bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CASEarth Poles: Big Data for the Three Poles
Authors: Li Xin , Che Tao , Li Xinwu , Wang Lei , Duan Anmin , Shangguan Donghui , Pan Xiaoduo , Fang Miao , Bao Qing
Published: April 2020

Unprecedented changes in the climate and environment have been observed in the three poles, including the North Pole, the South Pole, and the Third Pole–Tibetan Plateau. Although considerable data have been collected and several observation networks have been built in these polar regions, the three poles are relatively data-scarce regions due to inaccessible data acquisition, high-cost labor, and difficult living environments. To address the obstacles to better understanding the unprecedented changes in the three poles and their effects on the global environment and humans, there is a pressing need for better data acquisition, curation, integration, service, and application to support fundamental scientific research and sustainable development for the three poles. CASEarth Poles, a project within the framework of the “CAS Big Earth Data Science Engineering” program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, aims to construct a big data platform for the three poles. CASEarth Poles will be devoted to 1) breaking the bottleneck of polar data curation, integration, and sharing; 2) developing high-resolution remote sensing products over the three poles; 3) generating atmospheric reanalysis datasets for the polar regions; 4) exploring the synchronization, asynchronization, and teleconnection of the environmental changes in the three poles; 5) investigating the climate, water cycle, and ecosystem dynamics and the interactions among the multispheres in the polar regions and their global effects; and 6) supporting decision-making with regard to sea ice forecasting, infrastructure, and sustainable development in polar regions. CASEarth Poles will collaborate with international efforts to enable better data and information services for the three poles in the big data era.
Commoning beyond ‘commons’: The case of the Russian ‘obshcheye’
Authors: Chernysheva Liubov , Sezneva Olga
Published: April 2020

How do the semantic logics that different words accommodate in different languages map onto studies of social realities internationally and interdisciplinarily? This article is an ethnographic study of obshcheye – a corpus of phenomena pertaining to communal life in Russia. Similar to the English term ‘commons’, it marks the zone of the public – that which is shared and collective. In contrast to the commons, it displays greater semantic polyphony, bringing together social, discursive and affective qualities. Our analysis demonstrates that various semantic subsets of obshcheye sensitize research differently from the commons by indexing different societal concerns. They tune us into a wide set of concerns – with time (not wanting to be ‘Soviet’), ownership (worrying about what is ‘no one’s’), affective connectivity (one sits and waits for a conversation), and the act of caring for people and for spaces. Each word and each relationship in the semantic network reflects what is important to social actors as they go about ordering their lives together. The article concludes that obshcheye is so definitively a semantic network that expunging its conceptual heterogeneity and narrowing the multiple logics to encompass one in particular would amount to analytical reductionism and the impoverishment of social analysis.
Toward knowing: Engaging Chinese medical worlds
Authors: Lai Lili , Farquhar Judith
Published: April 2020

This discussion opens with a puzzling statement from the analects of Confucius: When you know it you know it, when you don’t know, you don’t know. This is knowledge. Reflecting on various Chinese approaches to zhi (知), knowing/knowledge, in this article we re-explore the terrain we two authors covered together in recent research on minority nationality medical systems of southwestern China. Our itineraries drew us near to ‘folk’ approaches to knowing, evident both in practical medical work and in classic written sources. We found ourselves in that frictional field of medicine where expertise is not just possession of knowledge, it is also skills, politics, ethics, manipulations, ideologies, and more than one set of ontological assumptions. Reminded of some ancient Chinese metaphysical philosophy, we were led by healers to conclude that knowing and good action cannot be separated. The article reports visits to three mountain herbalists, describing the particular ways they practice knowing and use their expertise to treat difficult disorders. On the road through a mostly unknowable world, such Chinese healers expect transformations in both those who know and in what can be known and enacted. These lives teach us how to know not through concepts but through the irreducible patterning of life.
鮭鱒論 (salmon trout theory) and the politics of non-Western academic terms
Authors: Kondo Shiaki , Swanson Heather Anne
Published: April 2020

This article probes how scholars might give nuanced attention to the power-laden dynamics of knowledge practices within non-Western settings at the same time that they seek to become more alert to the challenges of Anglophone academic domination. This inquiry arises from our focus on 鮭鱒論 ( sake masu ron), a Japanese term that can be translated as salmon trout theory. While 鮭鱒論 holds unique insights for the growing fields of the environmental humanities, multispecies anthropology, and other forms of more-than-human scholarship, it is fundamentally tied to Japanese colonial projects and the marginalization of Ainu knowledges. By tracing the development of 鮭鱒論, we demonstrate that while non-English-language academic terms can open up new analytical possibilities, they can also carry their own imperial histories and politics of knowledge. At the same time that we explore how careful attention to 鮭鱒論 might be a useful scholarly move, we also show why it is important to robustly understand the term’s Japanese context as we consider its wider scholarly possibilities. How, we ask, might the term be productively remade in dialogue with Ainu activisms, indigenous studies, and postcolonial theory? Through this case, we offer some preliminary insights about how to simultaneously respond to the marginalization of non-Anglophone academic traditions and to the violences of non-Western imperialisms.
Mortality Salience and Mobile Voice Calling: A Case of a Massive Natural Disaster
Authors: Suzuki Takahisa , Kobayashi Tetsuro , Boase Jeffrey , Tanaka Yuko , Wakimoto Ryutaro , Suzuki Tsutomu
Published: April 2020

Observational studies have found that the frequency of mobile communication with close ties increases in times of emergency. However, the mechanisms underlying such increases are not well understood. Drawing upon terror management theory, this study predicted that increased mortality salience due to disaster promotes mobile voice calling to close ties. By analyzing digitally traced behavioral data, Study 1 found that mobile voice calls to close ties increased after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, especially in areas where there were severe tremors. Study 2 employed a field experiment and demonstrated that psychologically priming respondents to recall the earthquake led to an increase in the number of outgoing mobile voice calls to close ties, but not to non-close ties. The theoretical implications for mobile communication in time of disaster are discussed.
Systematic Prompting of Peer-Related Social Behaviors in a Small Group Academic Instructional Context
Authors: Velez Marina S. , Barton Erin E. , Yoder Paul J. , Wright John C.
Published: April 2020

We examined the effectiveness of systematic prompting of peer-related behaviors delivered during small group academic instructional sessions with three dyads of preschool-aged children with deficits in social competence. One child was randomly assigned as the target child in each dyad. A multiple-probe single-case research design was utilized to examine the functional relation between a system-of-least prompts procedure and the frequency of unprompted peer-related social behaviors emitted by target children during small group instructional sessions. The results support a functional relation between systematic prompting and peer-related behaviors, and all three target children increased their use of peer-related behaviors. Furthermore, we examined the effect of intervention on the untrained peer play partner (i.e., observational learning). Two of the three peers increased their use of peer-related social behaviors; however, results were variable and did not support a functional relation. Our study extends the research in this area by examining the effectiveness of small group instruction on potentially context dependent, complex social behaviors (e.g., sharing materials, complimenting a friend, offering to help).
Data challenges for public libraries: African perspectives and the social context of knowledge
Authors: Lynch Renee , Young Jason C. , Jowaisas Chris , Rothschild Chris , Garrido Maria , Sam Joel , Boakye-Achampong Stanley
Published: April 2020

This article sheds light on the collection and use of data by libraries in sixteen countries across Africa. It highlights the challenges that librarians and library organizations face in gathering, analyzing, and presenting data of various types for self-advocacy. In this study, qualitative data from a meeting of library representatives was analyzed to identify main challenges including: data integrity in terms of completeness, accuracy, credibility, and relevancy; infrastructure; capacity; local investment in libraries; time; and participation of data collectors and respondents. Implications for those collecting data on African libraries as well as those supporting the use of data in these contexts are discussed. The purpose of this paper is not to feed into representations of African libraries as chronically under-resourced and lacking in capacity, but rather, to constructively engage with first-hand accounts of how librarians are experiencing and navigating barriers in order to offer potential avenues forward for the field.
Collective identity construction in international collaborations
Authors: Zhang Ying , Huxham Chris
Published: April 2020

This article explores the dynamic processes of collective identity formation among the participating organizational members in interorganizational collaborations that cross national boundaries. A longitudinal, qualitative multi-case study research approach was adopted in the empirical investigation of collective identity in three international business collaborations that involve a Sino-British strategic partnership, a Sino-Australian, and a Sino-Polish joint venture. Based on the analyses of the data collected from in-depth interviews, participant observation, and archival materials, a theoretical framework of collective identity (re)formation is developed. It suggests that two inseparable elements (states and processes) constitute a cyclic and enduring process of collective identity formation through partners’ orchestrating discursive resources involving a common sense of ‘we-ness’. The shifts between various states are driven by partners’ processes of negotiation, integration, solidification, and reformation of collective identity. A deconstruction process may also emerge, giving rise to the termination of the collaborative relationship. The research presented in this article advances the understanding of collective identity formation in the field of organizational identity by extending the discursive perspective of collective identity into the context of interorganizational collaborations that cross national borders. This research also provides further empirical evidence on the active role played by organizational members in the use of cultural narratives as strategic resources to express their identity beliefs, which differs from the deterministic view of culture in shaping organizational members’ behaviors.
Debt financing and firm performance: The moderating role of board independence
Authors: Pham Hanh Song Thi , Nguyen Duy Thanh
Published: April 2020

This article investigates the moderating role of board independence in the relationship between debt financing and performance of emerging market firms. We have used an empirical model in which the firm’s accounting profitability is a dependent variable and the independent variables are debt financing, board independence, the interaction variable made of debt financing and board independence as well as various control variables. Our analysis is based on a panel data set of 300 listed firms in Vietnam between 2013 and 2017. Our study finds that debt financing has a significantly negative effect and that board independence reduces the adverse impact of debt financing on accounting profitability. Our results are consistent across different estimation models and methods.
The commodity as the universal category: On Lukács, property, and love
Authors: Nicolacopoulos Toula , Vassilacopoulos George
Published: April 2020

In ‘Reification and the Consciousness of the Proletariat’, Lukács analyses the commodity-structure as ‘the universal category’ that frames society as a whole. Taking seriously the aspiration to follow Marx in going ‘to the root of the matter’, Lukács examines the ways and extent to which the commodity structure extends into and remoulds society, focusing on living individuals, their needs and relations to things as use values. We propose a reading drawing on the idea of concern-in-indifference, which addresses the complexity of the practice of owning that underpins Lukács’s analysis. We argue that attention to this complexity enables us to shine a light on the commodity structure’s capacity to conceal, directing us away from Lukács’s focus to an appreciation of the significance of the universal category’s power to deny a future ethical substantiality of togetherness while giving rise to singular beings for whom this substantiality remains an orienting vision.
War Zones and Depraved Violence: Exploring the Framing of Urban Neighborhoods in News Reports of Violent Crime
Authors: Baranauskas Andrew J.
Published: April 2020

This study examines the role that the news media play in casting certain urban neighborhoods as particularly violent areas. It is possible that the news media serve as a key source of information about urban neighborhoods to the general public, just as the media are the main source of crime information to those who do not directly experience crime. Based on a thematic content analysis of newspaper reports of violent crime in four American cities, this study explores the language used by journalists to describe urban neighborhoods and the crimes that occur within them in reports of violent crime. Findings suggest that newspaper articles reporting crime in disadvantaged Black neighborhoods are likely to use intense language to describe the normalcy of crime and the terrible nature of crime in these areas. Reports of crime originating in affluent White neighborhoods are likely to highlight the unusual, shocking nature of the violence. Implications for perceptual and policy reactions to crime in urban neighborhoods are discussed.
Establishment of Immortalized Laryngeal Epithelial Cells Transfected with Bmi1
Authors: Tan Jia-Jie , Wang Lu , Mo Ting-Ting , Dai Yuan-Feng , Lu Juan , Liu Xiong , Chen Huai-Hong , Tian Wen-Dong , Li Xiang-Ping
Published: April 2020

Primary laryngeal epithelial cells are essential to exploring the mechanisms of laryngeal and voice disorders; however, they are difficult to study and apply because of their limited life span. The purpose of this study was to develop a stable and reliable in vitro model for the comprehensive study of the pathogenesis of laryngeal and voice diseases. The pLVTHM-Bmi1 plasmid was constructed and used to immortalize primary laryngeal epithelial cells by lentiviral infection. The expressions of Bmi1, human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), p53, and pRB pathway proteins were detected by western blotting. Functional characteristics of the immortalized cell lines were verified by cell senescence β-galactosidase staining, 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine cell proliferation test, and flow cytometry. We successfully introduced Bmi into human subglottic (hSG) cells and human ventricle (hV) cells. Both the human immortalized subglottic Bmi1 (hSG-Bmi1) cell line and the human immortalized ventricle Bmi1 (hV-Bmi1) cell line maintained normal epithelial morphology and divided successfully after more than 20 culture passages. As Bmi1 was overexpressed in these cells, the expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and phosphorylated Rb increased while p16 and p21 decreased. Following Bmi1-mediated immortalization, cell senescence decreased significantly, and cell proliferation was accelerated. Tumor formation was not observed for hSG, hV, or hSG-Bmi1, and hV-Bmi1 cells in nude mice. hSG-Bmi1 cells dominated by stratified squamous epithelium and hV-Bmi1 cells dominated by columnar cells were established. The new cell lines lay a foundation for the study of the pathogenic mechanisms of laryngeal and voice diseases.
A Meta-Analysis of Paraprofessional-Delivered Interventions to Address Challenging Behavior Among Students With Disabilities
Authors: Walker Virginia L. , Carpenter Megan E. , Lyon Kristin J. , Button Lindsey
Published: April 2020

Paraprofessionals report spending a substantial amount of time addressing challenging behavior in a range of school environments, yet identify behavioral intervention as a high-priority training area. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to systematically review and summarize single-case intervention studies involving paraprofessional-delivered behavioral interventions for students with disabilities. Descriptive findings suggest that, among the reviewed studies, paraprofessionals primarily provided behavioral support to students with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and multiple disabilities who engage in a wide range of challenging behaviors in both inclusive and noninclusive school environments. Overall, training largely was delivered by researchers and resulted in positive paraprofessional implementation outcomes. Likewise, paraprofessional-implemented behavioral interventions contributed to desirable changes in student challenging and appropriate behavior, with effect size estimates significantly higher for interventions delivered to early childhood–age students and within inclusive school settings. Implications for practice, limitations, and future research directions are described.
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) practices and diarrhoea prevalence among children under five years in a tribal setting in Palghar, Maharashtra, India
Authors: Jeyakumar Angeline , Godbharle Swapnil Rajendra , Giri Bibek Raj
Published: April 2020

Providing safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) in geographically isolated settings is a global public health priority. Prevalence of WaSH practices among mothers and diarrhoea among their children (birth to 59 months) was studied in nine randomly selected tribal villages of Mokhada in Palghar, Maharashtra, India. A community-based cross-sectional survey among 577 mother–child pairs was performed. Participants were recruited from the anganwadi list of enrolled children through household visits. WaSH index was used for assessing WaSH practices. Well was the major (47%) drinking water source. Almost 70% treated and covered the stored drinking water. Nearly 75% of the mothers used soap for washing hands before food and 35% after defecation. Open drains and open defecation were observed in 99% and 50% of households, respectively. The median score for drinking water index was 3 (interquartile range (IQR) = 2), personal hygiene index (PHI) was 2 (IQR = 2), household hygiene index (HHI) was 2 (IQR = 1) and composite index (CI) was 6 (IQR = 2). Prevalence of diarrhoea among children was found to be 33.4% and was significantly associated with poor HHI ( p = .007), PHI ( p < .001) and CI ( p < .001). Measures to provide basic WaSH resources combined with efforts to create awareness would ensure improved WaSH practices and prevent diarrhoea.
Analysis of human mechanics structure in national Tai Chi movement
Authors: Wang Feng
Published: April 2020

Tai Chi is an excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation and a treasure of traditional national sports. It has been developing since thousands of years and is increasingly loved by more and more people at home and abroad. Because of the development of the times and the influence of the change of value orientation of Tai Chi and other factors, people’s understanding of many problems of Tai Chi such as theory and method has been biased, which makes the idea of action and skill weakening and action not uniform in the process of inheritance and development of Tai Chi routines. Even the prescribed routines may be practiced and understood differently. To inherit, develop, and disseminate Tai Chi better, these traditional valuable experiences should be made scientific and standardized. With the help of the research method of sports human mechanics and advanced experimental instruments (Xsens MVN system), this article studies and analyzes the human mechanics of the main movements of traditional Yang and Wu Tai Chi, which are the most popular. This provides a scientific experimental basis for the technical research of Tai Chi. The results show that there is no significant difference between Wu-style Tai Chi and Yang-style Tai Chi practitioners in the percentage of body weight in front leg, knee joint, and sole pressure, but there is significant difference in the percentage of body weight in back leg. As a result, the foot pressure gap between Yang-style Tai Chi and Wu-style Tai Chi is smaller, while the foot pressure gap between Wu-style Tai Chi and Wu-style Tai Chi is larger. There were no significant differences in trunk force, front hip force, back hip force, front knee force, and back knee force ( p > 0.05).
Preparation, characterization, and in vitro evaluation of amphiphilic peptide P12 and P12-DOX nanomicelles as antitumor drug carriers
Authors: Song Ping , Du Wuchen , Li Wanzhen , Zhu Longbao , Zhang Weiwei , Gao Xinxing , Tao Yugui , Ge Fei
Published: April 2020

Polymerized polypeptide nanomicelles have attracted much attention as novel drug carriers because of their good biocompatibility and degradability. To prepare doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded nanomicelles, an amphiphilic peptide, FFHFFH-KKGRGD (P12), was synthesized by solid-phase synthesis, and the physicochemical and drug-release properties, as well as the cytotoxicity of the nanomicelles, were evaluated in vitro. The P12-DOX polymer micelles were prepared by dialysis. The morphology and particle size were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the polymer was determined by the probe method, and the drug-release characteristics of the micelles were studied by dynamic dialysis. The cytotoxicity and uptake of the P12-DOX micelles were evaluated against mouse breast cancer cells (4T1) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The peptide polymer micelles containing DOX were uniformly sized and had a spherical core–shell structure with an average particle size of 128.6 nm. The CMC of the polymer was low (0.0357 mg/mL). The in vitro release of DOX from the micelles is slow and is consistent with first-order kinetics. The copolymer micelles of the P12 polypeptide and DOX can be used as nanoscale spherical carriers of hydrophobic drugs and have broad applicability.
Roboski and procedural rules: How the truth about a massacre was buried in the pages of history
Authors: Altiparmak Kerem
Published: April 2020

Recently, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued an inadmissibility decision regarding the application concerning the Roboski massacre ( Selahattin Encü and Others v Turkey App no 49976/16, 17 May 2018) on the grounds that domestic remedies had not been exhausted. As observed in a number of earlier decisions, the ECtHR was resolutely confident about the decision of the Constitutional Court of Turkey on the matter. This unwavering trust has resulted in the once-and-for-all burial of the truth about one of the gravest massacres in the history of Turkey without a proper examination of the allegations of the applicants. Two differing views were put forward after the ECtHR’s decision. The first of these argued that the dismissal of a massacre of such magnitude for procedural reasons was unacceptable. Proponents of this view asserted that even if there were procedural grounds to find the application inadmissible, this could not be sufficient justification to prevent the truth from being revealed. Proponents of the second view argued that every court had its own procedures and that those who did not comply had to face the consequences. This article attempts to examine the second view on its own terms. In so doing, I will present the legal evidence and rationale showing that it is in fact the Constitutional Court of Turkey that has violated its own procedural rules. I will also argue that despite an acceptance of the second view, perhaps more markedly because of such acceptance, it is not possible to bury the truth about the Roboski massacre. This discussion will be guided by a more significant question: How is it that the Constitutional Court of Turkey made such a major procedural error in a case of such gravity and how is it that the ECtHR was so eager to uphold the error?
On the determinants of economic growth: Empirical evidence from the Eurozone countries
Authors: Pegkas Panagiotis , Staikouras Christos , Tsamadias Constantinos
Published: April 2020

This study empirically investigates the causal relationship between economic growth and several factors (investment, human capital, trade openness and public debt) in the Eurozone countries, where imbalances persist several years after the financial crisis. The results reveal a long-run relationship between variables and public debt, as investment, human capital and trade openness positively affect growth. On the other hand, there is a negative long-run effect of public debt on growth. Furthermore, the results indicate that there is long-run unidirectional causality running from investment, trade openness and human capital to growth and bidirectional causality between public debt and growth. The overall results reveal that Eurozone countries should base their growth strategies on fiscal consolidation, increasing exports, correcting the use of public investment and improving the quality of human capital, especially in higher education.
ERS International Congress, Madrid, 2019: highlights from the Allied Respiratory Professionals' Assembly
Authors: Oliveira Ana , Rutter Matthew , Quijano-Campos Juan Carlos , Herrero-Cortina Beatriz , Clari Marco , O'Rourke Aoife , McGowan Aisling , Burtin Chris , Sajnic Andreja , De Brandt Jana
Published: April 2020

This article provides an overview of outstanding sessions that were (co)organised by the Allied Respiratory Professionals' Assembly during the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2019 in Madrid, Spain. Session content was mainly targeted at allied respiratory professionals such as respiratory physiologists, respiratory physiotherapists and respiratory nurses, and is summarised in this document. Short take-home messages related to pulmonary function testing highlight the importance of quality control. Furthermore, novel findings regarding the assessment of functional status call attention to bodily factors that can affect functional status. Regarding pulmonary rehabilitation, data were presented about the use of equipment and type of exercise training in COPD and lung cancer. Recent developments in physical activity-related research give insight in enablers of physical activity after hospital admission. The importance of integrated respiratory care was also highlighted, with the occupational therapist, nurse, and nutritional and psychological counsellor playing a pivotal role, which relates directly to research in the field of respiratory nursing that formulates the need for more nursing led-interventions in the future. To conclude, this review provides readers with valuable insight into some of the emerging and future areas affecting clinical practice of allied healthcare professionals.
Bioinformatic prospecting and phylogenetic analysis reveals 94 undescribed circular bacteriocins and key motifs
Authors: Vezina Ben , Rehm Bernd H. A. , Smith Andrew T.
Published: April 2020

Background

Circular bacteriocins are antimicrobial peptides produced by bacteria with a N and C termini ligation. They have desirable properties such as activity at low concentrations along with thermal, pH and proteolytic resistance. There are twenty experimentally confirmed circular bacteriocins as part of bacteriocin gene clusters, with transport, membrane and immunity proteins. Traditionally, novel antimicrobials are found by testing large numbers of isolates against indicator strains, with no promise of corresponding novel sequence.

Results

Through bioprospecting publicly available sequence databases, we identified ninety-nine circular bacteriocins across a variety of bacteria bringing the total to 119. They were grouped into two families within class I modified bacteriocins (i and ii) and further divided into subfamilies based on similarity to experimentally confirmed circular bacteriocins. Within subfamilies, sequences overwhelmingly shared similar characteristics such as sequence length, presence of a polybasic region, conserved locations of aromatic residues, C and N termini, gene clusters similarity, translational coupling and hydrophobicity profiles. At least ninety were predicted to be putatively functional based on gene clusters. Furthermore, bacteriocins identified fromEnterococcus,StaphylococcusandStreptococcusspecies may have activity against clinically relevant strains, due to the presence of putative immunity genes required for expression in a toxin-antitoxin system. Some strains such asPaenibacillus larvaesubsp.pulvifaciensSAG 10367 contained multiple circular bacteriocin gene clusters from different subfamilies, while some strains such asBacillus cereusBCE-01 contained clusters with multiple circular bacteriocin structural genes.

Conclusions

Sequence analysis provided rapid insight into identification of novel, putative circular bacteriocins, as well as conserved genes likely essential for circularisation. This represents an expanded library of putative antimicrobial proteins which are potentially active against human, plant and animal pathogens.
Causative factors of liver fibrosis in HIV-infected patients. A single center study
Authors: Androutsakos Theodoros , Schina Maria , Pouliakis Abraham , Kontos Athanasios , Sipsas Nikolaos , Hatzis Gregorios
Published: April 2020

Background

Liver disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients; however no consensus exists on HIV-related risk factors for it. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for liver fibrosis/cirrhosis in a cohort of Greek HIV-infected patients.

Methods

Patients attending the HIV outpatient clinic of Pathophysiology Department at «Laiko» General Hospital in Athens, Greece, between December 2014 and December 2017 were eligible for inclusion. Inclusion criteria were confirmed HIV infection and age > 18 years. Exclusion criteria were Body-Mass index (BMI) > 40, liver metastases of malignant diseases and concurrent or previous chemotherapy.

Liver stiffness (LS) was measured using Vibration Controlled Transient Elastography (TE) and laboratory tests were acquired in all patients. Patients were classified in 2 groups: those with mild or no fibrosis (equivalent to Metavir score F0-F2) and those with significant fibrosis (equivalent to Metavir score F3-F4).

Results

A total of 187 consecutive patients were included in this study. Median TE value was 5.1 kilopascals (KPa) (range 2.8–26.3), with 92.5% (173/187) of the patients having no/mild fibrosis and 7.4% (14/187) significant fibrosis.

On multivariate logistic regression analysis older patient’s age, abnormal serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) value, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, alcohol abuse, CD4/CD8 ratio and an increased number of liver related events (LREs) were significantly correlated with liver fibrosis/cirrhosis.

Conclusions

In our cohort of HIV-infected individuals HCV/HIV co-infection, older age, alcohol abuse and CD4/CD8 ratio seem to correlate with fibrogenesis in the liver.
Polymorphous low-grade neuroepithelial tumor of the young: case report and review focus on the radiological features and genetic alterations
Authors: Chen Yingqian , Tian Tian , Guo Xinwen , Zhang Fenfen , Fan Miao , Jin Huawei , Liu Dawei
Published: April 2020

Background

A new type of epileptogenic tumor, the polymorphous low-grade neuroepithelial tumor of the young (PLNTY) was firstly reported by Jason T. Huse et al. at 2016. After that, only 1 case of PLNTY was reported by article. The radiological characteristics of PLNTY have not been concluded. The objective of our study was to report 3 cases of PLNTYs in details and to analyze the image characteristics and genetic alterations of PLNTYs by reviewing our cases and articles.

Case presentation

There were 3 cases diagnosed as PLNTY by pathology in our hospital during the last 10 years, with the average age of 15. They were all suffered from different degrees of epilepsy. All of them underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and 2 of them underwent computer tomography (CT) imaging. The PLNTYs are all appearing as a solid or solid-cystic cortical mass with little mass effect and unclear boundary with normal brain tissue. They are all shown as hyperintensity in T2WI and iso−/hypointensity in T1WI with slight or no enhancement after contract enhanced in MR imaging. The “salt and pepper sign” in T2WI and grit calcification in CT images might be specific characteristics of PLNTY. All of them recovered after excision of the tumors. The gene tests revealed fibroblast growth factor receptors 3 (FGFR3)-TACC3 fusion and FGFR3 amplification in one case, and the B-Raf proto-oncogene (BRAF) V600E mutation in another case.

Conclusion

In the image, the partial ill-marginated cortical mass with “salt and pepper sign” in T2WI or grit calcification in CT imaging might be the typical imaging characteristics of PLNTY. We also prove that the BRAF V600E mutation as well as the FGFR2 and FGFR3 have a close relationship with PLNTY.
Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura with reversible splenial lesion syndrome: a case report
Authors: Hu Song , Hou Xinyue , Liu Shuhao , Fei Chunxiao , Zhou Lingyan , Xing Ang , Zhang Junqing , Yong Chunming , Wang Xiaomeng
Published: April 2020

Background

Reversible splenial lesion syndrome (RESLES) is known to cause severe psychiatric symptoms but is also a very rare clinical disease in which the specific aetiology is unknown. According to current reports, there are major causes of the disease, including viral or bacterial infection, epilepsy, anti-epileptic drug withdrawal, high-altitude cerebral oedema, and metabolic disorders such as hypoglycaemia and hypernatraemia. In this article, we report a patient with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) who presented with RESLES.

Case presentation

A 34-year-old female patient who presented with fever and progression of disorder of consciousness was eventually diagnosed with RESLES based on brain imaging. Moreover, clinical features and peripheral smears demonstrating schistocytes and thrombocytopenia confirmed a diagnosis of TTP. RESLES can be improved by plasma exchange therapy.

Conclusion

This rare case highlights the occurrence of RESLES as a presenting feature of the expanding list of unusual neurological manifestations of TTP.
Measuring women’s experiences of decision-making and aspects of midwifery support: a confirmatory factor analysis of the revised Childbirth Experience Questionnaire
Authors: Dencker Anna , Bergqvist Liselotte , Berg Marie , Greenbrook Josephine T. V. , Nilsson Christina , Lundgren Ingela
Published: April 2020

Background

Women’s experiences of labour and birth can have both short- and long-term effects on their physical and psychological health. The original Swedish version of the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) has shown to have good psychometric quality and ability to differentiate between groups known to differ in childbirth experience.Two subscales were revised in order to include new items with more relevant content about decision-making and aspects of midwifery support. The aim of the study was to develop new items in two subscales and to test construct validity and reliability of the revised version of CEQ, called CEQ2.

Method

A total of 11 new items (Professional SupportandParticipation) and 14 original items from the first CEQ (Own capacityandPerceived safety), were answered by 682 women with spontaneous onset of labour. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyse model fit.

Results

The hypothesised four-factor model showed good fit (CMIN = 2.79; RMR = 0.33; GFI = 0.94; CFI = 0.94; TLI = 0.93; RMSEA = 0.054 and PCLOSE = 0.12) Cronbach’s alpha was good for all subscales (0.82, 0.83, 0.76 and 0.73) and for the total scale (0.91).

Conclusions

CEQ2, like the first CEQ, yields four important aspects of experience during labour and birth showing good psychometric performance, including decision-making and aspects of midwifery support, in both primiparous and multiparous women.
Women’s suggestions on how to improve the quality of maternal and newborn hospital care: a qualitative study in Italy using the WHO standards as framework for the analysis
Authors: Lazzerini Marzia , Semenzato Chiara , Kaur Jaspreet , Covi Benedetta , Argentini Giorgia
Published: April 2020

Background

A recent systematic review identified very few studies on women’s views on how to improve the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC). This study aimed at exploring the suggestions provided by women, after hospital delivery in Italy, on how to improve the QMNC.

Methods

A questionnaire, containing open questions to capture suggestions on how to improve QMNC, was used to collect suggestions of mothers who gave birth a tertiary care referral hospital in Northeast Italy, between December 2016 and September 2018. Two authors independently used thematic analysis to analyse women’s comments, using the WHO Standards for improving the QMNC as framework for the analysis.

Results

Overall 392 mothers provided a total of 966 comments on how to improve the QMNC. Overall 45 (11.5%) women made suggestions pertinent to “provision of care”, 222 (56.6%) to the “experience of care”, 217 (55.4%) to “physical or to human resources”. The top five suggestions were: 1) increase presence of a companion during the whole hospitalization (28.3% of women); 2) improve bathrooms and showers (18.4%); 3) improve effective communication from staff (14.0%); 4) improve staff professionalism, empathy, and kindness (13.5%); 5) increase support and information on how to provide care to the newborn (11.2%). Overall, 158 (16.4%) suggestions could not be classified in any WHO Standards, and among these most (72.1%) were related to physical structures, such as: decrease the number of patients per room; create areas for visitors; avoid case mixing in the same room; reduce rooming-in/better support the mother. Overall 62 (15.8%) women expressed appreciations.

Conclusions

Collecting the women’s views on how to improve the QMNC after hospital delivery highlighted critical inputs on aspects of care that should be improved in the opinion of service-users. More investments should be made for establishing routine systems for monitoring patients experience of care. Data collected should be used to improve QMNC. WHO Standards may be further optimized by adding items emerging as relevant for women in high-income countries.
Landscape of copy number aberrations in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma from a high endemic region of South Africa
Authors: Brown Jacqueline , Stepien Andrzej J. , Willem Pascale
Published: April 2020

Background

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is an aggressive cancer with one of the highest world incidences in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. Several genome wide studies have been performed on ESCC cohorts from Asian countries, North America, Malawi and other parts of the world but none have been conducted on ESCC tumors from South Africa to date, where the molecular pathology and etiology of this disease remains unclear. We report here tumor associated copy number changes observed in 51 ESCC patients’ samples from the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

Methods

We extracted tumor DNA from 51 archived ESCC specimens and interrogated tumor associated DNA copy number changes using Affymetrix® 500 K SNP array technology. The Genomic Identification of Significant Targets in Cancer (GISTIC 2.0) algorithm was applied to identify significant focal regions of gains and losses. Gains of the top recurrent cancer genes were validated by fluorescence in situ hybridization and their protein expression assessed by immunohistochemistry.

Results

Twenty-three significant focal gains were identified across samples. Gains involving the CCND1, MYC, EGFR and JAG1 loci recapitulated those described in studies on Asian and Malawian cohorts. The two most significant gains involved the chromosomal sub-bands 3q28, encompassing the TPRG1 gene and 11q13.3 including the CTTN, PPFIA1and SHANK2 genes. There was no significant homozygous loss and the most recurrent hemizygous deletion involved the B3GAT1 gene on chromosome 11q25. Focal gains on 11q13.3 in 37% of cases (19/51), consistently involved CTTN and SHANK2 genes. Twelve of these cases (23,5%), had a broader region of gain that also included the CCND1, FGF19, FGF4 and FGF3 genes. SHANK2 and CTTN are co-amplified in several cancers, these proteins interact functionally together and are involved in cell motility. Immunohistochemistry confirmed both Shank2 (79%) and cortactin (69%) protein overexpression in samples with gains of these genes. In contrast, cyclin D1 (65%) was moderately expressed in samples with CCND1 DNA gain.

Conclusions

This study reports copy number changes in a South African ESCC cohort and highlights similarities and differences with cohorts from Asia and Malawi. Our results strongly suggest a role for CTTN and SHANK2 in the pathogenesis of ESCC in South Africa.
The fair decision-making of children and adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder from the perspective of dual-process theories
Authors: Jin Peiying , Wang Yao , Li Yun , Xiao Yunhua , Li Chunyan , Qiu Nana , Weng Jiao , Fang Hui , Ke Xiaoyan
Published: April 2020

Background

Fairness has received much attention in our society. At present, the findings regarding fair decision-making in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD) are inconsistent. Previous studies have shown that the fair decision-making of typically developing children is influenced by theory of mind (ToM) and executive functioning (EF). As those with HF-ASD have defects in both domains, this study aims to explore the differences in fair decision-making between children and adolescents with HF-ASD and those with typical development (TD).

Methods

We used a simple ultimatum game (UG) to explore 31 children and adolescents with HF-ASD and 38 children and adolescents with TD. T tests and chi-square tests were used to compare group differences, and Pearson correlation analysis and stepwise regression analysis were used to analyse the mechanisms influencing the two groups’ unfair acceptance rates.

Results

The results show that children with HF-ASD are more likely to accept unfair offers, but for adolescents, the difference is not significant. Regression analysis showed that the interaction between the behavior regulation index (BRI) and age could negatively predict the unfair acceptance rate of children and adolescents with HF-ASD. Working memory and ToM can negatively predict the unfair acceptance rate of those with TD.

Conclusion

This study concluded that the development of fair decision-making by children and adolescents with HF-ASD falls far behind that of those with TD. Intuition processes play a dominant role in the fair decision-making processes of children and adolescents with HF-ASD, and we believe that comorbidity, age, experience and emotional management are important factors influencing the fair decision-making of individuals with HF-ASD.
Psychological distress among carers and the moderating effects of social support
Authors: George Emma S. , Kecmanovic Milica , Meade Tanya , Kolt Gregory S.
Published: April 2020

Background

Carers provide both practical and emotional support and often play an important role in coordination of care for recipients. The demands of caring may lead to increased levels of stress for the carer, which can affect mental health and quality of life. This study examined the relationship between being a carer and psychological distress (assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale [K10]), and explored the moderating effect of social support in that relationship using a large sample.

Methods

The study used data from the 45 and Up study, a large cohort study of individuals aged 45 years and over in New South Wales, Australia, and applied multiple regression methods and moderation analysis. The sample for the current study comprised 267,041 participants drawn from the baseline dataset, with valid data on the primary outcome (carer status).

Results

The mean age of participants was 62.73 (±11.18) years, and 4.23% and 7.13% were identified as full-time and part-time carers, respectively. Compared to non-carers, full-time carers had K10 scores that were on average, higher by 1.87, while part-time carers’ K10 scores were on average higher by 1.60 points. A perception of social support reduced the strength of the relationship between carer status and psychological distress by 40% for full-time carers and 60% for part-time carers.

Conclusions

The findings have important implications, for both prevention and treatment of psychological problems among carers. In terms of prevention, they suggest that public health campaigns focused on increasing awareness regarding the psychological burden faced by carers would be useful. In terms of intervention, potential treatments that focus on improving social support networks may be helpful. The results are particularly important in the current context of an ageing population in Australian and other developed countries, where caregiving is likely to play an increasing role in the care and support services.