bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Levels of Prebeta‐1 High‐Density Lipoprotein Are a Strong Independent Positive Risk Factor for Coronary Heart Disease and Myocardial Infarction: A Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Pullinger Clive R. , O’Connor Patricia M. , Naya‐Vigne Josefina M. , Kunitake Steven T. , Movsesyan Irina , Frost Philip H. , Malloy Mary J. , Kane John P.
Published: March 2021

Background

We previously showed that levels of prebeta‐1 high‐density lipoprotein (HDL), the principal acceptor of cholesterol effluxed from cells, including artery wall macrophages, are positively associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) and myocardial infarction (MI) risk.

Methods and Results

In a multiethnic follow‐up cohort of 1249 individuals from University of California–San Francisco clinics, we determined the degree to which prebeta‐1 HDL levels, both absolute and percentage of apolipoprotein AI, are associated with CHD and history of MI. Independent, strong, positive associations were found. Meta‐analysis revealed for the absolute prebeta‐1 HDL for the top tertile versus the lowest, unadjusted odds ratios of 1.90 (95% CI, 1.40–2.58) for CHD and 1.79 (95% CI, 1.35–2.36) for MI. For CHD, adjusting for established risk factors, the top versus bottom tertiles, quintiles, and deciles yielded sizable odds ratios of 2.37 (95% CI, 1.74–3.25,
P
<0.001), 3.20 (95% CI, 2.07–4.94,
P
<0.001), and 4.00 (95% CI, 2.11–7.58,
P
<0.001), respectively. Men and women were analyzed separately in a combined data set of 2507 individuals. The odds ratios for CHD and MI risk were similar. Higher levels of prebeta‐1 HDL were associated with all 5 metabolic syndrome features. Addition of prebeta‐1 HDL to these 5 features resulted in significant improvements in risk‐prediction models.

Conclusions

Analysis of 2507 subjects showed conclusively that levels of prebeta‐1 HDL are strongly associated with a history of CHD or MI, independently of traditional risk factors. Addition of prebeta‐1 HDL can significantly improve clinical assessment of risk of CHD and MI.
Surgical and Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement in Mitral Annular Calcification: A Systematic Review
Authors: Alexis Sophia L. , Malik Aaqib H. , El‐Eshmawi Ahmed , George Isaac , Sengupta Aditya , Kodali Susheel K. , Hahn Rebecca T. , Khalique Omar K. , Zaid Syed , Guerrero Mayra , Bapat Vinayak N. , Leon Martin B. , Adams David H. , Tang Gilbert H. L.
Published: March 2021

Mitral annular calcification with mitral valve disease is a challenging problem that could necessitate surgical mitral valve replacement (SMVR). Transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) is emerging as a feasible alternative in high‐risk patients with appropriate anatomy. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from inception to December 25, 2019 for studies discussing SMVR or TMVR in patients with mitral annular calcification; 27 of 1539 articles were selected for final review. TMVR was used in 15 studies. Relevant data were available on 82 patients who underwent hybrid transatrial TMVR, and 354 patients who underwent transapical or transseptal TMVR. Outcomes on SMVR were generally reported as small case series (447 patients from 11 studies); however, 1 large study recently reported outcomes in 9551 patients. Patients who underwent TMVR had a shorter median follow‐up of 9 to 12 months (range, in‐hospital‒19 months) compared with patients with SMVR (54 months; range, in‐hospital‒120 months). Overall, those undergoing TMVR were older and had higher Society of Thoracic Surgeons risk scores. SMVR showed a wide range of early (0%–27%; median 6.3%) and long‐term mortality (0%–65%; median at 1 year, 15.8%; 5 years, 38.8%, 10 years, 62.4%). The median in‐hospital, 30‐day, and 1‐year mortality rates were 16.7%, 22.7%, and 43%, respectively, for transseptal/transapical TMVR, and 9.5%, 20.0%, and 40%, respectively, for transatrial TMVR. Mitral annular calcification is a complex disease and TMVR, with a versatile option of transatrial approach in patients with challenging anatomy, offers a promising alternative to SMVR in high‐risk patients. However, further studies are needed to improve technology, patient selection, operative expertise, and long‐term outcomes.
Non‐Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants Provide Less Adverse Renal Outcomes Than Warfarin In Non‐Valvular Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and MetaAnalysis
Authors: Sitticharoenchai Patita , Takkavatakarn Kullaya , Boonyaratavej Smonporn , Praditpornsilpa Kearkiat , Eiam‐Ong Somchai , Susantitaphong Paweena
Published: March 2021

Background

Non‐vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have better pharmacologic properties than warfarin and are recommended in preference to warfarin in most patients with non‐valvular atrial fibrillation. Besides lower bleeding complications, other advantages of NOACs over warfarin particularly renal outcomes remain inconclusive.

Methods and Results

Electronic searches were conducted through Medline, Scopus, Cochrane Library databases, and ClinicalTrial.gov. Randomized controlled trials and observational cohort studies reporting incidence rates and hazard ratio (HR) of renal outcomes (including acute kidney injury, worsening renal function, doubling serum creatinine, and end‐stage renal disease) were selected. The random‐effects model was used to calculate pooled incidence and HR with 95% CI. Eighteen studies were included. A total of 285 201 patients were enrolled, 118 863 patients with warfarin and 166 338 patients with NOACs. The NOACs group yielded lower incidence rates of all renal outcomes when compared with the warfarin group. Patients treated with NOACs showed significantly lower HR of risk of acute kidney injury (HR, 0.70, 95% CI, 0.64–0.76;
P
<0.001), worsening renal function (HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73–0.95;
P
=0.006), doubling serum creatinine (HR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.41–0.82;
P
=0.002), and end‐stage renal disease (HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.78–0.86;
P
<0.001).

Conclusions

In non‐valvular atrial fibrillation, patients treated with NOACs have a lower risk of both acute kidney injury and end‐stage renal disease when compared with warfarin.
How Do We Explain the Quiet Demise of Graeco-Roman Religion? An Essay
Authors: Bremmer Jan N.
Published: March 2021

Until now, the relatively quiet transition from traditional Graeco-Roman religion to Christianity has gone unexplained. In dialogue with James Rives and Jörg Rüpke, I argue that Christianity made better use than its religious competition of long-term trends in the Roman Empire, such as expanding literacy, the rejection of sacrifice, the movement toward monotheism, and the closing of the distance between gods and their faithful. The growing skepticism within the city elites regarding the credibility of its traditional religion, the decrease in investments in its material side, and the strength of the Christian organizations were additional factors together with contingent events, such as Constantine’s victory and his long rule.
A new species of Tetrataenium (Tordyliinae, Apiaceae) from SW Yunnan, China, based on morphological and molecular data
Authors: WANG ZE-HUAN , WANG YI , LIU BAO-LIN , WANG CHAO-HE , FU XIAN-GUO
Published: March 2021

Tetrataenium mianguaqi, a traditionally used medicinal herb in Cangyuan County, SW Yunnan, China, is described as a species new to science and illustrated. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear ITS well supports its belonging to Tetrataenium sensu stricto. The new species can be easily distinguished by its unique peltate, palmatilobate basal and lower leaves from the other five Chinese Tetrataenium species.
Alloleptosphaeria shangrilana sp. nov. and first report of the genus (Leptosphaeriaceae, Dothideomycetes) from China
Authors: THIYAGARAJA VINODHINI , WANASINGHE DHANUSHKA N. , KARUNARATHNA SAMANTHA C. , TENNAKOON DANUSHKA S. , HYDE KEVIN D. , TO-ANUN CHAIWAT , CHEEWANGKOON RATCHADAWAN
Published: March 2021

Alloleptosphaeria shangrilana, collected from dead wood of a dicotyledonous host in Shangri-La, China, is introduced as a new species based on evidence from morphological data and DNA sequence analyses. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of combined SSU, LSU and ITS sequence data were used to clarify the phylogenetic affinity of the new species. The new taxon is characterized by semi-immersed to superficial ascomata, a thick peridium, branched and septate pseudoparaphyses, cylindrical asci, muriform ascospores and overlapping uniseriate ascospores. Alloleptosphaeria species have been reported from England, Italy, Thailand and this is the first report of the genus in China. A detailed morphological description and analyses of the phylogenetic results are given for the new species. A key and synopsis table to the genus are also provided.
A new species of Peritassa (Celastraceae) from Espírito Santo, Brazil

Authors: LOMBARDI JULIO ANTONIO
Published: March 2021

Peritassa formidolosa, the new species here described, differs from other species of Peritassa Miers by its unique combination of characters: anthers dehiscent by longitudinal slits, inconspicuous connectives, and campanuliform flowers. This new taxon is included into Peritassa because of these characteristics: anther dehiscence mode and short-tubular disc free from the ovary wall.
An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of South Africa
Authors: EBERT DAVID A. , WINTNER SABINE P. , KYNE PETER M.
Published: March 2021

An annotated checklist of chondrichthyan fishes (sharks, batoids, and chimaeras) occurring in South African waters is presented. The checklist is the result of decades of research and on-going systematic revisions of the regional fauna. The chondrichthyan fauna of South Africa is one of the richest in the world with 191 species, comprising 50 families and 103 genera. It consists of 30 families, 64 genera, and 111 species of sharks; 17 families, 36 genera, and 72 species of batoids; and, 3 families, 5 genera, and 8 species of chimaeras. The most species-rich shark families are the whaler sharks Carcharhinidae with 20 species followed by the deepwater catsharks Pentanchidae with 13 species. The most species-rich batoid families are the hardnose stakes Rajidae with at least 21 species followed by the stingrays Dasyatidae with 13 species. This monograph represents the first detailed annotated checklist of chondrichthyans from South Africa in over 30 years.
6. Sustainable DNA
Authors: Hogan Mél , Verhoeven Deb
Published: March 2021

Big Tech supports social media, the stock market, insurance companies, scientific research, financial transactions, mass surveillance and monitoring, the ‘Internet of things’, ‘smart city’ sensors and grids, and mobile communications for Internet users writ large. By most industry accounts, data centres – and the cloud infrastructure that undergirds it – has become the most important sociotechnical system of our time, but also the least sustainable. Interestingly, one of the alternatives to these water- and energy-intensive data storage solutions has emerged from advancements in synthetic DNA technologies, now touted by the industry as a safer, greener and more efficient alternative. But how did we get here? How might ideas of 'sustainability' and 'efficiency' function in this context? In conversation, Mél Hogan and Deb Verhoeven discuss the idea of ‘Sustainable DNA’ – in its various instantiations – as an object of critical media studies.
9. Solidarity Seeds
Authors: Leung Michael
Published: March 2021

Between 2015 and 2018, artist-researcher Michael Leung visited three sites – in China, Hong Kong and India – each facing destruction as the result of land development. Leung worked with local farmers and activists on creative projects, with the goal of increasing the visibility of these local land struggles as well as strengthening transnational solidarity. In this chapter, Michael Leung revisits the ‘three seed projects’, as documented in artefacts and photographs, in order to explore what it means to use situated knowledge to enrich existing narratives. He posits a rhizomatic approach to research-creation as embedded within social practice, in which the making of objects – seed packets, critical maps, fictional stories, photographs, zines and other actors – is a generative act, the objects themselves becoming ‘seeds’ that nurture, grow and exchange local knowledge.
10. e-Waste Peep Show
Authors: Lai-Tze Fan
Published: March 2021

The following chapter by Lai-Tze Fan is a critical and creative reflection that describes the research-creation project e-Waste Peep Show; or, on Seeing and not Wanting to be Seen (EWPS). Since research-creation as an academic practice challenges scholars to merge creative approaches in various disciplines and to apply theory to practice, it allows scholarship to address twenty-first-century issues in innovative ways. Constructed as an art installation, EWPS features original footage of an e-waste (electronic waste) plant in Northern Hong Kong through a peephole in its walls. The camera captures a masked woman taking apart mounds of technological trash. Suddenly, she throws technological debris at me: don't look at me; don't film here. In this chapter, the author describes the process of constructing the installation such that spectators can experience the act of peeping onto sites and sights that they are not ‘supposed’ to see. The three parts of the paper describe the fragments that came together to produce the research-creation project: first, the author discusses the toxicity of e-waste and the exploitation of e-waste labourers, with a focus on East, Southeast and South Asia; second, she describes the fieldwork that I completed in December 2017 to collect video footage at an e-waste plant in Hong Kong; third, she details the creation process of the installation and the intended experience for the spectator-as-user. In doing so, this chapter aligns creative methods in sustainable research with an ethical intervention into global technological consumerism.
Art and/in the Anthropocene
Authors: Loveless Natalie
Published: March 2021

The following forum emerges from a panel called Art and/in the Anthropocene: A Debate on Sustainability and Ecology that was co-organized by Natalie Loveless and Jessie Beier for the Kule Institute for Advanced Study’s Around the World e-Conference in May of 2018. The conference panel invited discussion by six artist-scholars in addition to the organizers – Karin Bolender, Christa Donner, Mia Feuer, Leanne Olson, Scott Smallwood and Andrew Yang. Together they discussed two pre-circulated questions: one on sustainability and one on ecological form. Organized and edited by Loveless, the contributions in this forum respond to these questions. Yang argues for systems thinking in the context of art and ecology; Bolender considers multispecies care practices; Donner makes a plea for intergenerational empathy and collective problem-solving; Olson examines our disavowed relations to waste; Smallwood grapples with problems of representing the Anthropocene; Beier reflects, in a speculative-fictive form, on the folly of attempting to sustain our current ways of living and dying; and Loveless concludes with a reflection on art, ecological form and climate justice ethics. Together these short essays invite the reader to consider the role of art in creating new conditions for climate justice thinking and action.
17. Online Conferences
Authors: Byrd Nick
Published: March 2021

Academics have probably been organizing conferences since at least the time of Plato. More recently, academics have brought some of their conferences online. However, the adoption of online conferences is limited. One might wonder if scholars prefer traditional conferences for their ability to provide goods that online conferences cannot. While this may be true, online conferences outshine traditional conferences in various ways, and at a significantly lower cost. By considering the costs and benefits of both conference models, we may find reasons to prefer online to traditional conferences in some circumstances. This chapter shares the methods, quantitative results and qualitative results of the Minds Online conferences of 2015, 2016 and 2017. The evidence suggests that the online conference model can help scholars better understand their profession, share the workload of conference organizing, increase representation for underrepresented groups, increase accessibility to attendees, decrease monetary costs for everyone involved, sustain conference activity during states of emergency and reduce their carbon footprint. So, the advantages of traditional conferences might be outweighed by their higher costs after all.
18. ‘Greening’ Academic Gatherings
Authors: Rossier Oliver , Miya Chelsea , Rockwell Geoffrey
Published: March 2021

Traditional academic conferences that require participants to physically travel between locations have a large environmental footprint. That is why a growing number of researchers believe it is imperative to seek out more sustainable alternatives. The following case study looks at the ’Around the World’ virtual conferences organized at the University of Alberta as an example of how to host sustainable research gatherings without the carbon cost of flying. The success of this online event, with its diverse range of topics and presentation formats (live, pre-recorded, hybrid), shows that the econference format can be adapted to a wide range of needs. The results from the case study show how econferencing, while not without its challenges, can be a viable alternative to face-to-face conferencing that retains many of its benefits without the environmental cost.
Cloud Computing Efforts for the Weather Research and Forecasting Model
Authors: Powers Jordan G. , Werner Kelly K. , Gill David O. , Lin Yuh-Lang , Schumacher Russ S.
Published: March 2021

The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model is a numerical weather prediction model supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to a worldwide community of users. In recognition of the growing use of cloud computing, NCAR is now supporting the model in cloud environments. Specifically, NCAR has established WRF setups with select cloud service providers and produced documentation and tutorials on running WRF in the cloud. Described here are considerations in WRF cloud use and the supported resources, which include cloud setups for the WRF system and a cloud-based tool for model code testing.
Near-inertial wave critical layers over sloping bathymetry
Authors: Qu Lixin , Thomas Leif N. , Hetland Robert D.
Published: March 2021

This study describes a specific type of critical layer for near-inertial waves (NIWs) that forms when isopycnals run parallel to sloping bathymetry. Upon entering this slantwise critical layer, the group velocity of the waves decreases to zero and the NIWs become trapped and amplified, which can enhance mixing. A realistic simulation of anticyclonic eddies on the Texas-Louisiana shelf reveals that such critical layers can form where the eddies impinge onto the sloping bottom. Velocity shear bands in the simulation indicate that windforced NIWs are radiated downward from the surface in the eddies, bend upward near the bottom, and enter critical layers over the continental shelf, resulting in inertially-modulated enhanced mixing. Idealized simulations designed to capture this flow reproduce the wave propagation and enhanced mixing. The link between the enhanced mixing and wave trapping in the slantwise critical layer is made using ray-tracing and an analysis of the waves’ energetics in the idealized simulations. An ensemble of simulations is performed spanning the relevant parameter space that demonstrates that the strength of the mixing is correlated with the degree to which NIWs are trapped in the critical layers. While the application here is for a shallow coastal setting, the mechanisms could be active in the open ocean as well where isopycnals align with bathymetry.
Evaluating Convection-Permitting Ensemble Forecasts of Precipitation over Southeast Asia
Authors: Ferrett Samantha , Frame Thomas H. A. , Methven John , Holloway Christopher E. , Webster Stuart , Stein Thorwald H. M. , Cafaro Carlo
Published: March 2021

Forecasting rainfall in the tropics is a major challenge for numerical weather prediction. Convection-permitting (CP) models are intended to enable forecasts of high-impact weather events. Development and operation of these models in the tropics has only just been realized. This study describes and evaluates a suite of recently developed Met Office Unified Model CP ensemble forecasts over three domains in Southeast Asia, covering Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The fractions skill score is used to assess the spatial scale dependence of skill in forecasts of precipitation during October 2018–March 2019. CP forecasts are skillful for 3-h precipitation accumulations at spatial scales greater than 200 km in all domains during the first day of forecasts. Skill decreases with lead time but varies depending on time of day over Malaysia and Indonesia, due to the importance of the diurnal cycle in driving rainfall in those regions. Skill is largest during daytime when precipitation is over land and is constrained by orography. Comparison of CP ensembles using 2.2-, 4.5-, and 8.8-km grid spacing and an 8.8-km ensemble with parameterized convection reveals that varying resolution has much less effect on ensemble skill and spread than the representation of convection. The parameterized ensemble is less skillful than CP ensembles over Malaysia and Indonesia and more skillful over the Philippines; however, the parameterized ensemble has large drops in skill and spread related to deficiencies in its diurnal cycle representation. All ensembles are underspread indicating that future model development should focus on this issue.
“What’s Up with the Weather?” Public Engagement with Extreme Event Attribution in the United Kingdom
Authors: Ettinger Joshua , Walton Peter , Painter James , Osaka Shannon , Otto Friederike E. L.
Published: March 2021

The science of extreme event attribution (EEA)—which connects specific extreme weather events with anthropogenic climate change—could prove useful for engaging the public about climate change. However, there is limited empirical research examining EEA as a climate change communication tool. To help fill this gap, we conducted focus groups with members of the U.K. public to explore benefits and challenges of utilizing EEA results in climate change advocacy messages. Testing a range of verbal and visual approaches for communicating EEA, we found that EEA shows significant promise for climate change communication because of its ability to connect novel, attention-grabbing, and event-specific scientific information to personal experiences and observations of extreme events. Communication challenges include adequately capturing nuances around extreme weather risks, vulnerability, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction; expressing scientific uncertainty without undermining accessibility of key findings; and difficulties interpreting mathematical aspects of EEA results. On the basis of our findings, we provide recommendations to help address these challenges when communicating EEA results beyond the climate science community. We conclude that EEA can help catalyze important dialogues about the links between extreme weather and human-driven climate change.
The welfare state criticism of the losers of modernization: How social experiences of resentment shape populist welfare critique
Authors: Van Hootegem Arno , Abts Koen , Meuleman Bart
Published: March 2021

This article aims to explain the paradoxical finding that socio-economically vulnerable groups express more economic, moral and social criticism of the welfare state. As these groups generally benefit more from the welfare state and hold more egalitarian world views, their stronger criticism cannot be explained by the traditional frameworks of self-interest and ideology. As an alternative, we highlight the importance of social experiences of resentment as a source of discontent with welfare state performance. Our contribution argues that the dissatisfaction is embedded in a broader welfare populist critique that pits the hard-working people against the deceitful elite and welfare abusers. This welfare populism emerges from experiences of resentment related to the restructuring of group positions in the process of modernization. We differentiate between three types of discontent: economic status insecurity, group relative deprivation and social distrust. By applying structural equation modelling, we test whether resentful experiences mediate the relationship between the social structural position and welfare state criticism. Results indicate that relative deprivation consistently leads to more economic, moral and social criticism. Social distrust, moreover, stimulates a higher level of moral criticism. This study illustrates that resentment is indeed an important element for understanding the paradoxical relationship between social class and welfare state criticism.
A Culture-Centered Approach to Experiences of the Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown Among Internal Migrants in India
Authors: Mookerjee Devalina , Chakravarty Sujoy , Roy Shubhabrata , Tagat Anirudh , Mukherjee Shagata
Published: March 2021

India’s coronavirus lockdown forced low-wage migrant workers to return from the city to the home towns and villages from which they came. Pre-pandemic living and working conditions were already stressful and difficult for these migrants. The lockdown became an additional burden, since it shut down sources of income with no assurance about when, or if, work and earning to support families could be resumed. This article draws on the lens of the Culture-Centered Approach (CCA) to understand how workers engaged with and navigated these difficult times. A total of 54 migrant workers locked-down at home across the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal were interviewed for this qualitative study. Financial worries were found to be endemic, with rising debt a major source of stress, and educational qualifications becoming an obstacle to earning. Returning migrants were suspected of bringing the virus from the city, and so stigmatized in their home towns and villages. However, the pandemic lockdown also showed some unexpected healthful consequences. It provided these marginalized, and always busy workers the time and space to stop working for a while, to stay home, eat home food, and take walks in the comparatively green and clean spaces of their home environments. In this, the pandemic lockdown may be seen to have enabled a measure of agency and health in the lives of these workers, an oasis albeit temporary, and ultimately subject to the demands of the globalized cities of India.
Immigration Policy and Belonging: Ramifications for DACA Recipients’ Sense of Belonging
Authors: Mallet-García Marie L. , García-Bedolla Lisa
Published: March 2021

The socioeconomic benefits of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program initiated in 2012 by executive order from then-president Obama have been documented in the recent literature. However, the consequences of the legal challenge brought against the program by the Trump administration have not yet been fully examined. This article analyzes qualitative data from Latino Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients in California to assess how the legal turmoil around the program is affecting their sense of belonging in the United States. We find that the uncertainty around the program has negative consequences on their sense of belonging, despite the program’s aims at improving it, and despite the respondents’ living in a rather welcoming state in terms of state-level immigration policies. Notably, we find that respondents feel increasingly alienated from and unwanted in American society and postpone major life goals.
Competing for Loyalists? How Party Positioning Affects Populist Radical Right Voting
Authors: Chou Winston , Dancygier Rafaela , Egami Naoki , Jamal Amaney A.
Published: March 2021

As populist radical right parties muster increasing support in many democracies, an important question is how mainstream parties can recapture their voters. Focusing on Germany, we present original panel evidence that voters supporting the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)—the country’s largest populist radical right party—resemble partisan loyalists with entrenched anti-establishment views, seemingly beyond recapture by mainstream parties. Yet this loyalty does not only reflect anti-establishment voting, but also gridlocked party-issue positioning. Despite descriptive evidence of strong party loyalty, experimental evidence reveals that many AfD voters change allegiances when mainstream parties accommodate their preferences. However, for most parties this repositioning is extremely costly. While mainstream parties can attract populist radical right voters via restrictive immigration policies, they alienate their own voters in doing so. Examining position shifts across issue dimensions, parties, and voter groups, our research demonstrates that, absent significant changes in issue preferences or salience, the status quo is an equilibrium.
The Long-Term Impact of Mobilization and Repression on Political Trust
Authors: Desposato Scott W. , Wang Gang , Wu Jason Y.
Published: March 2021

Authoritarian regimes respond to threatening student movements with repression and censorship. In many cases, failed movements are effectively erased from public memory. Do such movements affect long-term attitudes? We use a survey of college graduates to measure the impact of a failed student movement. Some of our respondents began college immediately before a major protest; others started after the movement had been suppressed. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity, we find that individuals who attended college during the movement are significantly less likely to trust the government, more than 25 years later, than individuals who enrolled after the protests. The effects are strongest for trust in the central government, and weakest for local government. These results are robust to a range of specifications, and show that the experience of mass mobilization and state repression can have a long-term impact on public attitudes, even if the event in question remains taboo.
Between “the lights and shadows”: Reading the new edition of Olive Schreiner’s From Man to Man or Perhaps Only —
Authors: Nivesjö Sanja , Barends Heidi
Published: March 2021

The introduction to this written symposium considers Olive Schreiner’s novel From Man to Man or Perhaps Only — (1926) in light of the release of a new edition by Dorothy Driver and UCT Press (2015). The symposium’s first article, by Liz Stanley, reflects on Schreiner’s writing process by studying two early manuscript fragments of the novel from 1886–1887. Joyce Berkman and Dorothy Driver then both perform a close reading of the novel. Berkman achieves an extended reading of the issue of possession, in relation to gender and race. Driver investigates Schreiner’s “poetics of plants” in relation to indigeneity and Schreiner’s social and political thought on race. Finally, an interview article provides multiple current academic voices on the relevance of reading From Man to Man today. Taken together, the symposium illustrates the complexity of Schreiner’s thinking in From Man to Man, the opportunities provided by the new edition for scholarship, and the value of reading this novel at the present moment.
Genocide, Politicide, and the Prospects of Democratization since 1900
Authors: Uzonyi Gary , Kim Nam Kyu , Jahanbani Nakissa , Asal Victor
Published: March 2021

Why do some autocracies democratize? A country’s violent past has received little attention. We argue that genocide and politicide undermine democratization by binding the elites’ supporters more tightly to the governing power, while cementing in-group/out-group animosities, and helping preserve the elites’ status quo position within the state. We test this argument on a new dataset of government atrocity and democratization since 1900. These novel data allow us to capture many important instances of atrocity missed by others, and thus take a longer look at democratization and violence throughout history. We find that episodes of genocide and politicide are associated with a lower likelihood of democratization in both the short and long run. These effects are larger and more consistent than other common explanations for democratization. They also differ from the effects of non-genocidal civil war violence.
Motor Compensation Strategies for Reduced Upper Limb Function Among Individuals With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Authors: Maciel Flaviana Kelly de Lima , Santos Ana Lúcia Yaeko da Silva , Artilheiro Mariana Cunha , Sá Cristina dos Santos Cardoso de
Published: March 2021

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to identify and verify the compensatory motor strategies for upper limb functioning of individuals with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). We evaluated 32 patients diagnosed with DMD (aged 6-19 years) for cognitive and motor functioning using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Vignos Scale Jebsen Taylor Test (JTT) and Functional Skill Scale (FSS) at baseline testing and over retest intervals of six and 12 months. We used the MMSE to screen participants for capacity to engage in the research, and we analyzed absolute and percentile changes in the frequency distribution of motor strategies participants used on each JTT subtest. We also used analysis of variance with repeated measures and Bonferroni post-hoc testing of multiple comparisons to identify disease progression through FSS scores. We observed an increased frequency of compensatory motor strategies over six months. We recommend the associated use of the JTT and FSS to assess patients with DMD, since we observed worsened movement quality over a time interval of six months even while essential motor competence was maintained.
The Influence of Weight Bias on Processes and Outcomes in Negotiation
Authors: Arnold Josh A. , O’Connor Kathleen M. , Gladstone Eric
Published: March 2021

In two studies, using a mix of samples, we examined the influence of weight bias on behaviors in competitive, potentially high stakes situations. As predicted, weight bias directed focal actors’ treatment of counterparts in a negotiation. Negotiators made lower value offers to overweight counterparts relative to average-weight counterparts. In addition, overweight counterparts also received more negative messages over the course of their negotiation and were evaluated less favorably after the negotiation than average-weight counterparts.
Investment Behavior: Factors that Impact African American Women’s Investment Behavior
Authors: Hudson Crystal R. , Phillips Marlissa , Smalls Tonya , Young John
Published: March 2021

The wealth of African Americans has lagged behind that of the general US population. The key to understanding this may lie in African American women’s money management abilities and feelings relating to money because they are often the household’s money manager. This study answers the question, “If African American women had greater confidence in their ability to manage money, or had a positive attitude towards money, would they invest in the stock market more often and ultimately increase their net worth in this way?” Researchers studied a cross-section of African American women, using three logistic regression models and found that African American women who were sure of their ability to manage their finances and felt in control of their money were more likely to be investors. A higher number of younger African American women were investors, compared to older African American women. In addition, younger African American women had greater confidence in their money management ability than their older counterparts.
A review of the mechanism of DDIT4 serve as a mitochondrial related protein in tumor regulation
Authors: Ding Fadian , Gao Feng , Zhang Sheng , Lv Xiaoting , Chen Youting , Liu Qicai
Published: March 2021

DDIT4 is a mitochondrial and tumor-related protein involved in anti-tumor therapy resistance, proliferation, and invasion, etc. Its expression level increases under the stress such as chemotherapy, hypoxia, and DNA damage. A number of clinical studies have confirmed that DDIT4 can change the behavior of tumor cells and the prognosis of patients with cancer. However, the role of DDIT4 in promoting or suppressing cancer is still inconclusive. This article summarized the four characteristics of DDIT4 including a mitochondria-related protein, interactions with various protein molecules, immune and metabolic cell related proteins and participator in the oxygen sensing pathway, which may be related to the progress of cancer.
“They Can’t Take Away the Light”: Hip-Hop Culture and Black Youth’s Racial Resistance
Authors: Anyiwo Nkemka , Watkins Daphne C. , Rowley Stephanie J.
Published: March 2021

This study examined associations between Black youth’s engagement with hip-hop culture and their sociopolitical development (SPD) (e.g., critical social analysis, critical agency, and anti-racist activism). Participants included 499 Black adolescents recruited from across the United States through an online survey panel. Findings from regression analysis revealed the differential effects of rap media (music and music videos) and hip-hop media (e.g., blogs, video shows, radio) on youth’s SPD. Black youth who consumed more hip-hop media and who interacted with artists on social media had more agency to address racism and reported engaging in more racial-justice activism. The frequency of youth’s rap media usage was not consistently related to youth’s SPD. However, youth’s perceptions of rap (e.g., rap is empowering or misogynistic) were found to be directly associated with indicators of SPD. These findings provide insight into the potential influence of hip-hop culture beyond music on youth’s racial-justice beliefs and actions.
Nafia for the Tigris: The Privy Purse and the infrastructure of development in late Ottoman Iraq, 1882–1914
Authors: Cole Camille Lyans
Published: March 2021

Between 1893 and 1908, at least six private consortia and the municipality of Baghdad were denied permission to operate steamships on the Tigris and Euphrates on the grounds that a navigation concession had already been granted to the Privy Purse ( hazine-i hassa). The Privy Purse justified its insistence on monopoly with reference to the emerging ideology of development ( nafia), though its ideas about the role of steam technology in nafia stood in contrast to those of private investors and other Ottoman bureaucrats. Working from the hazine-i hassa’s planning memos and contracts, I show that the private treasury envisioned a primarily agrarian future for Iraq, with steamships serving agricultural aims. As such, it focused on envisioning future steamships rather than managing its existing fleet, while still acquiring dominance over land and transport in the region. However, private companies and officials contested this vision, emphasizing the materiality of existing steamships, their roles in trade, and the potential for commercial competition as a means of resisting British imperial encroachment. After the Committee of Union and Progress came to power in 1908, the Privy Purse was disestablished and its properties reverted to the Finance Ministry, opening a brief window during which steamship companies were encouraged to proliferate. Quickly, however, new comprehensive schemes were proposed, though with railways replacing steamships as the corollary to Iraq’s imagined riches. Engaging questions about the futurity of both infrastructure and capital, as well as those posed by the technology-in-use paradigm, this article suggests that the hazine-i hassa is a rich starting point for analysis because the scalar and ontological tensions it embodied highlight how different kinds of futures interact in development planning to affect the present.
Comparative Study of Chemosensory Dysfunction in COVID-19 in 2 Geographically Distinct Regions
Authors: Lee Daniel J. , Daliyot Daniella , Wang Ri , Lockwood Joel , Das Paul , Zimlichman Eyal , Lee John M.
Published: March 2021

Objective:

To directly compare the prevalence of chemosensory dysfunction (smell and taste) in geographically distinct regions with the same questionnaires.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the self-reported symptoms among adults (older than 18 years) who underwent COVID-19 testing at an ambulatory assessment center in Canada and at a hospital in Israel between March 16, 2020, and August 19, 2020. The primary outcome was the prevalence of self-reported chemosensory dysfunction (anosmia/hypomsia and dysgeusia/ageusia). Subgroup analysis was performed to evaluate the prevalence of chemosensory deficits among the outpatients.

Results:

We identified a total of 350 COVID-19–positive patients (138 Canadians and 212 Israelis). The overall prevalence of chemosensory dysfunction was 47.1%. There was a higher proportion of chemosensory deficits among Canadians compared to Israelis (66.7% vs 34.4%, P < .01). A subgroup analysis for outpatients (never hospitalized) still identified a higher prevalence of chemosensory dysfunction among Canadians compared to Israelis (68.2% vs 36.1%, P < 0.01). A majority of patients recovered their sense of smell after 4 weeks of symptom onset.

Conclusion:

Although the prevalence of chemosensory deficit in COVID-19 was found to be similar to previously published reports, the prevalence can vary significantly across different geographical regions. Therefore, it is important to obtain regionally specific data so that the symptom of anosmia/dysgeusia can be used as a guide for screening for the clinical diagnosis of COVID-19.
Barriers to Incident Reporting among Nurses: A Qualitative Systematic Review
Authors: Hamed Moataz Mohamed Maamoun , Konstantinidis Stathis
Published: March 2021

Incident reporting in health care prevents error recurrence, ultimately improving patient safety. A qualitative systematic review was conducted, aiming to identify barriers to incident reporting among nurses. Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for qualitative systematic reviews was followed, with data extracted using JBI QARI tools, and selected studies assessed for methodological quality using Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP). A meta-aggregation synthesis was carried out, and confidence in findings was assessed using GRADE ConQual. A total of 921 records were identified, but only five studies were included. The overall methodological quality of these studies was good and GRADE ConQual assessment score was “moderate.” Fear of negative consequences was the most cited barrier to nursing incident reporting. Barriers also included inadequate incident reporting systems and lack of interdisciplinary and interdepartmental cooperation. Lack of nurses’ necessary training made it more difficult to understand the importance of incident reporting and the definition of error. Lack of effective feedback and motivation and a pervasive blame culture were also identified.
Trauma and donation after circulatory death: a case series from a major trauma center
Authors: Circelli Alessandro , Brogi Etrusca , Gamberini Emiliano , Russo Emanuele , Benni Marco , Scognamiglio Giovanni , Nanni Andrea , Coccolini Federico , Forfori Francesco , Fugazzola Paola , Ansaloni Luca , Solli Piergiorgio , Benedetto Fabrizio Di , Cescon Matteo , Agnoletti Vanni
Published: March 2021

Even with encouraging recipient outcomes, transplantation using donation after circulatory death (DCD) is still limited. A major barrier to this type of transplantation is the consequences of warm ischemia on graft survival; however, preservation techniques may reduce the consequences of cardiac arrest and provide better organ conservation. Furthermore, DCD in trauma patients could further expand organ donation. We present five cases in which organs were retrieved and transplanted successfully using normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) in trauma patients. Prompt critical care support and surgical treatment allowed us to overcome the acute phase. Unfortunately, owing to the severity of their injuries, all of the donors died. However, the advanced and continuous organ-specific supportive treatment allowed the maintenance of general clinical stability and organ preservation. Consequently, it was possible to retrieve and transplant the donors’ organs. Death was ascertained in accordance with cardio-circulatory criteria, which was followed by NRP. We consider that DCD in trauma patients may represent an important source of organs.
An updated meta-analysis: repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treating tinnitus
Authors: Yin Lu , Chen Xiao , Lu Xingang , An Yun , Zhang Tao , Yan Juntao
Published: March 2021

Objective

To undertake an updated meta-analysis to obtain more evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for the treatment of tinnitus.

Methods

PubMed®, Embase®, Web of Science, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CBM, CNKI and Wanfang were searched for RCTs from inception up to March 2020. Studies meeting the eligibility criteria were included in the meta-analysis. The mean difference was calculated and the effect size was evaluated using a Z test.

Results

The analysis included 12 randomized sham-controlled clinical trials with a total of 717 participants. Active rTMS was superior to sham rTMS in terms of the short-term and long-term effects (6 months) on the tinnitus handicap inventory scores, but an immediate effect was not significant. There was no significant immediate effect on the tinnitus questionnaire (TQ) and Beck depression inventory (BDI) scores.

Conclusions

This meta-analysis demonstrated that rTMS improved tinnitus-related symptoms, but the TQ and BDI scores demonstrated little immediate benefit. Future research should be undertaken on large samples in multi-centre settings with longer follow-up durations.
Review of Key Findings and Future Directions for Assessing Equitable Cycling Usage
Authors: Jahanshahi Danial , Chowdhury Subeh , Costello Seosamh B. , van Wee Bert
Published: March 2021

Research studies on mode shift toward sustainable transport, particularly cycling, have become more common in the last decade. Despite some success in increasing cycling usage, there exist many barriers, both environmental and societal. This study provides a review of the key equity findings to date in cycling usage and identifies knowledge gaps. Barriers to cycling from an equity perspective are examined from three perspectives: policy and planning, infrastructure and cycling facilities, and population groups. The review includes both peer-reviewed and grey papers. Using a systematic review process, out of 73 documents, 33 which met the scope of the study were carefully examined. The review showed that accessibility is the most common measure for bicycling equity. A key knowledge gap is the lack of robust measures to determine inequities in cycling and evaluate the distribution of benefits across population groups. This is attributed to the lack of measures to effectively evaluate a program or policy from an equity perspective. Consequently, this review emphasizes the need to develop and evaluate equity measures for effective policymaking, to ensure that the needs of different population groups are met. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research, given the identified knowledge gaps.
A fame, peste et bello libera nos Domine: An Analysis of the Black Death in Chioggia in 1630
Authors: Alfano Vincenzo , Sgobbi Manuela
Published: March 2021

This article aims to provide some descriptive statistics about the deaths in Chioggia, between 1629 and 1631. Many details regarding the nature and socio-demographic characteristics of the deaths are provided, as well as the life expectancy for a three-year period. Results suggest that casualties were most severe in 1629 and 1630, rather than in 1631, that the death rate among women was worse than that among men, even if the former had a longer life expectancy, and that married women had an edge over widows in terms of survival probability. A list of the most common surnames is also provided.