bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Long‐term culture of tissue engineered cartilage in a perfused chamber with mechanical stimulation
Authors: Seidel J.O. , Pei M. , Gray M.L. , Langer R. , Freed L.E. , Vunjak‐Novakovic G.
Published: November 2024

One approach to functional tissue engineering of cartilage is to utilize bioreactors to provide environmental conditions that stimulate chondrogenesis in cells cultured on biomaterial scaffolds. We report the combined use of a three‐dimensional in vitro model and a novel bioreactor with perfusion of culture medium and mechanical stimulation in long‐term studies of cartilage development and function. To engineer cartilage, scaffolds made of a non‐woven mesh of polyglycolic acid (PGA) were seeded with bovine calf articular chondrocytes, cultured for an initial 30‐day period under free swelling conditions, and cultured for an additional 37 day period in one of the three groups: (1) free‐swelling, (2) static compression (on 24 h/day, strain control, static offset 10%), and (3) dynamic compression (on 1 h/day; off 23 h/day; strain control, static offset 2%, dynamic strain amplitude 5%; frequency 0.3 Hz). Constructs were sampled at timed intervals and assessed with respect to structure, biochemical composition, and mechanical function. Mechanical simulation had little effect on the compositions, morphologies and on mechanical properties of construct interiors discs, but it resulted in distincly different properties of the peripheral rings and face sides. Contructs cultured with mechanical loading maintained their cylindrical shape with flat and parallel top and bottom surfaces, and retained larger amounts of GAG. The modular bioreactor system with medium perfusion and mechanical loading can be utilized to define the conditions of cultivation for functional tissue engineering of cartilage.
Spectral and lifetime fluorescence imaging microscopies: New modalities of multiphoton microscopy applied to tissue or cell engineering
Authors: Dumas D. , Gaborit N. , Grossin L. , Riquelme B. , Gigant‐Huselstein C. , de Isla N. , Gillet P. , Netter P. , Stoltz J.F.
Published: November 2024

Spectral and multiphoton imaging is the preferred approach for non‐invasive study allowing deeper penetration to image molecular processes in living cells. But currently available fluorescence microscopic techniques based on fluorescence intensity, such as confocal or multiphoton excitation, cannot provide detailed quantitative information about the dynamic of complex cellular structure (molecular interaction). Due to the variation of the probe concentration, photostability, cross‐talking, its effects cannot be distinguished in simple intensity images. Therefore, Time Resolved fluorescence image is required to investigate molecular interactions in biological systems. Fluorescence lifetimes are generally absolute, sensitive to environment, independent of the concentration of the probe and allow the use of probes with overlapping spectra but that not have the same fluorescence lifetime. In this work, we present the possibilities that are opened up by Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy, firstly to collect images based on fluorescence lifetime contrast of GFP variants used as a reporter of gene expression in chondrocytes and secondly, to measure molecular proximity in erythrocyte (glycophorin/membrane) by Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FLIM‐FRET).
Trauma e spaesamento alle radici della narrativa di Laura Pariani
Authors: Pagano Tullio
Published: November 2024

The essay analyzes Laura Pariani's narrative by focusing on her first voyage to Argentina in the mid 1960s, when she was a young girl. The encounter with her grandfather, who had gone to America to escape Fascism in the twenties and never returned to Italy, was both traumatic and enlightening, because it contributed to raise the young author’s awareness about the consequences of modern colonialism and mass migration. The figure of the grandfather becomes the “matrix” for several of Pariani's works examined in the essay, and undergoes numerous metamorphoses: from the idealistic, revolutionary figure who fights for the rights of the oppressed native American people to the tyrannical individual depicted in the first chapter of the novel Quando Dio ballava il tango (2002). I argue that the author managed to overcome the initial trauma caused by her forced “displacement” (spaesamento) through her creative writing, which led her to investigate the complex interactions between Italy and Argentina from the late nineteenth century to the present. Her literary production constantly goes back and forth between the two continents and offers numerous insights into both cultures. She illustrates the often-ignored peasants’ miserable conditions in the Northern Italian countryside, which led many to migrate to Latin America, where they became instrumental for the colonization of the interior and the extermination of the natives. Pariani's narrative, like Nuto Revelli's oral history, focuses on those who have been “vanquished” by capitalist expansion and modernization, both in Europe and America, and gives a voice to their hopes, passions and disillusionments.
Canada and the United Nations: Rethinking and Rebuilding Canada's Global Role
Authors: Buck Kerry , Manulak Michael W.
Published: November 2024

The global order built after the Second World War is fraying and the United Nations is facing unprecedented challenges. The Advisory Panel on Canada and the United Nations, comprising multiple former Canadian UN ambassadors, therefore asked whether the UN should remain a central focus for Canadian foreign policy. The Panel concluded in its 2023 report “Canada and the United Nations: Rethinking and Rebuilding Canada's Global Role” that a well-functioning UN can offer the universality and predictability Canada needs to advance its national interests. This article summarizes the chief conclusions of that report, examining how Canada can rebuild influence at the UN. Too often, multilateral cooperation is an afterthought in Canadian foreign policy today and Canada's presence at the UN is under-resourced. The Panel and this article make a series of recommendations aimed at achieving a more functional, interest-based approach to Canada's UN engagements in the current global context.
Associations of non-employment with common mental disorder subcomponents among working age population: analysis of national data from 1993, 2000, 2007 and 2014
Authors: Perera Gayan , Jayapala KTDDP , Khondoker Mizanur , Glaser Karen , Di Gessa Giorgio , Stewart Robert
Published: November 2024

Background:

Associations between employment status and mental health are well-recognised and such associations may have multiple modifying factors which may also contribute to variations in results.

Aims:

We aimed to investigate associations between non-employment and CMD subcomponents and the extent of their variation across age groups using nationally representative data in Britain.

Method:

We used a series of national mental health surveys of adults living in private households: the British National Surveys of Psychiatric Morbidity of 1993, 2000, 2007 and 2014. Employment status was the primary exposure of interest. Presence or absence of each fourteen symptoms of common mental disorder (CMD), as the primary outcome, was ascertained identically in all surveys from the revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R). Odds ratio for the association between exposure and outcome and population attributional fractions (PAFs) for each association was calculated.

Results:

Within the highest-risk 45 to 54 years age group, all odds ratios were statistically significant and strongest associations were observed with panic symptoms (OR = 2.33), followed by depressive symptoms (1.90), worry about physical health (1.84), depression (1.82), forgetfulness (1.82) and somatic symptoms (1.70). In the 55 to 64 years age group, highest population attributable fractions were observed for non-employment as a hypothetical risk factor for panic symptoms (51.7%), phobias (44.2%), forgetfulness (39.5%), depressive symptoms (38.5%), worries about physical health (37.9%) and somatic symptoms (36.0%).

Conclusions:

The particularly high impact in middle-aged, pre-retirement groups of non-employment on CMD suggests a policy focus on alleviating stressors and providing support for those made redundant and/or compelled to take unwanted early retirement.
Factors associated with depressive symptoms among 1,502 couples in the immediate puerperium
Authors: Hernández-Santillán Gina , Gurpegui Manuel , Alcamí-Pertejo Margarita , Lahera Guillermo , Bravo-Ortiz María Fe
Published: November 2024

Background:

Historically, perinatal depression has predominantly focussed on the mother-baby dyad, often neglecting the crucial role of fathers.

Aim:

To determine the prevalence and associated factors of depressive symptoms in the immediate puerperium (PDS) in both mothers and fathers, individually and concurrently.

Method:

This study employed a cross-sectional design. The presence of PDS was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), with a cut-off score of ⩾11 for mothers and ⩾9 for fathers. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors independently associated with PDS. Robustness of findings was verified through sensitivity analyses among participants without prior psychiatric conditions.

Results:

Among 1,502 partnered mothers and fathers aged ⩾18 years who met the inclusion criteria, PDS were present in 13.0% of mothers, 10.5% of fathers and 3.5% of both parents. Mother-baby skin-to-skin contact and the father’s pregnancy planning were associated with a lower likelihood of PDS in mothers. For fathers, financial difficulties increased the likelihood of experiencing PDS threefold. The presence of PDS in mothers quadrupled the likelihood of PDS in fathers, and vice versa; their EPDS scores demonstrated a moderate correlation ( rs = .38). Among participants without prior psychiatric conditions, the odds of co-occurring PDS nearly tripled if the mother had a history of abortion or miscarriage. Fathers who had increased potentially addictive behaviours showed a six-fold increase in the likelihood of experiencing PDS.

Conclusions:

Identifying depressive symptoms in both parents and incorporating fathers into clinical practice, research and health policy could enhance mental health outcomes in vulnerable populations.
Cure-dependent volatile release and its influence on porosity of carbon fibre reinforced bismaleimide composites
Authors: Chen Wenlong , Yu Yalin , Mo Shenzhong , Luan Yihao , Wang Rong , Chen Cheng , Zhou Helezi , Zuo Xiaobiao , Zhou Huamin
Published: November 2024

The volatiles release is a significant factor in the formation of voids during the autoclave and out-of-autoclave (OoA) curing processes for thermoset composites. However, the impact of curing on volatile release behavior in complex resin systems remains poorly understood. This study investigates the mechanisms by which the cure cycle impacts volatile release in carbon fiber-reinforced bismaleimide composite laminates. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to determine the volatile composition and mass fraction. The results reveal that m-Aminophenylacetylene 3-Aminooxy-1-propanamine dominates the volatile composition, and its mass fraction increases with temperature, reaching 9.1% at 140°C. However, employing a cure cycle with a low heating rate of 0.5°C/min and a cure temperature of 140°C only yields a 6.1% volatile release. The reduction of volatiles release can be attributed to the temperature-dependent competition between volatile diffusion and curing reactions. Microscopic analysis demonstrates that the porosity of laminates produced via autoclave and OoA processing decreases as laminate thickness, moisture content, and volatile content decrease. The findings indicate that degassing at elevated temperatures can reduce intrinsic volatile content prior to the OoA process, thus reducing void content.
Disparities in the Life Course Origins of Dual Functionality
Authors: Ferraro Kenneth F. , Sauerteig-Rolston Madison R. , Bauldry Shawn , Thomas Patricia A.
Published: November 2024

Although research has identified how stressors are related to either physical or cognitive function in later life, we bridge these literatures by examining dual functionality (neither physical nor cognitive impairment) among Black, White, and Hispanic adults. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (2006–2016), we investigated whether stressors and resources during childhood and adulthood are related to functional loss at baseline and longitudinally. Analyses revealed that lifetime trauma was associated with dual functionality impairment at baseline, but childhood stressors and everyday discrimination were prospectively associated with loss of dual functionality. Black and foreign-born Hispanic adults experienced earlier loss of dual functionality than White adults, and the effect of childhood stressors on the transition to impairment occurred earlier for U.S.-born Hispanic adults. Findings reveal the influence of exposures in childhood and adulthood on functional health in later life—and how resources may be a counterbalance to functional loss.
Self-adaptive rail edge detection for trams based on mathematical morphology
Authors: He Shizhong , Shen Longjiang , Zhou Zuobing , Gao Aolin , Wu Xingwen
Published: November 2024

With the growing number of tram operation lines, tram-related traffic incidents, particularly train collisions, have become a major issue. Therefore, the ability to identify foreign objects on a track is critical to tram operational safety. Accurately identifying the rail edge is a critical technology for recognizing the track area and providing early warnings of potential threats. Therefore, this study proposes a self-adaptive rail-edge detection algorithm that uses mathematical morphology and computer vision technology to accurately extract rail edges. The performance of the proposed algorithm was compared to that of existing algorithms, including the Canny algorithm and two other methods described in publication. Three scenes in the level crossing area of trams were considered as the research objects, and the effects of two types of noise in the image were explored in terms of the investigated using mean square error (MSE), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), and computational time. The results showed that the proposed model exhibited strong robustness for different scenes, particularly in the presence of noise. This suggests that the proposed algorithm could be used in early warning systems of trams to identify rail edges.
The Art of Navigating a White Upper-Class Gaze: Exploring Visible Minorities’ Negotiations of Belonging in the Norwegian Cultural Field
Authors: Tica Sabina
Published: November 2024

In this article, I explore how 32 Norwegian artists who are visible minorities perceive interacting with gatekeepers in the cultural field of production. Using Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and field, along with Ahmed’s phenomenological approach to whiteness, I empirically demonstrate the prevalence of institutional whiteness within the field. I argue that gatekeepers’ classed and racialized subjectivities, expressed through their white cultural upper-class gaze, are perceived as creating institutional barriers for visible minorities. This shapes artists’ opportunities and challenges their sense of belonging to the field. To maintain a sense of belonging, they utilize their double consciousness, engaging in an ambiguous process of contesting the gaze while adhering to institutional norms. These findings provide valuable insight into an under-researched interaction between whiteness and the cultural upper class, revealing institutional barriers that may promote homogeneity in western cultural fields.
Blumenberg and Habermas on Political Myths
Authors: Keum Tae-Yeoun
Published: November 2024

Myths—symbolically dense narratives in wide cultural circulation that resist critical scrutiny—are often thought to be counterproductive to political discourse, but they are also ubiquitous in contemporary culture and society. Just two years apart, Jürgen Habermas and Hans Blumenberg developed contrasting visions of how we ought to respond to the myths in our society. By reconstructing their disagreement, this paper uncovers the distinctive challenge of balancing a commitment to political emancipation with the opacity of myths to critical reason. I argue for an alternative approach to myths than those in the theoretical mainstream, taking Blumenberg’s relatively neglected position as a starting point. Blumenberg invites us to pay closer attention to the cognitive needs that necessitate the generation of myths while simultaneously reminding us of our own creative agency to reinvent them.
Recommending physicians with multimodal data and medical knowledge graph on healthcare platforms
Authors: Deng Weiwei , Zhu Peihu , Chen Han , Liu Zhaobin , Feng Guohe
Published: November 2024

Healthcare platforms have attracted many physicians and provided convenient medical services to patients. However, the large number of physicians brings the difficulty of finding suitable physicians for the patients. Despite attempts to develop recommendation methods to address this challenge, they fail to leverage multimodal medical data, which contain numerical, categorical, textual and visual data valuable for inferring patients’ preferences for physicians. Besides, previous methods ignore the semantic gap between patients’ health conditions and physicians’ specialties. The conditions describe the patients’ symptoms, while the specialties indicate the diseases the physicians can treat. They have different vocabularies and cannot be directly compared for generating recommendations. We put forward an innovative physician recommendation approach to effectively address the above research gaps. Our approach entails merging multimodal data with multiple network modules and employing a medical knowledge graph to fill the semantic gap. To assess the validity of our suggested approach, we perform comprehensive trials on real-world data. The trial outcomes indicate that our approach surpasses its variants and existing methods in the aspects of HR@k, MRR@k and NDCG@k.
Molecular and cellular mechanisms of mitochondria transfer in models of central nervous system disease
Authors: Nakano Takafumi , Irie Keiichi , Matsuo Koichi , Mishima Kenichi , Nakamura Yoshihiko
Published: November 2024

In the central nervous system (CNS), neuronal function and dysfunction are critically dependent on mitochondrial integrity and activity. In damaged or diseased brains, mitochondrial dysfunction reduces adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels and impairs ATP-dependent neural firing and neurotransmitter dynamics. Restoring mitochondrial capacity to generate ATP may be fundamental in restoring neuronal function. Recent studies in animals and humans have demonstrated that endogenous mitochondria may be released into the extracellular environment and transported or exchanged between cells in the CNS. Under pathological conditions in the CNS, intercellular mitochondria transfer contributes to new classes of signaling and multifunctional cellular activities, thereby triggering deleterious effects or promoting beneficial responses. Therefore, to take full advantage of the beneficial effects of mitochondria, it may be useful to transplant healthy and viable mitochondria into damaged tissues. In this review, we describe recent findings on the mechanisms of mitochondria transfer and provide an overview of experimental methodologies, including tissue sourcing, mitochondrial isolation, storage, and modification, aimed at optimizing mitochondria transplantation therapy for CNS disorders. Additionally, we examine the clinical relevance and potential strategies for the therapeutic application of mitochondria transplantation.
Navigating the Nexus: Teaching Marketing Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Sustainability
Authors: Ferrell O. C. , Ferrell Linda
Published: November 2024

Ethics, social responsibility, and sustainability are important areas to address in marketing education. While they are distinct constructs, the terms are often used interchangeably. Understanding their differences and relationships to one another is important in teaching these subjects. Ethical decision-making is based on organizational principles, values, and norms and is often more internal and covers areas beyond social responsibility and sustainability. Social responsibility is more externally focused on the duty to maximize a positive impact upon all stakeholders. Sustainability relates to how the natural environment impacts social and economic well-being. While ethics is the foundation for social responsibility and sustainability decisions, these constructs are linked by conceptual and operational relationships. Insights are provided as to how these topics are being taught and how research is being conducted in each area.
A neuromorphic approach to obstacle avoidance in robot manipulation
Authors: Abdelrahman Ahmed , Valdenegro-Toro Matias , Bennewitz Maren , Plöger Paul G
Published: November 2024

Neuromorphic computing mimics computational principles of the brain in silico and motivates research into event-based vision and spiking neural networks (SNNs). Event cameras (ECs) exclusively capture local intensity changes and offer superior power consumption, response latencies, and dynamic ranges. SNNs replicate biological neuronal dynamics and have demonstrated potential as alternatives to conventional artificial neural networks (ANNs), such as in reducing energy expenditure and inference time in visual classification. Nevertheless, these novel paradigms remain scarcely explored outside the domain of aerial robots. To investigate the utility of brain-inspired sensing and data processing, we developed a neuromorphic approach to obstacle avoidance on a camera-equipped manipulator. Our approach adapts high-level trajectory plans with reactive maneuvers by processing emulated event data in a convolutional SNN, decoding neural activations into avoidance motions, and adjusting plans using a dynamic motion primitive. We conducted experiments with a Kinova Gen3 arm performing simple reaching tasks that involve obstacles in sets of distinct task scenarios and in comparison to a non-adaptive baseline. Our neuromorphic approach facilitated reliable avoidance of imminent collisions in simulated and real-world experiments, where the baseline consistently failed. Trajectory adaptations had low impacts on safety and predictability criteria. Among the notable SNN properties were the correlation of computations with the magnitude of perceived motions and a robustness to different event emulation methods. Tests with a DAVIS346 EC showed similar performance, validating our experimental event emulation. Our results motivate incorporating SNN learning, utilizing neuromorphic processors, and further exploring the potential of neuromorphic methods.
Positive musical performance feedback facilitates general self-efficacy and choice of solo performance
Authors: Molińska Weronika , Rajchert Joanna
Published: November 2024

This study investigates the impact of positive or negative performance evaluations on general self-efficacy and subsequent choice of a solo or group performance among professional musicians ( N = 53; women 58.2%, men 36.4%, non-binary 5.5%). Participants completed personality questionnaires, sight-read an unfamiliar musical piece, received computer-generated feedback, and reported post-manipulation self-efficacy. Results showed that positive evaluations, even computer-generated, increased self-efficacy and were associated with a higher likelihood of choosing solo/ a cappella performance. While self-efficacy correlated with a greater preference for solo/ a cappella performance, it did not mediate the relationship between evaluation and performance choice. Findings align with Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, emphasizing the influence of mastery experiences and external feedback on self-efficacy development.
‘[A] very improbable and imaginative fiction’: Fictionalising the French invasion of Fishguard
Authors: Singer Rita
Published: November 2024

In the years leading up to the centenary of the last invasion of the British mainland, several historical novels in Welsh and English chronicled the events of the French landing near Fishguard in 1797. These fictional explorations throw Welsh national identity into relief at a time when Britain consolidated its domestic and overseas territories against its main rival, France. While ostensibly set in the historical past, the novels under observation share significant traits with the popular genre of the invasion novel that came to the fore in the second half of the nineteenth century as the British Empire neared its largest extent. Published during a time of cultural and political revivals in late-Victorian Wales, these historical invasion novels offer a different, literary way to examine past discourses around Welsh nationhood and national territory as well as coloniality and sovereignty.
What work does ‘contamination’ do? An agential realist account of oil wastewater and radium in groundwater
Authors: Underhill Vivian , Barad Karen
Published: November 2024

Oil wastewater often contains high levels of radium, a carcinogenic and radioactive element. This article closely engages with two investigations of radium in groundwater downstream from oil wastewater storage pits. While one investigation found that radium did not travel beyond the storage pits, the other found evidence of elevated radium some two kilometers downstream. With an agential realist analysis, we resolve these differences, showing that these two experimental apparatuses defined and mobilized two different phenomena of radium, and of radium-as-contaminant. What geologists call ‘rock-water interactions’ are materially meaningful intra-actions. Far from being a mere philosophical gloss on otherwise conventional science, the ‘intra-’ signifies that, in these processes, the sediment and the groundwater are bringing each other into being. Groundwater sampling entails a specific set of intra-actions with the subsurface that enact different agential cuts. In addition, a geochemical focus on objects, rather than relations, also constrains understandings of chemical harm and accountability. These concepts do not only affect experimental apparatuses; rather, they come into being through and with each other. Therefore, rigorous approaches to groundwater and remediation do not lie in the pull to reify individual groundwater constituents, or to arbitrate between ‘contaminant’ and ‘contaminated’. Rather, rigorous approaches lie in the role of chemical relations in constituting specific groundwater phenomena. We elaborate three aspects of these relations: the constitution of radium-as-isolated-element through the ontological work of sampling schema, the formation of scale and attendant spacetimematterings within experimental apparatuses, and the work of contamination logics within conceptualizations of chemical harm. This analysis has major implications for understanding the potential harm of oil wastewater to groundwater.
How Does Pedestrians’ Perception Toward Autonomous Vehicles Change During Unmarked Midblock Multilane Crossings?
Authors: Zou Fengjiao , Harper Ogle Jennifer , Gerard Patrick , Jin Weimin
Published: November 2024

One of the primary impediments hindering the widespread acceptance of autonomous vehicles (AVs) among pedestrians is their limited comprehension of AVs. This study employs virtual reality (VR) to provide pedestrians with an immersive environment for engaging with and comprehending AVs during unmarked midblock multilane crossings. Diverse AV driving behaviors were modeled: negotiation behavior with a yellow signal indication and non-yielding behavior with a blue signal indication. This paper aims to investigate the impacts of various factors, such as AV behavior and signaling and pedestrian past behavior, on pedestrians’ perception of AVs. Before and after the VR experiment, participants completed surveys that assessed their perceptions of AVs and focused on two main aspects: attitude and system effectiveness. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test results demonstrated that both the pedestrians’ overall attitude score toward AVs and their trust in the effectiveness of AV systems significantly increased following the VR experiment. Notably, individuals who exhibited a greater trust in the yellow signals were more inclined to display a higher attitude score toward AVs and to augment their trust in the effectiveness of AV systems. This indicates that the design of the yellow signal instills pedestrians with greater confidence in their interactions with AVs. Further, pedestrians who exhibit more aggressive crossing behavior are less likely to change their perception toward AVs as compared with pedestrians with more positive crossing behaviors. It is concluded that integrating the AV behavior and signaling devised in this paper within an immersive VR setting facilitated pedestrian engagement with AVs, thereby changing their perception of AVs.
Current role of focal therapy in prostate cancer
Authors: Tamburini Sara , Bianchi Lorenzo , Piazza Pietro , Mottaran Angelo , Ercolino Amelio , Rotaru Valeria , Pirelli Valerio , Presutti Massimiliano , Droghetti Matteo , Schiavina Riccardo , Brunocilla Eugenio
Published: November 2024

Background:

Thanks to the improved accuracy of multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging (mpMRI) to detect and localize the dominant index lesion on prostate cancer (PCa), the concept of minimally invasive focal treatments (FT) has gained popularity. Nevertheless, although high-quality evidence that FT has favorable functional outcomes, definitive proof of its oncological effectiveness compared to standard treatments remains underreported.

Objective:

This study aims to explore the efficacy, safety, oncologic and functional outcomes of different type of FT for PCa.

Evidence acquisition:

A non-systematic literature review was conducted by searching on PubMed “prostate cancer” AND “focal treatment” OR “HIFU” OR “irreversible electroporation” OR “cryoablation” OR “focal laser ablation.” Overall, 22 articles published in English literature from 2018 to 2023 describing FT techniques for PCa were included.

Evidence synthesis:

Related to the field ablated, focal therapies include hemiablation (half gland), focal ablation (zonal-base) or targeted therapy (lesion-based). FT modalities can be categorized in thermal and non-thermal energy: thermal energy techniques include high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), cryotherapy, radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and focal laser ablation (FLA). Focal brachytherapy, irreversible electroporation (IRE), and vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy (VTP) are classified as non-thermal ablation. Each focal ablative treatments could be promising alternative to conventional radical therapies to treat PCa in term of mid-term oncologic and functional outcomes, however, limited data are available in comparison with standardized radical treatments. HIFU and Cryo are the most studied techniques and seem to be superior to radical treatments in term of functional outcomes despite associated with higher recurrence and retreatment rate.

Conclusions:

Current evidences of oncologic and functional outcomes of FT are based mainly on retrospective, non-comparative and single center studies. Thus, none of the focal therapies available should be considered safe alternative to standardized treatments in routine practice and should be offered only for well selected PCa patients with low or at least favorable-intermediate risk disease, unfit for radical options.
Transobturator hybrid tape versus synthetic tape in treatment of female stress urinary incontinence: A prospective randomized clinical study
Authors: Mansy Islam , Elsayed Diab , Saafan Ahmed , Abouhashem Safwat E , Eliwa Ahmed M , Samaha Ibrahem Ismael , Taha Kareem M
Published: November 2024

Objective:

To compare the clinical and operative outcomes of transobturator hybrid tape versus synthetic tapes during mid-urethral sling in treating female stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Patients and methods:

This prospective randomized study included 63 women with SUI. Patients were categorized into two groups: Group I included 32 patients who underwent midurethral sling procedure using hybrid tape; and Group II included 31 patients that had synthetic sling, using transobturator tape approach (TOT) in both groups. Two patients in group I lost to follow up and one patient in group II lost to follow up. The primary endpoint was the safety of sling erosion and major complications. The 2ry endpoint was the efficacy that was assessed objectively by the Cough stress test and subjectively by International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI-SF) and this was assessed at 1, 6, and 12 months. The following variables were compared: operative time, post-operative pain scores, duration of indwelling urethral catheter, hospital stay, and quality of life (QoL) assessment (International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form [ICIQ-UI-SF]) assessing the continence status before and after discharge from hospital.

Results:

Patients among the two groups were normally distributed with no statistical significant difference in patient’s demographic data and comorbidities. The hybrid tape procedure had a longer mean (SD) operative time of 45.3 ± 3.6 min, which was longer than that of synthetic tape procedure, at a mean (SD) of 29.5 ± (3.5) min. This increase was statistically significant ( p < 0.001). The mean time to return to normal activity was significantly shorter in Group II patients compared to those in Group I. Overall cure rate (defined as no more episodes of SUI or pad use) was statistically insignificant in both groups being 86.7% and 83.3% respectively. No bladder, vascular, nervous or intestinal injuries were encountered in either group. Pain was significantly higher in hybrid tape (Group I). Post operative urgency, and urge incontinence rates were not significantly different between in both groups. Two cases in group 1 and one case in the other group, and these cases were managed by medical treatment. Vaginal sling erosion was encountered in one case in group II which was managed by sling removal.

Conclusion:

Hybrid tape may be considered as a treatment option during TOT for female SUI with comparable efficacy and safety to synthetic tape. Long term follow up should be considered.
Mimetic accumulation: Marx, Foucault, and Adorno in and with Federici’s Caliban and the Witch
Authors: Sokolofsky Jake
Published: November 2024

Silvia Federici's Caliban and the Witch is a landmark text in Marxist feminism, rethinking capitalism's development from and with the standpoint of women. In this paper, I trace Federici's theory and use of the Marxist concept of primitive accumulation through both Marx and Foucault, the two central interlocutors employed to analyze the perpetuity of violence following the explicit violence of capital's originary privatization. After understanding Federici's reading of the dialectical double helix of violence and compulsion via Marx, and the relation of capital (as Reason and Order) to the body via Foucault, I position Adorno as a backdrop against which to view Federici’s thesis on primitive accumulation. Despite the innumerable theoretical similarities between Adorno and Federici, a close pairing shows what Caliban and the Witch misses in its final pages: a theory of mimesis—mimetic accumulation—that accounts for the dialectic of primitive accumulation's perpetuity.
Initiating Prognostic Talk During Hospice Multidisciplinary Team Meetings: A Conversation Analytic Study
Authors: Bruun Andrea , White Nicola , Oostendorp Linda , Stone Patrick , Bloch Steven
Published: November 2024

Objective: Guidelines recommend that patients’ prognoses should be discussed by the palliative care multidisciplinary team. However, there is a lack of evidence on how multidisciplinary teams carry out prognostic discussions, and especially how prognostic talk is initiated during team meetings. This study explored how prognostic talk is initiated and responded to during meetings of a hospice multidisciplinary team. Methods: Video-recordings of 24 inpatient multidisciplinary team meetings in a UK hospice were collected from May to December 2021. A total of 65 multidisciplinary team members participated in the meetings. Recordings were transcribed and analysed using Conversation Analysis. Results: Prognostic talk was initiated during multidisciplinary team members’ patient case presentations. Case presentations followed a certain template, and prognoses could be initiated as responses to template items such as the patient's Phase of Illness and Karnofsky's Performance Status score and the patient's main diagnosis and issues. Prognoses also occurred as accounts for a lack of template item responses. Beyond the patient case presentation, prognostic talk was initiated in relation to discharge planning. Prognoses appeared with sequences of assessments that accounted for them. When a prognosis was provided, it received confirming minimal responses from other team members. Conclusions: Patients’ prognoses were embedded into other care discussions during meetings of a hospice multidisciplinary team. These findings can be used to inform the development of clinical guidelines and interventions aiming at improving multidisciplinary team discussions around prognosis in the future.
The Royal Touch Under Neoliberalism: The Swedish King’s Consecration of ‘Leadership’ through World Scouting
Authors: Holmqvist Mikael
Published: November 2024

In this paper, I examine how the formally powerless Swedish King consecrates neoliberalism by promoting the idea of ‘leadership’ in his role as the Honorary Chairman of the World Scout Foundation, a global organization dedicated to educating and fostering young people all over the world. ‘Leadership’, which stresses people’s individual responsibility, entrepreneurship, activity and productivity, and positive thinking, is a critical component of neoliberalism and the market-based society, regarded both as a political ideology, and a way of life. The paper has two contributions to sociology: First, I manifest the status of monarchs as contemporary elites, that is, powerful actors with unproportionate access to economic, social, cultural, communicative and organizational resources. Second, I propose how elites’ consecration is not only limited to sanctifying certain groups of people/classes in contemporary society, but include the social and moral elevation of ideologies, ideas and human capabilities as well.
Street-level bureaucrats’ attitudes towards clients in discretionary decision-making: Evidence from the Norwegian labour and welfare administration
Authors: Alecu Andreea Ioana , Sadeghi Talieh , Terum Lars Inge
Published: November 2024

It is commonly assumed that the attitudes of street level bureaucrats (SLBs) towards benefit recipients influence the discretionary decisions they make. Although discretion in the policy process has been a contentious issue, the impact of bureaucrats’ attitudes has received limited scholarly attention. This study investigates the impact of attitudes on discretionary decision-making and whether the impact of attitudes is conditioned by the SLBs’ perception of recipients’ conduct, when sanctioning non-compliance of requirements among social assistance recipients. The study employs survey data from 925 bureaucrats within the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, measuring four attitude components: cognitive, positive affective, negative affective, and behavioral attitudes. A vignette experiment allows assessing how sensitive discretionary decision-making is to SLBs’ perceptions of recipient conduct. The findings indicate that cognitive attitudes significantly impact discretionary decision-making and are sensitive to SLBs’ perceptions of the recipients’ personal responsibility. Prejudiced cognitive attitudes (viewing recipients as dishonest, manipulative, unpredictable, or stubborn) are associated with a greater tendency to attribute non-compliance to a lack of willingness, irrespective of external circumstances. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of discretionary decision-making and sheds light on the complex dynamics between SLBs’ attitudes and their perceptions of client attributes, offering new insight for public policy and administration.
Study on dimension synthesis optimization of five-bar metamorphic mechanism
Authors: Zhang Jiali , Sun Wei , Tang Bo , Shi Yuanwei , Yang Yifan , Zhu Faxun , Zhao Xiaoke
Published: November 2024

Planar five-bar mechanism has been widely studied as the executive mechanism of the walking part of the robot leg. In order to improve the precision of dimension synthesis optimization of five-bar metamorphic mechanism, a new dimension synthesis method of five-bar metamorphic mechanism is proposed. By constructing a metamorphic cell into the planar five-bar mechanism, the presented method makes the five-bar mechanism have two configurations of crank-slider mechanism and crank-rocker mechanism. Firstly, according to the round-trip characteristics of the slider in the crank-slider mechanism, the working interval of the two configurations is divided and the method of metamorphic configuration is determined. Subsequently, the optimization model of the five-bar metamorphic mechanism is constructed, the coordinate formula of the target trajectory point is derived, the optimization design variables, objective functions and constraints are determined, through this rigorous process determine the dimension comprehensive optimization parameters of the five-bar metamorphic mechanism. Then, different optimization algorithms are used to simulate different classical target trajectories and the optimization results of the three mechanisms are compared. Moreover, the continuity between configurations is verified and the feasibility of the method is proved. The results underscore the superiority of the proposed method over traditional single configuration designs, which enhances the versatility of the five-bar mechanism, avoids the error caused by the two-degree-of-freedom drive, improves the working condition fitness of the five-bar mechanism and provides a theoretical basis for the study of the comprehensive dimension optimization of the five-bar metamorphic mechanism.
A systematic review on the microwave joining of metallic material through hybrid heating technique
Authors: Singh Tarunpreet , Sehgal Shankar
Published: November 2024

Microwaves were initially established for communication in the 1930s and subsequently on account of their substantial benefits, including uniform volumetric heating, cost-effectiveness, cleanliness, repeatability, reproducibility, time efficiency, and environmental sustainability originated as heating mechanisms for organic materials and water. Successively, microwave energy was utilized for ceramics and polymer processing and conclusively, the joining of metallic materials. Despite the common belief that microwaves cannot process metallic materials, this review methodologically investigates the microwave joining of bulk metallic materials through electromagnetic interaction; with a comprehensive analysis of electromagnetic interaction and inherent heating mechanisms in categorical materials. In this paper, the literature has been established thematically to efficiently elucidate the utilization of supplemental materials (such as interface powders, caskets, and susceptors) used in joining bulk metallic materials. The article describes the development of experimental setups based on the previously neglected issues and shortcomings that have seldom been discussed in any review. Subsequently, the examination of the operational process parameters involved in microwave joining, and the joint delineation through physical and mechanical characterization have been expounded. Major contribution of this review article is that 11 types of experimental assembly setups relating to microwave hybrid heating have been elaborately discussed and compared so that the practitioner can select the best possible assembly setup as per the application-specific requirements. Another key contribution of this review pertains to the thoughtful discussions on operational parameters such as microwave frequency, exposure time, power of the magnetron, and location of the experimental assembly, which will be helpful to the researchers while optimizing the microwave hybrid heating based joining process. Another major finding from this review is that microwave joining of metals and alloys will be witnessing significant developments within next few years mainly due to its major benefits including sustainability and ease of automating the microwave process through Industry 4.0 applications.
Micro-damage instability mechanisms in composite materials: Cracking coalescence versus fibre ductility and slippage
Authors: Carpinteri Alberto , Accornero Federico
Published: November 2024

The load-displacement softening response of quasi-brittle solids exhibits an unstable structural behavior, which is characterised by a negative slope in the post-peak regime. In severely brittle situations, the post-peak behaviour can show a virtual positive slope, the fracture propagation occurring unexpectedly with a catastrophic loss in the load-carrying capacity. In this case, if the displacement controls the loading process, the curve exhibits a discontinuity and the representative point drops to the lower branch with a negative slope. On the other hand, in order to obtain a stable crack growth, a decrease both in load and in displacement is required. In the last forty years, in-depth study of the so-called snap-back instability was conducted in relation to crack propagation phenomena in quasi-brittle materials. In the present work, the structural response of two brittle-matrix specimens is analysed: the first contains a distribution of collinear micro-cracks, whereas the second presents multiple parallel reinforcing fibres embedded in the matrix. In both cases, it is shown that the structural response presents a discrete number of snap-back instabilities with related peaks and valleys, the crack propagation occurring alternately within the matrix and through the heterogeneities. Thus, the strong analogy between weakened and strengthened zones consists in a multiple snap-back mechanical response, where descending branches of propagating cracks alternate with ascending (linear) branches of arrested cracks.
National Estimates and Comparisons of Alternatively and Traditionally Certified Music Teachers in the United States
Authors: West Justin J.
Published: November 2024

The purpose of this study was to construct a descriptive and comparative profile of alternatively and traditionally certified music teachers in the United States. Using data from the 2017–2018 National Teacher and Principal Survey, I estimate the prevalence of alternative certification in music, and compare the demographics, credentials, preservice preparation, and inservice experiences of alternatively versus traditionally certified music educators. Results show that rates of alternative certification were uniquely low among public-school music teachers (9%) relative to other arts teachers (22%) and teachers outside the arts (19%). Alternatively certified music teachers (ACMTs) were more racially diverse and likelier to serve in schools with higher shares of racial and ethnic minorities than their traditionally certified counterparts. However, ACMTs’ preservice preparation (e.g., coursework, student teaching) was considerably narrower, and they had higher rates of nonstandard (temporary or emergency) licensure. Certification pathway was not associated with teachers’ inservice professional development experiences or job satisfaction.