bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rationality and Rhetoric in the Corporate World: The Corporate Annual Report as an Aristotelian Genre
Authors: White Robert , Hanson Dallas
Published: July 2007

This paper is part of a research programme into corporate annual reports. Reports do provide the information on the past performance, present state and future prospects which investors in listed companies require for the rational choices attributed to them. They also reveal the companies' responsiveness to the publics comprising the civil societies in which they are embedded. This effect requires more than strict rationality. To use Simon's distinction, the reports then entail both substantive and procedural rationalities. We argue that classical rhetoric and its recovery in the 'new rhetoric' yield useful approaches to the latter, and that annual reports comprise a genre in the rhetorical sense. We illustrate our case through generic features in the reports of the Australian-based multinational, Amcor. We suggest for future research that accounts of corporate functioning are incomplete unless they include the pre-structured interaction between companies and their publics which we have shown here through rhetoric.
Income Elasticities of Demand for Rental Housing in Small Cities
Authors: Stegman Michael A. , Sumka Howard J.
Published: July 2007

The housing consumption of renters in small cities is examined using a constant elasticity model estimated from cross-sectional data for a sample of 500 households. Permanent income is estimated using a cohort averaging technique which adjusts for differential expectations of future incomes. The demand for housing is found to be highly inelastic with respect to income, particularly for large, poor, or black households. The results suggest that for a housing allowance to be an effective means of increasing housing consumption in small cities, it may have to include more restrictive earmarking requirements than in metropolitan markets.
Guidelines for the Allocation of Building Society Lending
Authors: Curry B. , Thomas D.R.
Published: July 2007

The paper makes use of the concept of chains of movement to develop a recursive model of the housing market in which prices and the value of transactions at each 'level' are determined sequentially. The model is then used to examine the effects of changes in the allocation of Building Society lending on the value of transactions in the housing market, and on the value of new house sales. Finally, it is argued that both new and existing house prices display considerable short-run rigidity, and hence, in the short run, changes in the allocation of lending will be reflected primarily in changes in the physical volume of movements, and in the real level of activity in the housebuilding industry.
An Equilibrium Model of Urban Population and the Distribution of Income
Authors: Yinger John , Danziger Sheldon
Published: July 2007

The relationship between the level of income and the population of an urban area is a familiar concern in urban economics. Existing models of this relationship assume a homogeneous labour force and hence no inequality in the size distribution of income within an urban area. In this paper we determine what happens to the degree of inequality in money incomes as urban population increases if there are two classes of workers and if each class is compensated for the higher costs associated with larger urban size. We conclude that the primary determinant of the relationship between changes in inequality and changes in urban size is the change in the skill mix of the area.
Two Trade-off Experiments to Evaluate the Quality of Residential Environments
Authors: Whitbread Michael
Published: July 2007

Two experimental surveys are employed in order to identify the subjects' preferences amongst a group of attributes of their residential environments. From these a number of implications for general improvement area policies are drawn. Differences in responses between subjects could not be explained by personal or household characteristics and were attributed to individual differences in tastes and requirements. The quality of the dwelling is found to be the principal determinant of subjects' preferences with environmental considerations relatively unimportant except for proximity to industry and dereliction.
Social Area Analysis and Planning Research
Authors: Brindley T.S. , Raine J.W.
Published: July 2007

This paper appraises the potential of social area analysis - the identification and description of areas according to their social characteristics - for planning and policy-related research. The development of social area analysis is briefly described, from its roots in pre-war urban sociology into its modern form as a research method based on multivariate statistical techniques, notably principal components analysis and cluster analysis. A number of applications of this method in mainly British planning experience are then described, and the main strengths and weaknesses of social area analysis are considered in terms of the problems of interpreting the results, its accessibility for potential users and the utility of the method for typical planning research problems. A number of further applications are considered and the conclusion is drawn that social area analysis has limited but important uses for a wide variety of planning research exercises.
Public Versus Private Provision of Governmental Services: The Case of Danish Fire Protection Services
Authors: Kristensen Ole P.
Published: July 2007

Comparisons of the costs of private and public production of the same service are of interest because governmental services do not have to be produced by public institutions. The production may be contracted out to private companies. The paper presents an empirical analysis of costs of private and public provision of fire protection in Denmark. Strict state regulation of municipal fire protection services makes the costs of public and private production more comparable than is often the case. The findings show substantial cost differences in favour of private production. In the discussion, this difference is primarily attributed to economies of scale and competition from alternative sources of supply related to private production of fire protection services.
Received Concepts and Theories in African Urbanisation Studies and Urban Management Strategies: A critique
Authors: Okpala Don C. I.
Published: July 2007

Concepts and theories employed in today's African urban studies have often been transfers from Western urbanisation Studies which have embodied transfers of cultural values. These have generally been applied without paying enough attention either to indigenous sociocultural and value systems, nor to analysing and interpreting the relevance of Africa's point in an urban evolutionary continuum. The uncritical transfer and application of such concepts has led to prescriptions and recommendations for urban management policies and programmes that have proved largely ineffective, and involved much misdirection and misapplication of limited resources. The consequence has been the continued exacerbation and compounding of urban problems. It is argued that effective policy responses can only be derived from a more realistic evaluation of African urban problems, based not only on Western European analytical perspectives, but also on the analysis of economic, historical socio-cultural factors indigenous to Africa itself.
Local Community Involvement and Participation in Neighbourhood Watch: A Case-study in Cork, Ireland
Authors: Hourihan Kevin
Published: July 2007

It is often assumed that community policing will develop as a response to local crime and out of a sense of collective solidarity, although the evidence for both is inconclusive and often conflicting. This was examined in Cork, Ireland, by relating peoples' attitudes to neighbourhood watch and their willingness to participate to their perceptions of local crime, their experiences of it, and their involvement in a range of local community behaviours. Discriminant analyses show that the effect of crime is complicated. Serious crime deters involvement, although when this is held constant, victimisation to some offenses results in a greater willingness to join. Of the community variables, only involvement in a community organisation and strong value orientations encourage participation. Other dimensions, like social interaction and affect for the neighbourhood, have no significant influence.
Methodist Personality Transformation in Context: A Response to Haartman
Authors: Malony H. Newton
Published: July 2007

Haartman's analysis of ecstatic experience in early Methodism is contextualized within a brief review of the history of the movement and the theological assertions that underlay these religious behaviors. Wesley emphasized individual, as opposed to institutional religion and affirmed inductive as contrasted with deductive theology. “Sanctification,” Wesley's term for personality transformation, is seen as positive ego development rather than regressive splitting of the ego. Maslow's “peak experience” is affirmed as a valid model for analyzing ecstatic behaviors. Methodism no longer emphasizes such forms of religious expression.
A Psycho-ontological Analysis of Genesis 2-6.
Authors: Peterson Jordan B.
Published: July 2007

Individuals operating within the scientific paradigm presume that the world is made of matter. Although the perspective engendered by this presupposition is very powerful, it excludes value and subjective experience from its fundamental ontology. In addition, it provides very little guidance with regards to the fundamentals of ethical action. Individuals within the religious paradigm, by contrast, presume that the world is made out of what matters. From such a perspective, the phenomenon of meaning is the primary reality. This meaning is revealed both subjectively and objectively, and serves—under the appropriate conditions—as an unerring guide to ethical action.

The ancient stories of Genesis cannot be properly understood without viewing them from within the religious paradigm. Genesis describes the primary categories of the world of meaning, as well as the eternal interactions of those categories. Order arises out of Chaos, through the creative intermediation of Logos, and man is manifested, in turn. Man, a constrained Logos, exists within a bounded state of being, Eden. Eden is a place where order and chaos, nature and culture, find their optimal state of balance. Because Eden is a walled garden, however—a bounded state of being—something is inevitably excluded. Unfortunately, what is excluded does not simply cease to exist. Every bounded paradise thus contains something forbidden and unknown. Man's curiosity inevitably drives him to investigate what has been excluded. The knowledge thus generated perpetually destroys the presuppositions and boundaries that allow his temporary Edens to exist. Thus, man is eternally fallen. The existential pain generated by this endlessly fallen state can undermine man's belief in the moral justifiability of being—and may turn him, like Cain, against brother and God.
Temporal Stability of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity Short-Form among 10- to 12-Year-Old English Children: Test-Retest Data over 15 Weeks
Authors: Lewis Christopher Alan , Cruise Sharon Mary , Lattimer Bill
Published: July 2007

Recently three studies have reported on the test-retest reliability of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity; however, these studies were limited to comparatively small samples ( Ns = 39, 114, 58). The present study examined the temporal stability of the 7-item version of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity over a 15-week period among a sample of 581 English children aged between 10 and 12 years. Data demonstrated that stability across the two administrations was very high ( r = .79); however, there was a significant change in mean scores between Time 1 and Time 2.
Unchain my Heart … Religious Coping and Well-Being in a Forensic Psychiatric Institution
Authors: Pieper Jos , Van Uden Marinus
Published: July 2007

In this paper, we will present some results of a study among patients in a forensic psychiatric hospital in The Netherlands. We will focus on the following issues: the patients’ general religious beliefs and activities; the patients’ religious coping activities; the patients’ well-being; the relationship between general religious beliefs and activities, religious coping activities and well-being. We will compare the results among this population with the results of our earlier research in various other psychiatric settings.
The Personal and Normative Image of God: The Role of Religious Culture and Mental Health
Authors: Jonker Hanneke Schaap , Eurelings-Bontekoe Elisabeth H.M. , Zock Hetty , Jonker Evert R.
Published: July 2007

This article focuses on the difference between the personal God image and the God image that people perceive as normative, that is to say, the God image they believe they should have according to religious culture. A sample of 544 Dutch respondents, of which 244 received psychotherapy, completed the Dutch Questionnaire of God Images (QGI). In general, there appeared to be a discrepancy between the personal and the normative God image. Whether discrepancies were experienced as conflictive was related to religious denomination and mental health. Conflictive feelings were associated with lower religious saliency and higher educational level. Moreover, they were associated with mental health per se and the interaction between mental health and denomination, with patients reporting more conflicts than normals except in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox-Reformed group, where patients and non-patients hardly differed in the experience of conflict.
The Efficacy of ASL/English Bilingual Education: Considering Public Schools
Authors: DeLana Melissa , Gentry Mary Anne , Andrews Jean
Published: July 2007

The study investigated the efficacy and viability of American Sign Language (ASL)/English bilingual education for public schools serving deaf and hard of hearing children. Prior research related to ASL/English bilingual education is reviewed. Quantitative data related to the reading comprehension achievement of 25 deaf and hard of hearing students that were collected for the study are analyzed. The subjects' school program is described in depth. Overall performance of the sample is discussed. A description of high and low gainers is included. A statistically significant correlation between years of ASL usage and reading achievement is identified. Implications for the implementation of ASL/English bilingual methodology are reviewed, and suggestions for future research are offered.
Near-Verbatim Captioning Versus Edited Captioning for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: A Preliminary Investigation of Effects on Comprehension
Authors: Ward Phillip , Wang Ye , Paul Peter , Loeterman Mardi
Published: July 2007

The study assessed the effects of near-verbatim captioning versus edited captioning on a comprehension task performed by 15 children, ages 7–11 years, who were deaf or hard of hearing. The children's animated television series Arthur was chosen as the content for the study. The researchers began the data collection procedure by asking participants to watch videotapes of the program. Researchers signed or spoke (or signed and spoke) 12 comprehension questions from a script to each participant. The sessions were videotaped, and a checklist was used to ensure consistency of the question-asking procedure across participants and sessions. Responses were coded as correct or incorrect, and the dependent variable was reported as the number of correct answers. Neither near-verbatim captioning nor edited captioning was found to be better at facilitating comprehension; however, several issues emerged that provide specific directions for future research on edited captions.
Balancing Individual and Communal Needs: Plague and Public Health in Early Modern Seville
Authors: Bowers Kristy Wilson
Published: July 2007

This article offers a reexamination of the impact of bubonic plague epidemics, using sixteenth-century Seville as a case study. It argues that municipal health officials did not simply shut down the city in times of plague, but successfully negotiated a balance between medical concerns and economic interests. While officials enacted a traditional regimen of public health measures, such as travel bans and quarantines, they also maintained open lines of communication with residents and continually allowed individual exemptions from plague restrictions. Such exemptions empowered residents, allowed trade to continue, and dissipated popular resistance. Redefining public health to more broadly include the overall well-being of the community, this article finds that Seville's health officials successfully maintained public health by balancing the needs of the individual and the community.
Similitude and Empire: On Comorian Strategies of Englishness
Authors: Prestholdt Jeremy
Published: July 2007

This essay is an inquiry into the cultural domestication of globally circulating objects and symbols before colonialism. It seeks to reveal the efficacy of cross-societal performances of similarity—a strategy of appeal that I call similitude—by demonstrating how the strategic uses of imported consumer goods and cultural symbols by the people of Mutsamudu in the Comoros Islands affected British relationships to Mutsamuduans. Islanders adopted the materiality and social discourses of English gentility and through these claimed a moral proximity to the English, which they in turn used to leverage appeals for material and military assistance. By exploring the case of Mutsamuduan strategies of Englishness, we can better appreciate how cultural appropriations in even seemingly marginal locales have historically affected global interrelations.
Is Global Shanghai Good to Think? Thoughts on Comparative History and Post-Structualist Cities
Authors: Wasserstrom Jeffrey N
Published: July 2007

Shanghai is routinely described as "unique," yet also routinely likened to other places. It thus alternately invites and defies categorization. After introducing general methodological concerns and providing basic information about the main historical stages through which Shanghai has passed, this article focuses on the period of rapid development and re-engagement with the world that began in the early 1980s, arguing that a particularly productive way to think about today's Shanghai is as a "reglobalizing postsocialist" urban center—a category that also, for example, includes Budapest.
"On Your Knees, White Man": African (Un)Belongings in Rian Malan's My Traitor's Heart
Authors: Silva Tony Simoes da
Published: July 2007

This paper analyzes the concept of what can be called an "insider Whiteness," at once African and inevitably always already out of Africa. Specifically, it explores life writing narratives by White Africans as a rich setting for an analysis of how White people both relate to the continent as a physical and imaginary space and negotiate their ability to call Africa "home." Through detailed textual analysis of Rian Malan's My Traitor's Heart (1990) and reference to a number of works by J. M. Coetzee, Gillian Slovo, Breyten Breytenbach and Doris Lessing, the paper proposes that the continuing debates about identity and race in post-Apartheid South Africa show that it takes a great deal of work for the White person truly to belong in Africa.
Third Santorini conference pharmacogenomics workshop report: “Pharmacogenomics at the crossroads: what else than good science will be needed for the field to become part of Personalized Medicine?”
Authors: LLerena Adrián , Michel Gerd , Jeannesson Elise , Wong Steven , Manolopoulos Vangelis G. , Hockett Richard Dean , Boubekeur Karima , Siest Gérard , Beaune Philippe , Haefliger Carolina , Arnold Hans Peter , Junien Claudine , Petrovic Nenad , Molloy Roisin , Bekers Otto , Donnelly Claudine , Arens Hans-Juergen , Kaput Jim , McComb Joel
Published: July 2007

This workshop discussed the use of pharmacogenomics knowledge in clinical practice. It was organized in three sections: educational needs, definition of industry as a potential trigger, and regulatory aspects. Regarding pharmacogenomics education, it appears that this is truly lacking, except for patients, who are becoming increasingly educated thanks to the media. Regarding administrators, education is mainly a problem of cost. Indeed, even if cost-effective for society on the whole, pharmacogenomic tests will be expensive for hospitals. Physicians are facing an overabundance of information. They must be helped to bridge the gap between knowledge/research and clinical application. Collaboration between the pharmaceutical industry and the diagnostics industry could be one of the triggers. Moreover, there is a lack of qualification of this information, even though some guidelines are being produced. The Food and Drug Administration organizes workshops that often lead to publications on pharmacogenomic education, genomic data aims and development concepts, which can finally be translated into guidelines. Industry can contribute to pharmacogenomic development, not only through research, but also through marketing activities, which would promote the use of pharmacogenomics by physicians. Legal aspects were also considered in terms of the problem of availability and the degree of qualification of commercial drug tests on the market. The Innovative Medicine Initiative was also presented, which is a public-private partnership to create a biomedical research and development leader to benefit patients and society. Finally, a technical report from the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies on the socioeconomic impact of pharmacogenomics in the EU was presented.

Clin Chem Lab Med 2007;45:843–50.
Job Flexibility, Job Security, and Mental Health Among US Working Adults
Authors: Wang Monica L. , Narcisse Marie-Rachelle , Togher Katherine , McElfish Pearl A.
Published: March 2024

Importance

Understanding the association between job characteristics and mental health can inform policies and practices to promote employee well-being.

Objective

To investigate associations between job characteristics and mental health, work absenteeism, and mental health care use among US adults.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study analyzed data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey and included adults aged 18 years or older who reported employment during the past 12 months. Data were analyzed from May 2023 to January 2024.

Exposures

Job flexibility was assessed as a summative variable to 3 questions: perceived ease of changing one’s work schedule to do things important to oneself or their family, regularity of work schedule changes, and advance notice of work hours. Job security was measured as perceived likelihood of losing one’s job.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Mental health outcomes included self-reported serious psychological distress and frequency of anxiety. Work absenteeism was assessed using the number of missed workdays due to illness. Mental health care use was examined for both current and past year use. Multivariable logistic and binomial regression analyses were used to examine associations of interest.

Results

The analytic sample consisted of 18 144 adults (52.3% [95% CI, 51.5%-53.2%] male; mean age, 42.2 [95% CI, 41.9-42.6] years). Greater job flexibility was associated with decreased odds of serious psychological distress (odds ratio [OR], 0.74 [95% CI, 0.63-0.86]; P < .001) and lower odds of weekly anxiety (OR, 0.89 [95% CI, 0.81-0.97]; P = .008) or daily anxiety (OR, 0.87 [95% CI, 0.79-0.96]; P = .005). Greater job security was associated with decreased odds of serious psychological distress (OR, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.65-0.87]; P < .001) and lower odds of anxiety weekly (OR, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.71-0.88]; P < .001) or daily (OR, 0.73 [95% CI, 0.66-0.81]; P < .001). Greater job flexibility (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.84 [95% CI, 0.74-0.96]; P = .008) and job security (IRR, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.65-0.87]; P < .001) were each associated with decreased number of days worked despite feeling ill over the past 3 months. Greater job security was associated with decreased absenteeism in the past year (IRR, 0.89 [95% CI, 0.82-0.98]; P < .014).

Conclusions and Relevance

Organizational policies that enhance job flexibility and security may facilitate a healthier work environment, mitigate work-related stress, and ultimately promote better mental health.
Estimation with extended sequential order statistics: A link function approach
Authors: Pesch Tim , Cramer Erhard , Polpo Adriano , Cripps Edward
Published: March 2024

The model of extended sequential order statistics (ESOS) comprises of two valuable characteristics making the model powerful when modelling multi‐component systems. First, components can be assumed to be heterogeneous and second, component lifetime distributions can change upon failure of other components. This degree of flexibility comes at the cost of a large number of parameters. The exact number depends on the system size and the observation depth and can quickly exceed the number of observations available. Consequently, the model would benefit from a reduction in the dimension of the parameter space to make it more readily applicable to real‐world problems. In this article, we introduce link functions to the ESOS model to reduce the dimension of the parameter space while retaining the flexibility of the model. These functions model the relation between model parameters of a component across levels. By construction the proposed ‘link estimates’ conveniently yield ordered model estimates. We demonstrate how those ordered estimates lead to better results compared to their unordered counterparts, particularly when sample sizes are small.
Cover Picture: Astron. Nachr. 2/2024
Authors: Wang Zhengli , Lu Jiguang , Jiang Jingchen , Cao Shunshun , Wang Weiyang , Liang Enwei , Xu Renxin
Published: March 2024

It has been proposed that the building blocks of pulsar matter could be ‘an’, strangeons analogy of atomic nucleons but with negative strangeness. A bare strangeon star should not have a smooth surface, but be covered with small hills (‘zits’), as indicated by red spots in this schematic illustration. These zits on the pulsar surface might be responsible for the magnetospheric activity and the mysterious coherent radio emission, as discussed in the contribution by Xu and Wang, this issue, p. e230153. Zits may also be responsible for the significantly non‐symmetrical sparking discovered in the 110‐min polarization observation of pulsar PSR B0950+08 targeted with China's Five‐hundred‐meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope, FAST. Details can be found in the contribution by Wang et al., this issue, e240010.

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Superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with melanocytosis that was endoscopically difficult to differentiate from malignant melanoma
Authors: Horikawa Yoshinori , Goda Kenichi , Koyanagi Ryota , Kondo Masayuki , Abe Keiichiro , Kanamori Akira , Hamada Koichi , Ishida Kazuyuki , Irisawa Atsushi
Published: March 2024

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with dark spots caused by melanocytosis is very rare. A reddish and flat lesion, 4 cm in length and covering over two‐thirds of the circumference, was found in the midthoracic esophagus of a 66‐year‐old male. Multiple brown and black spots are observed in the lesion. Superficial SCC with melanocytosis or malignant melanoma was also suspected. Endoscopic submucosal dissection was performed without biopsies of the spots. Histologically, a few melanocytes were observed in the black spots, and the lesion was diagnosed as SCC (T1a‐lamina propria mucosae) with melanocytosis. We report a case of esophageal SCC with dark black spots that were difficult to differentiate endoscopically from malignant melanoma.
Commercial Transaminases for the Asymmetric Synthesis of Bulky Amines
Authors: Haarr Marianne B. , Sriwong Kotchakorn T. , O'Reilly Elaine
Published: March 2024

Transaminase‐catalysed asymmetric amination is a valuable transformation for the synthesis of chiral amines. However, its use in synthetic chemistry has been curtailed by a narrow substrate scope and limited information on commercially available catalysts. In this work we have explored the substrate scope of selected commercially available transaminases, focusing on prochiral ketones bearing two bulky substituents and their application in both enzyme‐catalysed and enzyme‐triggered reactions. (R)‐ and/or (S)‐selective enzymes converted methyl‐, isopropyl‐, n‐butyl‐, and cyclohexyl‐phenone substrates to the corresponding amines in the range of 6–>99 % ee. In some cases, a stereochemical switch was detected, in which (R)‐enantioselectivity was observed with enzymes typically assigned as (S)‐selective. Upscaling of selected biotransformations provided chiral amines, in >99 % ee and up to 40 % isolated yield. Furthermore, transaminase‐triggered reactions, which were previously limited to methyl‐ and ethyl‐derivatives, were expanded to phenyl‐derivatives for the formation of a cis‐2,6‐disubstituted piperidine and 2,4‐diphenyl pyrroline, and isolated in up to 67 % yield.
Emerging nitric oxide gas‐assisted cancer photothermal treatment
Authors: Liang Shuang , Liu Yufei , Zhu Hongquan , Liao Guangfu , Zhu Wenzhen , Zhang Li
Published: March 2024

Photothermal therapy (PTT) has garnered significant attention in recent years, but the standalone application of PTT still faces limitations that hinder its ability to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes. Nitric oxide (NO), being one of the most extensively studied gaseous molecules, presents itself as a promising complementary candidate for PTT. In response, various nanosystems have been developed to enable the simultaneous utilization of PTT and NO‐mediated gas therapy (GT), with the integration of photothermal agents (PTAs) and thermally‐sensitive NO donors being the prevailing approach. This combination seeks to leverage the synergistic effects of PTT and GT while mitigating the potential risks associated with gas toxicity through the use of a single laser irradiation. Furthermore, additional internal or external stimuli have been employed to trigger NO release when combined with different types of PTAs, thereby further enhancing therapeutic efficacy. This comprehensive review aims to summarize recent advancements in NO gas‐assisted cancer photothermal treatment. It commences by providing an overview of various types of NO donors and precursors, including those sensitive to photothermal, light, ultrasound, reactive oxygen species, and glutathione. These NO donors and precursors are discussed in the context of dual‐modal PTT/GT. Subsequently, the incorporation of other treatment modalities such as chemotherapy (CHT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), alkyl radical therapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy (IT) in the creation of triple‐modal therapeutic nanoplatforms is presented. The review further explores tetra‐modal therapies, such as PTT/GT/CHT/PDT, PTT/GT/CHT/chemodynamic therapy (CDT), PTT/GT/PDT/IT, PTT/GT/starvation therapy (ST)/IT, PTT/GT/Ca2+ overload/IT, PTT/GT/ferroptosis (FT)/IT, and PTT/GT/CDT/IT. Finally, potential challenges and future perspectives concerning these novel paradigms are discussed. This comprehensive review is anticipated to serve as a valuable resource for future studies focused on the development of innovative photothermal/NO‐based cancer nanotheranostics.
Premature luteinization and pregnancy outcomes in depot goserelin‐downregulated assisted reproductive technology cycles: A cross‐sectional study from Ethiopia
Authors: Mekuria Thomas , Wondafrash Mekitie , Sium Abraham Fessehaye
Published: March 2024

Objective

To compare the rate of premature luteinization in depot goserelin‐downregulated in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles with other IVF protocols at a teaching hospital in Ethiopia.

Methods

We conducted a cross‐sectional study on the effects of premature luteinization on IVF outcomes at St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, a tertiary teaching hospital in Ethiopia. Patients who had IVF at this hospital between 2019 and 2020 were included in the study. Patient records were reviewed and collected on Open Data Kit. We used Stata release 15 to analyze the data. A simple descriptive analysis and bivariate analysis  were performed as appropriate. A P‐value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

Results

A total of 305 patients (40 cases with premature luteinization and 265 without premature luteinization) were included. There was no difference in the rate of premature luteinization in the depot goserelin long protocol cycles (6.4%), compared to minimal stimulation (14.1%) and antagonist protocols (16.7%), P = 0.19. Embryo transfer was carried out in 27 (67.5%) patients in the premature luteinization group, which was lower than the 86.0% (228/265) in the non‐premature luteinization group, P = 0.003. There was no difference in the median number of oocytes retrieved (8.5 [interquartile range 5.0, 13.0] per cycle in the premature luteinization group vs 5.0 [interquartile range 3.0, 10.0] in those without premature luteinization, P = 0.10).

Conclusion

A depot goserelin‐downregulated long protocol for IVF is a cost‐effective and convenient option for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation without increased risk of having premature luteinization compared to antagonist and minimal stimulation protocols.
Investigating proton tunneling dynamics in the time‐dependent Schrödinger equation
Authors: Nanni Luca
Published: March 2024

Understanding the temporal evolution of the wave function in the proton tunneling reactions allows us to make theoretical predictions on the possible femtosecond spectroscopy patterns. However, the analytical solution of the time‐dependent Schrödinger equation of complex molecules is challenging and requires a high computational cost. In this study, we solve the time‐dependent Schrödinger equation using the Fourier grid Hamiltonian method, highlighting its simplicity of calculation, even for multidimensional tunneling reactions. The obtained model is applied to studying malonaldehyde's two‐dimensional intramolecular proton tunneling, comparing the results with those obtained using other computational methods.
MyD88 exacerbates inflammation‐induced bone loss by modulating dynamic equilibrium between Th17/Treg cells and subgingival microbiota dysbiosis
Authors: Hsiao Po‐Yan , Huang Ren‐Yeong , Huang Lin‐Wei , Chu Ching‐Liang , Dyke Thomas Van , Mau Lian‐Ping , Cheng Chia‐Dan , Sung Cheng‐En , Weng Pei‐Wei , Wu Yu‐Chiao , Shieh Yi‐Shing , Cheng Wan‐Chien
Published: March 2024

Background

This study aimed to investigate the contribution of myeloid differentiation primary‐response gene 88 (MyD88) on the differentiation of T helper type 17 (Th17) and regulatory T (Treg) cells and the emerging subgingival microbiota dysbiosis in Porphyromonas gingivalis‐induced experimental periodontitis.

Methods

Alveolar bone loss, infiltrated inflammatory cells, immunostained cells for tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), the receptor activator of nuclear factor‐kB ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were quantified by microcomputerized tomography and histological staining between age‐ and sex‐matched homozygous littermates (wild‐type [WT, Myd88+/+] and Myd88−/− on C57BL/6 background). The frequencies of Th17 and Treg cells in cervical lymph nodes (CLNs) and spleen were determined by flow cytometry. Cytokine expression in gingival tissues, CLNs, and spleens were studied by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Analysis of the composition of the subgingival microbiome and functional annotation of prokaryotic taxa (FAPROTAX) analysis were performed.

Results

P. gingivalis‐infected Myd88−/− mice showed alleviated bone loss, TRAP+ osteoclasts, and RANKL/OPG ratio compared to WT mice. A significantly higher percentage of Foxp3+CD4+ T cells in infected Myd88−/− CLNs and a higher frequency of RORγt+CD4+ T cells in infected WT mice was noted. Increased IL‐10 and IL‐17a expressions in gingival tissue at D14–D28 then declined in WT mice, whereas an opposite pattern was observed in Myd88−/− mice. The Myd88−/− mice exhibited characteristic increases in gram‐positive species and species having probiotic properties, while gram‐negative, anaerobic species were noted in WT mice. FAPROTAX analysis revealed increased aerobic chemoheterotrophy in Myd88−/− mice, whereas anaerobic chemoheterotrophy was noted in WT mice after P. gingivalis infection.

Conclusions

MyD88 plays an important role in inflammation‐induced bone loss by modulating the dynamic equilibrium between Th17/Treg cells and dysbiosis in P. gingivalis‐induced experimental periodontitis.
Automatic welding-robot programming based on product-process-resource models
Authors: Sarivan Ioan-Matei , Madsen Ole , Wæhrens Brian Vejrum
Published: March 2024

This paper describes a novel end-to-end approach for automatic welding-robot programming based on a product-process-resource (PPR) model, for one-of-a-kind manufacturing systems. Traditionally, the information needed to program a welding robot is processed and transferred along the manufacturing organisation’s value chain by using several stand-alone digital systems which require extensive human input and high skill to operate. A PPR model is proposed through this research as a platform for storing and processing the necessary information along the value chain seamlessly. Unlike existing approaches which make use of complex algorithms to automatically identify the weldment seams, the approach suggested in this research makes use of information already digitalised by design engineers under the form of ISO 2553:2019 compliant weldment annotations. Hence, the PPR model contains the weldment annotations; it enables the automatic programming of welding robots and reduces human input down to a few minutes only. The applicability in manufacturing of the theoretical concept is demonstrated through technical implementations tested in the laboratory and on the value chain of an engineering-to-order (ETO) industrial partner involved in the metal fabrication industry. The experiments were conducted by creating several products using the proposed artefact. Experiments show that automatic programming of welding robots can be achieved using PPR models. The conducted experiments showed a reduction of about 80% in human input measured in terms of time, when using the proposed solution. The reduction of the human input can free up skilled labour resource which ETO SMEs can reallocate to other tasks.
The illusory certainty: Information repetition and impressions of truth enhance subjective confidence in validity judgments independently of the factual truth
Authors: Stump Annika , Voss Andreas , Rummel Jan
Published: March 2024

People not only judge repeatedly perceived information as more likely being true (the so-called truth effect) they also tend to be more confident after judging the validity of repeated information. These phenomena are assumed to be caused by a higher subjective feeling of ease (i.e., fluency) when processing repeated (vs. new) information. Based on the suggestion that a higher number of coherent mental activations is promoting a fluency experience, we argue that besides repetition an already existing information network, that is (nonspecific) prior knowledge, can enhance fluency. Following this argumentation, information repetition as well as the act of judging incoming information as being true (vs. false) should feed into subjective confidence – independently of the factual truth (when judging under uncertainty). To test this, we reanalyzed two published data sets and conducted a new study. In total, participants (N = 247) gave 29,490 truth judgments and corresponding ratings of subjective confidence while attending two judgement phases (i.e., 10 min and 1 week after the exposure phase in each experiment). Results showed that (a) repetition (in 3 of 3 data sets) and (b) impressions of truth (in 2 of 3 data sets) were systematically related to higher subjective confidence. Moreover, we found (c) a significant positive interaction between repetition and impressions of truth after both intervals in all data sets. Our analyses further underline the moderating effect of time: Influences of repetition significantly decreased with increasing time interval. Notably, the factual truth did not systematically affect any of the above reported effects.
Real-life management of patients with mild cognitive impairment: an Italian survey
Authors: Bonanni Laura , Cagnin Annachiara , Carrarini Claudia , Logroscino Giancarlo , Marra Camillo , Rainero Innocenzo
Published: March 2024

Background

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a syndrome with heterogeneous underlying causes and different rates of disease progression, whose clinical heterogeneity leads to a wide variation in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in clinical practice. The lack of uniform practical recommendations on diagnostic workup and treatment for MCI patients hinders optimal management of these patients, worsening their prognosis. Standardized guidelines for the investigation and follow-up of MCI are therefore urgently required.

Aim

Aim of our study was to assess the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to MCI patients in the setting of Italian Memory Clinics.

Methods

A survey was delivered to a sample of Italian neurologists through two different phases: a first exploratory phase recording general information about the usual clinical management of patients with MCI, and a subsequent operative phase assessing the practical diagnostic and therapeutic decisions taken in a real life setting to manage subjects with MCI.

Results

A total of 121 neurologists participated to the first phase of the survey and 203 patients were enrolled in the second phase. Information gathered in the first phase of the survey highlighted a non-uniform use of diagnostic criteria and procedures for MCI, as well as a very heterogeneous therapeutic strategy among Italian neurologists. In the second phase, recorded data on diagnostic and therapeutic approach confirmed the large variability observed in the first phase of the survey.

Conclusions

The results of our study reflect a suboptimal management of MCI patients in Italy and highlight the need of standardized diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for this condition.
The morphosyntax of Gothic preverb compounds: incorporation and applicativisation
Authors: Tan Tamisha L.
Published: March 2024

Gothic preverb compounds illustrate several interesting characteristics, including multiple preverb stacking, idiomatisation, tmesis (i.e., separation by clitics), and P-copying (i.e., multiple pronunciation of the preverb). This paper is a close examination of the morphosyntax of these compounds, highlighting novel empirical generalisations about the Gothic language with key theoretical implications for our understanding of Germanic complex verbs and the alternations they participate in. In particular, this paper proposes a structural distinction between preverb compounds which are obligatorily semantically transparent and those which are optionally idiomatic. In arguing that transparent compounds involve the mechanism of preposition incorporation and m-merger, paralleling recent accounts of clitic doubling, while idiomatic compounds involve a thematic high applicative projection, this paper captures nuanced differences in these compounds’ case assignment and argument licensing behaviour. These structural differences will be shown to derive these two compound types’ constrained interaction with the aforementioned phenomena of stacking, tmesis, and copying. In addition, this paper compares Gothic complex verbs to their cross-linguistic correlates within and beyond Germanic, whilst also providing a diachronic pathway for the development of (multiple) preverb compounds.
A Robust Aluminum Material Selection Process in the Aviation Industry: A Linear Discrete System Stability Test Perspective for Fuzzy Multicriteria Decision-Making
Authors: Ic Yusuf Tansel , Hamzaoğlu Burak Meriç , Yurdakul Mustafa
Published: March 2024

Aluminum parts are used in the aviation industry because of the need for light. However, in addition to lightness, critical parts that must have high strength properties have also been developed. The corrosion resistance, resistance to high temperatures, and workability were investigated in this case. It becomes difficult to choose among many aluminum materials that can be alternatives to each other when these features are included. The developed approach, which considers many of the features listed above and ultimately recommends to the user the most suitable aluminum material for the relevant critical part, will be used in overcoming the difficulties in this process. A material selection model is proposed in this paper for this purpose, and the decision-making model is demonstrated with examples from the aviation industry. Therefore, the developed model, which will enable the selection of the most suitable materials among alternative materials, especially for critical parts in the aviation industry, will guide professionals working in this field. For this purpose, the fuzzy TOPSIS method is used in the study, and suitable alternatives are determined. Finally, a robustness analysis is proposed to determine the most suitable aluminum material for highly uncertain situations. We apply a stability evaluation study based on process control theory in the robustness analysis.
Spectral transformations and second kind polynomials associated with a hermitian linear functional
Authors: García-Ardila Juan Carlos , Marcellán Francisco
Published: March 2024

The aim of this paper is to analyze the relation between the Christoffel transformations in the framework of hermitian linear functionals and the associated polynomials of the second kind through of their associated Carathéodory formal power series. In particular, some results are given in the way of characterization of linear spectral transformations using Christoffel and Geronimus transformations. This gives a new example of rational spectral transformation that has not yet been studied in the literature.
Failure pressure prediction of high-strength steel pipe bend considering pipe and corrosion geometry
Authors: Vijaya Kumar Suria Devi , Karuppanan Saravanan , Perumal Veeradasan , Ovinis Mark
Published: March 2024

This study examines the influence of pipe bend geometry and corrosion geometry on the failure pressure of high-strength steel pipe bends subjected to internal pressure and axial compressive stress. Finite element analysis determines the impact of bend angle, bending radius, defect depth, defect length, defect spacing, and axial compressive stress on failure pressures. The findings reveal that increasing the bend angle reduces failure pressures significantly, with corrosion defects exacerbating this effect. Increased bending radius increases normalized failure pressure from 0.88 to 0.91 for intrados defects and decreases it from 0.98 to 0.93 for extrados defects. Additionally, single defects cause a slight 2.5–3.0% reduction in normalized failure pressure, while longitudinally and circumferentially aligned defects result in a 13–15% decrease in normalized failure pressure. Defect depth and length also significantly influence the failure pressure, particularly for deeper and longer defects (up to 48.2%). Furthermore, an empirical equation for predicting failure pressures in corroded pipe bends with high accuracy (R2 = 0.99) is developed based on Artificial Neural Network. This enhances pipeline integrity assessment and design practices.