bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Claromontanus Stichometry and its Canonical Implications
Authors: Rodenbiker Kelsie G.
Published: October 2021

The stichometric list inserted into the sixth-century Codex Claromontanus presents a NT list of 27 books, but not the familiar canonical collection. Alongside one OT (Judith) and five NT titles (ad petrum prima, Barnabas, the Shepherd, the Acts of Paul, and the Revelation of Peter) horizontal dashes have been placed, which are commonly said to denote secondary status. A history of misunderstanding surrounding these obeli, originating with Tischendorf in the nineteenth century, has obscured the stichometry’s role in the history of the NT canon. This article traces that history, showing that the later addition of the obeli indicates precisely the opposite of what has often been claimed of the stichometry – that it should resemble nearly or exactly the later-canonized NT list. Rather, the original inclusion of four alternative scriptural texts in the stichometry indicates a lasting interest in such texts and the continued elasticity of the NT canon.
Epigraphic Gleanings on Brāhmaṇism in Chamba, c. Eighth to Eighteenth Centuries CE
Authors: Verma Anjali
Published: October 2021

Chamba region in western Himalayas has attracted the attention of researchers after decipherment of hundreds of inscriptions spanning the period between early eighth to eighteenth century. The present article is a fresh attempt to study the epigraphs to probe into the arrival of the brāhmaṇa community from different parts of the country at different time spans into Chamba. How this arrival in periodical waves affected the political and religious milieu of the region is the focus of the present study. An interaction of pre-existing indigenous elements of polity and religion with the new dominating Brāhmaṇical elements ultimately legitimized the position of the kings within the Brāhmaṇical order, in reciprocity for the land grants these brāhmaṇas received.

In epigraphs, we notice the dominance of brāhmaṇa writers with specific indication of their gotra and sometimes Vedic affiliation that has been summarized in this research through tabular data for an easy understanding of their content and context. Our analysis throws light on new information with regard to migration, grants-in-perpetuity and the Brahmanization of the royal house of Chamba between the eighth and eighteenth centuries.
Moving On Up? Effects of Leadership Training and Intersectoral Mobility on Women’s Advancement in Danish Public Administration Management
Authors: Finkel Müge Kökten , Grøn Caroline Howard , Hughes Melanie M.
Published: October 2021

Women’s underrepresentation in middle and upper management is a well-documented feature of the public sector that threatens performance and legitimacy. Yet, we know far less about the factors most likely to reduce these gender inequalities. In this article, we focus on two well-understood drivers of career advancement in public administration: leadership training and intersectoral mobility. In theory, training in leadership and experience across government levels and policy areas should help both women and men to climb management ranks. We use logistic regression to test this proposition using a representative sample of 1,819 Danish public managers. We find that leadership training disproportionately benefits women, and this helps to level the playing field. However, our analyses show that differences in intersectoral mobility do not explain the gender gap in public sector management.
Why and How Do Cities Plan for Extreme Heat?
Authors: Gabbe C. J. , Pierce Gregory , Petermann Emily , Marecek Ally
Published: October 2021

Heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the United States. This paper studies municipal heat adaptation using survey and planning data from California. We first analyze the characteristics of municipalities that innovate. Cities with heat-related policies have greater degrees of projected extreme heat, leadership support, environmental justice planning, and smaller Hispanic population shares. We then assess specific policy innovations of six large cities by plan type. Some strategies, including expanding tree canopies, have been widely adopted while others, such as cool walls, are rarely included. Findings suggest that planners can—and should—play a central role in heat adaptation planning.
“Resuscitate and Push”: End-of-Life Care Experiences of Healthcare Staff in the Emergency Department – A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study
Authors: Bayuo Jonathan , Anago Emmanuel Kwadwo , Agyei Frank Bediako , Salifu Yakubu , Kyei Baffour Prince , Atta Poku Collins
Published: October 2021

Objective: Care in the emergency department focuses significantly on delivering lifesaving/ life-sustaining clinical actions, often with limited attention to health-related suffering even at the end-of-life. How healthcare staff experience and navigate through the end-of-life phase remains minimally explored. Thus, this study aimed to uncover the lived experiences of emergency department staff at the end-of-life. Methods: van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used. Nineteen healthcare staff were purposively recruited and interviewed. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and thematic categories formulated. The existential lifeworld themes (corporeality, relationality, spatiality, and temporality) were used as heuristic guides for reflecting and organizing the lived experiences of participants. Results: The overarching category, ‘ resuscitate and push’, was captured as corporeality (resisting death and dying); relationality (connectedness to the body of the patient; and lacking support for family and self); spatiality (navigating through a liminal space and lack of privacy for patients); and temporality (having limited to no time for end-of-life care and grieving). The end-of-life space was unpleasant. Although participants experienced helplessness and feelings of failure, support systems to help them to navigate through these emotions were lacking. Grief was experienced covertly and concealed by the entry of a new patient. Conclusion: End-of-life in the emergency department is poorly defined. In addition to shifting from the traditional emergency care model to support the streamlining of palliative care in the department, staff will require support with navigating through the liminal space, managing their grief, and developing a better working relationship with patients/ families.
Government cooperation, market integration, and energy efficiency in urban agglomerations—Based on the quasi-natural experiment of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Economic Coordination Committee
Authors: Gao Da , Li Ge , Li Yi
Published: October 2021

Energy efficiency is the key to green development, and the government plays a vital role in energy efficiency. This paper clarifies the mechanism by which the Yangtze River Delta Economic Coordination Committee affects the energy efficiency of urban agglomeration by promoting market integration. Based on panel data of China's prefecture-level cities from 2004 to 2017, we take the Yangtze River Delta Economic Coordination Committee as a quasi-natural experiment of government cooperation and use the difference-in-difference method to test whether this organization has enhanced the energy efficiency of urban agglomeration. The results show that the Yangtze River Delta Economic Coordination Committee can significantly improve energy efficiency in urban agglomerations. The mechanism analysis shows that it reduces the energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by enhancing the marketization level, perfecting the relationship between the government and the market, and improving the factor market development. The heterogeneity analysis shows that cities with lower city size, lower level of innovation, and cleaner industrial structures gain more benefits in energy efficiency from government cooperation in urban agglomeration. This paper provides empirical evidence for cities to realize integrated energy conservation through government cooperation and market integration.
Law, Culture and Decolonisation: The Perspectives of Aboriginal Elders on Family Violence in Australia
Authors: Blagg Harry , Hovane Victoria , Tulich Tamara , Raye Donella , May Suzie , Worrigal Thomas
Published: October 2021

Family violence within Aboriginal communities continues to attract considerable scholarly, governmental and public attention in Australia. While rates of victimization are significantly higher than non-Aboriginal rates, Aboriginal women remain suspicious of the ‘carceral feminism’ remedy, arguing that family violence is a legacy of colonialism, systemic racism, and the intergenerational impacts of trauma, requiring its own distinctive suite of responses, ‘uncoupled’ from the dominant feminist narrative of gender inequality, coercive control and patriarchy. We conclude that achieving meaningful reductions in family violence hinges on a decolonising process that shifts power from settler to Aboriginal structures. Aboriginal peoples are increasingly advocating for strengths-based and community-led solutions that are culturally safe, involve Aboriginal justice models, and recognises the salience of Aboriginal Law and Culture. This paper is based on qualitative research in six locations in northern Australia where traditional patterns of Aboriginal Law and Culture are robust. Employing a decolonising methodology, we explore the views of Elders in these communities regarding the existing role of Law and Culture, their criticisms of settler law, and their ambitions for a greater degree of partnership between mainstream and Aboriginal law. The paper advances a number of ideas, based on these discussions, that might facilitate a paradigm shift in theory and practice regarding intervention in family violence.
Managerial Ability and Real Earnings Management Among Indian Listed Firms
Authors: Kumar Manish , Goswami Rishabh
Published: October 2021

This study aims to discover whether managers of Indian listed firms with extraordinary managerial abilities refrain from real earnings management (REM). The measure of managerial ability used in this study is based on the firm’s ability to utilize its resources into sales revenue. To examine the relationship between managerial ability and REM, a fixed-effect model is used on a balanced panel of 108 National Stock Exchange-listed non-financial firms from 2006 to 2017. The findings of the study provide empirical evidence indicating that a proficient manager is more likely to refrain from REM. The decrease in REM with an increase in managerial ability is on account of containing REM in overproduction by managers with higher abilities. Besides, the study also finds a complementary association between REM and accruals-based earnings management.
The Afterlife of Breast Cancer: Exploring the Digital Performativity of Post-Treatment Patienthood
Authors: Gupta Neha
Published: October 2021

This article looks at the practices of digital performativity of bodies-in-remission on Instagram to detail the affective and temporal experience of post-treatment patienthood. To explore these performativities, I use the images and narratives of the post-treatment breast-cancer body to have a conversation about the vicarious ‘re-experience’ of the malady—now in abeyance—through the discursive register of fear and the clinical haunting of the everyday in trying to offset the side-effects of the treatment regimes. I further argue that these techno-digital enactments of post-treatment patienthood co-emerge through complex ‘intra-actions’ of and within entanglements of materialities, networks, discourses, affect, and multiple registers of techno-social mediation that shape and constrict them. Accordingly, this article is an effort to make sense of how people ‘memorise’ chronic illness and prolonged suffering—especially when it impacts key sources of their gender identity—through negotiations with the temporal-discursive processes of networked communications.
Revisiting Nasser Style Pan-Arabism and Pan-Africanism Prompted by the Abraham Accords
Authors: Segell Glen
Published: October 2021

The Abraham Accords signed in September 2020 between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain was followed by ties between Israel and the African states of Sudan and Morocco. These were all unique with the common link and timing apparently only the broker American President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. Looking deeper reveals another common element that is a shift in regional strategic dynamics both at ideological and strategic fronts. This prompts revisiting the Nasser style Pan-Arab and Pan-African ideologies in the context of the current unfolding situation. A primary finding is that government-to-government negotiations to establish multi-lateral forum based on ideological movements rarely achieve this and even when they do such forum tend to debate rather than act. Only with popular and grassroots support can ideological movements bring change and achieve objectives. Such lessons applied to the Abraham Accords, that is a different style of Pan-Arabism and Pan-Africanism, but also top–down at its origins, might lead to an evolution of a different kind of domestic and regional ambiance. The structure of the article is to provide definitions, then discuss the role of leaders, the distinct differences in geography and demography, revisit Nasser style Pan-Africanism, revisit Nasser style Pan-Arabism, and discuss the Qaddafi continuum of the Nasser style ideologies. The academic contributions giving new insight to Africa are the examination of the role of individual leaders and hegemonic leadership, and the shifts and evolution of ideologies where outcomes are not necessarily the desired ones or enduring.
Policing in South Africa: A Critical Evaluation
Authors: Govender Doraval , Pillay Krisandren
Published: October 2021

High crime rates, use of violence by criminals, police brutality, corruption, rape by police officials and other forms of criminal misconduct against the police including the centralisation of specific specialised functions of policing, which was tantamount to taking away policing from the people at police station level, are some of the allegations which affects the image of the police as a legitimate organisation. Much of these allegations levelled by the community and the mass media are directed at the external and internal environments of the police. The aim of this article is to critically evaluate policing in South Africa, so that respect for the country and its citizens can be restored. For this discussion, the researcher collected qualitative information by means of a literature study and drew on his personal experience as a former senior police officer with the South African Police Service (SAPS). Prior to 1994, the call was for the rationalisation, restructuring and amalgamation of the police into a single police service that would enjoy legitimacy among all the communities of South Africa. Although the country embraced a new democratic dispensation in 1994, very little was done to implement transformational policies and processes to bring about systemic change in policing. A need for the change of the functioning of the police service in South Africa was identified, so that police officers may perform their role within the context of democratic principles and restore respect for the country and its citizens.
Fugue for Four Voices: Building narratives through music behind bars
Authors: Lamela Inês
Published: October 2021

The project On the Wings of a Piano . . . I Learn to Fly was developed with four women in custody inside a Portuguese prison during 2013–2014 over a period of eight months. Weekly individual sessions focused on improvisation, composition, memorization, and learning repertoire. This one-to-one work with participants resulted in the presentation of three distinct public performances in different contexts and for different audiences. Community music principles of decentralization, accessibility and equal opportunity were the foundation of a strong triangular relationship between the participants, the music they played on the piano, and the facilitator. With the narrative of each participant at its core, this article explores different ways in which this project can be identified as community music, despite the emphasis on individual work with each of the participants. The importance of adapting to each participant’s personal needs, requests and skills is highlighted, as well as the value of the affection developed between facilitator and participants. The subjectivity inherent in the involvement of the facilitator as a researcher is discussed, and the pedagogic outcomes of the project are also considered as an important contribution to research on music in prisons.
Phenotypic and Molecular Heterogeneity in Mandibulofacial Dysostoses: A Case Series From India
Authors: Shenoy Rathika D. , Shetty Vikram , Dheedene Annelies , Menten Björn , Pandyanda Nanjappa Dechamma , Chakraborty Gunimala , Sips Patrick , de Paepe Anne , Callewaert Bert , Chakraborty Anirban
Published: October 2021

Objective

Facial dysostosis is a group of rare craniofacial congenital disabilities requiring multidisciplinary long-term care. This report presents the phenotypic and genotypic information from South India.

Design

The study is a case series.

Setting

This was an international collaborative study involving a tertiary craniofacial clinic and medical genetics unit.

Patients, Participants

The participants were 9 families with 17 affected individuals of facial dysostosis.

Intervention

Exome analysis focused on known genes associated with acrofacial and mandibulofacial syndromes.

Main Outcome Measure

The outcome measure was to report phenotyptic and genetic heterogeneity in affected individuals.

Results

A Tessier cleft was seen in 7 (41%), lower eyelid coloboma in 12 (65%), ear anomalies in 10 (59%), uniolateral or bilateral aural atresia in 4 (24%), and deafness in 6 (35%). The facial gestalt of Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) showed extensive phenotypic variations. Pathogenic variants in TCOF1 (Treacher Collins syndrome) were seen in six families, POLR1A (acrofacial dysostosis, Cincinnati type) and EFTUD2 (mandibulofacial dysostosis with microcephaly) in one each. One family (11.1%) had no detectable variation. Five out of six probands with Treacher Collins syndrome had other affected family members (83.3%), including a non-penetrant mother, identified after sequencing.

Conclusion

Our report illustrates the molecular heterogeneity of mandibulofacial dysostosis in India.
A Systematic Review of Feeding Interventions for Infants with Cleft Palate
Authors: Penny Cameron , McGuire Connor , Bezuhly Michael
Published: October 2021

Objective

Various devices and techniques have been proposed to reduce feeding difficulties experienced by infants with cleft palate. The aim of this review is to identify and assess the scope and quality of evidence for these interventions.

Methods

A systematic review of published literature evaluating feeding interventions for infants with cleft palate (with or without cleft lip) from database inception to 2021 was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews guidelines. Quality appraisal of included studies was conducted using a methodological index for nonrandomized studies, Cochrane, or a measurement tool to assess systematic reviews 2 instruments, according to study type.

Results

Fourteen studies met inclusion criteria, with the majority (71%) of studies consisting of second-level evidence. Included interventions were specialty bottles (21%), alternative feeding delivery systems (14%), obturators (14%), and educational programs (14%). Specialty bottles and palatal obturators did not appear to offer any substantial growth advantages compared to traditional bottles or no intervention, respectively. Designated education programs for the mothers of infants with clefts had a positive impact on infant growth.

Conclusions

Overall evidence evaluating feeding interventions for infants with cleft palate was moderate to low. While it does not appear that specialized feeding delivery systems or palatal obturators significantly improve growth in infants with clefts compared to children without cleft conditions, education programs do appear to be beneficial.
Reaching to Transgress: A Critical Self-Study of a Teacher Education Program
Authors: Dansereau Diana R. , Goodrich Andrew , Hendricks Karin S. , Smith Tawnya D. , Vu Kinh T.
Published: October 2021

Teaching to transgress, according to bell hooks, entails educators moving beyond an assembly-line approach to embrace integration of the mind, body, and spirit, and engaging in ways that honor the uniqueness of all students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate our music teacher education program in order to critically analyze how our practices may or may not transgress. In keeping with principles of S-STEP (Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices), we share the provocation for the study and its multiple overlapping stages. We present themes from the S-STEP process resulting from the data, and then reconsider those data using scholarly literature. Findings include the intellectual and spiritual growth of students and educators, and the challenges inherent in teaching to transgress within an online environment.
The Relationship Between Thrombo-Inflammatory Biomarkers and Cellular Indices of Inflammation in Lymphoma Patients
Authors: Jaradeh Mark , Baig Nausheen , Bontekoe Emily , Mitrovic Mirjana , Antic Darko , Hoppensteadt Debra , Kantarcioglu Bulent , Fareed Jawed
Published: October 2021

Introduction

Thrombo-inflammatory biomarkers play an important role in the pathogenesis of lymphoma. We aimed to characterize the interrelationship of thrombo-inflammatory biomarkers and blood cellular indices in lymphoma patients.

Materials and Methods

Ninety-eight lymphoma patient samples were collected from Lymphoma Center of Clinic of Hematology, University of Belgrade, Serbia. Normal controls (n = 50) represented plasma from healthy individuals. Plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), D-Dimer, factor XIII, C-reactive protein (CRP), microparticles (Mp), Von Willebrand factor (vWF), total protein S, urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), tumor necrosis factor (TNF α), β2-glycoprotein I ( β2GPI), and fibronectin levels were measured utilizing commercially-available ELISA methods. Thrombin generation profile (TGA) was measured using a fluorometric kinetic assay. Platelets, leukocytes, lymphocytes, and neutrophils were measured in conjunction with the complete blood profile.

Results

Statistically significant differences were noted in levels of PAI-1, D-Dimer, factor XIII, CRP, microparticles, vWF, uPA, TNF α, β2GPI, fibronectin, and TGA when compared to normal (all P values < .001). Platelet to leukocyte ratio (PLA) correlated to TNF α and fibronectin ( R = −0.31 and −0.53, respectively) and the platelet to neutrophil ratio (PNR) correlated to factor XIII and β2GPI ( R = 0.40 and 0.40, respectively).

Conclusion

Plasma samples from lymphoma patients demonstrated a significantly altered thrombo-inflammatory biomarker profile that has notable correlations to blood cellular indices.
Key Informant Perspectives on Somali Adolescent Tobacco Use: Contextualizing Influences and Prevention Opportunities
Authors: Wilhelm April K. , Pratt Rebekah J. , Allen Michele L.
Published: October 2021

Introduction

Somali American adolescent tobacco use has increased over the past decade amid a high prevalence of tobacco use among Somali American adults. While established adolescent tobacco use determinants may apply for Somali youth, a deeper understanding of these influences is imperative to the development of effective prevention strategies for this population. This study aimed to identify risk and protective factors influencing Somali American adolescent tobacco use decision making and potential family and community roles in tobacco prevention.

Method

We conducted 15 semistructured, in-depth interviews with 12 Somali and 3 non-Somali professionals serving Minnesotan metropolitan Somali communities in clinical, educational, religious, and other community organizations. Grounded Theory informed our data collection and analysis.

Results

Key informants cited three major influences on Somali adolescent tobacco use: evolving norms and increasing exposure to tobacco products in the United States, low risks perception, especially for waterpipes, and conflicting interpretations of faith. Informants highlighted the important roles of families in Somali youth tobacco prevention while acknowledging areas where families would benefit from greater support. Proposed sources of support included faith communities and nonparental, ethnically similar adult mentors. Informants acknowledged challenges to addressing youth tobacco prevention in clinics and underscored the importance of youth involvement in developing prevention strategies.

Conclusions

Our results indicate Somali adolescent tobacco prevention efforts should address the evolving tobacco use exposures and norms, low risk perceptions, and clarify faith messaging. Effective strategies may include strengthening family-based tobacco prevention approaches that also engage faith and other community leaders along with youth themselves.
Acute hemodialysis catheter follows the path of least resistance
Authors: Salgado Octavio J , Vachharajani Tushar J
Published: October 2021

The placement of large bore double-lumen catheters for hemodialysis (HD) is one of the most frequent procedures performed in HD patients. However, these procedures are associated with complications, the most common being catheter malposition. In this context, catheter deviation to the left superior intercostal vein (LISV) is a very uncommon malposition, which must be differentiated from intrathoracic extravascular catheter lodgment. We report a case of an adult male patient on hemodialysis who presented with a thrombosed arteriovenous fistula and requiring urgent HD. His past medical history included hemophilia, allergy to contrast media, and multiple previous central vein catheterizations. A non-tunneled HD catheter was placed without any difficulty in the left internal jugular vein. However, the arterial lumen failed to pull any blood with free flow in the venous lumen. A chest X-ray revealed a surprising finding. The malpositioned catheter was removed successfully without any complications.
Creating opportunities for temporary disconnection: How tourism professionals provide alternatives to being permanently online
Authors: Schwarzenegger Christian , Lohmeier Christine
Published: October 2021

The ongoing normalization of digital connection has also increased the interest in digital disconnection research. The desire to disconnect is typically considered a critical reaction to the peculiar affordances and prerequisites of fully participating in digital society. While social and political potentials of disconnections as well as reasons to turn away from media are explored in various trajectories, we still know relatively little about the “what then” and “what else” of digital disconnection. In this article, we address this gap and investigate what stories are told and which imaginaries are invoked in order to commodify disconnection in an exemplary field of the growing disconnection industry, namely tourism. Drawing from interviews and analysis of online representations, we analyze how tourist marketers and accommodation providers in the Austrian province of Salzburg are communicating why people should use their vacation to disconnect and what they can expect to find once they are disconnected. Following our analysis, we identify three general themes of how disconnection is countered to living in deeply mediatized and highly connective times: (1) nature and authenticity, (2) (re-)connecting with the self, finding balance, and (3) connection to family/friends/local people. We conclude by discussing the broader implications of our analysis and what the identified ambivalences of disconnection suggest for further advancing disconnection research in the future.
Georg Simmel’s political thought: Socialism and Nietzschean aristocratism
Authors: Moebius Stephan
Published: October 2021

Georg Simmel’s political position has rarely been discussed explicitly – perhaps because many scholars have assumed that Simmel was ‘apolitical’ before 1914. The present article shows that even before 1914 Simmel held a distinct political position, to wit a peculiar kind of liberal-Nietzschean aristocratic individualism. This individualism is the result of a passage through ‘the hard school’ of egalitarian socialism in order to reach true individuality. It is closely related to Simmel’s central theorem of the so-called ‘individual law’. After a socio-historical contextualisation of Simmel’s political thought, the article follows this motif in detail through his diagnosis of the times, his theory of socio-cultural development, his engagement in cultural politics, his ideal of personality formation and his engagement in the bourgeois women’s movement. Simmel’s thought culminates in a conception of ‘dialectic aristocratism’. In this respect, the normative core of Simmel’s political standpoint is very close to Max Weber’s position. The last section argues that Simmel’s war writings do not mark a break in his political thinking, but rather apply the same theorem of the ‘individual law’ to the German state. Through its various stages, the article shows that Simmel’s political orientation, linked to key theoretical concepts, is deeply rooted in the educated bourgeoisie’s worldview and habitus.
Community Fabric: Visualizing communities and structure in dynamic networks
Authors: Ezell Evan , Lim Seung-Hwan , Anderson David , Stewart Robert
Published: October 2021

We present Community Fabric, a novel visualization technique for simultaneously visualizing communities and structure within dynamic networks. In dynamic networks, the structure of the network is continuously evolving throughout time and these underlying topological shifts tend to lead to communal changes. Community Fabric helps the viewer more easily interpret and understand the interplay of structural change and community evolution in dynamic graphs. To achieve this, we take a new approach, hybridizing two popular network and community visualizations. Community Fabric combines the likes of the Biofabric static network visualization method with traditional community alluvial flow diagrams to visualize communities in a dynamic network while also displaying the underlying network structure. Our approach improves upon existing state-of-the-art techniques in several key areas. We describe the methodologies of Community Fabric, implement the visualization using modern web-based tools, and apply our approach to three example data sets.
A knowledge based hierarchical reliability allocation (HIRAL) approach for shipboard systems
Authors: Cicek Kadir
Published: October 2021

Reliability has become a greater concern in shipboard systems due to increasing amount of technology level, system complexity, and multiple design demands. Enhancement of the shipboard system’s reliability ensures safe and continuous operation onboard a ship. To enhance the reliability of the shipboard system, it is essential to identify each individual component’s reliability. Within this scope, the onerous task of reliability allocation analysis enhances the reliability of shipboard systems through the optimization of component-based designs, construction, and operations. This study proposes a hybrid reliability allocation methodology based on a hierarchical structure with the integration of an analytic hierarchy process (AHP), data envelopment analysis (DEA), and feasibility of objectives (FOO) methods. The proposed methodology provides reliability allocation analyses for systems with any number of components. The study also examines the usefulness of the adaptation of AHP-DEA into reliability allocation analysis. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed methodology, a case study on the steering gear system is presented.
Motivations and Psychological Characteristics of Nondirected Uterus Donors From The Dallas UtErus Transplant Study
Authors: Warren Ann M. , McMinn Kenleigh , Testa Giuliano , Wall Anji , Saracino Giovanna , Johannesson Liza
Published: October 2021

Introduction

Uterus transplantation has demonstrated success in clinical trials. Questions regarding how it should transition to a clinical procedure must be addressed. A critical element is an evidence regarding the psychological experiences of living uterus donors, especially donors who are nondirected (altruistic).

Project aims

To describe the motivations for donation, psychological characteristics, and mental health history of nondirected living uterus donors in the Dallas UtErus Transplant Study (NCT02656550).

Design

An observational design was used to evaluate 44 self-referred nondirected uterus donors for the uterus transplant program. The donors participated in a clinical interview with a licensed psychologist and completed assessment instruments for depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, health-related quality of life, and resilience at the time of evaluation.

Results

Among the 11 donors, the median age was 36 years, 10 were married, 10 were of non-Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, and all had given birth (median of 2 children). The most frequent motivations for the donation were to provide another woman with the opportunity to carry her own child and to contribute to science. No participants met clinical criteria for depression, anxiety or posttraumatic stress but 4 reported current mental health conditions and 7 reported past or present treatment. Quality of life and resilience scores were above population norms.

Conclusion

Women selected as nondirected uterus donors were motivated to help other women experience carrying their own child and to contribute to science. A minority of women reported mental health conditions and/or treatment, and this was determined not to exclude participation with uterus donation.
Reflections from Cross-Gender Fieldwork Experiences in Open Markets in Ghana
Authors: Sowatey Emmanuel A. , Nyantakyi-Frimpong Hanson , Hussey Lucia K. , Annan-Aggrey Eunice , Pinkrah Ama , Arku Godwin
Published: October 2021

Fieldwork can be an enjoyable academic adventure producing lifelong experiences of excitement and a sense of academic accomplishment. However, it can be an equally frustrating undertaking, especially when carried out in ‘unfamiliar’ environments. This paper adds to the growing number of studies about fieldworkers’ experiences by reflecting on the complexities involved in the process and proffering ways to respond to them. We share our perspectives as three adult African males conducting research in a predominantly female space in two informal markets in Accra, Ghana. To do this, we engage with five issues related to fieldwork: preparing to enter the field; negotiating access; handling interviews; dealing with ethical dilemmas; and exiting the field. We found that being male is not a barrier to conducting research in a predominantly female space. The success of our fieldwork was a product of our ability to adapt, be creative, appreciate our inadequacies, learn quickly and also take some practical and common-sense steps. Our hope is that the insights shared in this paper will serve as a compass for prospective fieldworkers.
Using group sizes to optimise archery equipment
Authors: Park James L
Published: October 2021

One method used by archers and coaches to optimise archery equipment is to measure the size of arrow groups on the target prior to and following an adjustment. The group sizes are then used to determine if an equipment change assisted or detracted from the archer’s performance. A model based on a Monte Carlo method and group size measurements from seven elite archers were used to test the validity of this process. The results showed that this method was neither an effective method nor useful process because the probability of false positives or false negatives was too great. A better approach to optimise archery equipment is to monitor the archer’s skill level or average score over an extended time following any change.
Primary tumor location (right versus left side of the colon) and resection affect the survival of patients with liver metastases from colonic neuroendocrine carcinoma: a population-based study
Authors: Cai Wen , Ge Weiting , Zhang Jiawei , Xie Siyuan , Wu Dehao , Hu Hanguang , Mao Jianshan
Published: October 2021

Background:

Colonic neuroendocrine carcinomas (co-NECs) are heterogeneous and aggressive, especially with regard to metastasis. Whether co-NECs on the right and left sides of the colon have different characteristics from colon adenocarcinoma is unknown.

Methods:

The co-NEC patients were selected from the 2010–2017 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database. The right and left sides of the colon were separated by the splenic flexure. Coarsened exact matching (CEM) was performed to adjust for relevant factors before regression models were constructed.

Results:

A total of 669 pathologically diagnosed co-NEC patients with sufficient baseline data were identified from the SEER database. A total of 80.72% of the patients had co-NEC that originated from the right side of the colon, and their mean overall survival (mOS) was similar to that of the patients with left-sided co-NECs (right versus left: 22.30 m versus 22.55 m). A total of 44.84% of the patients were diagnosed with liver metastasis (46.68% right side versus 37.98% left side). In patients with liver metastasis, those with right-sided co-NECs had better survival than those with left-sided co-NECs (mOS right versus left: 15.37 m versus 9.62 m; adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.49–0.98, p = 0.035). To further investigate the survival benefits of primary site resection, we separated the patients who had liver metastasis according to the primary site and performed CEM to balance the groups (no patients underwent liver metastasis resection or intervention). The results suggested that primary surgery could benefit patients with both left- and right-sided co-NECs (adjusted HR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.33–0.77, p = 0.001 on the right side; HR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.16–0.89, p = 0.026 on the left side).

Conclusions:

Co-NECs frequently originate on the right side and commonly develop liver metastasis. Right-sided co-NECs are associated with better survival than left-sided co-NECs after liver metastasis has occurred. Primary site resection is associated with prolonged survival in co-NEC patients with liver metastasis, regardless of the side from which the co-NEC has originated.
Enzymatic Synthesis of α-Tocopherol Derivative Glycoside, Daidzein Glycoside, Daidzein Oligosaccharide, Resveratrol Oligosaccharide, and Curcumin Oligosaccharides and Their Anti-Allergic Activity and Neuroprotective Activity
Authors: Hamada Hiroki , Hamada Hatsuyuki , Ishihara Kohji , Kuboki Atsuhito , Iwaki Takafumi , Kiriake Yuya
Published: October 2021

Enzymatic glycosylations of an α-tocopherol derivative, daidzein, resveratrol, and curcumin were investigated. The plant polyphenol, resveratrol, was incubated with glucosyltransferase from Phytolacca americana. The resveratrol glycoside obtained was then incubated with cyclodextrin glucanotransferase to obtain resveratrol oligosaccharide. Daidzein and curcumin were also converted into daidzein glycoside, daidzein oligosaccharide, and curcumin oligosaccharides. Also, α-tocopherol derivative, that is, 2, 5,7,8-tetramethyl-2-(4,8-dimethylnonyl)chroman-6-ol, was glycosylated. The glycosides and oligosaccharides had strong anti-allergic activity such as suppression of IgE formation, inhibition of histamine release, and inhibition of O2 - generation. In addition, the glycosides and oligosaccharides showed efficient neuroprotective activity by inhibition of phosphodiesterase.
Beat Patterns Determine Inter-Hand Differences in Synchronization Error in a Bimanual Coordination Tapping Task
Authors: Saito Yuka , Maezawa Tomoki , Kawahara Jun I.
Published: October 2021

A previous study reported the unique finding that people tapping a beat pattern with the right hand produce larger negative synchronization error than when tapping with the left hand or other effectors, in contrast to previous studies that have shown that the hands tap patterns simultaneously without any synchronization errors. We examined whether the inter-hand difference in synchronization error occurred due to handedness or to a specificity of the beat pattern employed in that study. Two experiments manipulated the hand–beat assignments. A comparison between the identical beat to the pacing signal and a beat with a longer interval excluded the handedness hypothesis and demonstrated that beat patterns with relatively shorter intervals were tapped earlier (Experiment 1). These synchronization errors were not local but occurred consistently throughout the beat patterns. Experiment 2 excluded alternative explanations. These results indicate that the apparent inconsistency in previous studies was due to the specificity of the beat patterns, suggesting that a beat pattern with a relatively shorter interval between hands is tapped earlier than beats with longer intervals. Our finding that the bimanual tapping of different beat patterns produced different synchronization errors suggests that the notion of a central timing system may need to be revised.
Prevalence of premature rupture of membrane and its associated factors among pregnant women in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Tiruye Getahun , Shiferaw Kassiye , Tura Abera Kenay , Debella Adera , Musa Abdulbasit
Published: October 2021

Background:

Premature rupture of the membrane is a serious public health problem, especially in low- and middle-income countries with significant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Despite its substantial contributions to feto-maternal complications, the burden of premature rupture of the membrane was not systematically analyzed in Ethiopia. Hence, this review aimed to identify the burden of premature rupture of the membrane and associated factors among pregnant women in Ethiopia.

Methods:

PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and African journal online databases and Google Scholar were searched for articles published in the English language. Independent review authors selected and screened studies. Appraisal for methodological quality of studies was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute assessment checklist. RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis. The I2 statistical significance and Egger’s test were used to assess heterogeneity and publication bias, respectively.

Results:

The pooled prevalence of premature rupture of the membrane among pregnant women in Ethiopia was 9.2% (95% confidence interval = 5.0, 16.4). Factors significantly associated with premature rupture of the membrane were no antenatal care visit (odds ratio = 2.87, confidence interval = 1.34, 6.14), history of premature rupture of the membrane (odds ratio = 4.09, 95% confidence interval = 2.82, 5.91), history of abortion (odds ratio = 3.13, confidence interval = 1.63, 6.01), abnormal vaginal discharge (odds ratio = 6.78, confidence interval = 4.11, 11.16), and urinary tract infection (odds ratio = 3.04, confidence interval = 1.21, 7.63).

Conclusion:

Nearly one in ten pregnancies in Ethiopia encounters premature rupture of the membrane complications. The finding highlights improving antenatal care utilization, thus preventing or treating urinary and reproductive tract infections, and tailored interventions for pregnant women with a history of premature rupture of the membrane or abortion contribute to reduced premature rupture of the membrane.
Foreign body ingestion-related peritonitis in an elderly peritoneal dialysis patient
Authors: Taghavi Maxime , Bellavia Salvatore , Thibaut Véronique³ , De Pelsemaeker Marie-Caroline , Mesquita Maria do Carmo Filomena , Godon Eric
Published: October 2021

Among peritoneal dialysis patients, peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis is a well-known complication, but it can also be non-peritoneal dialysis-related (e.g. ruptured appendix). Ileal perforation by foreign bodies such as blister pill packs can be seen in the emergency room. Differentiating this from peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis can be difficult, since they can have both identical presentations. Computed tomography can be of value in detecting abscess, thickening of the digestive wall or adhesions, and exclude other causes of intra-abdominal sepsis. Because of the aging population, ingestion of foreign body can be expected to rise. We therefore recommend that blister pill packs should not be divided into single-dose pieces, and we invite elderly patient’s entourage to check medication administration. Furthermore, manufacturing efforts are highly recommended to improve blister pill pack’s design, to avoid accidental ingestion. We report the case of an elderly peritoneal dialysis patient who presented with peritonitis due to ileal perforation because of blister pill pack ingestion.
Histological and Inflammatory Cytokine Analysis of Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus After Failed Microfracture: Comparison With Fresh Allograft Controls
Authors: Danilkowicz Richard M. , Allen Nicholas B. , Grimm Nate , Nettles Dana L. , Nunley James A. , Easley Mark E. , Adams Samuel B.
Published: October 2021

Background:

The most common first-line treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLTs) is microfracture. Although many patients do well with this procedure, a number fail and require reoperation. The mechanism of failure of microfracture is unknown, and to our knowledge there has been no research characterizing failed microfracture regarding histological and inflammatory makeup of these lesions that may contribute to failure.

Purpose:

To characterize the structural and biochemical makeup of failed microfracture lesions.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

Specimens from 8 consecutive patients with symptomatic OLTs after microfracture who later underwent fresh osteochondral allograft transplantation were analyzed. For each patient, the failed microfracture specimen and a portion of the fresh allograft replacement tissue were collected. The allograft served as a control. Histology of the failed microfracture and the allograft replacement was scored using the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) system. Surface roughness was also compared. In addition, tissue culture supernatants were analyzed for 16 secreted cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) responsible for inflammation, pain, cartilage damage, and chondrocyte death.

Results:

The OARSI grade, stage, and total score as well as surface smoothness were significantly worse in the failed microfracture sample, indicating better cartilage and bone morphology for the allografts compared with the failed microfracture lesions. Analyzed cytokines and MMPs were significantly elevated in the microfracture tissue culture supernatants when compared with fresh osteochondral tissue supernatants.

Conclusion:

These data demonstrate a significantly rougher cartilage surface, cartilage and subchondral bone histology that more closely resembles osteoarthritis, and elevated inflammatory cytokines and MMPs responsible for pain, inflammation, cartilage damage, and chondrocyte death when compared with fresh osteochondral allografts used as controls.