bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Potential Mechanisms Underlying Marijuana-Associated Periodontal Tissue Destruction
Authors: Scott D.A. , Dukka H. , Saxena D.
Published: September 2021

While definitive evidence awaits, cannabis is emerging as a likely risk factor for periodontal tissue destruction. The mechanisms that underlie potential cannabis-induced or cannabis-enhanced periodontal diseases, however, remain to be elucidated. Herein, we 1) examine insights obtained from the endocannabinoid system, 2) summarize animal models of exposure to cannabinoid receptor agonists and antagonists, 3) review the evidence suggesting that cannabis and cannabis-derived molecules exert a profound influence on components of the oral microbiome, and 4) assess studies indicating that marijuana and phytocannabinoids compromise the immune response to plaque. Furthermore, we address how knowledge of cannabinoid influences in the oral cavity may be exploited to provide potential novel periodontal therapeutics, while recognizing that such medicinal approaches may be most appropriate for nonhabitual marijuana users. The suspected increase in susceptibility to periodontitis in marijuana users is multifaceted, and it is clear that we are only beginning to understand the complex toxicological, cellular, and microbial interactions involved. With marijuana consumption increasing across all societal demographics, periodontal complications of use may represent a significant, growing oral health concern. In preparation, an enhanced research response would seem appropriate.
Effectiveness of Family-Centered Oral Health Promotion on Toddler Oral Health in Hong Kong
Authors: Yu K.F. , Wen W. , Liu P. , Gao X. , Lo E.C.M. , Wong M.C.M.
Published: September 2021

Early childhood caries is common in Hong Kong, and parental practices on maintaining good oral health of their young children are far from satisfactory. This article reports on the effectiveness of a randomized controlled trial on family-centered oral health promotion to new parents in establishing proper feeding habits and oral hygiene practices and in reducing caries risk among 3-y-old toddlers. At baseline, pregnant mothers and their husbands were recruited and randomly allocated into 2 groups. The test group received individualized oral health education (OHE) via a behavioral and educational counseling approach while the control group received the OHE pamphlets only. Information related to the feeding habits, oral hygiene practices, and oral health of the toddlers was collected by parent-completed questionnaires and oral examination annually via home visits. A total of 580 families were recruited at baseline, and 436 toddlers were followed up when they reached 3 y old (test, n = 228; control, n = 208; follow-up rate, 75.2%). The proportions of toddlers who held food in the mouth, fell asleep when milk feeding, had prolonged use of the nursing bottle, ate before bed, and consumed a sweet snack daily were significantly lower in the test group than in the control group (all P < 0.05). Significantly higher proportions of toddlers brushed their own teeth twice daily, were brushed by their parents twice daily, and used fluoride toothpaste than in the control group (all P < 0.001). Toddlers in the test group had better oral health status with a lower level of visible plaque, Streptococcus mutans, white spot lesion, and cavitated lesion (all P < 0.05). Family-centered oral health promotion and individualized OHE for parents via a behavioral and educational counseling approach are more effective in establishing good feeding habits and parental toothbrushing practices and in decreasing the caries risk of their toddlers than the distribution of OHE pamphlets alone (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02937194).
Regulating Fibrocartilage Stem Cells via TNF-α/Nf-κB in TMJ Osteoarthritis
Authors: Bi R. , Chen K. , Wang Y. , Luo X. , Li Q. , Li P. , Yin Q. , Fan Y. , Zhu S.
Published: September 2021

In this study, we investigate harnessing fibrocartilage stem cell (FCSC) capacities by regulating tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) signaling for cartilage repair in temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJOA). Stem cell specifics for FCSCs were characterized in the presence of TNF-α. Etanercept as a TNF-α inhibitor and BAY 11-7082 as an Nf-κB inhibitor were used to study TNF-α regulation of FCSCs. Lineage tracing was performed in Gli1-CreERT+;Tmfl/fl mice when etanercept (1 mg/kg, every 3 d) or isometric vehicle was subcutaneously injected to trace specific changes in FCSCs. Surgically induced TMJOA Sprague-Dawley rats were generated with BAY 11-7082 (5 mg/kg, every 3 d) or vehicle subcutaneous injection to investigate the functional role of TNF-α/Nf-κB in TMJOA. Anterior disc displacement (ADD) rabbits were used to analyze the therapeutic effect of etanercept as a TMJOA intra-articular treatment with etanercept (0.02 mg in 100 μL, every 2 wk) or isometric vehicle. In vitro, TNF-α inhibited proliferation of FCSCs and increased FCSC apoptosis. TNF-α activation interfered with osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of FCSCs, while etanercept could partially recover FCSC specificity from TNF-α. FCSC lineage tracing in Gli1-CreERT+;Tmfl/fl mice showed that the chondrogenic capacity of Gli1+ cell lineage was markedly suppressed in osteoarthritis cartilage, the phenotype of which could be significantly rescued by etanercept. Specifically blocking the Nf-κB pathway could significantly weaken the regulatory effect of TNF-α on FCSC specificity in vitro and in TMJOA rats in vivo. Finally, intra-articular etanercept treatment efficiently rescued TMJ cartilage degeneration and growth retardation in ADD rabbits. Inhibition of TNF-α signaling reduced Nf-κB transcripts and recovered FCSC specificities. In vivo, etanercept treatment effectively rescued the osteoarthritis phenotype in TMJOA mice and ADD rabbits. These data suggest a novel therapeutic mechanism whereby TNF-α/Nf-κB inhibition promotes FCSC chondrogenic capacity for cartilage transformation in TMJOA.
Work aspirations, intellectual disability and ‘cruelling out’ the mark in the job club
Authors: Dearing Kim
Published: September 2021

This article uses ethnographic data to explore the relationship between a job club facilitator and a job seeker with an intellectual disability, to illuminate the gulf between employment activation and the multifaceted everyday reality experienced through employment preparation activities, at a job club established for people with intellectual disabilities who are in receipt of social care. The focus of this article is the micro-interactions apparent within the job club that aligns with Goffman’s ‘cooling the mark’ framework, which is unpacked and extended. The strategies at play here refute the broader, individualised ‘welfare-to-work’ neoliberal rhetoric of employment being available to anyone who works hard enough to attain it. Instead, job seekers are reoriented to accept volunteering roles or dubious unpaid work which are presented as employment-like alternatives. Yet, Goffman’s concept is not static as he envisaged: it fluctuates. For, within this reorientation process, strategies are deployed onto individuals to ensure they are kept interested enough to both accept a lowered employment status, while simultaneously still encouraged to strive for paid work one day. As such, this article teases out the tension and paradox between the clusters of promises attached to work as ‘the good life’ together with everyday disabling experiences of cruel optimism by encouraging job seekers to accept non-normative forms of employment.
Maximising Operational Effectiveness: Exploring Stigma, Militarism, and the Normative Connections to Military Partners’ Support-Seeking
Authors: Long Emma
Published: September 2021

Non-serving partners of personnel in the British military endure numerous challenges due to their association with the Armed Forces and complex systems of support exist to mitigate some disadvantages they might experience. Military research suggests that support-seeking can be stigmatised, limiting the effectiveness of existing support systems. However, it seldom engages with how stigma is produced, often obscuring reflection on normative and disciplinary power, rendering discussions politically anesthetised. Through the thematic analysis of welfare policy and provision, interviews with welfare-providers and military partners, this article develops understandings of stigma as a barrier to support-seeking, considering how it is produced and how it is productive of gendered militarised neoliberalism.
COVID-19, Nation-States and Fragile Transnationalism
Authors: Nehring Daniel , Hu Yang
Published: September 2021

In this intervention, we discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has reconfigured transnational mobilities, connections, and solidarities, which reveals the fragility of transnationalism predicated on cosmopolitan ethics but rooted in nation-level politics. We show that as the pandemic severely disrupted transnational (infra)structures predicated on state-centric transnationalism from above, the survival and well-being of diverse transnationally mobile groups, such as refugees, transnational families, and international students, have been placed under unprecedented threat. In doing so, we reflect on the configurations of transnationalism in sociological understandings of globalisation, in and beyond the context of COVID-19. We advance an urgent call for action to address the consequences of the pandemic for vulnerable people who lead precarious lives in a transnational limbo caught in the gaps between nation-states.
The Long Arm of Early Exclusionary School Discipline? A Multi-Model Analysis
Authors: Andrew Megan , Blake Mary Kate
Published: September 2021

In this analysis, we consider how a potentially important triggering event in the life course—exclusionary school discipline—may affect students’ high school outcomes. We extend the literature to focus on the long-term effects of exclusionary discipline that occurs in the early grades, when students are relatively young and when a significant share of exclusionary discipline first occurs. We further evaluate the potential, long-term effects of exclusionary discipline on different high school outcomes (non-completion, GED certification, high school diploma) in statistical models that account for observed and unobserved heterogeneity. Overall, we find robust and consistent evidence that very young children are not somehow more resilient or more protected from negative, long-term effects of suspension or expulsion in early elementary school. Moreover, previous research might underestimate the effects of (early) exclusionary discipline more generally by ignoring the independent effects on GED certification.
QUO Vadis, Technical Communication?
Authors: Sides Charles H.
Published: September 2021

Not along ago, I received a call from a colleague who teaches technical writing, among other things, in the department and university which gave our field John Mitchell, one of the founders of the Society for Technical Communication and an early definer of our field. My colleague wanted to know how my former department would value, in terms of tenure and promotion, a book on Boston Harbor nautical matters. His department did not value it at all, and unfortunately, neither would have mine. It is this experience, which is too often common to technical communication scholars, that prompts the question in this article's title.
Sociodemographic, Health, and Caregiving Patterns of Aging Caregivers in Oregon: Gender Comparisons and the Role of Leisure Activities
Authors: Muruthi James R. , Green Aubrey , Ehlinger Peter P. , Osa Maggie L. , Yang Di
Published: September 2021

Recent studies have projected an increase in aging informal caregivers who are often dealing with their frailty. However, little is known about their health, caregiving factors, or coping resources that promote health. Informed by lifespan perspective and health behavior models, this study examined the gender differences in health and caregiving profiles of aging informal caregivers and investigated the association between leisure activity and unhealthy days. A sample of 565 informal caregivers (>50 years) was drawn from the Oregon version of the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Descriptive analyses revealed that the caregivers were mainly women between 60 and 69, White non-Hispanic, married, college graduates, retired and healthinsured. Negative binomial regression showed that leisure activities were related to fewer odds of reporting unhealthy days for most comparison scenarios. Findings emphasize the importance of accounting for group differences and similarities in understanding health and caregiving factors among informal caregivers.
Examining honesty–humility and cheating behaviors across younger and older adults
Authors: O’Connor Alison M. , Judges Rebecca A. , Lee Kang , Evans Angela D.
Published: September 2021

Self-report research indicates that dishonesty decreases across adulthood; however, behavioral measures of dishonesty have yet to be examined across younger and older adults. The present study examined younger and older adults’ cheating behaviors in relation to their self-reported honesty–humility. Younger ( N = 112) and older adults ( N = 85) completed a matrix task where they had the opportunity to falsely inflate their performance. Participants also completed the self-report measure of honesty–humility from the HEXACO-PI-R. Older adults were significantly less likely to cheat and had higher ratings of honesty–humility compared to younger adults. Greater honesty–humility predicted lower cheating behavior. These results demonstrate that older adults show greater rates of honesty and humility compared to younger adults using both behavioral and self-report methods.
It’s a rich man’s world: How class and glass ceilings intersect for UK parliamentary candidates
Authors: Murray Rainbow
Published: September 2021

Why is politics dominated by wealthy men, and how do gendered and class barriers to running for office intersect? This article addresses these questions using the UK as a case study. Drawing on interview data, I highlight the formal and informal institutions that shape the class and glass ceilings in electoral politics. I identify how the high personal costs of running for office, especially in relation to candidates’ time, present a barrier to those without significant financial resources. These costs are gendered, as women typically have less time and money than men. These resource barriers are compounded by additional gendered obstacles including discrimination, abuse and gendered family roles. I find that the intersection of the class and glass ceilings creates cumulative barriers that are particularly prohibitive for working-class women. The findings extend our understanding of class and gender gaps within politics and, crucially, the intersection between them.
Single-lobe transplantation with contralateral pneumonectomy: Long-term survival
Authors: Ikeda Masaki , Motoyama Hideki , Sonobe Makoto , Date Hiroshi
Published: September 2021

We report two cases of long-term survival after single living-donor lobar lung transplantation with contralateral pneumonectomy. An 8-year-old female with pulmonary graft-versus-host disease after cord-blood transplantation underwent single living-donor lobar lung transplantation with simultaneous contralateral pneumonectomy due to an oversized graft. She has been performing daily life activities for ≥11 years with limited physical development. A 41-year-old female with short stature underwent single living-donor lobar lung transplantation due to pulmonary graft-versus-host disease after peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Contralateral pneumonectomy was required 7 years following living-donor lobar lung transplantation due to pneumonia in the native lung. Eleven years after living-donor lobar lung transplantation, she is able to perform daily life activities.
Role of Curcumin in the Management of Schizophrenia: A Narrative Review
Authors: Dinakaran Damodharan , Sreeraj Vanteemar S. , Venkatasubramanian Ganesan
Published: September 2021

Nutraceutical agents and food supplements are commonly used as treatment adjuncts in neuropsychiatric disorders. Curcumin, a bioactive agent obtained from the rhizome of Curcuma longa, with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, has gained much research attention in the last few decades. In this narrative review, we intend to summarize the evidence available for curcumin as an add-on agent in the management of schizophrenia. We searched PubMed/EBSCO for both human and animal trials utilizing curcumin in the management of schizophrenia. We obtained ten articles (five preclinical and five clinical) from the focused literature search. Clinical research utilizing curcumin in schizophrenia is limited to negative and cognitive symptoms. Available preclinical studies suggest curcumin’s utility in ameliorating extrapyramidal and metabolic side effects when given as an adjunct with antipsychotics. Curcumin, as an add-on agent, appears promising to improve the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Notably, curcumin was tolerable and safe in all the randomized human clinical trials. The poor oral bioavailability is, however, a limiting factor in its widespread use.
Subtle Linguistic Cues Affecting Gender In(Equality)
Authors: Formanowicz Magdalena , Hansen Karolina
Published: September 2021

Gender stereotypes and related gender discrimination are encoded in and transmitted through language, contributing to gender inequality. In this article, we review research findings on subtle linguistic means of communicating gender stereotypes and gender hierarchies. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive repository of various instances of subtle linguistic biases potentially useful in creating a text analysis toolbox to quantify gender bias in language. Our focus is predominantly on those areas that have received less attention both in research and in policy making. As gender inequalities are communicated through linguistic practices, attempts to change social reality include changes in language. Therefore, we suggest possible interventions for practices of gender equality in language.
A Solid Fluids Lexicon
Authors: Clark Nigel , Engelmann Sasha , Gruppuso Paolo , Ingold Tim , Krause Franz , Lucas Gavin , Meulemans Germain , Simonetti Cristián , Szerszynski Bronislaw , Watts Laura
Published: September 2021

In our discussions around the theme of solid fluids, we often resort to everyday words, many of them of ancient derivation and rich in association. We have decided to make a list of some of the words that come up most often – barring those that already figure as the principal characters of individual contributions – and to distribute among ourselves the task of writing a sort of mini-biography for each. The resulting lexicon with 19 entries, ranging from ‘cloud’ and ‘concrete’ to ‘wave’ and ‘wood’, serves as a conclusion to the collection as a whole.
Planetary Cities: Fluid Rock Foundations of Civilization
Authors: Clark Nigel
Published: September 2021

Whereas recent framings of planetary urbanization stress the planet-scaled impacts of contemporary urban processes, we might also conceive of cities as being constitutively ‘planetary’ from their very outset. This article looks at two ways in which the earliest urban centres or ‘civilizations’ on the floodplains of the Fertile Crescent harnessed the deep, geological forces of the Earth. The first is the tapping and channelling of sedimentary processes, central to what Wittfogel referred to as hydraulic civilizations (1963). The second is the use of high-heat technologies to smelt and forge metals, which can be construed as a capture of igneous processes. What both sets of practices have in common is that they involve skilled intervention in fluid-solid phase transitions between solid rock and flowing particulate matter. Viewing cities as constitutively geological or planetary in this way can help us reimagine the challenges posed to urban spaces by looming transformations in Earth systems.
The Tempo of Solid Fluids: On River Ice, Permafrost, and Other Melting Matter in the Mackenzie Delta
Authors: Krause Franz
Published: September 2021

Seasonal and historical transformations of ice and permafrost suggest that the Mackenzie Delta in Arctic Canada can be understood as a solid fluid. The concerns and practices of delta inhabitants show that fluidity and solidity remain important attributes in a solid fluid delta. They are significant not as exclusive properties, but as relational qualities, in the context of particular human projects and activities. Indigenous philosophies of ‘the land’ and Henri Lefebvre’s notion of ‘tempo’ in Rhythmanalysis: Space, Time and Everyday Life (2004) may help to illustrate the predicament of living in a world that is solid and fluid rhythmically, and in relation to particular practices. Economic, political, sociocultural and physical transformations can all be experienced as both solid and fluid, depending on the degree to which they resonate with people’s purposes. In a world where everything seems to be changed and changing, solidity and fluidity may best be seen as indications of relative differences in tempo.
Analytics Capability in Marketing Education: A Practice-Informed Model
Authors: Kurtzke Simone , Setkute Justina
Published: September 2021

As marketing continues to be transformed by technology and the explosion of big data, academic research has identified a significant need for analytics skills in marketing education. However, it is unclear whether current curriculum approaches to marketing analytics equip students with the skills employers need and prepare them effectively for data-driven marketing roles. This study identifies the knowledge and skills marketing graduates require for analytics practice to bridge the theory-practice gap and increase students’ employability. Our research reveals that a blend of knowledge, soft and technical skills is needed, and that the ability to communicate insights from data to stakeholders is critical. We offer a practice-informed model which demonstrates that conceptual knowledge, technical skills, tools skills and soft skills are required to develop holistic analytics capability for marketing practice. Actionable takeaways for how educators can embed holistic analytics teaching in marketing education are also provided.
Unusual paediatric sigmoid perivascular epithelioid cell tumour with regional lymph node metastasis treated using gemcitabine and docetaxel: a case report and literature review
Authors: Cheng Hsiu-Chung , Kuo Chia-Yu , Huang Ching-Wen , Shih Hsiang-Hung , Lin Chih-Hung , Wang Jaw-Yuan
Published: September 2021

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumour (PEComa) is an extremely rare neoplasm with distinctive morphology and specific expression of immunohistochemical markers. The lesion is typically diagnosed in middle-aged women, with few reports of paediatric cases, and there is no standardized treatment for the tumour type. Here, the case of a 17-year-old female, who presented with painless haematochezia for 2 days and was diagnosed with gastrointestinal PEComa of the sigmoid colon with regional lymph node metastasis after serial examination, is presented. She was treated by surgical resection of the tumour and cytotoxic chemotherapy comprising 900 mg/m2 gemcitabine and 100 mg/m2 docetaxel every 3 weeks for six cycles. Haematochezia did not recur, and complete response was achieved, with progression-free survival at the 24-month follow-up examination. Surgical resection with adjuvant conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy may be considered as an option for treating gastrointestinal PEComa.
Democratizing finance with Robinhood: Financial infrastructure, interface design and platform capitalism
Authors: Tan Gordon Kuo Siong
Published: September 2021

It is widely claimed that financial technology democratizes financial access and promotes financial inclusion. This paper challenges this dominant narrative of financial technology using the popular US-based mobile investing platform Robinhood as a case study. Analyzing press articles on Robinhood and regulatory filings of online brokerages, the concepts of financial infrastructures and platforms are used to unpack the capitalist logics that drive the platform business model. Specifically, this paper shows how digital interface design plays a central role in Robinhood's articulation of investors into the stock markets, through its simple, minimalist app that keeps users engaged by the productive management of ‘frictions’. The ease of investing via platform-based brokerages has seen investors taking on greater amounts of risk. This paper argues that Robinhood's success is driven by the continued expansion of its user base using various interface design techniques. This allows platform capitalism to be enacted by extracting rent through various revenue streams, where higher rents are derived from more frequent and riskier trading behaviors. The narrative of democratizing finance as employed widely in the financial technology sector thus obscures the capitalist logics and predatory practices that underlie financial technology.
A prolactin-dependent sexually dimorphic mechanism of migraine chronification
Authors: Ikegami Daigo , Navratilova Edita , Yue Xu , Moutal Aubin , Kopruszinski Caroline M , Khanna Rajesh , Patwardhan Amol , Dodick David W , Porreca Frank
Published: September 2021

Objective

Determination of possible sex differences in mechanisms promoting migraine progression and the contribution of prolactin and the prolactin long (PRLR-L) and short (PRLR-S) receptor isoforms.

Background

The majority of patients with chronic migraine and medication overuse headache are female. Prolactin is present at higher levels in women and increases migraine. Prolactin signaling at the PRLR-S selectively sensitizes nociceptors in female rodents, while expression of the PRLR-L is protective.

Methods

Medication overuse headache was modeled by repeated sumatriptan administration in male and female mice. Periorbital and hindpaw cutaneous allodynia served as a surrogate of migraine-like pain. PRLR-L and PRLR-S isoforms were measured in the trigeminal ganglion with western blotting. Possible co-localization of PRLR with serotonin 5HT1B and 5HT1D receptors was determined with RNAscope. Cabergoline, a dopamine receptor agonist that inhibits circulating prolactin, was co-administered with sumatriptan. Nasal administration of CRISPR/Cas9 plasmid was used to edit expression of both PRLR isoforms.

Results

PRLR was co-localized with 5HT1B or 5HT1D receptors in the ophthalmic region of female trigeminal ganglion. A single injection of sumatriptan increased serum PRL levels in female mice. Repeated sumatriptan promoted cutaneous allodynia in both sexes but down-regulated trigeminal ganglion PRLR-L, without altering PRLR-S, only in females. Co-administration of sumatriptan with cabergoline prevented allodynia and down-regulation of PRLR-L only in females. CRISPR/Cas9 editing of both PRLR isoforms in the trigeminal ganglion prevented sumatriptan-induced periorbital allodynia in females.

Interpretation

We identified a sexually dimorphic mechanism of migraine chronification that involves down-regulation of PRLR-L and increased signaling of circulating prolactin at PRLR-S. These studies reveal a previously unrecognized neuroendocrine mechanism linking the hypothalamus to nociceptor sensitization that increases the risk of migraine pain in females and suggest opportunities for novel sex-specific therapies including gene editing through nasal delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 constructs.
Solumedrol Treatment for Severe Sepsis in Humans with a Blunted Adrenocorticotropic Hormone-Cortisol Response: A Prospective Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Pilot Clinical Trial
Authors: Birudaraju Divya , Hamal Sajad , Tayek John A.
Published: September 2021

Purpose

To test the benefits of Solumedrol treatment in sepsis patients with a blunted adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-cortisol response (delta <13 µg/dL) with regard to the number of days on ventilator, days on intravenous blood pressure support, length of time in an intensive care unit (ICU), 14-day mortality, and 28-day mortality. The trial was prospective, randomized, and double-blind. As part of a larger sepsis trial, 54 patients with sepsis had an intravenous ACTH stimulation test using 250 µg of ACTH, and serum cortisol was measured at times 0, 30, and 60 min. Eleven patients failed to increase their cortisol concentration above 19.9 µg/dL and were excluded from the clinical trial as they were considered to have adrenal insufficiency. The remaining 43 patients had a baseline cortisol of 32 ± 1 µg/dL increased to 38 ± 3 µg/dL at 30 min and 40 ± 3 at 60 min. All cortisol responses were <12.9 µg/dL between time 0 and time 60, which is defined as a blunted cortisol response to intravenous ACTH administration. Twenty-one were randomized to receive 20 mg of intravenous Solumedrol and 22 were randomized to receive a matching placebo every 8 h for 7-days. There was no significant difference between the two randomized groups. Data analysis was carried out bya two-tailed test and P < .05 as significant.

Results

The mean age was 51 ± 2 (mean ± SEM) with 61% female. Groups were well matched with regard to APACHE III score in Solumedrol versus placebo (59 ± 6 vs 59 ± 6), white blood cell count (18.8 ± 2.2 vs 18.6 ± 2.6), and incidence of bacteremia (29 vs 39%). The 28-day mortality rate was reduced in the Solumedrol treated arm (43 ± 11 vs 73 ± 10%; P < .05). There was no change in days in ICU, days on blood pressure agents, or days on ventilator. Seven days of high-dose intravenous Solumedrol treatment (20 mg every 8 h) in patients with a blunted cortisol response to ACTH was associated with an improved 28-day survival. This small study suggests that an inability to increase endogenous cortisol production in patients with sepsis who are then provided steroid treatment could improve survival.
Responses and Interventions to Delusions Experienced by Community-Dwelling Older Persons With Dementia
Authors: Cohen-Mansfield Jiska , Golander Hava
Published: September 2021

We examined how family caregivers react, and what interventions they use in response to delusions exhibited by relatives with dementia in a community setting. Structured interviews were conducted with 68 family caregivers whose relatives were described as experiencing delusions based on the BEHAVE-AD or the NPI. Quantitatively, we cross-tabulated the type of response to delusion by the type of person providing the response and by the type of delusion manifested. Qualitatively, we analyzed open-ended responses to understand the types of caregivers’ responses to delusions, the contextual circumstances, and the impact of the responses. Caregiver responses to delusions included “Explaining that the delusion was wrong” (34% of responses), “Trying to calm down” (27%), “Agreeing with the delusion” (13%), “Distracting” (12%), and “Ignoring” (10%). Responses including “Anger, yelling or scolding,” were rare. The vast majority of reactions were by family caregivers of the persons with dementia. The relative frequency of the type of reaction tended to be consistent across delusion types. The qualitative analyses added some categories of reactions, but mostly highlighted issues to be considered when examining responses and their efficacy, including the use of multiple responses, and the manner and mood in which responses are conveyed. To cope with delusions, family caregivers develop intuitive intervention techniques. Understanding those interventions and reactions by caregivers and their relative efficacy can inform guidance programs for family caregivers. Improved support for family caregivers has the potential to positively influence the behavior of caregivers and older adults with dementia and improve their respective quality of life.
Couple Religiosity and Well-Being Among Older Adults in the United States
Authors: Upenieks Laura , Uecker Jeremy E. , Schafer Markus H.
Published: September 2021

Objectives: This article evaluates whether couples’ religious similarity is consequential for the health of older married men and women. Alternatively, we examine whether women’s religiosity alone is health-protective to their husbands . Methods: Using dyadic data from the US National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a representative sample of 913 individuals ages 62–91 plus their marital partners, we perform latent-class analysis to separate older couples into classes based on religious characteristics. Ordered logistic regression models are then used to assess whether different combinations of religious (dis)similarity are associated with married men and women’s well-being. Results: We find that older women in highly religious, homogamous marriages report better mental and physical health relative to women in heterogamous and secular (non-religious) marriages. No significant associations were observed for men. Discussion: Our results emphasize that religiosity is not only an individual trait—dis/similarities within a couple have important implications for older women’s well-being.
Effect of the elastic hysteresis term formulation and response to non-harmonic periodic excitations of a non-linear SDOF dynamical model with weak frequency-dependency in the time domain
Authors: Spitas Christos , Dwaikat Mahmoud S , Spitas Vasileios
Published: September 2021

We elaborate a SDOF time-domain model for elastic hysteretic damping, by modifying the viscous damping model to introduce an instantaneous correction factor that recursively depends on the state variables of the system, such that the response exhibits weak dependency on frequency, corresponding to a large array of engineering materials. The effect of different formulations for calculating the instantaneous correction factor on the predicted hysteresis loops and the potential manifestation of singularities is studied. Hysteresis loops anticipated by the model are plotted and forced vibration responses to harmonic and other periodic non-harmonic excitations are simulated and discussed, also in comparison to the conventional viscous and Reid’s damping models.
Headscarves and the CJEU: Protecting fundamental rights or pandering to prejudice
Authors: Howard Erica
Published: September 2021

This article examines the Opinion of AG Rantos in two cases concerning Islamic headscarves before the CJEU and argues that this Opinion appears to give almost carte blanche to (private) employers to adopt neutrality policies in their workplaces based on the wishes of their customers. In doing so, the AG appears to allow employers to pander to the prejudices of their customers and to push believers, and especially Muslim women, even further out of sight. It is argued that this affects not only the employment opportunities, but also the social inclusion of people from groups especially vulnerable to discrimination and that this goes against the founding values of the EU. The CJEU now has a choice: it can choose to protect the fundamental rights of religious minorities by taking these rights into account when assessing the two cases before it, or it can allow employers to pander to the prejudice of customers against people from religious minorities.
Concurrent lacrimal gland melanocytoma and ocular melanocytosis in a dog
Authors: Mitsui Ikki , Nishimura Seigi
Published: September 2021

A 9-y-5-mo-old, spayed female, mixed-breed dog with buphthalmia and elevated intraocular pressure in the left eye, consistent with glaucoma, was evaluated. Black-pigmented, slightly elevated tissue with irregular margins was noted on the dorsolateral aspect of the left globe. Ultrasonography detected a mass, later identified as lacrimal gland, adjacent to the globe and the thickened uvea. The surgically removed lacrimal gland was effaced by dense sheets of melanin-laden cells. Within the enucleated globe, numerous melanin-laden cells infiltrated and expanded the rostral two-thirds thickness of the cornea, the entire anterior uvea (iris and ciliary body), and a rostral portion of the choroid. Melanin-laden cells in the left lacrimal gland and globe showed no nuclear atypia or mitotic figures, and reacted to anti-S100 and anti–melan A antibodies by immunohistochemistry. Our final diagnosis was concurrent lacrimal gland melanocytoma and ocular melanocytosis. The trabecular meshwork of the eye was obliterated by melanin-laden cells, which was the likely cause of glaucoma in this patient. To our knowledge, melanocytoma affecting the lacrimal gland has not been reported previously in a non-human mammalian species. Veterinary clinicians are encouraged to include melanocytoma in the differential list when examining an enlarged lacrimal gland.
Thymoma originating from the cervical component of the thymus in a degu
Authors: Okumura Naka , Kondo Hirotaka , Suzuki Shinichi , Shibuya Hisashi
Published: September 2021

A 5-y-old, male degu ( Octodon degus) was presented with a subcutaneous mass in the ventral aspect of the cervical area. The mass was removed surgically. Histologically, the mass was a densely cellular, expansile neoplasm, with compression of thymic tissue to the periphery. The neoplasm consisted of solid sheets of polygonal cells, mixed with fewer small lymphocytes. Rare Hassall bodies were scattered throughout the mass. Polygonal cells were positive for anti-keratin/cytokeratin AE1/AE3 antibody, and small lymphocytes were positive for anti-CD3 antibody. The histopathologic and immunohistochemical findings were consistent with a thymoma. In addition, an autopsy revealed myxosarcoma of the right thoracic wall with metastasis to the lung. To our knowledge, thymoma originating from the cervical component of the thymus has not been documented previously in a rodent species.
The Impact of Social Determinants of Health in Facial and Craniomaxillofacial Reconstruction: Can We Do Better?
Authors: Khetpal Sumun , Sasson Daniel C. , Lopez Joseph , Steinbacher Derek M. , Gosain Arun K.
Published: September 2021

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are integral to consider when delivering craniomaxillofacial and facial reconstructive care for patients. The American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) has instituted a formalized multidisciplinary care team model that recognizes such determinants and has aggregated patient-led organizations to strengthen patients’ education and support system. This review discusses the need for all surgeons engaged in facial and craniomaxillofacial reconstruction to consider SDOH in their practice. Additionally, we explore how factors such as race, insurance status, education level, cost, and access to follow-up care, impact surgical care for craniosynostosis, facial trauma, orthognathic surgery, head and neck cancer, and facial paralysis. We propose that the ACPA team model be applied to other societies that care for the broader scope of patients in need of facial and craniomaxillofacial reconstruction to strengthen the communication, collaboration, and standardization of care delivery that is personalized to the needs of each patient.
Psychometric Evaluation of the Moral Injury Events Scale in Two Canadian Armed Forces Samples
Authors: Plouffe Rachel A. , Easterbrook Bethany , Liu Aihua , McKinnon Margaret C. , Richardson J. Don , Nazarov Anthony
Published: September 2021

Moral injury (MI) is defined as the profound psychological distress experienced in response to perpetrating, failing to prevent, or witnessing acts that transgress personal moral standards or values. Given the elevated risk of adverse mental health outcomes in response to exposure to morally injurious experiences in military members, it is critical to implement valid and reliable measures of MI in military populations. We evaluated the reliability, convergent, and discriminant validity, as well as the factor structure of the commonly used Moral Injury Events Scale (MIES) across two separate active duty and released Canadian Armed Forces samples. In Study 1, convergent and discriminant validity were demonstrated through correlations between MIES scores and depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, anger, adverse childhood experiences, and combat experiences. Across studies, internal consistency reliability was high. However, dimensionality of the MIES remained unclear, and model fit was poor across active and released Canadian Armed Forces samples. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
Walking the Line: Borderlands and the Politics of Hiking
Authors: Beauchamp Toby
Published: September 2021

This article takes the Arizona Trail (AZT) as a case study to consider the ways that hiking is made to serve a political purpose in part through its representation as apolitical. I show how certain opposition to border wall construction employs the figure of the hiker as one that is both beyond the realm of politics and aligned with practices of good citizenship. This move then entails the production of that figure’s other, the migrant whose criminalized walking the wall is meant to prevent. In leaving that other largely unmarked and unaddressed, opposition to the wall’s construction can claim to be disengaged from politics while tacitly affirming the necessity of borders and their enforcement.
Gendered Attributions of Blame and Failure to Protect in Child Welfare Responses to Sexual Abuse: A Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis
Authors: Azzopardi Corry
Published: September 2021

Gender-based relations of power and attributions of blame for child sexual abuse have been longstanding in child welfare policy and practice. Nonoffending mothers continue to be ascribed responsibility through the ideologically and institutionally entrenched doctrine of failure to protect. Feminist critical discourse analysis was used to (a) expose and disrupt dominant discourses of gender, motherhood, and risk that operate to construct and reinforce notions of blame and failure to protect, as enacted by way of child welfare text in context; and (b) build a credible case for social and organizational change grounded in an alternative discourse with greater explanatory power. Progressive avenues for resistance, negotiation, and transformation are proposed.
Aroma profile and lactic acid bacteria characteristic of traditional Slovak cheese “May bryndza”
Authors: Štefániková Jana , Árvay Július , Kunová Simona , Kowalczewski Przemysław Łukasz , Kačániová Miroslava
Published: September 2021

This paper describes the results of the characterization of a traditional Slovak cheese called “May bryndza” with regard to the profiles of volatile organic compounds and lactic acid bacteria. Samples of “May bryndza“ cheese produced solely from unpasteurized ewe's milk were collected from 4 different Slovak farms, and samples of the cheese produced from a mixture of 2 types of milk (raw ewe's and pasteurized cow's milk) were collected from 3 different Slovak industrial dairies. There were 15 compounds detected and identified by the electronic nose. The impact of the kind of milk and the kind of dairy on the aroma profile of the product was not confirmed by PCA. The compounds with the highest relative contents in samples were acetoin (2.59%–24.55%), acetic acid (6.69%–13.39%), methoxy-phenyl-oxime (4.49%–8.52%), butanoic acid (1.89%–5.67%), and 2,3-butanediol (0.98%–4.08%), which were determined with gas chromatography. A total of 1533 isolates of LAB were obtained from the “May bryndza” cheese samples. Four families, five genera, and 19 species were identified with mass spectrometry, and isolated bacteria, both from the farm and industry dairies were the most frequently found to belong to Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis.
Zingiber officinale essential oil-loaded chitosan-tripolyphosphate nanoparticles: Fabrication, characterization and in-vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activities
Authors: Yousefi Mojtaba , Mohammadi Vahid Ghasemzadeh , Shadnoush Mahdi , Khorshidian Nasim , Mortazavian Amir M.
Published: September 2021

Zingiber officinale essential oil (ZEO) was encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles at different concentrations using the emulsion-ionic gelation technique and its antioxidant and antibacterial effects were investigated. The results indicated that ZEO level had a significant effect on encapsulation efficiency (EE), loading capacity (LC), particle size and zeta potential. The value obtained for EE, LC, mean particle size and zeta potential were 49.11%–68.32%, 21.16%–27.54%, 198.13–318.26 nm and +21.31–43.57 mV, respectively. According to scanning electron micrographs, the nanoparticles had a spherical shape with some invaginations due to the drying process. The presence of essential oil within the chitosan nanoparticles was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. In vitro release studies in simulated gastrointestinal fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) indicated an initial burst effect followed by slow release with higher release rate in acidic medium of SGF. ZEO-loaded nanoparticles showed DPPH radical scavenging activity of 20%–61% which increased by raising the ZEO level. Moreover, results of antibacterial activity revealed that Staphylococcus aureus (with inhibition zones of 19–35.19 mm2) and Salmonella typhimurium (with inhibition zones of 9.78–17.48 mm2) were the most sensitive and resistant bacteria to ZEO, respectively. Overall, chitosan nanoparticles can be considered as suitable vehicles for ZEO and improve its stability and solubility.
What Was Known About Childhood Diabetes Mellitus Before the Discovery of Insulin?
Authors: Wright James R.
Published: September 2021

It has been widely reported by historians that physicians were aware of two distinct types of diabetes mellitus by the 1880s, and that these were both similar to and the direct forerunners of type 1, juvenile-onset and type 2, adult-onset diabetes. The writings of prominent specialist physicians practicing just prior to the discovery of insulin in 1921–1922 were reviewed and there is little evidence that experts believed that adult and childhood diabetes were different. In fact, more than a decade passed after the discovery of insulin before diabetes in children and adults even began to be distinguished. Childhood diabetes was exceedingly rare in the early 20th century and diabetes was believed to be primarily a chronic disease of adults. It is interesting to speculate about what might have happened if the first pancreatic extract tests had been performed on adult-onset diabetics with insulin-resistant diabetes mellitus. Clearly, the results would have been disappointing and the discovery of insulin delayed. This essay explores how the test subject decision was made. It is fortuitous that a 14 year old boy with what was unequivocally type 1 diabetes was selected to be the first insulin recipient, and the rest is history.