Yassine
Published: November 2024

Background

Fournier's gangrene (FG) is a severe urological emergency characterized by high mortality and requiring intensive management. Our objective was to ascertain the clinical and biological determinants of mortality in cases of FG, assessed one month following the initial surgical intervention.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective study of male patients treated surgically for urologically-originating Fournier's gangrene, diagnosed through physical examination, from January 2002 to December 2022. We analyzed clinical predictors by dividing affected skin into nine zones: scrotal, penile, perineal, hypogastric, right inguinal, left inguinal, right flank, left flank, and peri-umbilical regions.

Results

Our study included 118 patients, average age 58.97 years (± 13.84). Among them, 60.2% had diabetes, 27.1% were hypertensive, and 51.7% had a performance status of ≥ 2. At admission, 70% had a quick SOFA score of 0. The one-month postoperative mortality rate was 12.7%. In univariate analysis, all predefined cutaneous areas were significant except the scrotal region, with higher odds ratios for upper abdominal involvement. Independent predictive factors for one-month postoperative mortality were a heart rate ≥ 89 bpm (p = 0.001; OR = 6.96; 95% CI 2.16–22.40), systolic blood pressure ≤ 115 mmHg (p = 0.009; OR = 4.24; 95% CI 1.34–13.41), and peri-umbilical involvement (p < 0.001; OR = 216.67; 95% CI 33.06–1420.20). Peri-umbilical involvement had a notably stronger predictive effect on one-month postoperative mortality.

Conclusion

Fournier's gangrene prognosis worsens with more abdominal skin involvement. Key factors for one-month postoperative mortality are heart rate ≥ 89 bpm, systolic blood pressure ≤ 115 mmHg, and peri-umbilical involvement, which is notably linked to higher mortality.
Acute retinal pigment epitheliitis using adaptive optics imaging: a case report
Authors: Heutinck P.A.T. , Wooning S. , Liman K. , Durand M. , Sanchez Brea L. , Klaver C.C.W. , Verhoeven V.J.M. , Andrade De Jesus D. , Thiadens A.A.H.J.
Published: November 2024

Background

Acute Retinal Pigment Epitheliitis (ARPE, Krill’s disease) is a rare inflammatory retinal disorder commonly affecting young adults. It often presents unilaterally with central vision disruption, and typically resolves with vision restoration within 6 to 12 weeks. The pathogenesis of ARPE remains a subject of ongoing debate. Adaptive Optics Flood Illumination Ophthalmoscopy (AO-FIO) imaging has emerged as a valuable tool capable of detecting early cone photoreceptor changes and recovery. This case study presents two patients with ARPE, with longitudinal follow-up using multimodal imaging, including optical coherence tomography (OCT) and AO-FIO.

Case presentations

A 30-year-old male presented with sudden vision loss in both eyes. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 20/33 and 20/40 Snellen in the right and left eye, respectively. OCT showed interruption of the ellipsoid zone (EZ) band and outer nuclear layer (ONL) in both eyes; AO-FIO imaging revealed a foveal lesion and diminished parafoveal cone density in both eyes compared to two age-matched controls. After 6 months, BCVA was restored to 20/20, and OCT showed recovery of the ONL and EZ. On AO-FIO, the foveal lesion was still present and the parafoveal cone density increased but remained reduced even up to 15 months after onset when compared to the controls. The second patient, a 30-year-old woman, presented with a unilateral drop in vision to 20/63 Snellen. OCT showed discontinuation of the EZ and hyperreflectivity within the ONL and retinal pigment epithelium in the affected eye. The unaffected eye showed no abnormalities. After 3 months, the BCVA improved to 20/16 Snellen and OCT showed recovery of the EZ. AO-FIO was conducted 9 months after onset and revealed reduced parafoveal cone density in the affected and non-affected eye compared to the controls while OCT still showed recovery of all retinal layers.

Conclusions

ARPE is a self-limiting disease with recovery of BCVA and OCT retinal layers within 6 months. However, our 2 cases showed that parafoveal cone density recovered during follow-up but did not reach levels observed in controls. AO-FIO is an imaging modality that enhances sensitivity in measurements and can therefore be used as a complementary tool for follow-up.
“I am putting my fear on them subconsciously”: a qualitative study of contraceptive care in the context of abortion bans in the U.S.
Authors: Zia Yasaman , Somerson Erica , Folse Connie , Alvarez Alejandra , Albergate Davis Kathryn , Comfort Alison B. , Brown Katherine , Brandi Kristyn , Moayedi Ghazaleh , Harper Cynthia C.
Published: November 2024

Background

Since the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in June 2022, providers throughout the U.S. have been navigating the shifting legal landscape of abortion bans, which diminish the delivery of evidence-based healthcare. The Dobbs decision has had a detrimental impact on medical training, the physician–patient relationship, and provision of medical care. However, few studies have captured the effects on providers in adjacent fields, including contraceptive care. Our objective was to examine the impact of Dobbs on contraceptive care.

Methods

We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews (August 2022–July 2024), with 41 contraceptive healthcare providers across the US, with the majority (63%) in abortion restrictive states. We utilized deductive thematic analysis to assess providers’ practice changes and experiences related to contraceptive services.

Results

In reaction to the Dobbs decision, providers noted increased requests for contraception, especially for highly effective methods. Providers worried that certain methods, such as IUDs or emergency contraception, would become restricted, and mentioned advance provision of pills and other ways that they would try to ensure supplies. Providers also discussed that their patients were worried about threats to contraception, including for adolescents. Some expressed concern, however, that the abortion bans may prompt providers to overemphasize high-efficacy methods with directive counseling. Providers shared that it was stressful to practice in contexts of uncertainty, with shifting abortion policies affecting contraceptive care, including emergent needs such as providing contraceptive services to out-of-state patients before they go home. Several providers shared that they felt an increased importance of their role in their communities, and a deepened commitment to advocate for their patients.

Conclusions

Abortion restrictions profoundly impact providers’ contraceptive counseling and care. The effects of Dobbs on providers and their clinical practices underscore providers' legally precarious position in today’s reproductive health landscape. Attention to contraceptive access and person-centered care has become a salient public health need across the U.S. The long-term impacts of limited reproductive rights may stretch an already under-resourced healthcare system and further emphasize moral pressures.
A high-throughput approach for quantifying turgor loss point in grapevine
Authors: Martin Adam R. , Li Guangrui , Cui Boya , Mariani Rachel O. , Vicario Kale , Cathline Kimberley A. , Findlay Allison , Robertson Gavin
Published: November 2024

Quantifying drought tolerance in crops is critical for agriculture management under environmental change, and drought response traits in grape vine have long been the focus of viticultural research. Turgor loss point (πtlp) is gaining attention as an indicator of drought tolerance in plants, though estimating πtlp often requires the construction and analysis of pressure-volume (P-V) curves which are very time consuming. While P-V curves remain a valuable tool for assessing πtlp and related traits, there is considerable interest in developing high-throughput methods for rapidly estimating πtlp, especially in the context of crop screening. We tested the ability of a dewpoint hygrometer to quantify variation in πtlp across and within 12 clones of grape vine (Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera) and one wild relative (Vitis riparia), and compared these results to those derived from P-V curves. At the leaf-level, methodology explained only 4–5% of the variation in πtlp while clone/species identity accounted for 39% of the variation, indicating that both methods are sensitive to detecting intraspecific πtlp variation in grape vine. Also at the leaf level, πtlp measured using a dewpoint hygrometer approximated πtlp values (r2 = 0.254) and conserved πtlp rankings from P-V curves (Spearman’s ρ = 0.459). While the leaf-level datasets differed statistically from one another (paired t-test p = 0.01), average difference in πtlp for a given pair of leaves was small (0.1 ± 0.2 MPa (s.d.)). At the species/clone level, estimates of πtlp measured by the two methods were also statistically correlated (r2 = 0.304), did not deviate statistically from a 1:1 relationship, and conserved πtlp rankings across clones (Spearman’s ρ = 0.692). The dewpoint hygrometer (taking ∼ 10–15 min on average per measurement) captures fine-scale intraspecific variation in πtlp, with results that approximate those from P-V curves (taking 2–3 h on average per measurement). The dewpoint hygrometer represents a viable method for rapidly estimating intraspecific variation in πtlp, and potentially greatly increasing replication when estimating this drought tolerance trait in grape vine and other crops.