bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Can radiographic patellofemoral osteoarthritis be diagnosed using clinical assessments?
Authors: Tan Jade M. , Menz Hylton B. , Munteanu Shannon E. , Collins Natalie J. , Hart Harvi F. , Donnar Joel W. , Cleary Gearoid , O'Sullivan Isobel C. , Maclachlan Liam R. , Derham Catherine L. , Crossley Kay M.
Published: July 2020

Introduction

The aim of this study was to determine whether participant characteristics and clinical assessments could identify radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) in individuals with clinically diagnosed, symptomatic patellofemoral osteoarthritis (PFOA).

Methods

Participant characteristics and clinical assessments were obtained from 179 individuals aged 50 years and over with clinically diagnosed symptomatic PFOA, who were enrolled in a randomised trial. Anteroposterior, lateral, and skyline X‐rays were taken of the symptomatic knee. The presence of radiographic PFOA was defined as “no or early PFOA” (Kellgren and Lawrence [KL] grade ≤1 in the PF compartment) or “definite PFOA” (KL grade ≥2). Diagnostic test statistics were applied to ascertain which participant characteristics and clinical assessments could identify the presence of definite radiographic PFOA.

Results

A total of 118 participants (66%) had definite radiographic PFOA. Univariate analysis identified that older age (>61 years), female sex, higher body mass index (BMI) (>29 kg/m2), longer pain duration (>2.75 years), higher maximum knee pain during stair ambulation (>47/100 mm), and fewer repeated single step‐ups to pain onset (<21) were associated with the presence of definite radiographic PFOA. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that BMI, pain duration, and repeated single step‐ups to pain onset were independently associated with radiographic PFOA and identified the presence of definite radiographic PFOA with an overall accuracy of 73%.

Conclusion

In individuals over 50 years of age with a clinical diagnosis of PFOA, higher BMI, longer pain duration, and fewer repeated single step‐ups to pain onset increased the likelihood of radiographic PFOA. However, overall diagnostic accuracy was modest, suggesting that radiographic PFOA cannot be confidently identified using these tests.
Parasiten im Massenspektrometer
Authors: Kadesch Patrik , Gerbig Stefanie , Mokosch Annika , Häberlein Simone , Spengler Bernhard
Published: July 2020

Bildgebende Massenspektrometrie ergänzt die Techniken aus Immunologie, Parasitologie und Molekularbiologie. So trägt analytische Chemie dazu bei, Tropenkrankheiten zu erforschen und zu bekämpfen, die seit langem vernachlässigt sind. Ein Beispiel ist die Bilharziose, die von Würmern verursacht wird und Menschen bedroht, die keinen Zugang zu sanitären Anlagen und sauberem Wasser haben.
Schützende Schichten
Authors: Boehnke Olaf , Ueltzen Katharina , Renningholtz Tim , Krautscheid Harald
Published: July 2020

Das europäische Chemikaliengesetz Reach fordert, Chrom(VI)‐Verbindungen zu ersetzen. Wie funktional Alternativen zur Hartchrombeschichtung sind und welches Risiko sie bergen.
Trendbericht Biochemie: Hochaufgelöste Zellbiologie
Authors: Endesfelder Ulrike
Published: July 2020

Inzwischen können wir die zellulären Prozesse in lebenden Zellen verfolgen, und zwar mit subzellulärer Fluoreszenzmikroskopie mit Auflösung im Nanometerbereich. Ob Ribosomen die richtigen Proteine herstellen oder eine Leseschwäche haben, lässt sich durch Ribosomenprofiling untersuchen. Und: Bisher haben intrinsische Dynamik und Heterogenität erschwert, die dreidimensionale Struktur von Multiproteinkomplexen zu bestimmen. Kryoelektronenmikroskopie erlaubt es nun, diese schwer greifbaren Maschinerien mit höchster Auflösung abzubilden.
Die Brücke ins Publishing
Authors: Sens Irina
Published: July 2020

Was macht eigentlich der GDCh‐Wiley‐VCH‐Verlagsbeirat?
Global planning of accelerated degradation tests based on exponential dispersion degradation models
Authors: Lee I‐Chen , Tseng Sheng‐Tsaing , Hong Yili
Published: July 2020

The accelerated degradation test (ADT) is an efficient tool for assessing the lifetime information of highly reliable products. However, conducting an ADT is very expensive. Therefore, how to conduct a cost‐constrained ADT plan is a great challenging issue for reliability analysts. By taking the experimental cost into consideration, this paper proposes a semi‐analytical procedure to determine the total sample size, testing stress levels, the measurement frequencies, and the number of measurements (within a degradation path) globally under a class of exponential dispersion degradation models. The proposed method is also extended to determine the global planning of a three‐level compromise plan. The advantage of the proposed method not only provides better design insights for conducting an ADT plan, but also provides an efficient algorithm to obtain a cost‐constrained ADT plan, compared with conventional optimal plans by grid search algorithms.
Differential sensitivity to detect prosocial effects of 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in different social approach paradigms in mice
Authors: Mukai Satoko , Nakada Sao , Kamada Hikari , Yaguchi Ryuma , Deyama Satoshi , Kaneda Katsuyuki
Published: July 2020

A recreational drug, 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), has prosocial effects including increased sociability, enhancement of trust feelings, and empathy. Although several methods, such as the social interaction and three chamber tests, have been used, the neural mechanisms underlying the prosocial effects have not been well understood. In the present study, based on a social approach paradigm using a single‐chamber apparatus, we have developed two reproducible and simple social approach tests, SAT1 and SAT2, in ICR mice. In the SAT1, an unfamiliar mouse was set in a wire mesh cylinder cage that was placed in the center of a rectangular open field, while in the SAT2, an unfamiliar mouse was set in a wire mesh rectangular cage that was placed along a wall of a rectangular open field. Although MDMA treatment enhanced sociability in both SAT1 and SAT2, the ratio of high sociability mice was higher in the SAT2 than in the SAT1, indicating a differential sensitivity to detect the prosocial effects. Thus, we suggest that the SAT2 is a promising and suitable method to explore the neuronal mechanisms underlying the effects of MDMA.
The role of organizational culture, capabilities, and adoption of e‐marketing on nonprofits' organizational performance
Authors: Lee Daisy , Ng Peggy M. L.
Published: July 2020

Nonprofit organizations are facing increasing challenges to survival and mission accomplishment in a market economy. Thus, many nonprofit organizations are actively exploring how to enhance organizational performance through Internet and communication technologies in the digital era. The relationship between e‐marketing adoption and organizational performance of for‐profit companies has been studied intensively. However, this relationship has not been examined in the nonprofit context. The objectives of this study are to investigate factors promoting the adoption of e‐marketing and the latter's effect on the performance of nonprofits. This paper surveyed 54 nonprofits and used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) to test the research hypotheses grounded in resource dependence theory and e‐marketing orientation. Results indicated that top management's attitudinal emphasis on e‐marketing does not lead to e‐marketing adoption. Differs from for‐profit companies, nonprofits' e‐marketing adoption is mainly related to planning and implementation capabilities. Moreover, although planning strongly influences e‐marketing adoption, implementation capabilities play a crucial role in a performance‐driven adoption. Hence, if e‐marketing is adopted without sufficient manpower and skills, organizational performance will not be enhanced even with adequate e‐marketing budget.
USEPA Develops National Water Reuse Action Plan
Authors: Adams Hunter , Southard Mark , Nix Daniel
Published: July 2020

“Water reuse represents a major opportunity to support our nation's communities and economy by bolstering safe and reliable water supplies for human consumption, agriculture, business, industry, recreation, and healthy ecosystems.”

—US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler
Routine Maintenance Prolongs a Storage Tank's Life
Authors: Johnston Ben
Published: July 2020

When it comes to water storage tanks, an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure. Proper and regular maintenance through inspections, repainting, cleanouts, and accessory upkeep can save money, avoid emergencies, and significantly increase a tank's life expectancy.
Routine Building Maintenance Improves Drinking Water Quality
Authors: Cantor Abigail F. , Jacque Andrew
Published: July 2020

Many factors can degrade water quality in buildings, particularly during a pandemic because of decreased water usage. Don't wait for a building's reoccupancy to maintain its premise plumbing. Act now to routinely keep premise plumbing maintained to help mitigate potential water quality concerns.
Emprising revival of Telangana power sector: Analysis from an Indian state
Authors: Mohammed Shameem P. , Chittedi Krishna Reddy
Published: July 2020

The paper discusses the new 24‐hr power supply to agricultural sector scheme of Telangana state in India. The first of its kind scheme that is fully funded by the state government set a new example for agrarian states in India. The paper explains the energy demand and supply management, fiscal and infrastructural preparedness of the scheme along with environmental concerns. The primary survey report from two villages testifies people's aspirations about the new scheme. Rational power consumption by farmers is identified as key factor of this scheme that will enable government to overcome challenges on sustainability of the scheme.
The affinity and selectivity of α‐adrenoceptor antagonists, antidepressants, and antipsychotics for the human α1A, α1B, and α1D‐adrenoceptors
Authors: Proudman Richard G. W. , Pupo Andre S. , Baker Jillian G.
Published: July 2020

α1‐adrenoceptor antagonists are widely used for hypertension (eg, doxazosin) and benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH, eg, tamsulosin). Some antidepressants and antipsychotics have been reported to have α1 affinity. This study examined 101 clinical drugs and laboratory compounds to build a comprehensive understanding of α1‐adrenoceptor subtype affinity and selectivity. [3H]prazosin whole‐cell binding was conducted in CHO cells stably expressing either the full‐length human α1A, α1B, or α1D‐adrenoceptor. As expected, doxazosin was a high‐affinity nonselective α1‐antagonist although other compounds (eg, cyclazosin, 3‐MPPI, and ARC239) had higher affinities. Several highly α1A‐selective antagonists were confirmed (SNAP5089 had over 1700‐fold α1A selectivity). Despite all compounds demonstrating α1 affinity, only BMY7378 had α1D selectivity and no α1B‐selective compounds were identified. Phenoxybenzamine (used in pheochromocytoma) and dibenamine had two‐component‐binding inhibition curves at all three receptors. Incubation with sodium thiosulfate abolished the high‐affinity component suggesting this part is receptor mediated. Drugs used for hypertension and BPH had very similar α1A/α1B/α1D‐adrenoceptor pharmacological profiles. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (antidepressants) had poor α1‐adrenoceptor affinity. Several tricyclic antidepressants (eg, amitriptyline) and antipsychotics (eg, chlorpromazine and risperidone) had high α1‐adrenoceptor affinities, similar to, or higher than, α blockers prescribed for hypertension and BPH, whereas others had poor α1 affinity (eg, protriptyline, sulpiride, amisulpiride, and olanzapine). The addition of α blockers for the management of hypertension or BPH in people already taking tricyclic antidepressants and certain antipsychotics may not be beneficial. Awareness of the α‐blocking potential of different antipsychotics may affect the choice of drug for those with delirium where additional hypotension (eg, in sepsis) may be detrimental.
Metal‐Free Aerobic Sulfenyllactonization of Unsaturated Carboxylic Acids with Thiols Using Air as Sole Oxidant
Authors: Xiong Yan‐Shi , Yu Yang , You Yi‐Peng , Weng Jiang , Lu Gui
Published: July 2020

A metal‐free aerobic sulfenyllactonization of unsaturated carboxylic acids with thiols has been disclosed. This method proceeded with air as the sole oxidant, without any metal catalyst, which provides an efficient access to a wide range of sulfenylated lactones with moderate to good yields. The operational simplicity, high atom efficiency, scalability and the use of bio‐based green solvent under mild conditions are the attractive features of this methodology.
Approach to the Core Structure of Streptosetin A
Authors: Hess Stefan , Maier Martin E.
Published: July 2020

Streptosetin A belongs to the 3‐decalinoyltetramic acids. In contrast to most of other known natural products of this type, the decalin part features a β‐hydroxyketone subunit, making an intramolecular cycloaddition approach less suitable. We examined an approach where the decalin part would be fashioned by an intramolecular aldol addition. By using a Diels‐Alder reaction between the Rawal diene and a substituted methacrylate, a cyclohexanone was obtained. An organocuprate addition introduced the ethyl substituent before, the side chain was converted to an enal. However, contrary to our expectations, the aldol reaction led to the condensation product. Other routes to reach the key cyclohexanone were also investigated.
Extracting angles of attack from blade‐resolved rotor CFD simulations
Authors: Zilic de Arcos Federico , Vogel Christopher R. , Willden Richard H. J.
Published: July 2020

The distribution of the angles of attack over the span of a rotor blade, together with blade element theory, provides a useful framework to understand forces, performance and other fluid dynamic phenomena of axial‐flow rotors. However, the angle of attack is not straightforward to define for a three‐dimensional rotor, where the flow is perturbed by the blade circulation, shed vorticity and wake development.

This paper evaluates six methods to extract the angles of attack from blade‐resolved CFD simulations of axial‐flow turbines. Simulations of two different rotors are presented: a low solidity rotor designed for wind and a higher solidity rotor designed for tidal stream energy conversion. Of the analysed methods, five were obtained from the literature and are tested in terms of their internal parameters. The remaining method is named the streamtube analysis method (SAM) and is presented as an improvement on analysis methods that azimuthally average the flow data on the rotor plane, referred to as azimuthal averaging techniques (AATs). The SAM method accounts for the expansion of the streamtubes in flow‐field velocity sampling and exhibits improved convergence on the internal parameters compared with AAT.

The six methods are benchmarked in terms of the angles of attack, axial induction factors and the local lift and drag coefficients, identifying that most perform well and converge with each other despite the different underlying assumptions or modelling approaches. However, given the limitations and inherent dependency on internal parameters, the line averaging and SAM are suggested for general flow analysis application.
Multifocal Small Bowel Neuroendocrine Tumours
Authors: Pasieka Janice L.
Published: July 2020

In contemporary surgical series, the incidence of multifocal tumours (MFT) in small bowel neuroendrocrine tumours (SBNET) is as high as 50%. Familial forms of SBNET appear to have an even higher rate of MFTs in the range of 80%. Multifocal disease poses several challenges and questions for the operating surgeon, including the cause of the disease whether it is local metastases or a genetic field defect, the extent of the resection, and the prognosis. The etiology of these multiple tumours appears to be multifactorial and may represent localized metastases in some, a genetic mutation resulting in the rare familial form of this disease in others, or the integration of genetic and epigenetic events within the bowel. Contrary to historical series, recent data suggest that MFT are not associated with a poorer prognosis. The challenge remains on the long‐term surveillance of these unique tumours.
Drivers of article processing charges in open access
Authors: Budzinski Oliver , Grebel Thomas , Wolling Jens , Zhang Xijie
Published: July 2020

Large publishing companies have been dominating scientific publishing for long, which leads to high subscription fees and inhibited access to scientific knowledge. At digital era, the opportunity of an unrestricted access appears feasible, because the cost of publishing should be low. It is no longer the readers and libraries to pay subscription fees, but scientific organizations and authors themselves who pay for the cost of having their article published. As the data shows, there is a tremendous variance of article processing charges (APC) across journals, which obviously cannot be explained by the costs. One of the explanatory variables could be reputation, but it only contributes less than 5% to the variance in average APC. This study is meant to shed light on the various determinants of APC. Based on the data from the OpenAPC Initiative, the Directory of Open Access Journals and three different datasets of Web of Science, we employ ANOVAs and multivariate regressions. The results show that market power plays an important role to explain APC, inter alia, through market concentration, market position of individual publishers (publisher size), and the choice of hybrid publishing model.
Superrotation in Planetary Atmospheres
Authors: Imamura Takeshi , Mitchell Jonathan , Lebonnois Sebastien , Kaspi Yohai , Showman Adam P. , Korablev Oleg
Published: July 2020

Superrotation is a dynamical regime where the atmosphere circulates around the planet in the direction of planetary rotation with excess angular momentum in the equatorial region. Superrotation is known to exist in the atmospheres of Venus, Titan, Jupiter, and Saturn in the solar system. Some of the exoplanets also exhibit superrotation. Our understanding of superrotation in a framework of circulation regimes of the atmospheres of terrestrial planets is in progress thanks to the development of numerical models; a global instability involving planetary-scale waves seems to play a key role, and the dynamical state depends on the Rossby number, a measure of the relative importance of the inertial and Coriolis forces, and the thermal inertia of the atmosphere. Recent general circulation models of Venus’s and Titan’s atmospheres demonstrated the importance of horizontal waves in the angular momentum transport in these atmospheres and also an additional contribution of thermal tides in Venus’s atmosphere. The atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn also exhibit strong superrotation. Recent gravity data suggests that these superrotational flows extend deep into the planet, yet currently no single mechanism has been identified as driving this superrotation. Moreover, atmospheric circulation models of tidally locked, strongly irradiated exoplanets have long predicted the existence of equatorial superrotation in their atmospheres, which has been attributed to the result of the strong day-night thermal forcing. As predicted, recent Doppler observations and infrared phase curves of hot Jupiters appear to confirm the presence of superrotation on these objects.
90.000 Tonnen Diplomatie 2.0: Die Integration von unbemannten Systemen in den operativen Flugzeugträgerbetrieb am Beispiel der X-47B
Authors: Schwartz Sebastian , Reuter Christian
Published: July 2020

Die Debatte um die Integration von autonomen Systemen in Streitkräfte wird oftmals auf einer (militär-)strategischen Ebene geführt. Die technisch-operativen Aspekte werden außerhalb des Fachpublikums häufig nur am Rande erwähnt. Der Beitrag analysiert die Integration von U(C)AVs in den operativen Flugzeugträgerbetrieb am Beispiel der X‑47B. Die Studie zeigt, dass es keine fundamentalen Probleme bei der Integration gibt, U(C)AVs in einem Fünf-Jahres-Horizont zur neuen maritimen Realität gehören und die Gefahr eines Rüstungswettlaufs in Bezug auf autonome Waffensysteme steigen wird.
The role of disciplinary perspectives in an epistemology of scientific models
Authors: Boon Mieke
Published: July 2020

The purpose of this article is to develop an epistemology of scientific models in scientific research practices, and to show that disciplinary perspectives have crucial role in such an epistemology. A transcendental (Kantian) approach is taken, aimed at explanations of the kinds of questions relevant to the intended epistemology, such as “How is itpossiblethat models provide knowledge about aspects of reality?” The approach is also pragmatic in the sense that the questions and explanations must be adequate and relevant to concrete scientific practice. First it is explained why the idea of models as representations in terms of similarity or isomorphism between a model and its target is too limited as a basis for this epistemology. An important finding is that the target-phenomenon is usually not something that can be observed in a straightforward manner, but requires both characterization in terms of measurable variables and subsumption under (scientific) concepts. The loss of this basis leads to a number of issues, such as: how can models be interpreted as representations if models also include conceptually meaningful linguistic content; how can researchers identify non-observable real-world target-phenomena that are then represented in the model; how do models enable inferential reasoning in performing epistemic tasks by researchers; and, how to justify scientific models. My proposal is to deal with these issues by analyzing how models are constructed, rather than by looking at ready-made models. Based on this analysis, I claim that the identification of phenomena and the construction of scientific models is guided and also confined by the disciplinary perspective within which researchers in a scientific discipline have learned to work. I propose a Kuhnian framework by which the disciplinary perspective can be systematically articulated. Finally, I argue that harmful forms of subjectivism, due to the loss of the belief that models objectively represent aspects of reality, can be overcome by making the disciplinary perspective(s) in a research project explicit, thereby enabling its critical assessment, for which the proposed Kuhnian framework provides a tool.
Treatment modification after starting cART in people living with HIV: retrospective analysis of the German ClinSurv HIV Cohort 2005–2017
Authors: Stecher Melanie , Schommers Philipp , Kollan Christian , Stoll Matthias , Kuhlendahl Frieder , Stellbrink Hans-Jürgen , Wasmuth Jan-Christian , Stephan Christoph , Hamacher Laura , Lehmann Clara , Boesecke Christoph , Bogner Johannes , Esser Stefan , Fritzsche Carlos , Haberl Annette , Schürmann Dirk , Degen Olaf , Horst Heinz-August , Hoffmann Christian , Jensen Björn , Schwarze-Zander Carolynne , Platten Martin , Fätkenheuer Gerd , Schmidt Daniel , Gunsenheimer-Bartmeyer Barbara , Vehreschild Jörg Janne ,   On behalf of the ClinSurv Study Group
Published: July 2020

Objective

Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has markedly increased survival and quality of life in people living with HIV. With the advent of new treatment options, including single-tablet regimens, durability and efficacy of first-line cART regimens are evolving.

Methods

We analyzed data from the prospective multicenter German Clinical Surveillance of HIV Disease (ClinSurv) cohort of the Robert-Koch Institute. Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards models were run to examine the factors associated with treatment modification. Recovery after treatment initiation was analyzed comparing pre-cART viral load and CD4+ T-cell counts with follow-up data.

Results

We included 8788 patients who initiated cART between 2005 and 2017. The sample population was predominantly male (n = 7040; 80.1%), of whom 4470 (63.5%) were reporting sex with men as the transmission risk factor. Overall, 4210 (47.9%) patients modified their first-line cART after a median time of 63 months (IQR 59–66). Regimens containing integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI) were associated with significantly lower rates of treatment modification (adjusted hazard ratio 0.44; 95% CI 0.39–0.50) compared to protease inhibitor (PI)-based regimens. We found a decreased durability of first-line cART significantly associated with being female, a low CD4+ T-cell count, cART initiation in the later period (2011–2017), being on a multi-tablet regimen (MTR).

Conclusions

Drug class and MTRs are significantly associated with treatment modification. INSTI-based regimens showed to be superior compared to PI-based regimens in terms of durability.
Numerical analysis of blockage correction methods for tidal turbines
Authors: Zilic de Arcos Federico , Tampier Gonzalo , Vogel Christopher R.
Published: July 2020

The current work presents the analysis of six different blockage correction methods for axial-flow turbines from the literature and compares them to a method proposed by the authors using blade-resolved CFD simulations. The analysis of the different methods is performed by comparing the corrected blocked-flow thrust and power results of a tidal turbine to a quasi free-flow condition, obtaining a quantitative measure of the error for every method at different blockages and tip-speed ratios. This study shows that not every available method for blockage correction remains valid for the range of turbine thrusts that may occur in blocked flows. Of the seven methods analysed, only three were found to provide a reliable estimate of the power and thrust across the range of blockage and tip-speed ratios analysed in this paper, including the one proposed by the authors. Of the remaining correction methods, those that could be used as a first approximation for low-blockage conditions are identified.
PORTFOLIO INSURANCE STRATEGIES FOR A TARGET ANNUITIZATION FUND
Authors: Xu Mengyi , Sherris Michael , Shao Adam W.
Published: July 2020

The transition from defined benefit to defined contribution (DC) pension schemes has increased the interest in target annuitization funds that aim to fund a minimum level of retirement income. Prior literature has studied the optimal investment strategies for DC funds that provide minimum guarantees, but far less attention has been given to portfolio insurance strategies for DC pension funds focusing on retirement income targets. We evaluate the performance of option-based and constant proportion portfolio insurance strategies for a DC fund that targets a minimum level of inflation-protected annuity income at retirement. We show how the portfolio allocation to an equity fund varies depending on the member’s age upon joining the fund, displaying a downward trend through time for members joining the fund before ages in the mid-30s. We demonstrate how both portfolio insurance strategies provide strong protection against downside equity risk in financing a minimum level of retirement income. The option-based strategy generally leads to higher accumulated savings at retirement, whereas the constant proportion strategy provides better downside risk protection robust to equity market jumps/volatilities.
The Bias Paradox: Are Standpoint Epistemologies Self-contradictory?
Authors: Engqvist Tobias
Published: July 2020

Standpoint epistemologies are based on two central theses: the situated knowledge thesis and the thesis of epistemic privilege. The bias paradox suggests that there is a tension between these two notions, in the sense that they are self-contradictory. In this paper, I aim to defend standpoint epistemologies from this challenge. This defense is based on a distinction between subjective and objective justifications. According to the former, a subject S is subjectively justified in believing a proposition P iff S's belief in P coheres with S's pre-existing beliefs. According to the latter, a subject S is objectively justified in believing a proposition P iff S's subjective justification is truth-conducive. I argue that, if the situated knowledge thesis is spelled out in terms of subjective justification, and if the thesis of epistemic privilege is spelled out in terms of objective justification, then there is no contradiction. If this line of thought is correct, then the bias paradox does not show that standpoint epistemologies are self-contradictory.
“Homemade”: The Vicious Circle of Household Pharmaceutical Waste
Authors: MITKIDIS Katerina , MITKIDIS Panagiotis
Published: July 2020

Pharmaceutical science has provided humans with better and cheaper treatments. However, with improved access to medicines, the amount of pharmaceutical waste also grows. Pharmaceutical waste is regularly mismanaged by households, which is considerably and unnecessarily adding to the “pharmaceuticals in the environment” problem. Redesigning existing pharmaceutical takeback schemes and their regulation is a potential step towards a reduction of the problem. Interdisciplinary research between the fields of psychology, law, public health and medical science is necessary to tackle the issue and to design effective regulation steering responsible patient behaviours.
“By Design” and Risk Regulation: Insights from Nanotechnologies
Authors: MIETTINEN Mirella
Published: July 2020

Contemporary risk regulation requires an interdisciplinary approach that integrates science, law and socio-political discourses. This calls for new tools in the risk regulation process that enable regulators to adapt to a constantly changing technological realm and help overcome the interdisciplinarity dilemma. In the field of nanotechnologies, tools proposed in the literature include “by design” approaches. In this article, I analyse how the safe-by-design and benign-by-design concepts, emerging in materials science and drug development, could enhance interdisciplinarity in risk regulation. I suggest that further development and implementation of “by design” from a scientific concept to an adaptive regulatory tool could support progressive risk governance of innovative technological developments and enhance the interdisciplinary approach in risk regulation.
Counselling Elementary School Students — Experiences of School Counsellors from Serbia
Authors: Zuković Sladjana , Slijepčević Senka
Published: July 2020

Starting from the importance and purpose of school counselling, the article highlights the content-methodical specifics and assumptions of effective counselling work with students, and gives a brief overview of the practice of school counselling in Serbia. On that basis, this study aimed at examining school counsellors’ experiences in counselling elementary/primary school children (e.g., reasons for counselling, ways of implementation and difficulties). A sample of 81 school counsellors participated in a semistructured interview. The results show that undesirable behaviour and learning difficulties are the most common reasons for counselling, initiative is mainly coming from teachers or counsellors, and individual work and corrective counselling are more common. The difficulties respondents mentioned mainly related to the students’ personalities. The experiences of practitioners imply that the counselling practice insufficiently appreciates the importance of an integrative-systematic approach in student counselling. In this regard, the conclusion provides some recommendations that could contribute to improving the practice of counselling in schools in Serbia.
Signs of Risk: Materiality, History, and Meaning in Cold War Controversies over Nuclear Contamination
Authors: Orsini Davide
Published: July 2020

This study draws on ethnographic and archival evidence from the Italian Archipelago of La Maddalena, offshore from the northeastern corner of Sardinia, where in 1972 the U.S. Navy installed a base for nuclear submarines. It addresses two questions: (1) How do non-experts make sense of radiological risk absent knowledge and classified information about its instantiations and consequences? (2) How do objectifications of risk change and stabilize within the same community over time? STS scholarship has emphasized the epistemic and relational dimensions of lay/expert controversies over risk assessment. Many case studies, mostly focused on the Anglo-Saxon world, have assumed lay and expert ways of knowing are incompatible due to clashing cultural identities. I use Keane's concept of “semiotic ideologies” and Peircean semiotic theory to critically reassess the validity of that assumption and examine the role of material evidence in processes of signification to explain how experts and non-experts fix, challenge, and negotiate the meanings of radiological risk in sociotechnical controversies. I critically review empirical studies and analyze ethnographic and archival data to advance a set of methodological and substantive arguments: meanings of risk change as new signs become available for interpretation; and meanings of risk are semiotically regimented: their emergence or silencing depend upon the power relations in place in a given community and organizational efforts to assemble coherent technopolitical arguments. I call this set of organizational practices “politics of coherence.”
Gacaca, Genocide, Genocide Ideology: The Violent Aftermaths of Transitional Justice in the New Rwanda
Authors: Geraghty Mark Anthony
Published: July 2020

This article investigates the violent aftermaths of Rwanda's 1994 Genocide and Liberation war by analyzing its Gacaca Courts, which framed themselves as a “traditional” mechanism of transitional justice. These specialized genocide tribunals, in operation between 2002 and 2012, authorized laypersons to sentence their neighbors to up to life in prison. They passed judgment on almost two million cases, at an official conviction rate of 86 percent. I argue that through their practice, “genocide” came to be constituted as a crime whose contours extended far beyond the boundaries of any international legal definition. It included a wide range of acts, utterances, and inner states, as potentially infinite manifestations of a boundless criminal interiority named “genocide ideology,” the necessary ‘driving force’ behind acts of genocide. Within Gacaca, genocide ideology was constituted as thecontinuingdestructivepotentialof Hutu to menace or even disrespect innocent Tutsi, who were constituted as metonymic of the “new” state. The paranoid hermeneutics of those trials led them to project such an interiority within ‘others,’ imagined as constantly on the verge of erupting into insurrectionary violence, threatening the state's very foundation. The figure of the “Hutu” was transformed into a negative political category operating as a spectral threat haunting the New Rwanda. Gacaca led to a realization throughout the vast population that it marked as “Hutu” that the crime of genocide could potentially inhabit any and perhaps even all of them, thereby producing a generalized fear and pervasive silence.
“Republican” Mutinies in the Spanish Navy: Resonances of an Era of Rebellion and the Erosion of an Empire
Authors: Sordo Vera Moya
Published: July 2020

At the end of the eighteenth century, the large-scale warfare that confronted the major European powers exceeded their financial capabilities. This, in turn, affected the operational effectiveness of their military machinery and disturbed its disciplinary order. Consequently, by the 1790s, French, British, and Dutch naval crews resorted to mutiny on an enormous scale. They were driven by fatigue, harsh conditions of service, and disagreements with higher command. Decades later, theReal Armadawitnessed a series of riots, resembling those of its rival powers but linked to the struggles for independence in the Hispanic-American colonies. Nearly all historians have overlooked the Spanish case, but the motives and direct consequences of the Spanish mutinies are worthy of explanation as part of global processes driven by the Age of Revolutions. Moreover, they offer an opportunity to improve the knowledge of early modern Spanish naval society.
Global Liquidity Provision and Risk Sharing
Authors: Jiao Feng , Sarkissian Sergei
Published: July 2020

We examine liquidity-related characteristics of U.S. firms with cross-listed shares in 20 foreign markets in the 1950–2013 period. We find that firms after foreign-market listing exhibit lower liquidity sensitivity and lower liquidity beta and suffer less from transitory price shocks. These results are stronger when firms are listed on multiple exchanges and in larger and more liquid markets. The liquidity enhancement is associated with firms’ increased foreign ownership postlisting and is effective for firms with high levels of volatility, foreign income, and foreign trading and a high probability of informed trading. Our findings provide support for global markets providing liquidity and reducing liquidity risk to U.S. firms.
Ex utero intrapartum treatment to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: lifesaving management of a giant cervical teratoma
Authors: Reeve N H , Kahane J B , Spinner A G , O-Lee T J
Published: July 2020

Background

Ex utero intrapartum treatment (‘EXIT’ procedure) is a well described method for maintaining maternal–fetal circulation in the setting of airway obstruction from compressive neck masses. When ex utero intrapartum treatment to airway is not feasible, ex utero intrapartum treatment to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (‘ECMO’) has been described in fetal cardiopulmonary abnormalities.

Objective

This paper presents the case of a massively compressive midline neck teratoma managed with ex utero intrapartum treatment to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, allowing for neonatal survival, with controlled airway management and subsequent resection.

Case report

A 34-year-old-female presented with a fetal magnetic resonance imaging scan demonstrating a 15 cm compressive midline neck teratoma. Concern for failure of ex utero intrapartum treatment to airway was high. The addition of the ex utero intrapartum treatment to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation procedure provided time for the planned subsequent resection of the mass and tracheostomy.

Conclusion

Ex utero intrapartum treatment procedures allow for securement of the difficult neonatal airway, while maintaining a supply of oxygenated blood to the newborn. Ex utero intrapartum treatment circulation lasts on average less than 30 minutes. The arrival of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation has enabled the survival of neonates with disease processes previously incompatible with life.
Beyond the numbers: a critique of quantitative multi-criteria decision analysis
Authors: DiStefano Michael J. , Krubiner Carleigh B.
Published: July 2020

When setting priorities for health, there is broad agreement that a range of social values and ethical principles beyond clinical and cost-effectiveness matter, but exactly how health technology assessment (HTA) should account for a broader set of criteria remains an area of ongoing debate. In light of this, we welcome a recent review paper by Baltussen et al. evaluating the potential of different multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approaches to enable HTA agencies to incorporate a broader set of values in their appraisals. The authors describe three approaches to MCDA—qualitative MCDA, quantitative MCDA, and MCDA with decision rules—laying out their relative advantages and disadvantages and providing recommendations for how they can best be implemented. While we endorse many of the authors' assessments and conclusions, including the critical role of deliberation in any MCDA approach and the undertaking of qualitative MCDA at a minimum, we take a stronger position regarding the flaws of quantitative MCDA and strongly caution against it. We find quantitative MCDA antithetical to at least two of the ways MCDA is intended to improve HTA recommendations: (i) enhancing quality and (ii) promoting transparency. Quantitative MCDA may mask the complex tradeoffs that exist within and between decision criteria and remain generally inaccessible to those who are not well-versed in its technical methods of appraisal. We advocate for a predominantly qualitative approach to MCDA appraisal centered around deliberation and supplemented with decision aids to help account for health opportunity costs.
Effectiveness analysis of spatially targeted mollusciciding for Oncomelania snail control
Authors: Xie Y. , Wu W. , Zhang Y. , Zhang Y. , Peng Z. , Hu Y. , Xu M. , Tan X.
Published: July 2020

A new developed spatially targeted mollusciciding technology for snail control was utilised in a research site. This study aims to analyse whether this technology can achieve rational effectiveness compared with the routine method. Snail density was monitored every spring and autumn from 2010 to 2017 at the research site and routine mollusciciding for snail control was then performed. After snail density monitoring in spring 2018, spatially targeted mollusciciding technology was adopted. Log-linear regression and nonlinear regression models were used for snail density prediction in autumn 2018 and the predicted value was compared with the actual snail density in autumn 2018 to verify the effectiveness of the spatially targeted mollusciciding. Monitoring results showed that overall snail density in the research site decreased from 2010 to 2018. The monitored snail density in autumn 2018 was 0.014/0.1 m2. Predicted by the log-linear regression model, the snail density in autumn 2018 would be 0.028 (95% CI 0.11–0.072)/0.1 m2. Predicted by the nonlinear regression model, the snail density growth in autumn 2018 in contrast to spring 2018 would be 79.79% (95% CI 54.81%–104.77%) and the actual value was 55.56%. Therefore, the effectiveness of the first application of spatially targeted mollusciciding was acceptable. However, the validation of its sustainable effectiveness still needs a replicated study comparing areas where targeted and untargeted methods are applied simultaneously and both snail abundance and human infection are monitored.
Uniting the Arts to Stage the Nation: Le Sueur's Ossian (1804) in Napoleonic Paris
Authors: Andries Annelies
Published: July 2020

This article argues that the early nineteenth century was a critical period in the development of operatic aesthetics in France: fuelled by post-Revolutionary notions about theatre's importance in processes of nation-building, the Opéra sought to strengthen its reputation as the ‘Académie that unites all the arts’. The intertwinement of this aesthetic and political aim is conspicuous in the production of Jean-François Le Sueur's Ossian ou les bardes (1804), loosely based on James Macpherson's Ossianic ‘translations’. The work's meticulous coordination of the arts sought to bring third-century bardic society back to life and make audiences feel part of this long-forgotten, supposedly ‘historical’ and French, past. Thus, this article points to the Opéra's intensifying interaction with nationalism and genealogical historiography around 1800 as it sought to define its role as a national theatre. It also challenges the common scholarly notion that the Opéra's productions served primarily to aggrandise Napoleon.
Transnationalising the Spanish Civil War
Authors: Chamedes Giuliana
Published: July 2020

While it was underway, the brutal and chaotic Spanish Civil War was already being cast in contradictory ways by its leading participants. It was represented as an opportunity to lament injustice and the travesty of democracy, marshalled as positive proof that the European continent was in fact under the live threat of communist revolution, cast as a story of brutal anti-clericalism gone rampant and narrated as the battle between close-minded traditionalism and open-minded modernity. These contradictory understandings of the Spanish Civil War far outlived the conflict's conclusion in 1939 and have been played out repeatedly across the decades through the historiography. Thus, the Spanish Civil War has been represented by scholars as the fight between dictatorship and democracy, between religion and anti-clericalism and between conservative nostalgics and forward-looking modernisers. All of these narratives have some grain of truth to them. But what is so exciting about the up and coming generation of scholarship on the Spanish Civil War is that it asks new questions and provokes us to think beyond pre-existing tropes. In my contribution to this forum, I will focus in particular on one facet of this new scholarship, which is centred on the attempt to situate Spain and the Spanish Civil War within a wider, transnational, framework.
Head circumference in infants with nonopiate-induced neonatal abstinence syndrome
Authors: Morimoto Daisaku , Washio Yosuke , Hatayama Kazuki , Okamura Tomoka , Watanabe Hirokazu , Yoshimoto Junko , Tsukahara Hirokazu
Published: July 2020

Background

No relationship has been reported between nonopiate neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and anthropometric indices, including head circumference (HC). The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between maternal nonopioid drug use and HC at birth in neonates with NAS.

Methods

This retrospective observational study included neonates born between January 1, 2010 and March 31, 2019, whose mothers had been taking antipsychotic, antidepressant, sedative, or anticonvulsant medications. The outcome measures were HCs of NAS infants and controls.

Results

Of 159 infants, 33 (21%) were diagnosed with NAS. There was no maternal opioid use among mothers during pregnancy. The HCs in the NAS group were significantly smaller than those in the control group. The median z-scores for HC at birth were −0.20 and 0.29 in the NAS group and the control group, respectively (P = .011). The median HCs at birth were 33.0 and 33.5 cm in the NAS group and the control group, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that maternal antipsychotic drug use and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were independently associated with NAS (P < .001 and P = .004, respectively). Notably, benzodiazepine use and smoking were not independent risk factors.

Conclusions

The results suggest an association between maternal antipsychotic drug use and NAS, which was further associated with decreased HC. Careful monitoring of maternal drug use should be considered to improve fetal outcomes.
Healthful grain foods consumption by São Paulo residents: a 12-year analysis and future trends
Authors: Fontanelli Mariane de M , Sales Cristiane H , Castro Michelle A de , Fisberg Regina M
Published: July 2020

Objective:

Understanding trends in grain consumption is essential to tackle the low consumption of healthful grain foods. This study aimed to evaluate trends and determinants of grain foods meeting the ≤10:1 carbohydrate:fibre ratio (≤10:1 ratio) in Brazil and to estimate this intake for the next years.

Design:

Three editions of the cross-sectional, population-based study Health Survey of São Paulo (2003, 2008 and 2015).

Setting:

Urban area of São Paulo, Brazil.

Participants:

The sample included 5801 participants aged 12 years or more.

Results:

A growing trend in the intake of these foods (0·9 percentage of energy (%E) in 2003 to 1·5 %E in 2015) was observed. Also, the proportion of the population consuming at least one grain food meeting the ≤10:1 ratio increased from 8·7 % in 2003 to 15·8 % in 2015, and 20·3 % of the population would be consuming some kind of healthful grain food by 2030. Sociodemographic factors associated with the consumption of grain foods meeting the ≤10:1 ratio changed according to study edition, but overall, older individuals (+79 %), females (+28 %), those with higher education (+138 %) and higher family income (+135 %) were more likely to consume grain foods meeting the ratio, whereas participants who self-reported black, brown or indigenous ethnicity were less likely to consume these foods (–30 %).

Conclusions:

There was a growing trend to consume grain foods meeting the ≤10:1 ratio from 2003 to 2015, but this consumption continues to be far from recommended levels. Intersectoral changes are urgently needed in order to increase the intake of healthful grain foods.