bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Information on the worldwide reception of Kant's philosophy in Przegląd Filozoficzny
Authors: Kupś Tomasz
Published: January 2024

The reception of Immanuel Kant's philosophy in Poland was achieved in many different ways. One of these was the presentation of Kantian literature in the pages of Przegląd Filozoficzny. Moreover, it took place through various reporting sections, supervised by Kazimierz Twardowski. It was up to him to decide to whom and with what work to entrust for review. Reports, reviews and other dissertations were written in a fair, concise manner, reflecting mainly the content of the reviewed work. The reporting section was continued after 1911 by Kazimierz Twardowski in Ruch Filozoficzny. This does not mean that the section was discontinued in Przegląd Filozoficzny. It continued to develop, showcasing the achievements of world philosophy, including Kantian philosophy.
Roman Witold Ingarden's academic lectures on Kant's Criticism in Lviv
Authors: Pandura Mariusz , Kuliniak Radosław
Published: January 2024

After the retirement of Kazimierz Twardowski and Mścisław Wartenberg, research on Kant’s philosophy in Lviv significantly declined. This tradition was resumed and continued with great success only by Roman Witold Ingarden. The present article explains the origins of Ingarden’s lectures on Kant’s Criticism in Lviv. It also presents the main theses of Ingarden’s lectures.
Understanding Cooperation in an Intertemporal Context
Authors: Kölle Felix , Lauer Thomas
Published: January 2024

Cooperation between individuals, a critical component of organizational and societal success, typically involves costs and benefits that accrue at different points in time. Using a series of controlled experiments, this paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the determinants of cooperation in an intertemporal context. Our findings demonstrate that cooperation is significantly reduced when the benefits of cooperation are shifted into the future, whereas delaying costs leads to an increase in cooperation. Our analysis of the underlying behavioral mechanisms reveals that the change in the level of cooperation can be explained by three factors: (i) a shift in the beliefs about others’ efforts, (ii) a shift in the willingness to conditionally cooperate, and (iii) an individual’s degree of impatience. We further find that injunctive norms of cooperation are unaffected by the timing of consequences, indicating that changes in behavior are due to a change in norm compliance rather than the norm itself. Implications for management practices are discussed.

This paper was accepted by Yan Chen, behavioral economics and decision analysis.

Funding: Financial support from the Center for Social and Economic Behavior at the University of Cologne and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy [Grant EXC 2126/1- 390838866] is gratefully acknowledged. F. Kölle gratefully acknowledges funding by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program [Grant 7414099].

Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2020.03757 .
Optimal Discoverability on Platforms
Authors: Hagiu Andrei , Wright Julian
Published: January 2024

Choosing how easy to make it for buyers to discover new sellers is a key design decision for platforms. On one hand, enabling more discoverability generates more transactions and can be more attractive for sellers because they anticipate being discovered by new buyers. On the other hand, discoverability can make sellers more reluctant to participate because they anticipate their existing buyers will discover and purchase from other sellers. We model this fundamental trade-off and study how a platform’s optimal level of discoverability depends on various factors: the degree of substitutability between the sellers’ products; the standalone value of the platform’s tools; the size of the platform’s installed base of buyers; the nature of the platform’s fees, including its ability to charge differential fees depending on whether a transaction is with a seller’s existing buyers or not; the number of sellers; and asymmetries between sellers’ sizes.

This paper was accepted by Joshua Gans, business strategy.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.02362 .
Respiratory research
Authors: Greener
Published: January 2024

The latest studies on asthma and COPD rounded up by Mark Greener
La lucha de todas: El año en México / The Struggle Belongs to All: The Year in Mexico
Authors: Necoechea Gracia Gerardo
Published: January 2024

Abstract: Una Lucha colectiva tells the life story of Lucía Castro, and explores her involvement in the fight against bank foreclosures in the last decade of the twentieth century and in the defense of women's human rights in the first two decades of the new century. Lucía's life is narrated partly by her son and daughter, but mostly by many of the women, and some men, who met her as they became involved in organizations such as El Barzón, founded by indebted farmers at risk of losing their land, or the Centro de Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres, which works with mothers seeking justice for daughters who have been victims of feminicide. Each contributes a vignette describing the impact Lucía had on their lives. The result is neither biography nor autobiography, but a multivocal mosaic portraying the collective experience that emerges from these struggles. The book also includes various writings by Lucía, including autobiographical texts, speeches, and articles. In one of them, she describes herself as a lawyer, a feminist, and a theologian, bringing together in her worldview and political practice the different strands that make up the tradition of popular protest in Mexico.
Interferometric near-infrared spectroscopy (iNIRS) reveals that blood flow index depends on wavelength
Authors: Mazumder Dibbyan , Kholiqov Oybek , Srinivasan Vivek J.
Published: January 2024

Blood flow index (BFI) is an optically accessible parameter, with unit distance-squared-over-time, that is widely used as a proxy for tissue perfusion. BFI is defined as the dynamic scattering probability (i.e. the ratio of dynamic to overall reduced scattering coefficients) times an effective Brownian diffusion coefficient that describes red blood cell (RBC) motion. Here, using a wavelength division multiplexed, time-of-flight- (TOF) - resolved iNIRS system, we obtain TOF-resolved field autocorrelations at 773 nm and 855 nm via the same source and collector. We measure the human forearm, comprising biological tissues with mixed static and dynamic scattering, as well as a purely dynamic scattering phantom. Our primary finding is that forearm BFI increases from 773 nm to 855 nm, though the magnitude of this increase varies across subjects (23% ± 19% for N = 3). However, BFI is wavelength-independent in the purely dynamic scattering phantom. From these data, we infer that the wavelength-dependence of BFI arises from the wavelength-dependence of the dynamic scattering probability. This inference is further supported by RBC scattering literature. Our secondary finding is that the higher-order cumulant terms of the mean squared displacement (MSD) of RBCs are significant, but decrease with wavelength. Thus, laser speckle and related modalities should exercise caution when interpreting field autocorrelations.
Multiscale imaging of corneal endothelium damage and Rho-kinase inhibitor application in mouse models of acute ocular hypertension
Authors: Cai Zhen , Zhang Yang , Fang Raymond S. , Brenner Benjamin , Kweon Junghun , Sun Cheng , Goldberg Jeffrey L. , Zhang Hao F.
Published: January 2024

We developed a multiscale optical imaging workflow, integrating and correlating visible-light optical coherence tomography, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and single-molecule localization microscopy to investigate mouse cornea damage from the in-vivo tissue level to the nanoscopic single-molecule level. We used electron microscopy to validate the imaged nanoscopic structures. We imaged wild-type mice and mice with acute ocular hypertension and examined the effects of Rho-kinase inhibitor application. We defined four types of intercellular tight junction structures as healthy, compact, partially-distorted, and fully-distorted types by labeling the zonula occludens-1 protein in the corneal endothelial cell layer. We correlated the statistics of the four types of tight junction structures with cornea thickness and intraocular pressure. We found that the population of fully-distorted tight junctions correlated well with the level of corneal edema, and applying Rho-kinase inhibitor reduced the population of fully-distorted tight junctions under acute ocular hypertension. Together, these data point to the utility of multiscale optical imaging in revealing fundamental biology relevant to disease and therapeutics.
Time to elective surgery and its predictors after first cancellation at Debremarkos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Abiyu Yibeltal , Aderaw Zewudie , Yismaw Lieltework , Mengaw Mulatu , Demelash Getamesay , Siferih Melkamu
Published: January 2024

Canceling elective surgical procedures is quite common throughout Ethiopia. Despite this, there is limited evidence about the time to elective surgery after cancellation in the country. Thus, the current study aimed to determine the time to elective surgery and its predictors after the first cancellation. An institution-based retrospective follow-up study was conducted on 386 study participants at Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia, between September 1, 2017, and August 31, 2022. Utilizing a checklist, data were retrieved. To choose study participants, systematic random sampling was employed. Epi-Data version 3.1 and STATA version 14.1 were utilized. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests were employed. The Cox proportional hazard model was fitted. The mean age of the participants was 41.01 + 18.61 years. Females made up 51% of the patients. The majority were illiterate (72.3%) and resided in rural areas (70.5%). Surgery following the first cancellation had a cumulative incidence of 83.6% (95% CI: 79.6, 87.05) and an incidence rate of 32.3 per 1,000 person-days (95% CI: 29.3, 35.5). The median survival time to surgery was 25 (IQR: 17–40) days. Urban residence (AHR = 1.62; 95% CI: 1.26–1.96), being a member of health insurance schemes (AHR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.24–1.96), stable other medical conditions (AHR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.13–1.79), and timely completion of diagnostic tests (AHR = 1.62; 95% CI: 1.29–2.04) were significant predictors of time to surgery after first cancellation. Our study revealed that the time to surgery after the first cancellation was in the globally acceptable range and met the national target. Clinicians should focus on timely completion of diagnostic or laboratory tests, facilitating health insurance coverage, and comprehensive assessment and treatment of any coexisting medical conditions. It is urged to stratify each department’s time for surgery, taking into consideration of important variables.
CXC chemokines: Potential biomarker and immunotherapeutic target for uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma
Authors: Wang Guang , Fu Juan , Liu Mulin , Zheng Qin
Published: January 2024

Uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) is one of the most common type of gynecological malignancies. Multiple lines of evidence indicated that CXC chemokines exerted an anti-tumor immunological role in the tumor microenvironment which were critical regulators of cancer immunity. However, the relevance of CXC chemokines in the evaluation of prognosis and immune infiltration of UCEC remains to be explored. This study utilized various online databases, including TCGA, UALCAN, Kaplan-Meier Plotter, cBioPortal, TIMER2.0, TISIDB, and MethSurv to perform the analysis. Gene expression data from the TCGA-UCEC dataset indicated decreased expression of CXCL2/12 and increased expression of CXCL14/17. CXCL2/12 expression was negatively whereas CXCL14/17 expression was positively correlated with clinicopathological features of UCEC patients, including cancer stage, patients’ age, weight and menopause status. Patients with higher CXCL12/14 expression corresponded with better clinical outcomes, which were not influenced by the genetic alterations. The differential expression of CXCL2/12/14/17 was not only significantly correlated with immune infiltration levels, but also the abundance of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Heatmaps of DNA methylation of CXCL2/12/14/17 were investigated, and 4 CpGs of CXCL2, 16 CpGs of CXCL12, 3 CpGs of CXCL14/17 were identified where altered methylation affected the prognosis of UCEC patients. These findings provided novel insights into the immunologic features of UCEC and might pave the way toward the prognostic evaluation and immunotherapy selection based on CXCL2/12/14/17 expression status.
Effectiveness of education intervention, with regards to physical activity level and a healthy diet, among Middle Eastern adolescents in Malaysia: A study protocol for a randomized control trial, based on a health belief model
Authors: Al-Haroni Hanan , Nik Farid Nik Daliana , Azanan Mohamad Shafiq
Published: January 2024

Background

Among the most urgent public health challenges, of the twenty-first century, is obesity. This can be attributed to its relationship with several non-communicable diseases (NCDs), as well as premature mortality. Being overweight or obese is a major concern not only in high-income countries, but also in low-income and middle-income countries, particularly in urban areas. Several studies have highlighted the prevalence of obesity, among Middle Eastern-descent adolescents, studying in Arabic secondary schools, located in Malaysia. Intervention studies, directed at Middle Eastern adolescents in Malaysia, are limited. This paper, describes the protocol, for an integrated health education intervention process. Titled ‘Healthy lifestyle’, it is a primary prevention process, aimed at curbing obesity and disordered eating, among Middle Eastern secondary school adolescents, aged 13–14 years old, residing in Malaysia.

Methods and anticipated results

A cluster randomized controlled study will be conducted, involving 250 Middle Eastern adolescents, in Arabic schools in Malaysia. The participants will be randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. While the intervention group participates in six weeks of fortnightly six sessions (45 minutes per session), the control group will carry on with their regular curriculums, and normal physical activity routines. The variables which will be evaluated include anthropometric measurements, knowledge, attitude, daily routines, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, food assessment, eating attitudes test-26, and a structured questionnaire based on the HBM. Data will be collected from the intervention and control groups at baseline, post-intervention, and two months following the intervention. Data analysis will be performed by way of the SPSS Statistics software version 26. The generalized estimating equation (GEE) will be used, to test the effect of the intervention program, with regards to the selected variables (outcomes), between and within-group at baseline, as well as six weeks and two months following intervention, after adjusting for clustering. Outcomes will be assessed at each time point, along with a derived average over all three-time points; thus, ensuring that both the cumulative and overall effects are determined.

Conclusions

This trial will provide useful information for improving the knowledge, attitude, and practices of Middle Eastern adolescents, with regards to body weight status, physical activity level, nutrition status (BMI and dietary intake), and disordered eating. This will go a long way, towards ensuring their adherence to appropriate physical activities, and a healthy diet, to keep non-communicable diseases at bay.

Trial registration

This study is registered at NCT: NCT05694143.
Multilocus sequence typing of Candida albicans oral isolates reveals high genetic relatedness of mother-child dyads in early life
Authors: Alkhars Naemah , Al Jallad Nisreen , Wu Tong Tong , Xiao Jin
Published: January 2024

Candida albicans is a pathogenic fungus recently recognized for its role in severe early childhood caries development (S-ECC). C. albicans oral colonization begins at birth, but the extent of the mother’s involvement in yeast transmission to their children is unclear, therefore, this study used a prospective mother-infant cohort to investigate the maternal contribution of C. albicans oral colonization in early life. Oral samples were collected from 160 mother-child dyads during pregnancy and from birth to two years of life. We used whole-genome sequencing to obtain the genetic information of C. albicans isolates and examined the genetic relatedness of C. albicans between mothers and their children using Multilocus Sequence Typing. Multivariate statistical methods were used to identify factors associated with C. albicans’ acquisition (horizontal and vertical transmissions). Overall, 227 C. albicans oral isolates were obtained from 93 (58.1%) of mother-child pairs. eBURST analysis revealed 16 clonal complexes, and UPGMA analysis identified 6 clades, with clade 1 being the most populated 124 isolates (54.6%). Significantly, 94% of mothers and children with oral C. albicans had highly genetically related strains, highlighting a strong maternal influence on children’s C. albicans acquisition. Although factors such as race, ethnicity, delivery method, and feeding behaviors did not show a significant association with C. albicans vertical transmission, the mother’s oral hygiene status reflected by plaque index (PI) emerged as a significant factor; Mothers with higher dental plaque accumulation (PI >=2) had a significantly increased risk of vertically transmitting C. albicans to their infants [odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 8.02 (1.21, 53.24), p=0.03]. Furthermore, Black infants and those who attended daycare had an elevated risk of acquiring C. albicans through horizontal transmission (p <0.01). These findings highlight the substantial role of maternal transmission in the oral acquisition of C. albicans during early life. Incorporating screening for maternal fungal oral carriage and implementing oral health education programs during the perinatal stage may prove valuable in preventing fungal transmission in early infancy.
Robust circuitry-based scores of structural importance of human brain areas
Authors: Hegedűs Dániel , Grolmusz Vince
Published: January 2024

We consider the 1015-vertex human consensus connectome computed from the diffusion MRI data of 1064 subjects. We define seven different orders on these 1015 graph vertices, where the orders depend on parameters derived from the brain circuitry, that is, from the properties of the edges (or connections) incident to the vertices ordered. We order the vertices according to their degree, the sum, the maximum, and the average of the fiber counts on the incident edges, and the sum, the maximum and the average length of the fibers in the incident edges. We analyze the similarities of these seven orders by the Spearman correlation coefficient and by their inversion numbers and have found that all of these seven orders have great similarities. In other words, if we interpret the orders as scoring of the importance of the vertices in the consensus connectome, then the scores of the vertices will be similar in all seven orderings. That is, important vertices of the human connectome typically have many neighbors connected with long and thick axonal fibers (where thickness is measured by fiber numbers), and their incident edges have high maximum and average values of length and fiber-number parameters, too. Therefore, these parameters may yield robust ways of deciding which vertices are more important in the anatomy of our brain circuitry than the others.
Incidence and preventive treatment for deep vein thrombosis with our own preventive protocol in total hip and knee arthroplasty
Authors: Momose Takashige , Nakano Masaki , Nakamura Yukio , Maeda Takashi , Nawata Masashi
Published: January 2024

The aim of the present study was to investigate the perioperative and postoperative incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and validate the effectiveness of our own preventive treatment protocol for venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurrence in lower extremity arthroplasty patients. The subjects were 1,054 patients (mean age: 74.3 years) who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) at our institutions between April 2014 and March 2017. We examined the frequencies of pre- and post-operative DVT by lower extremity Doppler images, and the incidence rate at proximal or distal regions as well as that according to preoperative DVT status were evaluated. Preoperative DVT was detected in 6.5% (69 cases) of our cohort and those were located 1.4% (15 cases) at proximal and 5.1% (54 cases) at distal regions. A significantly higher rate of postoperative DVT development was observed in preoperative DVT+ THA patients (P= 0.0075), but not in TKA patients only with a higher tendency (P= 0.56). The overall incidence of DVT up to 2 weeks after surgeries was 27.3% (288 cases); however, the rate in proximal femur regions was suppressed to 2.8% (30 cases), and there was no symptomatic pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) case. The results demonstrated the importance of regular Doppler examination for early detection of postoperative DVT occurrence and the following immediate treatment initiation. Our own VTE preventive treatment protocol could reduce the development of proximal DVT, and the periodic monitoring as well as prompt treatment might prevent the fatal PTE. osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Evaluating the efficiency, productivity change, and technology gaps of China’s provincial higher education systems: A comprehensive analytical framework
Authors: Liu Jiani , Jungyin Kim , Jaewoo Shim , Heechul Lee , Shah Wasi Ul Hassan
Published: January 2024

China’s higher education system is one of the largest and most complex in the world, with a vast number of higher education institutions scattered across different provinces. Evaluating the efficiency, productivity change, and technology gaps of these institutions is significant for understanding their performance and identifying areas for improvement. In this context, this study employs three different approaches, DEA super-SBM, Malmquist Productivity Index, and Meta-Frontier Analysis, to evaluate the efficiency, productivity change, and technology gaps of China’s provincial higher education systems. The study results revealed that the average higher education efficiency in China is 1.0015 for the study period of 2010–2021. A rapid and continuous increase was witnessed in higher education efficiency in China from 2014 to 2020. Meta-frontier and Group-frontier, higher education efficiency scores of low-level literate provinces are greater than middle and high-level literate provinces. However, the TGR of higher and middle-level literate provinces is greater than low-level literate provinces, indicating a superior technological level. The average MI score is 1.0034, indicating growth in productivity change. Efficiency change is the main determinant in higher education productivity growth instead of technological growth. The Middle and Low-level literate provinces witnessed growth in higher education productivity, while high-level literate provinces observed a decline in productivity change. The Kruskal-Wallis test provides evidence that a significant statistical difference exists among the three groups of education levels for the average scores of MI, EC, TC, and TGR.
Sea level rise from climate change is expected to increase the release of arsenic into Bangladesh’s drinking well water by reduction and by the salt effect
Authors: Frisbie Seth H. , Mitchell Erika J. , Molla Azizur R.
Published: January 2024

Background

Over 165,000,000 people live in Bangladesh; approximately 97% of Bangladeshis drink well water. Approximately 49% of Bangladesh’s area has drinking well water with arsenic (As) concentrations that exceed the 10 micrograms per liter (μg/L) World Health Organization (WHO) guideline. This exposure to a potent carcinogen is a significant threat to public health. About 21% of Bangladesh is flooded each year during a typical monsoon season. As climate change progresses, sea levels will continue to rise, and the area and duration of these annual floods will increase. We hypothesize that these consequences of climate change can increase the release of arsenic from sediments into Bangladesh’s drinking well water.

Methods

Drinking well water samples were collected during a national-scale survey in Bangladesh. The dissolved oxygen concentration, oxidation-reduction potential, specific conductance, pH, and temperature were measured at sampling with calibrated portable electronic sensors. The arsenic concentration was measured by the silver diethyldithiocarbamate method.

Results

As the concentration of dissolved oxygen decreases, the concentration of arsenic increases (p-value = 0.0028). Relatedly, as the oxidation-reduction potential decreases, the concentration of arsenic increases (p-value = 1.3×10−5). This suggests that arsenic is released from sediments into Bangladesh’s drinking well drinking water by reduction. As the specific conductance increases, the concentration of arsenic increases (p-value = 0.023). This suggests that arsenic is also released from sediments into water by the salt effect.

Conclusions

Rising sea levels can cause a decrease in the dissolved oxygen concentration and oxidation-reduction potential of the underlying aquifer; this should increase the dissolution of insoluble arsenate (H3−xAs(V)O4x−) in sediments by reduction. This, in turn, should release soluble arsenite (H3−xAs(III)O3x−) into the drinking well water. Rising sea levels can cause an increase in the salt concentration of the underlying aquifer; this should increase the release of arsenic from sediments into the drinking well water by the salt effect.
Group structure and individual relationships of sanctuary-living Grauer’s gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri)
Authors: Leeds Austin , Kakule Dalmas , Stalter Laura , Mbeke Jackson K. , Fawcett Katie
Published: January 2024

The study of individual social relationships and group structure provides insights into a species’ natural history and can inform management decisions for animals living in human care. The Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) center provides permanent sanctuary for a group of 14 Grauer’s gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri), a critically endangered and poorly studied subspecies of the genus gorilla, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We monitored the association patterns of the gorillas at GRACE over eight months and here describe their individual relationships and group structure via multiple social network statistics. The group was highly connected but associations between individuals were weak on average. Social network metrics describe that an adult female was the most gregarious and socially central individual within the group. In fact, adult females were the most gregarious and socially central on average. Group level association patterns were significantly correlated over the study period and across observation types, suggesting the group was socially stable during the eight month study period. The data collected in this study were done so by GRACE caregivers as part of their daily husbandry routine and provided important insights into this group’s behavior, ultimately informing on their care, welfare and future release considerations. The methodological approaches implemented here are easily scalable to any primate sanctuary or care facility seeking to use data to inform husbandry and management procedures. Lastly, our study is the first social network analysis to be conducted on Grauer’s gorillas and provides tentative insights into the behavior of this poorly studied subspecies. Though more research is needed to evaluate if the findings here are reflective of this subspecies’ natural history or the idiosyncrasies of the group.
Dog size and patterns of disease history across the canine age spectrum: Results from the Dog Aging Project
Authors: Nam Yunbi , White Michelle , Karlsson Elinor K. , Creevy Kate E. , Promislow Daniel E. L. , McClelland Robyn L. ,   The Dog Aging Project Consortium
Published: January 2024

Age in dogs is associated with the risk of many diseases, and canine size is a major factor in that risk. However, the size patterns are complex. While small size dogs tend to live longer, some diseases are more prevalent among small dogs. In this study we seek to quantify how the pattern of disease history varies across the spectrum of dog size, dog age, and their interaction. Utilizing owner-reported data on disease history from a substantial number of companion dogs enrolled in the Dog Aging Project, we investigate how body size, as measured by weight, associates with the lifetime prevalence of a reported condition and its pattern across age for various disease categories. We found significant positive associations between dog size and the lifetime prevalence of skin, bone/orthopedic, gastrointestinal, ear/nose/throat, cancer/tumor, brain/neurologic, endocrine, and infectious diseases. Similarly, dog size was negatively associated with lifetime prevalence of ocular, cardiac, liver/pancreas, and respiratory disease categories. Kidney/urinary disease prevalence did not vary by size. We also found that the association between age and lifetime disease prevalence varied by dog size for many conditions including ocular, cardiac, orthopedic, ear/nose/throat, and cancer. Controlling for sex, purebred vs. mixed-breed status, and geographic region made little difference in all disease categories we studied. Our results align with the reduced lifespan in larger dogs for most of the disease categories and suggest potential avenues for further examination.
Is dancing an effective intervention for fat loss? A systematic review and meta-analysis of dance interventions on body composition
Authors: Zhang Yaya , Guo Zhicheng , Liu Yin , Zhou Yongxu , Jing Longjun
Published: January 2024

Objective

The systematic review aimed to review the research on the effects of dance interventions, relative to normal lifestyles, on body composition in people with overweight and obesity.

Methods

7 databases were searched from their inception to 3 July 2023 for studies with dance interventions and normal lifestyles groups. Only studies investigating dance interventions in people with overweight and obesity(body mass index (BMI)>24kg/m2 and percent fat mass (Fat(%)) abnormal(male>20%, female>25%)) were included in the meta-analysis. There were no restrictions on dance forms.

Results

654 studies were identified from the databases, and 10 studies were evaluated to be eligible. The meta-analysis revealed that compared to normal lifestyles dance had meaningful improvements in body mass(BM), BMI, waist circumference(WC), Fat(%), and fat mass(Fat(kg)). No significant differences were found in the waist-to-hip ratio(WHR).

Conclusions

Dance is effective on fat loss in people with overweight and obesity, and has a significant improvement on body composition and morphology. For its high efficiency and greater sense of enjoyment, dance can be a beneficial exercise intervention for fat loss.
Causal associations between liver enzymes and diabetic microvascular complications: A univariable and multivariable Mendelian randomization
Authors: Li Yang , Zhang Qiu
Published: January 2024

Background

Observational studies show that liver enzymes are diabetes risk factors. However, previous observational investigations on the relationship between liver enzymes and diabetic microvascular complications produced contradictory results. The purpose of this research is to examine the independent causal effects of liver enzymes on diabetic microvascular complications.

Methods

Univariable Mendelian randomization (UVMR) and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MVMR) were utilized to disentangle the causal effects. The genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary-level statistics were collected from the UK biobank and the FinnGen consortium. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected as genetic instruments with genome-wide significance (p < 5 ×10−8). Five UVMR approaches, including inverse variance weighted (IVW), Bayesian weighted Mendelian randomization, MR-Pleiotropy Residual Sum and Outlier (MR-PRESSO), weighted median, and MR-Egger, and three MVMR approaches, including the extended versions of IVW, MR-Egger, and the Q-minimization methods, were performed to evaluate the causal effects. The robustness of the MR results was further confirmed using several sensitivity analyses.

Results

UVMR revealed that a genetically predisposed per standard deviation increase in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level increased the risk of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (IVW OR = 1.489, 95% CI = 1.206–1.772, p = 0.006). Likewise, serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels showed similar results (IVW OR = 1.376, 95% CI = 1.115–1.638, p = 0.017). Furthermore, these effects were consistent after controlling for glycemia and blood pressure using MVMR analysis. Additionally, sensitivity analyses further strengthened the causality. However, no significant associations were found between alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and diabetic microvascular complications.

Conclusions

Robust evidence was demonstrated for an independent causal effect of serum ALT or AST concentration on the risk of DR in T2DM. Further investigations are necessary to elucidate the potential biological mechanisms and confirm their clinical significance for early prevention and intervention.
Effect of information provision by familial nudging on attitudes toward offshore wind power
Authors: Komatsu Hidenori , Kubota Hiromi , Asano Kenji , Nagai Yu
Published: January 2024

Offshore wind power (OWP) is a promising way to achieve decarbonization and tackle global climate change, but acceptance by residents is an important issue for site location. Information provision could be a more cost-effective intervention than debates or subsidies, assuming that scientifically correct information alone is insufficient and information design to boost the message effects considering realistic human responses is necessary. Thus, we designed nudging messages to increase acceptance of OWP, using a message framework to moderate risk-averse attitudes by reminding readers of familial support based on insights from kin selection theory from evolutionary psychology. A randomized controlled trial based on an internet survey of more than 4000 responses from the general public was performed to investigate the message effects. The messages significantly moderated the risk-averse attitudes toward OWP by 0.228 on average on a five-point Likert scale, which meant that about 5 people out of 100 changed their attitudes to be safer by 1 point. This suggests that disseminating flyers using nudging messages might be an effective way to increase acceptance. We also extracted responses from those who mentioned fisheries in an open-ended question as an alternative to actual fishers. Responses from this segment were more complex and the message effects were limited compared with those who did not mention fisheries; although the attitudes toward OWP before receiving the messages were safer, reading descriptions for potential risks on fisheries may have unexpectedly led them to focus on the risks of which they were unaware at first. Because information provision based on nudging is effective but just one of a wide variety of political interventions available, practitioners should consider a combination of multiple options instead of using only nudging messages.
Kaposi’s sarcoma herpesvirus latency-associated nuclear antigen broadly regulates viral gene expression and is essential for lytic infection
Authors: Li Shijun , Wang Mengbo , Van Sciver Nicholas , Szymula Agnieszka , Tumuluri Vinayak Sadasivam , George Athira , Ramachandran Akshaya , Raina Komal , Costa Catarina N. , Zhao Bo , Kazemian Majid , Simas J. Pedro , Kaye Kenneth M.
Published: January 2024

Kaposi’s sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is a leading cause of malignancy in AIDS and current therapies are limited. Like all herpesviruses, KSHV infection can be latent or lytic. KSHV latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA) is essential for viral genome persistence during latent infection. LANA also maintains latency by antagonizing expression and function of the KSHV lytic switch protein, RTA. Here, we find LANA null KSHV is not capable of lytic replication, indicating a requirement for LANA. While LANA promoted both lytic and latent gene expression in cells partially permissive for lytic infection, it repressed expression in non-permissive cells. Importantly, forced RTA expression in non-permissive cells led to induction of lytic infection and LANA switched to promote, rather than repress, most lytic viral gene expression. When basal viral gene expression levels were high, LANA promoted expression, but repressed expression at low basal levels unless RTA expression was forcibly induced. LANA’s effects were broad, but virus gene specific, extending to an engineered, recombinant viral GFP under control of host EF1α promoter, but not to host EF1α. Together, these results demonstrate that, in addition to its essential role in genome maintenance, LANA broadly regulates viral gene expression, and is required for high levels of lytic gene expression during lytic infection. Strategies that target LANA are expected to abolish KSHV infection.
The engagement of literary influencers with their followers on Instagram- Bookstagrammers’ content and strategy
Authors: Pretel-Jiménez Marilé , Del-Olmo José-Luís , Ruíz-Viñals Carmen
Published: January 2024

Influencer marketing has emerged as an effective way for brands to connect with consumers through social media influencers. Although this form of marketing has led to increased interest from researchers in recent years, relatively little is known about the content and engagement strategy of influencers and their links to follower behavior. In this digital context, it is worth citing a type of influencer related to literature: bookstagrammers. These are individuals who share their passion for books, review publishing news and encourage the habit of reading. This study analyzes how the content and engagement strategy of bookstagrammers (as measured by number of followers, content volume and posts of interest) is associated with the engagement of the followers of these cultural influencers on Instagram, both independently and interactively. The study analyzes a data set compiled from bookstagrammers by analyzing the content generated by these online influencers in order to test the proposed hypotheses. Our findings show that posts that include photographs of the author or book covers are positively associated with follower engagement on Instagram accounts, while emotional posts expressing feelings are negatively associated with follower engagement. These findings demonstrate that the elements and content strategy of literary influencers contribute to the engagement of followers on Instagram.
Motivaciones de los podcasters independientes de Puerto Rico: entre el emprendimiento del creador amateur y del productor formalizado
Authors: Ortiz-Díaz Gabriela , Moreno-Moreno Elsa
Published: January 2024

El fervor económico que rodea al podcasting reaviva las tensiones entre la inherente cultura colaborativa de la creación independiente y los modelos de negocio de plataformas como Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts o Google Podcasts. En este marco, crece el debate sobre las motivaciones y las prácticas de los y las podcasters de espíritu contracultural frente a los y las productores/as formalizados/as que aspiran a monetizar. Esta investigación explora las motivaciones principales de 30 podcasters independientes de Puerto Rico para emprender y continuar con su actividad, y determina si aportan una forma alternativa de capital (social, cultural o simbólico) (Bourdieu, 1986, 2000). Se realizaron 30 entrevistas semiestructuradas cualitativas a podcasters del 16 de marzo al 6 de mayo de 2022. Las respuestas se procesaron a través del programa de análisis cualitativo asistido ATLAS.ti. Los podcasters independientes de Puerto Rico analizados emprenden por motivaciones tecnológicas o mediáticas, personales, y creativas o de contenido. Es decir, promueven formas de capital cultural, social y simbólico, más que capital económico. No obstante, se observa una motivación económica creciente entre el perfil de productores formalizados (6 casos de 30) que les lleva a gestionar la venta de servicios de consultoría y educativos en línea, el pago por suscripción, los auspicios de marcas y los eventos en directo para su comunidad. Esta evolución rompe con la autenticidad de un medio de conversación libre para crear relaciones. El reconocimiento de ser un medio alternativo a lo mainstream motiva para emprender, mientras que la gestión de una comunidad lo es para continuar.
Utilización del brand placement en la filmografía de Quentin Tarantino
Authors: Gutiérrez-Aragón Óscar , Fondevila-Gascón Joan-Francesc , Gassiot-Melian Ariadna , Hidalgo-Naharro Minerva
Published: January 2024

La utilización del product placement como herramienta de comunicación y publicidad en los medios audiovisuales se ha ido incrementando en las últimas dos décadas al tiempo que iba decayendo el empleo de otras formas más tradicionales debido a un aumento de su rechazo por parte del público. Este estudio tiene como objetivo analizar en profundidad el uso del product placement en la filmografía de Quentin Tarantino, tratando de determinar el número de casos, los tipos de productos y marcas que más aparecen, el tiempo total por película que se destina a ello, el tipo de emplazamiento, así como otros aspectos técnicos relacionados con el mismo. La metodología empleada es de tipo cuantitativo a partir del análisis de contenido de los datos resultantes de la tabulación de todos los casos de product placement que aparecen en las películas del director. Los resultados de la investigación evidenciaron la presencia de product placement ficticio y, por lo tanto, su coexistencia con el product placement real, así como la preferencia por comunicar el emplazamiento de manera visual. Se concluye que Tarantino utiliza este tipo de publicidad en toda su filmografía, con un promedio de 41,7 casos por película, en su mayor parte de una forma intencionada para ambientar y aportar realismo en las escenas.
Uso de las redes sociales por las revistas de alto impacto de Comunicación y Ciencias de la información
Authors: Cascón-Katchadourian Jesús , Artigas Wileidys , Arroyo-Machado Wenceslao , Guallar Javier
Published: January 2024

Se presenta  un estudio sobre la adopción de redes sociales por parte de las revistas científicas de mayor impacto (Q1) según el indicador Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) en las categorías de Communication y Library and Information Sciences (LIS). Se ha seguido una metodología descriptiva con un enfoque cuantitativo a través de la revisión de los sitios webs y las redes sociales de las revistas. Se han identificado los perfiles y la actividad de las mismas en las plataformas Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn y YouTube, se ha analizado su actividad según tipos de editoriales en relación a su tamaño y se han comparado los resultados entre las dos áreas, mostrando sus similitudes y diferencias. Entre las principales aportaciones se evidencia un comportamiento diferente entre las dos categorías estudiadas, con una mayor adopción de los medios sociales en el área de Communication, un claro predominio de la plataforma Twitter en todos los casos y una mayor presencia en redes de las revistas de editoriales pequeñas e independientes que de las editoriales grandes y gigantes. Entre las limitaciones de esta investigación se puede señalar la ausencia de un análisis de contenido de las publicaciones, que se propone para futuros estudios.
La necesidad de una mirada personal en la era de la fotografía efímera [Reseña]
Authors: López-Redondo Isaac
Published: January 2024

El proyecto fotográfico. Narración visual y reportaje de autor nace como una guía pedagógica para aprender fotografía más allá de la técnica. Plantea una reflexión académica sobre la narrativa audiovisual de la fotografía y reivindica el proyecto fotográfico y su vehículo natural, el fotolibro, como una plasmación de la mirada personal e ideológica de un autor, como un instrumento de conocimiento y reconocimiento del mundo.
Rational limit cycles of Abel differential equations
Authors: Bravo José Luis , Calderón Luis Ángel , Ojeda Ignacio
Published: January 2024

We study the number of rational limit cycles of the Abel equation

x
′

=
A
(
t
)

x
3

+
B
(
t
)

x
2

, where
A
(
t
)
and
B
(
t
)
are real trigonometric polynomials. We show that this number is at most the degree of
A
(
t
)

plus one.
Limit cycles in piecewise smooth perturbations of a class of cubic
differential systems
Authors: Sun Dan , Gao Yunfei , Peng Linping , Fu Li
Published: January 2024

In this paper, we study the bifurcation of limit cycles from a class of cubic integrable non-Hamiltonian systems under arbitrarily small piecewise smooth perturbations of degree
n
. By using the averaging theory and complex method, the lower and upper bounds for the maximum number of limit cycles bifurcating from the period annulus of the unperturbed systems are given at first order in
ε

. It is also shown that in this case, the maximum number of limit cycles produced by piecewise smooth perturbations is almost twice the upper bound of the maximum number of limit cycles produced by smooth perturbations for the considered systems.
Existence and uniqueness of solutions of a fourth-order boundary
value problem with non-homogeneous boundary conditions
Authors: Kaufmann Eric , Whaley Zach
Published: January 2024

Let
m
≥

2
and
a
,
b
,
c
>
0
. We consider the existence and uniqueness of solutions for the fourth order iterative boundary value problem,

x

(
4
)

(
t
)
=
−

f
(
t
,
x
(
t
)
,

x

[
2
]

(
t
)
,
…

,

x

[
m
]

(
t
)
)
,

−

a
≤

t
≤

a

where

x

[
2
]

(
t
)
=
x

(

x
(
t
)

)

and for
j
=
3
,
…

,
m
,

x

[
j
]

(
t
)
=
x

(

x

[
j
−

1
]

(
t
)

)

, with solutions satisfying one of the following sets of conjugate boundary conditions:

x
(
−

a
)

=
−

a
,

x
′

(
−

a
)

=
b
,

x
″

(
−

a
)

=
c
,

x
(
a
)

=
a
,

x
(
−

a
)

=
−

a
,

x
(
a
)

=
a
,

x
′

(
a
)

=
b
,

x
″

(
a
)

=
c
.

The main tool used is the Schauder fixed point theorem.