bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Political parties and campaign resource allocation: Gender gaps in Brazilian elections
Authors: Janusz Andrew , Barreiro Sofi-Nicole , Cintron Erika
Published: May 2021

Political parties shape electoral outcomes by determining who stands for election and what campaign resources they have at their disposal. The introduction of gender quotas have led party leaders to nominate more women candidates, however, those women disproportionately lose. We contend that one of the reasons that women routinely lose is because party elites withhold the campaign resources necessary to mount an effective campaign. In this paper, we test this resource gatekeeping argument using data on the provision of campaign resources in Brazil. We analyze the distribution of three different types of party resources: candidate identification numbers, financial support, and television airtime. Our findings show that party elites provide female candidates less advantageous candidate identification numbers, less financial support, and less media access than they provide male candidates. Importantly, we do not find that gender gaps in campaign contributions are attributable to differences in candidate quality. This finding suggests that even when women are recruited to run for office, party elites may still undermine their electoral prospects.
Animal, Body, Data: Starling Murmurations and the Dynamic of Becoming In-formation
Authors: Vallee Mickey
Published: May 2021

The aim of this article is to demonstrate that data modelling is becoming a crucial, if not dominant, vector for our understanding of animal populations and is consequential for how we study the affective relations between individual bodies and the communities to which they belong. It takes up the relationship between animal, body and data, following the datafication of starling murmurations, to explore the topological relationships between nature, culture and science. The case study thus embodies a data journey, invoking the tactics claimed by social or natural scientists, who generated recent discoveries in starling murmurations, including their topological expansions and contractions. The article concludes with thoughts and suggestions for further research on animal/data entanglement, and threads the concept of databodiment throughout, as a necessary dynamic for the formation and maintenance of communities.
Depression, psychosocial correlates, and psychosocial resources in individuals with mast cell activation syndrome
Authors: Nicoloro SantaBarbara Jennifer , Lobel Marci
Published: May 2021

Individuals with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), a rare chronic disease, experience unpredictable physical symptoms and diagnostic challenges resulting in poor emotional states. The prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms were examined among 125 participants who completed the CES-D and relevant instruments. The majority reported a clinically-significant level of depression which was especially common among younger participants and those who reported greater loneliness or more disease-specific stressors. Greater magnitude of depressive symptoms was associated with greater illness intrusiveness, less social support, and lower optimism. Results highlight the value of interventions targeting loneliness and stressors unique to this population.
Drag for everyone: Creative industries and the becoming-visible of drag in the 21st century Belgrade
Authors: Filipović Andrija
Published: May 2021

This article analyses relations between the drag community and the creative industries sector in Belgrade over the first two decades of the 21st century. It argues that drag queens and kings, together with the rest of the LGBTIQ+ community, gain visibility through the creative industries, and that they are subjectified through the immaterial labor involved in the processes of market neoliberalization and city gentrification. The visibility of drag appears to depend not exclusively on social liberalization but on complex intersections of material-semiotic flows, the most important of which, in this analysis, appears to be the push toward a neoliberal market economy and the consequent entrepreneurship of the self through precarious creative, affective, and cognitive labor.
The effects of emotional context and exposure frequency on L2 contextual word learning
Authors: Hao Sijia , Liang Lijuan , Wang Jue , Liu Huanhuan , Chen Baoguo
Published: May 2021

Objectives:

An experiment was conducted to explore how emotional valence of contexts and exposure frequency of novel words affect second language (L2) contextual word learning.

Methodology:

Chinese native speakers who learned English in a formal classroom setting were asked to read English paragraphs with different emotional valence (positive, negative or neutral) across five different days. These paragraphs were embedded with pseudowords. During this learning process, form recognition test and meaning recall test were carried out for these pseudowords.

Data and analysis:

Data were analyzed using mixed-model ANOVA. Accuracy for each task was compared among the three kinds of emotional contexts.

Findings/Conclusions:

In the form recognition test, the accuracy in the negative context was higher than in the positive and neutral contexts, and the pseudowords were acquired much earlier. In the meaning recall test, the accuracy in the positive and negative contexts was higher than that in the neutral context. Accuracy increased gradually with the increase of exposure frequency of the pseudowords. More importantly, we found that less exposure times were needed for emotional context relative to neutral context in contextual word learning.

Originality:

This may be the first study to explore the influence of emotional valence and exposure frequency on L2 contextual word learning.

Significance/Implications:

This study underlined the importance of emotional information in L2 contextual word learning and contributed to the understanding of how emotional information and exposure frequency functions in this learning process.
Copyright and the modern car: Colliding visions of the public good in DMCA section 1201 anti-circumvention proceedings
Authors: Forelle MC
Published: May 2021

In 2015, a debate unfolded over who should be allowed to access vehicular software for the purposes of repair, maintenance, and modification. Conducted as part of the triennial anticircumvention exemptions proceedings of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, this debate surfaced tensions that had long been brewing about copyright’s applicability to computer software, with the added complication that rather than personal computers, the devices being discussed were cars, trucks, and tractors. At stake was whether copyright was the appropriate tool for striking the balance between economic incentivization and individual autonomy—and whether that was really the balance in question. I argue, rather, that while copyright law has been written and interpreted with these two conflicting goals in mind, a third goal is possible: the public good served through communal and sustainable commitments. By re-prioritizing this goal, we could rewrite copyright to could lead us to a more equitable future.
Abolition of the family: the most infamous feminist proposal
Authors: Weeks Kathi
Published: May 2021

In the 1970s, what Marx and Engels satirised as the most ‘infamous proposal of the communists’, the abolition of the family, becomes the most scandalous demand of feminists. Ever since then, numerous US feminists have tried to walk it back. This article revisits 1970s feminist family abolitionism and develops an argument for its contemporary relevance.
Etic and emic data production methods in the study of journalistic work practices: A systematic literature review
Authors: Haapanen Lauri , Manninen Ville JE
Published: May 2021

This methodological paper discusses the application of etic and emic perspectives in producing data sets for the study of journalistic praxis. The concepts refer to the researcher-analyst’s and the practitioner-informant’s viewpoints, respectively, and that being the case, they have inherent weaknesses if used independently. We argue that these shortcomings can be mitigated through an integrated application of the concepts and by seeing the two perspectives as complementary to each other. Combining etic and emic perspectives will allow for a more comprehensive understanding of complex yet routinized real-life behaviour such as journalistic work. Following the appraisal of the etic-emic combination methodology, we present the results of a systematic literature review. We explore the application of this methodology in the study of journalistic work, as recounted in international journal articles published between 2000 and 2017. After keyword searches into several databases and a manual review of 3018 items, a corpus of 228 relevant articles was analysed. Our results demonstrate the studies’ disproportionate emphasis on the earliest phases of the journalistic process, that is, topic discovery, topic selection, point of view selection and sourcing, and the relative scarcity of studies applying a fully integrated etic-emic-combination methodology. We also report on, for example, the types of research material used and the media studied. We conclude with recommendations for expanding and diversifying the use of etic-emic-combination methodology in journalism studies to give us a more balanced understanding of the field.
What Messages Are Communicated to Children in Maltreatment Prevention Programs? Conclusions of a Scoping Review
Authors: Cohen Noa , Katz Carmit
Published: May 2021

There is a worldwide consensus that the prevention of child maltreatment (CM) is critical in promoting children’s safety. Furthermore, a significant part of the prevention efforts targets the children themselves. This scoping review aimed to map the characteristics of CM prevention programs that targeted children by examining studies that described the relevant implemented programs, published in peer-reviewed journals over the last decade. Thirty-one relevant manuscripts were identified from the online databases. The analysis, guided by scoping review guidelines, examined these programs in terms of content, context of delivery, and practitioners involved. A thematic analysis identified the key messages conveyed to the children. The findings showed that the vast majority of programs are school-based and focused on preventing child sexual abuse (CSA) with considerably less attention given to other forms of maltreatment. In addition, most programs did not promote active parental participation. The content descriptions of the CSA prevention programs revealed several common key messages that focused on children’s individual safety skills, specifically recognition, refusal strategies, and disclosure. The discussion addresses the concepts of blame and guilt as crucial to rethinking the CM prevention messages conveyed to children. Key conclusions that were drawn from the current scoping review highlight the need to better align prevention efforts and recent CM research. Additionally, ceiling effects in several studies indicated that children’s participation, as information sources and partners in program development, should be promoted, so that prevention efforts will meet their needs within their various relevant life contexts.
A Systematic Literature Review of the Career Choice of Helping Professionals Who Have Experienced Cumulative Harm as a Result of Adverse Childhood Experiences
Authors: Bryce India , Pye David , Beccaria Gavin , McIlveen Peter , Du Preez Jan
Published: May 2021

The pervasive effects of cumulative harm resulting from adverse childhood experiences influence all aspects of an individual’s life course. Research highlights a relationship between early trauma and career choice; however, there is a dearth of research pertaining specifically to cumulative harm and the influence on career choice in the helping professions. A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the associations of cumulative harm and childhood trauma on career decision making in people in the helping professions. A search was conducted across databases between February 1990 and February 2019 relevant to searches combining three areas of interest: (a) “childhood trauma,” (b) “career choice,” and (c) “helping professionals.” Database searches and further manual searches yielded a total of 208 articles, and 28 studies satisfied all inclusion criteria. Only studies that were peer-reviewed and published between February 1990 and February 2019 were included. The evidence from the review indicated that family of origin dysfunction, parentification, individual characteristics, and traits developed through adversity, and experiential motivations were associated with the career choice in the helping professions. Further research is required to explore different professional cohorts and the utility of life themes as both a source of data for research and reflexive practice in helping professionals.
The Impacts of Working With Victims of Sexual Violence: A Rapid Evidence Assessment
Authors: Crivatu Ioana M. , Horvath Miranda A. H. , Massey Kristina
Published: May 2021

Aim:

Supporting clients who have experienced trauma can lead to trauma symptoms in those working with them; workers in the sexual violence field are at heightened risks of these. This article collated and critically appraised papers, published from 2017 onward, in the area of people assisting victims of sexual violence. It explores the impacts and effects the work has on them, their coping and self-care mechanisms, and organizational support offered to them.

Design:

A question-based rapid evidence assessment with a triangulated weight of evidence approach was used. Academic and nonacademic databases were searched. Twenty-five papers were included for analysis based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria.

Results:

Most studies were of medium to high methodological quality. Negative impacts included trauma symptoms, disrupted social relationships, behavioral changes, and emotional and psychological distress. Ability to manage negative impacts was influenced by overall organizational support, availability of training, supervision and guidance, workloads and caseload characteristics, individual characteristics, and their coping and self-care mechanisms. Positive impacts included empowering feelings, improved relationships, compassion satisfaction, and posttraumatic growth.

Conclusions:

Impacts are significant. Support at work and in personal life increases staff’s ability to cope and find meaning in their role. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
School-Based Health Center Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Sullivan Erin , Brey Laura , Soleimanpour Samira
Published: May 2021

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic forced schools to close in spring 2020, affecting the ability of school-based health centers (SBHCs) to serve youth and families who relied on their services. This preliminary study aimed to understand the implications of school closures on SBHC operations. Survey data were collected from a convenience sample of representatives from 427 SBHCs, representing approximately one sixth of SBHCs nationwide. When schools closed in spring 2020, 77% of SBHCs closed temporarily, 5% closed permanently, and 12% remained physically open. Telehealth was a crucial strategy used to continue delivering essential services. The percentage reporting any telehealth service offering before and after school closures increased by over 200%. Yet they also reported challenges, including financial and policy restraints. Many SBHCs that closed temporarily did so because their host schools closed, suggesting that making arrangements to remain open if a similar situation to the COVID-19 pandemic should arise might be beneficial. SBHCs are a proven cost-effective model to deliver health care in resource-limited communities. These preliminary study results indicate that SBHCs maintained service delivery following school closures, though many faced challenges. Further research is needed to fully understand the pandemic’s impacts on SBHC service provision and health access and outcomes.
Playthings
Authors: Sicart Miguel
Published: May 2021

This article proposes the concept of “plaything” as an instrument to inquire on the ontology and epistemology of the things we play with. Extending Barad’s (2007) onto-epistemology and Ingold’s (2012) concepts of “things” and “objects,” this article intends to provide a theoretical contribution to the materialist turn in game studies (Apperley, T. H., & Jayemane, D. (2012). The main argument of the article is as follows: the ontology of the things we play with is separate from its epistemology. The concept of playthings provides a materialistic ontology that accounts for the technologies we play with. At the same time, concepts like video games, toys, or games are understood as being epistemological concepts, used to create situated knowledge (Haraway, D. (1987) about playthings. Playthings help describe how a technology is shaped for and through play, while other concepts place the experience of playthings in culture and society.
Toward on integrally-formed knitted fabrics used for automotive seat cover
Authors: Liu Su , Mao Siyao , Zhang Peihua
Published: May 2021

Knitting forming is an advantage and distinguishing feature of knitting technology. The development of three-dimensional (3D) shaped technology and equipment, making knitted fabrics gradually developed from clothing domain to the industrial field. The automotive industry is one of the biggest markets for industrial textiles. Recently, most car seat covers in domestic market are made by cutting-and-sewing process, while, integrally-formed car seat covers are greatly far from commercial products. Therefore, this paper describes four knitting techniques for producing 3D shaped fabrics, and studies the knitting process of two types of 3D shaped geometries derived from car seat models. In present study, three-dimensional cutting method is used to unfold the two shapes in different ways and two knitting directions of one cutting method for individual 3D geometry are selected to knit on a Stoll computerized knitting machine. A mathematical relationship between 3D geometry and 2D unfolded shaping is established. After the shaping of each part is calculated, the program is made by the Pattern Preparation Unit and the knitting process is completed. The influence of two shaping techniques on the mechanical properties of the fully-fashioned fabric is evaluated, and it is found that compared with transferring-stitches technique, partial-knitting technique has superior mechanical properties. This study provides guides and references for the integrated automotive seat covers.
Transition practice before entering primary school: A longitudinal study of children with and without special needs across a year
Authors: Lim Sok M , Nyoman Leanna , Tan Ying J , Yin Yun Y
Published: May 2021

Introduction

The transition to primary school is a significant milestone for children. Transition periods can offer new opportunities to build skills, relationships, and experiences that strengthen self-efficacy. In Singapore, parents play an important role in supporting transition as preschools and primary schools operate independently. Occupational therapists are involved in supporting children with special needs in transitions.

Objective

Focusing on the transition period of getting children ready for primary school, the objectives are (i) to learn about the strategies that parents used for the purpose of transition and understand the intentions behind what they do and (ii) to compare the transition practices and perceived school readiness between parents of children with and without special needs.

Method

A longitudinal study involving 48 parents was conducted over 12 months. Parents completed a survey at the start and end of the year to detect changes from baseline, and semi-structured interviews every two months to gather their subjective experiences and track their child’s readiness for transition. The surveys and interviews were conducted on a mobile instant messaging platform. Coding of responses was guided by school readiness domains identified in earlier studies and Occupational Therapy Practice Framework’s approaches to intervention.

Results

Most parents focused on establishing and maintaining new self-help and academic skills across the year while few were “modifying” or “preventing”. Increasing trends in child readiness were noted for both children with and without special needs.

Conclusion

In family-centred practice, it is important to recognise parents’ expertise and resources.
Human and bird detection and classification based on Doppler radar spectrograms and vision images using convolutional neural networks
Authors: Gokaraju Jnana Sai Abhishek Varma , Song Weon Keun , Ka Min-Ho , Kaitwanidvilai Somyot
Published: May 2021

The study investigated object detection and classification based on both Doppler radar spectrograms and vision images using two deep convolutional neural networks. The kinematic models for a walking human and a bird flapping its wings were incorporated into MATLAB simulations to create data sets. The dynamic simulator identified the final position of each ellipsoidal body segment taking its rotational motion into consideration in addition to its bulk motion at each sampling point to describe its specific motion naturally. The total motion induced a micro-Doppler effect and created a micro-Doppler signature that varied in response to changes in the input parameters, such as varying body segment size, velocity, and radar location. Micro-Doppler signature identification of the radar signals returned from the target objects that were animated by the simulator required kinematic modeling based on a short-time Fourier transform analysis of the signals. Both You Only Look Once V3 and Inception V3 were used for the detection and classification of the objects with different red, green, blue colors on black or white backgrounds. The results suggested that clear micro-Doppler signature image-based object recognition could be achieved in low-visibility conditions. This feasibility study demonstrated the application possibility of Doppler radar to autonomous vehicle driving as a backup sensor for cameras in darkness. In this study, the first successful attempt of animated kinematic models and their synchronized radar spectrograms to object recognition was made.
EXPRESS: COVID-19 AND STROKE â UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP AND ADAPTING SERVICES. A GLOBAL WORLD STROKE ORGANISATION PERSPECTIVE
Authors: Markus Hugh S , Martins Sheila Cristina Ouriques
Published: May 2021

A year ago the World Stroke Organisation (WSO) highlighted the enormous global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stroke care. In this review we consider a year later where we are now, what the future holds, and what the long term effects of the pandemic will be on stroke. Stroke occurs in about 1.4% of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 infection, who show an excess of large vessel occlusion and increased mortality. Despite this association, stroke presentations fell dramatically during the pandemic, although emerging data suggests that total stroke mortality may have risen with increased stroke deaths at home and in care homes. Strategies and guidelines have been developed to adapt stroke services worldwide, and protect healthcare workers. Adaptations include increasing use of telemedicine for all aspects of stroke care. The pandemic is exacerbating already marked global inequalities in stroke incidence and mortality. Lastly the pandemic has had a major impact on stroke research and funding, although it has also emphasised the importnace of large scale collaborative research initiatives.
Direct mechanical thrombectomy without intravenous thrombolysis versus bridging therapy for acute ischemic stroke: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Podlasek Anna , Dhillon Permesh Singh , Butt Waleed , Grunwald Iris Q , England Timothy J
Published: May 2021

Background

Direct mechanical thrombectomy may result in similar outcomes compared to a bridging approach with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT + MT) in acute ischemic stroke. Recent randomized controlled trials have varied in their design and noninferiority margin.

Aim

We sought to meta-analyze accumulated trial data to assess the difference and non-inferiority in clinical and procedural outcomes between direct mechanical thrombectomy and bridging therapy.

Summary of review

We conducted a systematic review of electronic databases following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted for the pooled data. The primary outcome was good functional outcome at 90 days (modified Rankin scale (mRS) ≤ 2). Secondary outcomes included excellent functional outcome (mRS ≤ 1), mortality, any intracranial hemorrhage, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, successful reperfusion (thrombolysis in cerebral infarction ≥ 2 b), and procedure-related complications. Four randomized controlled trials comprising 1633 patients (817 direct mechanical thrombectomy, 816 bridging therapy) were included. There were no statistical differences for the 90-day good functional outcome (OR = 1.02, 95% CI 0.84–1.25, p = 0.54, I2 = 0%), and the absolute risk difference was 1% (95% CI: −4% to 5%). The lower 95% CI falls within the strictest noninferiority margin of −10% among included randomized control trials. Direct mechanical thrombectomy reduced the odds of successful reperfusion (OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.60–0.97, p = 0.03, I2 = 0%) and any intracranial hemorrhage (OR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.49–0.86, p = 0.003, I2 = 38%). There was no difference in the remaining secondary outcomes. The risk of bias for all studies was low.

Conclusion

The combined trial data assessing direct mechanical thrombectomy versus bridging therapy showed no difference in improving good functional outcome. The wide noninferiority thresholds set by individual trials are in contrast with the clinical consensus on minimally important differences. However, our pooled analysis indicates noninferiority of direct mechanical thrombectomy with a 4% margin of confidence. The application of these findings is limited to patients presenting directly to mechanical thrombectomy-capable centers and real-world workflow times may differ against those achieved in a trial setting.
Comparison of simulated key pinch after three surgical procedures for trapeziometacarpal osteoarthritis: a cadaver study
Authors: Athlani Lionel , Motte Damien , Martel Marie , Moissenet Florent , Mottet Julie , Beaulieu Jean-Yves
Published: May 2021

We performed a cadaver study using 18 fresh-frozen adult forearms and hands to compare the tendon loads required to generate progressively greater key pinch (0.5 kg to 2 kg) after three different surgical procedures to treat trapeziometacarpal osteoarthritis: isolated trapeziectomy, trapeziectomy followed by ligament reconstruction with tendon interposition and total joint arthroplasty using a Touch® implant. Thumb pinch was simulated by loading the main actuator tendons involved in the key pinch. Six specimens were randomly assigned to each of the three surgical procedure groups. Measurements were made before and after the joint surgery. Specimens that underwent trapeziectomy with or without ligament reconstruction with tendon interposition required significantly higher tendon loads than those with the implant to achieve the same pinch force. There was no significant difference between the isolated trapeziectomy and ligament reconstruction groups. Using the implant resulted in similar median tendon loads compared with those of the intact sample. Total joint arthroplasty with a Touch® prosthesis may yield a superior biomechanical profile in which the tendon loads needed to achieve a certain key pinch force are lower and better distributed between the actuator muscles compared with trapeziectomy with or without ligament reconstruction.
Baicalin attenuates LPS-induced alveolar type II epithelial cell A549 injury by attenuation of the FSTL1 signaling pathway via increasing miR-200b-3p expression
Authors: Duan Xin-ya , Sun Yang , Zhao Zhu-fen , Shi Yao-qing , Ma Xun-yan , Tao Li , Liu Ming-wei
Published: May 2021

In China, baicalin is the main active component of Scutellaria baicalensis, which has been used in the treatment of inflammation-related diseases, such as inflammation-induced acute lung injury. However, its specific mechanism remains unclear. This study examined the protective effect of baicalin on LPS-induced inflammation injury of alveolar epithelial cell line A549 and explored its protective mechanism. Compared with the LPS-induced group, the proliferation inhibition rates of alveolar type II epithelial cell line A549 intervened by different concentrations of baicalin decreased significantly, as did the levels of inflammatory factors IL-6, IL-1β, prostaglandin 2 and TNF-α in the supernatant. The expression levels of inflammatory proteins inducible NO synthase (iNOS), NF-κB65, phosphorylated ERK (p-ERK1/2), and phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK1) significantly decreased, as did the protein expression of follistatin-like protein 1 (FSTL1). In contrast, expression of miR-200b-3p significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggested that baicalin could significantly inhibit the expression of inflammation-related proteins and improve LPS-induced inflammatory injury in alveolar type II epithelial cells. The mechanism may be related to the inhibition of ERK/JNK inflammatory pathway activation by increasing the expression of miR-200b-3p. Thus, FSTL1 is the regulatory target of miR-200b-3p.
Identification of the Ingredients and Mechanisms of Curcumae Radix for Depression Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking
Authors: Wang Xiaotong , Lin Qiaoru , Shen Meiqing , Lin Haixiong , Feng Junjie , Peng Lulu , Huang Minling , Zhan Xiaoxuan , Chen Ziyin , Ma Tengfei
Published: May 2021

Background

Curcumae Radix (CR), derived from the dry roots of Curcuma longa L., family Zingiberaceae, is widely used to treat depression. However, the ingredients and mechanisms of CR are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to solve this problem using network pharmacology and molecular docking.

Methods

The active ingredients of CR were screened through TCMSP, and the depression-related genes were obtained through the Genetic Association, GeneCards, and OMIM databases. Then, DisGeNET score was performed to evaluate the correlation between co-genes and depression. Topological analysis was conducted to screen hub genes and proteins, molecular docking was performed to evaluate the binding ability of the hub protein with active ingredients, and gene ontology (Go) function analysis, gene tissue localization, and KEGG pathway analysis were conducted to explore the function and location of genes, as well as the mechanism of CR for treating depression.

Results

Eight ingredients of CR were screened based on pharmacokinetic properties, five of which are closely related to depression, including (E)−5-hydroxy-7-(4-hydroxyphenyl)−1-phenyl-1-heptene, (E)−1,7-diphenyl-3-hydroxy-1-hepten-5-one, oxycurcumenol, β-sitosterol, and sitosterol. They interacted with 45 co-genes and co-proteins with a DisGeNET score ≥0.3. AR, NOS2, PTGS2, and TYK2 were pivot genes. EGFR, PTGS2, HSP90AA1, MAPK8, and ESR1 were hub proteins. PTGS2 was found to have good binding potential with oxycurcumenol, (E)−1,7-diphenyl-3-hydroxy-1-hepten-5-one and (E)−5-hydroxy-7-(4-hydroxyphenyl)−1-phenyl-1-heptene. Go functional analysis indicated that co-genes involved complex biological processes, cellular components and molecular functions. PER2, P2RX7, GRM1, TACR1, MAPK8, HCRTR1, EGFR, and TYK2 were highly expressed in the prefrontal cortex. The potential pathways for CR to exert antidepressant effects were calcium, estrogen, PI3K-Akt and ErbB signaling pathways.

Conclusions

This study revealed the ingredients, effective targets and mechanisms of CR in the treatment of depression, which provides a new perspective for the development of new antidepressants.
Identifying and Mitigating the Negative Effects of Power in Organizations
Authors: Ziemianski Pawel
Published: May 2021

This article investigates the possible negative effects of power in organizations. It demonstrates how holding power may affect an individual’s perception of others, actions, and cognition. Ways in which power may have a detrimental effect on different aspects of a manager’s functioning within an organization, including building relationships, communication, and performance are analyzed. It is argued that individuals are unaware of these effects, and thus it is necessary to introduce methods of their diagnosis and countermeasures on the organizational level. In addition, negative phenomena associated with the power’s distribution among organizations’ units and its structural aspects are analyzed. A set of questions is proposed, which can be used by individuals and organizations to reveal the extent to which adverse effects of power are present in an organization. These inquiries can be used to design and introduce specific countermeasures and improve communications and the quality of interactions within organizations. Selected countermeasures are also proposed in the article.
Intensive Care Unit Built Environments: A Comprehensive Literature Review (2005–2020)
Authors: Verderber Stephen , Gray Seth , Suresh-Kumar Shivathmikha , Kercz Damian , Parshuram Christopher
Published: May 2021

Background:

The intensive care environment in hospitals has been the subject of significant empirical and qualitative research in the 2005–2020 period. Particular attention has been devoted to the role of infection control, family engagement, staff performance, and the built environment ramifications of the recent COVID-19 global pandemic. A comprehensive review of this literature is reported summarizing recent advancements in this rapidly expanding body of knowledge.

Purpose and Aim:

This comprehensive review conceptually structures the recent medical intensive care literature to provide conceptual clarity and identify current priorities and future evidence-based research and design priorities.

Method and Result:

Each source reviewed was classified as one of the five types—opinion pieces/essays, cross-sectional empirical investigations, nonrandomized comparative investigations, randomized studies, and policy review essays—and into nine content categories: nature engagement and outdoor views; family accommodations; intensive care unit (ICU), neonatal ICU, and pediatric ICU spatial configuration and amenity; noise considerations; artificial and natural lighting; patient safety and infection control; portable critical care field hospitals and disaster mitigation facilities including COVID-19; ecological sustainability; and recent planning and design trends and prognostications.

Conclusions:

Among the findings embodied in the 135 literature sources reviewed, single-bed ICU rooms have increasingly become the norm; family engagement in the ICU experience has increased; acknowledgment of the therapeutic role of staff amenities; exposure to nature, view, and natural daylight has increased; the importance of ecological sustainability; and pandemic concerns have increased significantly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Discussion of the results of this comprehensive review includes topics noticeably overlooked or underinvestigated in the 2005–2020 period and priorities for future research.
Near-field spatial and temporal blast pressure distributions from non-spherical charges: Horizontally-aligned cylinders
Authors: Langran-Wheeler Christian , Rigby Sam E , Clarke Sam David , Tyas Andy , Stephens Catie , Walker Robert
Published: May 2021

Research into the characterisation of blast loading on structures following the detonation of a high explosive commonly assumes that the charge is spherical. This has the advantage of simplifying experimental, analytical and computational studies. In practice, however, designers of protective structures must often consider explosive threats which have other geometric forms, which has significant influence on the loading imparted to structures very close to the explosion source. Hitherto, there has been little definitive experimental investigation of the ‘near-field’ blast load parameters from non-spherical explosive charges and studies that have been conducted are usually confined to measurement of the total impulse imparted to a target. Currently, a detailed understanding of the development of loading on a target, necessary to fully inform the design process and appraise the efficacy of predictions from computational models, is lacking. This article, the first part of a wider investigation into these geometrical effects, details work conducted to address this deficiency. Results are presented from an experimental study of loading from detonations of cylindrical charges, set with the longitudinal axis parallel to an effectively rigid target, instrumented to facilitate the capture of the spatial and temporal evolution of the loading at different radial and angular offsets from the charge. These results are compared against loads from spherical charges and the effect of charge shape is identified. Significant differences are observed in the mechanisms and magnitude of loading from cylindrical and spherical charges, which is confirmed through the use of numerical analysis. The overall study provides insights which will assist the future design of effective protection systems.
Lifting the curtain: Strategic visibility of human labour in AI-as-a-Service
Authors: Newlands Gemma
Published: May 2021

Artificial Intelligence-as-a-Service (AIaaS) empowers individuals and organisations to access AI on-demand, in either tailored or ‘off-the-shelf’ forms. However, institutional separation between development, training and deployment can lead to critical opacities, such as obscuring the level of human effort necessary to produce and train AI services. Information about how, where, and for whom AI services have been produced are valuable secrets, which vendors strategically disclose to clients depending on commercial interests. This article provides a critical analysis of how AIaaS vendors manipulate the visibility of human labour in AI production based on whether the vendor relies on paid or unpaid labour to fill interstitial gaps. Where vendors are able to occlude human labour in the organisational ‘backstage,’ such as in data preparation, validation or impersonation, they do so regularly, further contributing to ongoing techno-utopian narratives of AI hype. Yet, when vendors must co-produce the AI service with the client, such as through localised AI training, they must ‘lift the curtain’, resulting in a paradoxical situation of needing to both perpetuate dominant AI hype narratives while emphasising AI’s mundane limitations.
Hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of Wu-Zi-Yuan-Chung-Wan against CCl4-induced oxidative damage in rats
Authors: Cheng Hao-Yuan , Chao Jung , Chiu Chuan-Sung , Hsieh I-Chien , Huang Hui-Chi , Wu Lung-Yuan , Peng Wen-Huang
Published: May 2021

This study was designed to investigate the hepatoprotective potentials of the Wu-Zi-Yuan-Chung-Wan (WZYCW) using an animal model of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced liver injury. CCl4 induced chronic liver hepatotoxicity in adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Excluding the control group, all of the rats with chronic liver fibrosis received 0.4% CCl4 (1.5 mL/kg of body weight, ip) twice per week for 8 weeks. WZYCW (20, 100, and 500 mg/kg) and silymarin (200 mg/kg) were administered five times per week for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, the rats were sacrificed, blood samples were obtained, and liver histological examinations were performed for subsequent assays. These results suggest that WZYCW considerably reduced Glutamic Oxaloacetic Transaminase (GOT), Glutamic Pyruvic Transaminase (GPT), Triglyceride (TG); and cholesterol activity; and the levels of malonaldehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in the liver. WZYCW also increased the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR) in liver tissue. WZYCW produced hepatoprotective and antifibrotic effects. This is the first study to demonstrate that WZYCW expressed hepatoprotective activity against CCl4 induced acute hepatotoxicity in rat. In addition, the primary compound of WZCYW was analyzed using HPLC. The major peaks of WZCYW, including schizandrin. The results indicate that WZYCW not only enhances hepatic antioxidant enzyme activities and inhibits lipid peroxidation but also suppresses inflammatory responses in CCl4 induced liver damage. Our findings provide evidence that WZYCW possesses a hepatoprotective activity to ameliorate chronic liver injury.
The Myth of Sisyphus in Richard Wright’s Native Son
Authors: Okpo Friday Romanus
Published: May 2021

The identification of archetypes in literary texts follows the path of deep structural analysis, as surface reading will dwell ordinarily at the level of incidents. This research is driven by the configuration of the myth of Sisyphus in Richard Wright’s Native Son. Our claim is that the myth figures in the text as a shade of the crime and punishment sequence, with an absurdist twist. This claim is substantiated following the archetypal literary theory, which employs to a great extent the methods of discourse analysis. The novel has often been read along the ideological questions that racism raises and attempts to answer. This essay marks a deviation from that seemingly jaundiced view of literature. What this essay foregrounds is the eternal regeneration of narratives, an eternalness that bears the nature of the archetype in its repetitiveness. This necessitates the choice of archetypal literary criticism as the theory for this research. To reach its conclusions, this article adopts a qualitative approach, taking its data from the events in the novel, and investigating the mythic orientations at work in the novel, with the view that at the forefront of this is the myth of Sisyphus, a shade of the myth of crime and punishment. This article does not account for the sociocultural frame of racism as a material but understands it in the wider conception of myth, as a figuration of the Sisyphean myth which shares with the racism in the text the quality of perpetuity or seeming endlessness. We show that racism is in this akin to the sufferings and struggles of Sisyphus, that it is Sisyphean.
Overweight/Obesity and Associated Factors Among Second Cycle Primary School Children in Kirkos Sub-City, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Authors: Fitsum Kidus , Egata Gudina , Demena Melake , Gebremichael Berhe
Published: May 2021

Background

Although overweight/obesity is becoming a public health issue in low income countries, there is a paucity of evidence concerning overweight/obesity in Ethiopia. The aim of the study was to assess the magnitude of overweight/obesity and associated factors among second cycle primary school children in Kirkos Sub-City, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods

A school based cross-sectional study was conducted among 482 children from May to June, 2019. Data were collected using a questionnaire and checklist. Data were entered using EpiData version 3.1 and exported into SPSS version 22.0. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were done to identify factors associated with overweight/obesity. Level of statistical significance was declared at p ≤ 0.05.

Results

The overall magnitude of overweight/obesity was 21.2%. The magnitude of overweight was 13.7% while obesity was 7.5%. Vehicle availability, being from private school, not having friend(s), preferring sweet foods, eating breakfast irregularly, watching movies/Television while eating and physical inactivity were the factors significantly associated with overweight/obesity among second cycle primary school children.

Conclusions

The magnitude of overweight/obesity was high in the study area. Therefore, health and education sectors should promote healthy lifestyle to curb child overweight/obesity.
Exploring the Roles of Career Adaptability, Self-Esteem, and Work Values in Life Satisfaction Among Emerging Adults During their Career Transition
Authors: Hlaďo Petr , Juhaňák Libor , Hloušková Lenka , Lazarová Bohumíra
Published: May 2021

The present study examined the relationships of career adaptability and self-esteem with life satisfaction among emerging adults and the mediating effect of work values on these relationships. Five hundred and twelve emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 25 who graduated from vocational education and training were enrolled. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing study variables during their career transition: 2 months before (T1) and 10 months after graduation (T2). The results confirmed a direct and positive effect of self-esteem (T1) on life satisfaction (T2). However, career adaptability (T1) was not directly related to life satisfaction (T2). Additionally, work values (T2) served as a significant mediator between career adaptability (T1) and life satisfaction (T2). The study showed that mastery work values mediated this relationship. These results suggest that potential interventions should focus on increasing career adaptability and self-esteem and on strengthening intrinsic work values to improve emerging adults’ subjective well-being.
Safety and Efficacy of All-In-One Percutaneous Pedicle Screw System
Authors: Kojima Atsushi , Aihara Takato , Urushibara Makoto , Hatakeyama Kenji , Sodeyama Tomonori
Published: May 2021

Study Design:

Retrospective study of the prospectively collected outcomes data.

Objective:

The indications for PPS placement during minimally invasive spine stabilization (MISt) procedures have increased in recent years. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have documented the outcomes of PPS insertion using the all-in-one PPS system. This study compared the conventional methods and the use of all-in-one percutaneous pedicle screw (PPS) system with respect to the speed and accuracy of PPS placement. We also determined the advantages associated with the use of the all-in-one PPS system.

Methods:

We evaluated 54 patients who underwent PPS insertion using the conventional method and the all-in-one PPS system during MISt procedures. We also assessed the number of implanted PPSs, the time taken to implant PPSs, and the accuracy of PPS placement based on postoperative computed tomography images.

Results:

A total of 254 PPSs were inserted (126 using the conventional method and 128 using the all-in-one PPS system). The PPS insertion time with the all-in-one PPS system (mean, 25.3 ± 9.1 s) was significantly shorter than that using the conventional method (mean, 63.1 ± 13.0 s; P < 0.01). With respect to the accuracy of PPS insertion, ≥ 2 mm pedicle breach was noted in one case each in both groups.

Conclusions:

PPS placement using the all-in-one PPS system is as safe as conventional methods and has the potential to save the surgical time of MISt procedures.