bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bilingual advantage in early EFL pronunciation accuracy of German 4th-graders
Authors: Kieseier Teresa
Published: March 2021

Aims and Objectives:

We compared speech accuracy and pronunciation patterns between early learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) with different language backgrounds. We asked (1) whether linguistic background predicts pronunciation outcomes, and (2) if error sources and substitution patterns differ between monolinguals and heterogeneous bilinguals.

Methodology:

Monolingual and bilingual 4th-graders ( N = 183) at German public primary schools participated in an English picture-naming task. We further collected linguistic, cognitive and social background measures to control for individual differences.

Data and Analysis:

Productions were transcribed and rated for accuracy and error types by three independent raters. We compared monolingual and bilingual pronunciation accuracy in a linear mixed-effects regression analysis controlling for background factors at the individual and institutional level. We further categorized all error types and compared their relative frequency as well as substitution patterns between different language groups.

Findings:

After background factors were controlled for, bilinguals (irrespective of specific L1) significantly outperformed their monolingual peers on overall pronunciation accuracy. Irrespective of language background, the most frequent error sources overlapped, affecting English sounds which are considered marked, are absent from the German phoneme inventory, or differ phonetically from a German equivalent.

Originality:

This study extends previous work on bilingual advantages in other domains of EFL to less researched phonological skills. It focuses on overall productive skills in young FL learners with limited proficiency and provides an overview over the most common error sources and substitution patterns in connection to language background.

Significance/Implications:

The study highlights that bilingual learners may deploy additional resources in the acquisition of target language phonology that should be addressed in the foreign language classroom.
Transforming media agency? Approaches to automation in Finnish legacy media
Authors: Rydenfelt Henrik
Published: March 2021

The algorithmic automation of media processes has produced machines that perform in roles that were previously occupied by human beings. Recent research has probed various theoretical approaches to the agency and ethical responsibility of machines and algorithms. However, there is no theoretical consensus concerning many key issues. Rather than setting out with fixed conceptions, this research calls for a closer look at the considerations and attitudes that motivate actual attributions of agency and responsibility. The empirical context of this study is legacy media where the introduction of automation, together with topical considerations of journalistic ethics and responsibility, has given rise to substantial reflection on received conceptions and practices. The results show a continuing resistance to attributions of agency and responsibility to machines. Three lines of thinking that motivate this stance are distinguished, and their potential shortcomings and theoretical implications are considered.
The Phoenix syndrome: Netroots organizations strategies to gain and maintain digital resource abundance
Authors: Johansson Håkan , Scaramuzzino Gabriella
Published: March 2021

The development of social media challenges the established conceptualizations of resources in social movements. While previous theories largely illustrated social movements as constantly searching for new and more resources, the development of social media has allowed some actors to gather and mobilize extensive resources rapidly, calling for an analysis of resource abundance. The aim of this article is to analyse how netroots organizations strategically act upon digital resource abundance and particularly focuses on how resources are mobilized and managed and how netroots organizations create organizational structures on social media. Three Swedish netroots organizations are used as empirical cases. This article shows that digital resource abundance is rewarding but also resource demanding as netroots organizations has to act like a Phoenix, the Greek mythological bird, as they constantly need to ‘reinvent’ themselves by being present and active on social media in order to maintain their digital resource abundance.
Five arguments against single state religions
Authors: de Vries Bouke
Published: March 2021

A significant proportion of states grants constitutional recognition to a single religion, leaving various other religions within society constitutionally unrecognised. Many philosophers believe that this is problematic even when such recognition is (almost) wholly symbolic. The four most common and prima facie plausible objections to what I call ‘mono-recognition’ are that it alienates citizens who do not adhere to the constitutionally recognised religion; that it symbolically subordinates these individuals; that it reinforces oppressive social hierarchies; and that it violates principles of justificatory neutrality. This article shows that none of these objections establish that mono-recognition is wrong within contemporary societies—or even merely pro tanto wrong. However, it goes on to propose a novel argument that does suggest that this type of religious establishment is pro tanto wrong within most societies, if not all. According to this argument, which I refer to as the ‘desire-based objection’, mono-recognition is pro tanto wrong when it fails to accommodate at least some citizens (a) who desire constitutional recognition of their unrecognised religion on morally reasonable, or simply not unreasonable, grounds or who would do so if they were to independently ponder the possibility of receiving such recognition without having to fear any social backlash that receiving it might cause and (b) whose religion is entitled to constitutional recognition based on the size of its population within society; the societal contributions of its members; and any injustices that its members have suffered at the hands of the state or the wider society. As I show, even when one particular religion has the strongest claim to constitutional recognition, this does not normally justify granting sole recognition to it given that the weaker claims of other religions could be accommodated under a system whereby state religions are rotated and recognised for different durations depending on the strength of their claims.
An ethical crisis in ancient DNA research: Insights from the Chaco Canyon controversy as a case study
Authors: Cortez Amanda Daniela , Bolnick Deborah A , Nicholas George , Bardill Jessica , Colwell Chip
Published: March 2021

In recent years, the field of paleogenomics has grown into an exciting and rapidly advancing area of scientific inquiry. However, scientific work in this field has far outpaced the discipline’s dialogue about research ethics. In particular, Indigenous peoples have argued that the paleogenomics revolution has produced a “vampire science” that perpetuates biocolonialist traditions of extracting Indigenous bodies and heritage without the consent of, or benefits to, the communities who are most affected by this research. In this article, we explore these ethical issues through the case study of a project that sequenced the ancient DNA (aDNA) of nine Ancestral Puebloan people from Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. By providing a “thick description” of this controversy, we are able to analyze its metanarratives, periodization, path dependency, and historical contingencies. We conclude that the paleogenomics revolution needs to include an ethical revolution that remakes the field’s values, relationships, forms of accountability, and practices.
Exposing health inequities: Surreal snapshots from the Grand Canyon to global COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Balestrery Jean E
Published: March 2021

The story presented here is central to social work because it is about crisis. Across diverse fields of practice, social workers regularly engage in crisis intervention. The story that follows is about crisis in the area of health and healthcare. Specifically, it’s about exposing health/care inequities on Indigenous tribal land in the Grand Canyon and in the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Exhaustion and possibility. The wor(l)dlyness of social work in (G)local environment worlds during a pandemic
Authors: Livholts Mona B
Published: March 2021

Exhaustion is not about being tired. It is an intense feeling of restlessness, of insomnia, and awakening when I ask myself: have I exhausted all that is possible? Such a state of restlessness and wakefulness represents a turning point for having enough, and opens for new possibilities to act for social change. This reflexive essay departs from the notion that the language of exhaustion offers a wor(l)dly possibility for social work(ers) to engage in critical analytical reflexivity about our locations of power from the outset of our (g)local environment worlds. The aim is to trace the transformative possibilities of social change in social work practice through the literature of exhaustion (eg. Frichot, 2019 ; Spooner, 2011 ). The methodology is based on uses of narrative life writing genres such as poetry, written and photographic diary entrances between the 4th of April and 4th of June. The essay shows how tracing exhaustion during the pandemic, visualises a multiplicity of forms of oppression and privilege, an increasing attention and relationship to things, and border movements and languages. I suggest that social work replace the often-used terminology of social problems with exhaustive lists to address structural forms of racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, which has been further visualized through death, illness, violence, and poverty during the pandemic. I argue that the language of exhaustion is useful for reflexivity and action in social work practice through the way it contributes to intensified awareness, attention, engagement, listening, and agency to create social justice.
Working: Glimpses of the pandemic from this fine place so far from home
Authors: Mosier Miranda
Published: March 2021

This manuscript was written for a special issue on Reflections on a Pandemic. In it, I write as an emerging scholar from a working-class background. The pandemic has underscored the divergence between my working life as an academic, which is unintelligible to those I love, and their “essential” work, which increasingly renders them expendable. In this essay I struggle with the tensions that other working-class scholars have articulated before me: I am tentatively welcome in a place that asks, or even demands, that I become someone whose work is unrecognizable to my loved ones. Through the use of reflective inquiry and (counter) narratives, I am working to alter social work education, creating space for others from working-class backgrounds who might find themselves in this fine place so far from home.
Parenting, privilege, and pandemic: From surviving to thriving as a mother in the academy
Authors: Beech Haley H , Sutton Amber , Cheatham Leah
Published: March 2021

As women who have dual roles as parents and academicians, COVID-19 has presented new challenges and opportunities that have impacted our personal and professional lives. This essay provides insight into unique obstacles from the perspective of mothers, researchers, and social workers and challenges the traditional models of work/life balance as professionals in academics. This reflexive essay provides the narratives and experiences of one assistant professor and two doctoral students who are learning to navigate motherhood and professional responsibilities amidst a global pandemic. The prologue presents a perspective from a current assistant professor and her lived experiences followed by the reflections of two doctoral students on how to navigate the academy as mothers and as women. In addition to our personal stories and narratives, we hope to challenge, inspire, and reimagine how our dual roles can be viewed as an asset, rather than a weakness and encourage others in the academy to rise and support women.
Professional identity of Wuhan and Hong Kong social workers: COVID-19 challenges and implications
Authors: Du Yan-zhi , Chan TM Simon
Published: March 2021

This reflexive essay focus on how COVID-19 has impacted the professional identity of social workers in Wuhan and Hong Kong. Exploratory and reflexive in nature, eight Wuhan social workers who comprised three males and five females, and seven Hong Kong social workers who comprised one male and six females were recruited for semi-structured interviews. Their experience in Wuhan and Hong Kong during COVID-19 were highlighted. The challenges to professional identity were analyzed and the reflection is categorized into four levels, namely, individual, community, educational and conceptual level. In sum, Wuhan interviewees were more struggled with educating the public on the difference between community work, volunteering and social work, especially at the hospitals, to protect the integrity of the social work profession which shows their commitment to their professional identity. Moreover, they found it difficult to position themselves in proactive online services, where hundreds of workers from different parts of the Mainland China would be involved. On the other hand, Hong Kong interviewees were more inclined to prioritize professional principles at levels that are even higher than those in standardized guidelines. Their goal is to take the best interests of their clients into consideration, and their self-reflections tend to focus more on professional judgement and development of the social work field, to pave the way for future enhancements. Finally yet importantly, the deficiencies of their education as evidenced by the pandemic have been made alarmingly explicit.
Black women and COVID-19: The need for targeted mental health research and practice
Authors: Walton Quenette L , Campbell Rosalyn Denise , Blakey Joan M
Published: March 2021

COVID-19 has significantly impacted a substantial number of Black Americans. Black women, in particular, are facing challenges financially, physically, and mentally during this unprecedented time. Between serving as frontline workers, being concerned about contracting the virus, contributing to their families financially, and worrying about their loved ones’ health, Black women are experiencing great strain on their mental health and well-being. These stressors illustrate the need for social work researchers and practitioners to address Black women’s mental health. This paper presents our reflections, experiences, and response to COVID-19 as Black women and scholars. Guided by our reflections and personal experiences, we put forth suggestions and reflexive thoughts for social work researchers and practitioners to prioritize Black women’s mental health during and after these unprecedented times.
The lie of pandemic pivot and essential work
Authors: Crampton Alexandra
Published: March 2021

My emotional responses to this moment include feelings of anger, hope, and déjà vu. Although the scope and scale of this pandemic is unprecedented in our lifetimes, what has been especially hard is not necessarily new – nor entirely unprecedented – and therefore unavoidable. In this essay, I reflect on what was avoidable and call for better response. We must question the seemingly benign (if not optimistic) terms emerging as pandemic discourse, such as “pivot to a new normal” and “essential work,” for what they reveal of social injustice and failure to avert future crisis.
Studying social workers’ roles in natural disasters during a global pandemic: What can we learn?
Authors: Crawford Claire Antonia
Published: March 2021

The author reflects on the convergence of her roles as a qualitative researcher studying social workers’ roles during Hurricane Harvey, a student of public health, and a hospital social worker in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarities are drawn between the social work role following a natural disaster and a pandemic disaster along with observations regarding core differences. Practice and research recommendations are provided for social workers in the domains of therapeutic interactions, social justice, and public health. While therapeutic relationships have often been far more difficult to achieve during the pandemic than Hurricane Harvey, the assistance of technology and proper personal protective equipment has been helpful in filling communication gaps. Both types of disasters are universal in their reach, impacting people of all backgrounds; the social work role has been to address differences in access to resources, including health care and financial assistance. Finally, social workers play a significant role in public health during disasters through disseminating reliable information about safety, resources, and opportunities to assist others. The author recommends the expansion of social work in the public health space to provide more insight about communicating with vulnerable populations during disasters.
Will someone knock on my door? COVID-19 and social work education
Authors: Sethi Bharati
Published: March 2021

Guided by a person-in-environment framework and aspirations to advance social justice, the social work profession is concerned with intervening at the individual and society level. In this essay, the author reflects on individualism-collectivism, loneliness, and community belonging in the context of her lived experiences and the COVID-19 outbreak. She maintains that the micro-macro fragmentation is problematic to social work's quest for social justice. Social work must examine the place of ‘community practice' in its professional curriculum to equip students with tools to fully comprehend the changing and increasingly complex social workers' role.
Approaching uncertainty in social work education, a lesson from COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Afrouz Rojan
Published: March 2021

COVID-19 pandemic intensified feelings of uncertainty about the future. Although uncertainty is not a new phenomenon for social workers, the uncertainty that has been produced due to COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented. Hence, there is a further requirement for the integration of uncertainty in social work education and practice. Social work education should play a pivotal part in articulating and developing knowledge to respond to uncertain circumstances. Therefore, social work educators should be prepared to include uncertainty in curriculum development and pedagogical approaches. Also, collective actions should be central in social work efforts to face uncertainty and disruptions that target the most vulnerable people and populations.
Centering a pedagogy of care in the pandemic
Authors: Mehrotra Gita R
Published: March 2021

This essay is a reflexive account of my experience of teaching a social justice course during the pandemic. Specifically, I reflect on how centering a pedagogy of care within the course provided a framework for me to be responsive to student needs while also disrupting dominant culture and neoliberal forces in academia. In particular, I highlight sharing power and co-creating meaning, community care, and use of creativity and mindfulness as disruptions to dominant paradigms that I employed in my class that were impactful in the context of the pandemic. I also reflect on how this pedagogical praxis of care has been an instructive and anchoring experience for me as an educator and will impact my teaching going forward.
The menu of bad options: Academic leadership during the early pandemic
Authors: Chanmugam Amy
Published: March 2021

This reflexive essay focuses on personal aspects of leadership, management, communication, and family experiences while chairing a U.S. social work program in higher education during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Management and leadership in context of the pandemic were also shaped by the author's research and practice perspectives, as well as personal identities and experiences. The essay explores learning some of the emotional boundaries in taking care of self, family, and a social work program during the novel coronavirus crisis.
The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on surrogacy in India: The role of social work
Authors: Goswami Lopamudra , Larmar Stephen Anthony , Boddy Jennifer
Published: March 2021

The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have been catastrophic internationally, with alarming rates of cases and deaths, as well as travel bans and countrywide lockdowns. While many industries are experiencing the deleterious effects of Covid-19, international surrogacy is facing enormous ethical challenges resulting from the pandemic. Drawing on the first author’s reflections on research with Indian surrogate mothers, coupled with contemporary literature, this paper highlights the impacts of Covid-19 on surrogacy in India, particularly regarding the strict lockdown laws intended to protect civil society. This paper discusses the serious issues facing key actors involved in surrogacy, including surrogate mothers and commissioning parents. Focus is given to the psychological impacts on newborn babies caught in a liminal space as a result of lockdown laws. The authors conclude with reflections on the role of social work in protecting women and children in international surrogacy, particularly during a pandemic.
When narrative practice suddenly goes online due to COVID-19 …
Authors: Chan Chitat , Au-Yueng Hoyee
Published: March 2021

This article is a reflective consolidation of our practice experience in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 period, in which social work educators and practitioners needed to work online in a prolonged period of social distancing. It illustrates in what ways online practices may denote emerging knowledge and skills that are worth further discussion. These reflections have been consolidated as four knowledge/skill domains in our afterthoughts: i) Context, ii) Conversation, iii) Communication-Modality, and iv) Circulation. These insights may inspire social work educators and practitioners to comprehend the potential of media technologies more fully.
The emotional labour of academia in the time of a pandemic: A feminist reflection
Authors: Newcomb Michelle
Published: March 2021

During the COVID19 pandemic, emotional labor has become an indispensable resource in social work, providing comfort, strength, and focus for many. Within the social work academy, emotional labor has been required to support students, especially as education has moved quickly into online and remote teaching modes. For the majority female social work educators, the pandemic has also led to a rise in caring responsibilities, especially for children. This personal essay explores the experience of a female, early career social work academic in negotiating the use of emotional labor simultaneously in paid and unpaid roles during the pandemic. This exploration is contextualised within the neoliberal university and its expectation of how emotional labor should be used to meet student and business needs. The essay questions the individualized practice and responsibility of emotional labor and questions alternative ways to meet the emotional needs of individuals, families, and universities during the COVID19 pandemic.
Doctoral research amidst the Covid-19 pandemic: Researcher reflections on practice, relationships, and unexpected intimacy
Authors: Campbell Luke Ray
Published: March 2021

Responding to the Special Issue call by the Qualitative Social Work: Research and Practice Journal, this article reflects on the challenges faced by a Social Work doctoral student at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) during the Covid-19 outbreak. Having already commenced their fieldwork through a series of Freirean-style dialogical interviews via Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method (B.I.N.M.), the nationwide-lockdown demanded a drastic deviation from the intended in-person face-to-face interviews with lone parent participants. Significant academic consideration had already been given to the researcher’s existing academic, professional, and social relationships to north and northwest Edinburgh - the geographical focus within the study - via a process of reflexivity prior to commencing the interviews, yet the shift from discussions in neutral venues (e.g. community centres and public cafes) to dialogues conducted exclusively via digital platforms brought about a radical shift in interpersonal dynamics as both researcher and participant were exposed to each other’s homes, families, and other aspects of domestic life. The change in circumstances bore major implications not only for participant recruitment, but also created an unexpected intimacy within the interviewer-interviewee relationships.
Coronavirus and domestic violence: Practices for dealing with a double emergency
Authors: Pretto Albertina
Published: March 2021

This short essay aims to reflect on an unexpected effect of the Coronavirus in Italy: the increase of domestic violence. Through some data and qualitative interviews gathered with social workers of anti-violence centres, the essay presents the ways in which this emergency has been faced during the Coronavirus outbreak and the importance of spreading and maintaining new practices in this area for the future.
Many realities, one world: Dharavi, stranded migrants, and the lockdown in India
Authors: Saldanha Kennedy
Published: March 2021

In India a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of COVID has stranded 600 million internal migrants, laborers who move within the country from its underdeveloped regions to cities and production hubs. My own experience of the pandemic in Michigan has prompted reflections on links between past experiences with an educational project for children in a slum in Mumbai and the situation of stranded migrants in India today. Although the pandemic knows no boundaries, some groups are disproportionately impacted and experience greater vulnerabilities. But while some stories are foregrounded, the struggles of female migrants are nearly invisible. Although “displaced” from India presently, I juxtapose earlier tacit assumptions related to Dharavi’s children with the present reality of the lockdown where gender is invisible.
Social isolation continued: Covid-19 shines a light on what self-advocates know too well
Authors: Schormans Ann Fudge , Hutton Sue , Blake Marissa , Earle Kory , Head Kevin John
Published: March 2021

Covid-19 has been an unprecedented time for social work as a profession and even more so for marginalized communities. This paper shares the reflections of three self-advocates (persons labelled/with intellectual disabilities engaged in advocacy and activism), a social worker, and a social work educator and researcher. It is intended as a rallying cry for social work to rethink how we deliver services to ensure that people who have already been made vulnerable through oppressive ableist practices and assumptions are not put at greater disadvantage at times like Covid-19. Hearing directly from self-advocates, we learn of their exclusion from pandemic planning, and of the ways that physical and social distancing protocols have worked to exacerbate the isolation, marginalization and inequities that people labelled/with intellectual disabilities have experienced over the years. We are called upon to more actively focus on advocacy efforts with people labelled/with intellectual disabilities to increase their involvement in planning, as well as access to supports, and to ensure that they do not remain “the left behind of the left behind” .
Cri-de-Coeur
Authors: McGovern Justine
Published: March 2021

This essay consists of a reflection on how the pandemic has affected my social work practice as a social work professor at the City University of New York, in the Bronx. It describes my thoughts and feelings, and identifies ways I intend to move forward in the coming academic year. It focuses on working through uncertainty by blurring boundaries between traditional practice expectations and practice during extraordinary times.
Life-cycle management cost analysis of transportation bridges equipped with seismic structural health monitoring systems
Authors: Torti Michela , Venanzi Ilaria , Laflamme Simon , Ubertini Filippo
Published: March 2021

Life-cycle cost analysis is an approach that has gained popularity for assisting the design of civil infrastructures. The life-cycle cost analysis approach can be leveraged for structures equipped with structural health monitoring systems in order to quantify the benefits of the technology and de facto support its long-term implementation. However, for new structures, the long-term assessment of the expected value of the total investment cost, in terms of the current worth at the design time, is still the focus of ongoing research due to unknowns and uncertainties on the impact of the structural health monitoring system on long-term structural performance. This article proposes a new combined model of life-cycle cost formulation and simulation methodology for the long-term financial assessment of transportation bridges equipped with seismic structural health monitoring systems, in order to evaluate the total costs and benefits offered by such monitoring systems for post-seismic assessments. The formulation characterizes the time evolution of bridge management cost terms, highlighting the most sensitive parameters. The simulation methodology allows to quantitatively weigh each maintenance action on the total cost based on when the action is performed. The model is used to compare structures managed by the traditional approach of post-earthquake inspection versus those managed by a condition-based approach enabled by structural health monitoring systems. The originality of the model empowers the comparison by payback time, defined as the break-even point between costs and benefits of a structural health monitoring system, as well as by economic gain, defined as the difference between the total costs of an unmonitored versus a monitored structure through the end of service life. The proposed model is demonstrated through parametric analyses on a case study consisting of a continuous steel-concrete composite bridge, where the structural health monitoring system is used to monitor the elastic limit state condition of bending forces in piers during the earthquake.
Sexual Violence Against Persons With Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Mailhot Amborski Amylee , Bussières Eve-Line , Vaillancourt-Morel Marie-Pier , Joyal Christian C.
Published: March 2021

A growing number of large-scale studies suggest that people with disabilities are at greater risk of sexual victimization than nondisabled individuals. However, certain results are inconsistent and whether potential moderators explain this variability in previous findings remain to be considered. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the magnitude of the difference in risk of being sexually victimized based on the presence of a disability. An additional objective was to evaluate the relative influence of gender, age, type of disability, type of sexual violence, and relationship with the perpetrator on the association between the presence of a disability and sexual victimization. Studies were searched using pertinent databases and retained if they included a group with a disability, provided data that quantify the occurrence of abuse, indicated the type of sexual violence, and was published between 1970 and 2018 in French or English. A total of 68 studies, allowing 84 independent samples and 12,427 participants, were included. Individuals with disabilities were at significantly higher risk of sexual victimization than persons without disabilities (odds ratio = 2.27). The risk of sexual victimization among individuals with a disability was significantly higher in adult participants compared with the risk in minor participants. Sensory impairment was the type of disability associated with the highest risk of sexual victimization. Odds of sexual victimization among individuals with a disability were significantly higher in African countries compared with all others, and odds in Western Europe were significantly lower than in the United States. No significant differences emerged across eras.
Adapting an Online Survey Platform to Permit Translanguaging
Authors: Young Alys , Espinoza Francisco , Dodds Claire , Rogers Katherine , Giacoppo Rita
Published: March 2021

This article concerns online data capture using survey methods when the target population(s) comprise not just of several different language-using groups, but additionally populations who may be multilingual and whose total language repertoires are commonly employed in meaning-making practices—commonly referred to as translanguaging. It addresses whether current online data capture survey methods adequately respond to such population characteristics and demonstrates a worked example of how we adapted one electronic data capture software platform (REDCap) to present participants with not just multilingual but translanguaging engagement routes that also encompassed multimodal linguistic access in auditory, orthographic, and visual media. The study population comprised deaf young people. We share the technical (coding) adaptations made and discuss the relevance of our work for other linguistic populations.
Electroacupuncture Attenuates Morphine Tolerance in Rats with Bone Cancer Pain by Inhibiting PI3K/Akt/JNK1/2 Signaling Pathway in the Spinal Dorsal Horn
Authors: Jiang Bin , Zhong Xuemei , Fang Junfan , Zhang Aijun , WangD Wen , Liang Yi , Fang Jianqiao , Chen Feng , Du Junying
Published: March 2021

Purpose:

Morphine is often used for the treatment of moderate and severe cancer pain, but long-term use can lead to morphine tolerance. Methods for effectively inhibiting morphine tolerance and the related mechanism of action are of great significance for the treatment of cancer pain. Previous studies have shown that electroacupuncture (EA) can inhibit the occurrence of morphine tolerance, but the mechanism is not yet clear. The aim of the present study was to explore the signaling pathway by which EA attenuates the development of bone cancer pain (BCP)-morphine tolerance (MT).

Materials and methods:

Changes in the paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) of rats with bone cancer pain-morphine tolerance were observed in a study of EA combined with intrathecal injection of a PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) or agonist (insulin-like growth factor-1 [IGF-1]). We also tested the protein expression of phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (p-PI3K), phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-Akt), phosphorylated c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase 1/2 (p-JNK1/2), and β-arrestin2 in the L4-6 spinal dorsal horn of rats.

Results:

The protein expression of p-PI3K, p-Akt, p-JNK1/2, and β-arrestin2 was upregulated in the L4-6 spinal dorsal horn of rats with bone cancer pain and bone cancer pain-morphine tolerance. EA delayed the occurrence of morphine tolerance in rats with bone cancer pain and downregulated the protein expression of p-PI3K, p-Akt, p-JNK1/2, and β-arrestin2 in the L4-6 spinal dorsal horn of rats with bone cancer pain-morphine tolerance. Intrathecal injection of LY294002 attenuated the development of morphine tolerance and downregulated the protein expression of p-Akt, p-JNK1/2, and β-arrestin2 in the spinal dorsal horn of rats with bone cancer pain-morphine tolerance. In addition, the inhibitory effect of EA on morphine tolerance was reversed by IGF-1.

Conclusion:

The mechanism underlying the ability of EA to attenuate morphine tolerance may be associated with inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/JNK1/2 signaling pathway.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Vascular Surgery Practice: A Systematic Review
Authors: Ulloa Jorge H. , Figueroa Valentin , Cifuentes Juan Sebastian , Pinto Paula , Lurie Fedor
Published: March 2021

Background:

COVID-19 is characterized by a pulmonary interstitial compromise which can require intensive care unit (ICU) and mechanical ventilation. Covid patients develop a wide range of pathologies. This study aims to identify the impact of COVID-19 in diseases commonly treated by vascular surgeons.

Methods:

Four conditions were selected: venous thromboembolism (VTE), pulmonary embolism (PE), peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and microangiopathy. A systematic review of the literature using PRISMA guidelines was.

Results:

Out of 1195 papers reviewed for conditions in COVID-19 patients relevant to routine vascular surgery practice, 43 papers were included and analyzed. Venous thrombosis was found to be the most common COVID-19 associated pathology with a cumulative incidence of 25% at 7 days and 48% at 14 days. Additionally, D-dimer levels proved to be a good predictor, even in the early stages of the disease with a sensitivity of 85%, specificity of 88.5% and a negative predictive value of 94.7%. Patients in the ICU demonstrated a significantly higher risk of developing VTE, even when receiving pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis. Although evidence of arterial thrombosis was less common (1% to 16.3%), its consequences were typically more serious, including limb loss and death even in young individuals (OR = 25, 95% CI). Finally, microangiopathy has a wide spectrum of clinical presentations from retinal microangiopathy to other more severe manifestations such as myocardial injury, pulmonary compromise and potential multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

Conclusions:

Although the pathophysiological pathway by which COVID-19 produces thrombosis is not completely clear, the incidence of both arterial and venous thrombosis is increased. D-dimer screening should be done in all COVID-19 patients, as a predictor of thrombotic complications.
Server consolidation: A technique to enhance cloud data center power efficiency and overall cost of ownership
Authors: Uddin Mueen , Hamdi Mohammed , Alghamdi Abdullah , Alrizq Mesfer , Memon Mohammad Sulleman , Abdelhaq Maha , Alsaqour Raed
Published: March 2021

Cloud computing is a well-known technology that provides flexible, efficient, and cost-effective information technology solutions for multinationals to offer improved and enhanced quality of business services to end-users. The cloud computing paradigm is instigated from grid and parallel computing models as it uses virtualization, server consolidation, utility computing, and other computing technologies and models for providing better information technology solutions for large-scale computational data centers. The recent intensifying computational demands from multinationals enterprises have motivated the magnification for large complicated cloud data centers to handle business, monetary, Internet, and commercial applications of different enterprises. A cloud data center encompasses thousands of millions of physical server machines arranged in racks along with network, storage, and other equipment that entails an extensive amount of power to process different processes and amenities required by business firms to run their business applications. This data center infrastructure leads to different challenges like enormous power consumption, underutilization of installed equipment especially physical server machines, CO2 emission causing global warming, and so on. In this article, we highlight the data center issues in the context of Pakistan where the data center industry is facing huge power deficits and shortcomings to fulfill the power demands to provide data and operational services to business enterprises. The research investigates these challenges and provides solutions to reduce the number of installed physical server machines and their related device equipment. In this article, we proposed server consolidation technique to increase the utilization of already existing server machines and their workloads by migrating them to virtual server machines to implement green energy-efficient cloud data centers. To achieve this objective, we also introduced a novel Virtualized Task Scheduling Algorithm to manage and properly distribute the physical server machine workloads onto virtual server machines. The results are generated from a case study performed in Pakistan where the proposed server consolidation technique and virtualized task scheduling algorithm are applied on a tier-level data center. The results obtained from the case study demonstrate that there are annual power savings of 23,600 W and overall cost savings of US$78,362. The results also highlight that the utilization ratio of already existing physical server machines has increased to 30% compared to 10%, whereas the number of server machines has reduced to 50% contributing enormously toward huge power savings.
Chemical Profiling and Dose-Dependent Assessment of Fear Reducing and Memory-Enhancing Effects of Solanum virginianum in Rats
Authors: Javaid Usman , Javaid Sana , Ashraf Waseem , Rasool Muhammad Fawad , Noman Omar M. , Alqahtani Ali S. , Majeed Abdul , Shakeel Waleed , Albekairi Thamer H. , Alqahtani Faleh , Imran Imran
Published: March 2021

The current study was planned to investigate the pharmacological basis of Solanum virginianum extract (SV.CR) pertaining to anxiolytic, antidepressant and memory-enhancing effects in rats. The SV.CR was analyzed in-vitro for phytoconstituents, antioxidant potential and anticholinesterase activity. The rats treated in a dose-dependent manner (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg of SV.CR) were subjected to behavioral tests for anxiety, depression and memory judgment followed by biochemical studies. A notable dose-dependent anxiolytic potential of SV.CR was observed in elevated plus maze and open field tests (P < 0.05). The decreased immobility time of the treated rats in the forced swim test (P < 0.01) unveiled the plant’s potential to reduce depression. Moreover, SV.CR treatment also reversed scopolamine-impaired cognition (P < 0.05) in various deployed memory and learning tasks. Biochemical studies of brain homogenates of SV.CR treated animals demonstrated decreased anticholinesterase activity and lipid peroxidation levels whereas increased levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase (P < 0.05 vs scopolamine group) were noted. The scientific validation of the study supported the use of Solanum virginianum in reducing anxiety, depression and amnesia in experimental models. Phytoconstituents in SV.CR such as oleanolic acid and caffeic acid might have played a significant neuroprotective role via modulation of oxidative stress and neurochemical aspects.
Effects of attentional focus cues on lower extremity kinematics during inside of the foot soccer trap among expert soccer players
Authors: LoSarah Ladule Lako , Jagodinsky Adam E , Torry Michael , Smith Peter J
Published: March 2021

Numerous studies have demonstrated improved performance results for sport skills through attentional focus instructions. However, few studies have examined the effects of cueing on expert kinematic performance, and this is the first to assess cueing’s kinematic effects on expert soccer players performing .common techniques This study assessed the lower extremity kinematics of an inside of the foot soccer trap via motion capture cameras under different attentional focus cues to analyze how the cues affect the movement pattern among expert performers. 10 NCAA Division 1 soccer players trapped a launched ball on a scoring mat after receiving coaching cues inducing an internal, external, holistic, or control focus of attention. Statistical analysis revealed movement differences between the internal and external cue conditions for the ankle and knee joints during the movement. The difference at the knee was a steeper flexion followed by a correction and, at the ankle, a steeper flexion, both during the internal cue condition. Attentional focus cues inducing a conscious control of the movement may disrupt the movement patterns of highly skilled expert performers. Coaches should be acutely aware of the language they use in instruction, even among expert performers.
The Relative Orientation of the Trunk and Tibia can be Used to Estimate the Demands on the Hip and Knee Extensors During the Barbell Back Squat
Authors: Barrack Adam J , Straub Rachel K , Cannon Jordan , Powers Christopher M
Published: March 2021

Sagittal plane inclination of the trunk and tibia have been shown to independently modulate hip and knee extensor moments during squatting. The purpose of this study was to determine if the difference between sagittal plane trunk and tibia inclinations can be used to approximate the relative demand of the hip and knee extensors across a range of squatting conditions. Kinematic and kinetic data were obtained from 16 participants during 8 squat conditions in which trunk and tibia inclination were manipulated. The average hip/knee extensor moment ratio (HKR) was calculated during the lowering (eccentric) phase of each squat condition using inverse dynamics equations. Linear regression evaluated the association between the difference in trunk and tibia inclination at peak knee flexion and the average HKR. Across all squat conditions, the difference between trunk and tibia inclinations explained 70% of the variance in the average HKR (p < 0.001). The squat was knee extensor biased (HKR ≤ 1.0) when the tibia was at least 8 degrees more inclined than the trunk. The results of this study indicate that the relationship between sagittal plane trunk and tibia inclination can be used to estimate the relative demand of the hip and knee extensors.
Being a golf trainer in China: The life of an artist?
Authors: Aurélien Boucher , Yuqing Li , Xueyun Shao
Published: March 2021

This article investigates the earnings of Chinese golf trainers. Through a combination of ethnographic observations, interviews and a quantitative survey analysis, it depicts the social structure of the economy of golf training in China, showing that golf trainers’ playing abilities and fame, rather than any certificate of competence (e.g. diploma or professional certification), determine their earnings. At the same time, we underline many common characteristics between the artists’ labour market and the golf trainers’ labour market, such as the importance of fame and a winner-takes-all logic.
The association between sport specialisation and movement competency in youth: a systematic review
Authors: Zoellner Anja , Whatman Chris , Read Paul , Sheerin Kelly
Published: March 2021

Negative long-term outcomes have been reported following sport specialisation including increased injury risk. The underlying mechanisms remain unclear; however, fewer exposures to broad ranging movement patterns and reductions in movement competency have been suggested. This review synthesised the evidence to examine if an association is present between sport specialisation and movement competency.

 A systematic electronic database search was conducted using combinations of the key words early speciali?ation, sport speciali?ation, early sport speciali?ation, single sport, high school, youth, adolescen*, movement competenc*, movement ability, movement control, movement pattern, physical performance, coordination, fitness, motor skill, motor development, movement performance, neuromuscular control, balance, asymmetr*.

 Thirteen articles met the inclusion criteria and were included. Four studies reported no significant differences in movement competency based on specialisation status, while seven showed some measures of movement competency differed but not others. The remaining two studies concluded that adult athletes who participated in two or more sports during high school exhibited better movement competence than those who specialised in a single sport. Multisport athletes commonly displayed improved jump mechanics and performance compared to those competing in a single sport (6/9 studies).

 Consistent differences in movement competence based on level of sport specialisation were not shown; however, sport specialisation may result in poorer jump mechanics/performance than playing multiple sports. Further research is needed across a greater range of sports, and consistent definitions of both movement competence and the level of sport specialisation are required to improve our ability to compare and contrast different studies.