bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ethnic, clinical, and pharmacological predictors of high social dependence in COVID-19 patients admitted to post-acute care
Authors: Fiorini Gianfrancesco , Pellegrini Giacomo , Franchi Matteo , Perrone Chiara , Rigamonti Antonello E , Corrao Giovanni , Cella Silvano G
Published: June 2022

The COVID-19 epidemic affected both acute hospitals and post-acute care, which experienced various degrees of overcrowding. We evaluated all the patients admitted to a post-acute care facility during the second wave of the epidemic to detect features possibly associated with social frailty. We analyzed the socio-demographic characteristics and comorbidities of the patients and the pattern of their previous hospitalization as available in their discharge letter. In addition, we evaluated their clinical features and tests on admission to post-acute care. We found that COVID-19 patients without social problems had distinctive features. Those with a higher need for specific pharmacological treatments during their stay in an acute hospital were less likely to be admitted to post-acute care for concomitant social problems ( p < 0.05 for all types of medication). They were also more likely to be native (p = 0.02), obese (p = 0.009), and with hypertension (p = 0.03). Patients with social problems usually stayed longer and were less frequently discharged home with a negative swab (p = 0.0009). In COVID-19 patients, recognition of distinctive features predicting that their need for a longer hospital stay is due to social problems can lead to more appropriate discharge and to more appropriate use of post-acute care.
Early-life risk factors for development of asthma from 8 to 28 years of age: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Hedman Linnéa , Almqvist Linnéa , Bjerg Anders , Andersson Martin , Backman Helena , Perzanowski Matthew S. , Rönmark Eva
Published: June 2022

Background

The objective was to estimate the incidence rate of asthma from age 8 to 28 years and evaluate early-life risk factors for asthma onset at different ages.

Methods

In 1996, within the Obstructive Lung Disease in Northern Sweden (OLIN) studies, a cohort of 3430 schoolchildren (97% of invited) was recruited at age 8 years to a prospective study about asthma. The cohort was followed annually from age 8 to 19 years and at 28 years by questionnaire surveys (67% of the original cohort participated). Asthma was categorised as never-asthma, onset age ≤8 years, onset age 9–13 years, onset age 14–19 years or onset age >19 years.

Results

Of the 3430 individuals in the cohort, 690 (20.1%) reported asthma in any survey. The average incidence rate was 10.0/1000 per year at ≤8 years, 11.9/1000 per year at 9–13 years, 13.3/1000 per year at 14–19 years and 6.1/1000 per year at >19 years. The incidence was higher among boys until age 10 years, but from age 15 years, it became higher among girls. Family history of asthma, allergic sensitisation and breastfeeding <3 months were associated with asthma onset throughout the study. Low birthweight, maternal smoking during pregnancy, severe respiratory infection, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema were associated with asthma onset ≤8 and 9–13 years.

Conclusions

The incidence of asthma was high during childhood and the teenage period, and decreased substantially during young adulthood. Early-life factors were associated with asthma onset throughout childhood but had also a lasting effect on asthma incidence until adulthood.
Transcriptome profiling of two super hybrid rice provides insights into the genetic basis of heterosis
Authors: Fu Jun , Zhang Yilin , Yan Tianze , Li Yanfeng , Jiang Nan , Zhou Yanbiao , Zhou Qunfeng , Qin Peng , Fu Chenjian , Lin Haiyan , Zhong Jing , Han Xue , Lin Zechuan , Wang Fei , He Hang , Wang Kai , Yang Yuanzhu
Published: June 2022

Background

Heterosis is a phenomenon that hybrids show superior performance over their parents. The successful utilization of heterosis has greatly improved rice productivity, but the molecular basis of heterosis remains largely unclear.

Results

Here, the transcriptomes of young panicles and leaves of the two widely grown two-line super hybrid rice varieties (Jing-Liang-You-Hua-Zhan (JLYHZ) and Long-Liang-You-Hua-Zhan (LLYHZ)) and their parents were analyzed by RNA-seq. Transcriptome profiling of the hybrids revealed 1,778 ~ 9,404 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in two tissues, which were identified by comparing with their parents. GO, and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the pathways significantly enriched in both tissues of two hybrids were all related to yield and resistance, like circadian rhythm (GO:0,007,623), response to water deprivation (GO:0,009,414), and photosynthetic genes (osa00196). Allele-specific expression genes (ASEGs) were also identified in hybrids. The ASEGs were most significantly enriched in ionotropic glutamate receptor signaling pathway, which was hypothesized to be potential amino acid sensors in plants. Moreover, the ASEGs were also differentially expressed between parents. The number of variations in ASEGs is higher than expected, especially for large effect variations. The DEGs and ASEGs are the potential reasons for the formation of heterosis in the two elite super hybrid rice.

Conclusions

Our results provide a comprehensive understanding of the heterosis of two-line super hybrid rice and facilitate the exploitation of heterosis in hybrid rice breeding with high yield heterosis.
Functional decline, long term symptoms and course of frailty at 3-months follow-up in COVID-19 older survivors, a prospective observational cohort study
Authors: Prampart Simon , Le Gentil Sylvain , Bureau Marie Laure , Macchi Claire , Leroux Caroline , Chapelet Guillaume , de Decker Laure , Rouaud Agnes , Boureau Anne Sophie
Published: June 2022

Background

Aging is one of the most important prognostic factors increasing the risk of clinical severity and mortality of COVID-19 infection. However, among patients over 75 years, little is known about post-acute functional decline.

Objective

The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with functional decline 3 months after COVID-19 onset, to identify long term COVID-19 symptoms and transitions between frailty statesafter COVID-19 onset in older hospitalized patients.

Methods

This prospective observational study included COVID-19 patients consecutively hospitalized from March to December 2020 in Acute Geriatric Ward in Nantes University Hospital. Functional decline, frailty status and long term symptoms were assessed at 3 month follow up. Functional status was assessed using the Activities of Daily Living simplified scale (ADL). Frailty status was evaluated using Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). We performed multivariable analyses to identify factors associated with functional decline.

Results

Among the 318 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 infection, 198 were alive 3 months after discharge. At 3 months, functional decline occurred in 69 (36%) patients. In multivariable analysis, a significant association was found between functional decline and stroke (OR = 4,57, p = 0,003), history of depressive disorder (OR = 3,05, p = 0,016), complications (OR = 2,24, p = 0,039), length of stay (OR = 1,05, p = 0,025) and age (OR = 1,08, p = 0,028). At 3 months, 75 patients described long-term symptoms (49.0%). Of those with frailty (CFS scores ≥5) at 3-months follow-up, 30% were not frail at baseline. Increasing frailty defined by a worse CFS state between baseline and 3 months occurred in 41 patients (26.8%).

Conclusions

This study provides evidence that both the severity of the COVID-19 infection and preexisting medical conditions correlates with a functional decline at distance of the infection.

This encourages practitioners to establish discharge personalized care plan based on a multidimensional geriatric assessment and in parallel on clinical severity evaluation.
Factors related to initial treatment for adhesive capsulitis in the medicare population
Authors: Floyd Sarah B. , Sarasua Sara M. , Pill Stephan G. , Shanley Ellen , Brooks John M.
Published: June 2022

Background

Primary adhesive capsulitis (AC) is not well understood, and controversy remains about the most effective treatment approaches. Even less is known about the treatment of AC in the Medicare population. We aimed to fully characterize initial treatment for AC in terms of initial treatment utilization, timing of initial treatments and treatment combinations.

Methods

Using United States Medicare claims from 2010–2012, we explored treatment utilization and patient characteristics associated with initial treatment for primary AC among 7,181 Medicare beneficiaries. Patients with primary AC were identified as patients seeking care for a new shoulder complaint in 2011, with the first visit related to shoulder referred to as the index date, an x-ray or MRI of the shoulder region, and two separate diagnoses of AC (ICD-9-CM codes: 726.00). The treatment period was defined as the 90 days immediately following the index shoulder visit. A multivariable logistic model was used to assess baseline patient factors associated with receiving surgery within the treatment period.

Results

Ninety percent of beneficiaries with primary AC received treatment within 90 days of their index shoulder visit. Physical therapy (PT) alone (41%) and injection combined with PT (34%) were the most common treatment approaches. Similar patient profiles emerged across treatment groups, with higher proportions of racial minorities, socioeconomically disadvantaged and more frail patients favoring injections or watchful waiting. Black beneficiaries (OR = 0.37, [0.16, 0.86]) and those residing in the northeast (OR = 0.36, [0.18, 0.69]) had significantly lower odds of receiving surgery in the treatment period. Conversely, younger beneficiaries aged 66–69 years (OR = 6.75, [2.12, 21.52]) and 70–75 years (OR = 5.37, [1.67, 17.17]) and beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes had significantly higher odds of receiving surgery (OR = 1.41, [1.03, 1.92]).

Conclusions

Factors such as patient baseline health and socioeconomic characteristics appear to be important for physicians and Medicare beneficiaries making treatment decisions for primary AC.
Association between spicy foods consumption and cardiovascular disease risk factors: Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study
Authors: Zhang Yu , Lu Zi Long , Zhang Wei Sen , Jin Ya Li , Zhu Tong , Xu Lin
Published: June 2022

Background

Evidence regarding the association of spicy foods intake with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors was less clear, especially in those with diabetes. We hereby examined the association of spicy foods intake with CVD risk factors in older Chinese.

Methods

Thirty thousand three hundred twenty-five participants (72.34% women) aged 50+ years were recruited in the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study from 2003 to 2008. Information of spicy foods intake and disease history was collected by face-to-face interview. CVD risk factors were measured and treated as continuous variables. Diabetes was defined by a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥7.0 mmol/L and/or self-reported physician-diagnosed diabetes.

Results

Of 30,325 participants, 12.9% consumed spicy foods regularly. After adjusting for multiple confounders, participants who consumed spicy foods of 5–7 days/week, versus none, had higher body mass index (1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.95 to 1.42 kg/m2), waist circumference (2.80, 95% CI 2.18–3.41 cm), waist-to-hip ratio (0.010, 95% CI 0.006 to 0.015), systolic blood pressure (2.44, 95% CI 0.92 to 3.97 mmHg), diastolic blood pressure (1.94, 95% CI 1.14 to 2.73 mmHg), FPG (0.310, 95% CI 0.188 to 0.432 mmol/L), triglycerides (0.185, 95% CI 0.096 to 0.273 mmol/L), and lower high-`density lipoprotein cholesterol (− 0.040, 95% CI − 0.069 to − 0.012 mmol/L). Similar results were found for the associations of spicy foods strength with CVD risk factors. The results attenuated slightly but not substantially across diabetes groups.

Conclusions

Our study showed that higher frequency and strength of spicy foods intake were associated with unfavorable cardiovascular disease risk profile in older people, and such associations did not vary by diabetes status. Whether the results were causal needs to be determined in further studies.
The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental and physical wellbeing in women with fibromyalgia: a longitudinal mixed-methods study
Authors: Lazaridou Asimina , Paschali Myrella , Vilsmark Eric S. , Wilkins Timothy , Napadow Vitaly , Edwards Robert
Published: June 2022

Objective

The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly influenced psychological and physical health worldwide. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the pandemic on women with fibromyalgia.

Methods

This mixed methods pilot study explored measures of pain severity and interference, as well as pain catastrophizing and level of fibromyalgia impact among women with fibromyalgia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA. Fibromyalgia patients completed demographic, pain-related, and other validated psychosocial questionnaires prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then were re-assessed with those questionnaires, as well as a pandemic-related questionnaire assessing the impact of the pandemic on the patients’ life, during the pandemic.

Results

When comparing data reported before the pandemic to data collected 3–6 months into the pandemic, women with fibromyalgia reported a general worsening of their pain and pain-related symptoms. During the pandemic, pain catastrophizing (p ≤ 0.05) and fibromyalgia impact (p ≤ 0.05) increased significantly compared to before the pandemic. The increase in pain catastrophizing scores was highly correlated with the impact of the pandemic on the participants’ ability to cope with pain and on their mental health. Qualitative analysis corroborated the significant impact of the pandemic on patients’ mental health, with the vast majority reporting a worsening of their mood. Other impacted domains included anxiety, level of activity and sleep.

Conclusions

Collectively, the pandemic appears to have produced a substantive worsening of pain-related symptomatology among women with fibromyalgia, which should be addressed by targeted interventions.
Soft robotics and functional electrical stimulation advances for restoring hand function in people with SCI: a narrative review, clinical guidelines and future directions
Authors: Cardoso Lucas R. L. , Bochkezanian Vanesa , Forner-Cordero Arturo , Melendez-Calderon Alejandro , Bo Antonio P. L.
Published: June 2022

Background

Recovery of hand function is crucial for the independence of people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Wearable devices based on soft robotics (SR) or functional electrical stimulation (FES) have been employed to assist the recovery of hand function both during activities of daily living (ADLs) and during therapy. However, the implementation of these wearable devices has not been compiled in a review focusing on the functional outcomes they can activate/elicit/stimulate/potentiate. This narrative review aims at providing a guide both for engineers to help in the development of new technologies and for clinicians to serve as clinical guidelines based on the available technology in order to assist and/or recover hand function in people with SCI.

Methods

A literature search was performed in Scopus, Pubmed and IEEE Xplore for articles involving SR devices or FES systems designed for hand therapy or assistance, published since 2010. Only studies that reported functional outcomes from individuals with SCI were selected. The final collections of both groups (SR and FES) were analysed based on the technical aspects and reported functional outcomes.

Results

A total of 37 out of 1101 articles were selected, 12 regarding SR and 25 involving FES devices. Most studies were limited to research prototypes, designed either for assistance or therapy. From an engineering perspective, technological improvements for home-based use such as portability, donning/doffing and the time spent with calibration were identified. From the clinician point of view, the most suitable technical features (e.g., user intent detection) and assessment tools should be determined according to the particular patient condition. A wide range of functional assessment tests were adopted, moreover, most studies used non-standardized tests.

Conclusion

SR and FES wearable devices are promising technologies to support hand function recovery in subjects with SCI. Technical improvements in aspects such as the user intent detection, portability or calibration as well as consistent assessment of functional outcomes were the main identified limitations. These limitations seem to be be preventing the translation into clinical practice of these technological devices created in the laboratory.
Simple framework for the contrastive learning of visual representations-based data-driven tight frame for seismic denoising and interpolation
Authors: Li Jinghe , Wu Xiangling
Published: June 2022

Complex seismic data sets benefit from adaptive sparse transformation methods to improve resolution and fidelity. The data-driven tight frame (DDTF) is a fast dictionary learning method that can simplify the sparse representation process and efficiently update the compact frame. However, the DDTF-based method is computationally intensive and relatively ineffective in accurately characterizing high-dimensional data sets with weak features and high noise levels. A new adaptive patch-selection method based on a simple framework for the contrastive learning of visual representations (SimCLR) is designed to further accelerate and improve the dictionary training process in the DDTF. The variance of all of the available patches is first calculated; then, the cosine similarity between the patch with the maximum variance and the other patches is calculated. Finally, the patches with large similarities are used for the filter bank training process. This method can efficiently track seismic events. The efficacy of applying the trained filter bank for seismic data recovery is tested by using the Monte Carlo-DDTF and SimCLR-DDTF methods. The numerical results demonstrate that the SimCLR-DDTF method can intelligently select training patches with more effective information, greatly improve the training efficiency of the DDTF, and obtain high-quality denoising and interpolation results.
‘Enthusiasm’ in Burke’s and Kant’s Response to the French Revolution
Authors: Grigoriou Christos
Published: June 2022

The article sets the most eminent defender of the French Revolution, Immanuel Kant, against its most eminent critic, Edmund Burke, articulating their radically different stance toward the French Revolution. Specifically, this juxtaposition is attempted through the concept of enthusiasm; a psychological state of intense excitement, which can refer to both actors and spectators, to both the motivation of someone, acquiring thus a practical significance, or to their distanced contemplation, thereby acquiring the character of aesthetic appreciation. Using the concept of enthusiasm, Ι aspire to bring out Kant’s and Burke’s radically different approaches to society as well as its history and prospects of progress, ultimately suggesting that enthusiasm can provide a vantage point for the dialogue between the enlightenment and counter-enlightenment theses.
Διαδραστικά και συνεργατικά περιβάλλοντα υποστήριξης του ελέγχου αυθεντικότητας ψηφιακού περιεχομένου
Authors: Κατσαουνίδου Αναστασία
Published: June 2022

Σκοπός της διατριβής είναι η εις βάθος ανάλυση του φαινομένου της διαδικτυακής παραπληροφόρησης, η αναζήτηση των γενεσιουργών αιτιών των διαφόρων πτυχών του προβλήματος και η υπόδειξη των ενδεδειγμένων και βιώσιμων λύσεων. Ειδικότερα, αναζητήθηκε ο βαθμός επίγνωσης του φαινομένου από τους χρήστες /δημοσιογράφους και η διαθεσιμότητα των σχετικών εργαλείων, τόσο σε επίπεδο διερεύνησης αλλά και αξιολόγησης. Τα χαρακτηριστικά των εφαρμογών που ερευνώνται είναι η ευχρηστία, η λειτουργικότητα, οι τεχνικές δυνατότητες που παρέχουν και οι τεχνολογικές δεξιότητες που απαιτούν για την ορθή χρήση τους. Μετά την αποτύπωση της υπάρχουσας κατάστασης, απώτερος στόχος ήταν η περιγραφή, σχεδίαση και υλοποίηση διαδραστικών και συνεργατικών περιβαλλόντων για τον έλεγχο αυθεντικότητας ψηφιακού περιεχομένου. Τα προαναφερθέντα περιβάλλοντα συγκεντρώνουν την υπάρχουσα θεωρητική γνώση, μαζί με χρήσιμα εργαλεία, τόσο προϋπάρχοντα όσο και νέα, που αποτελούν τεκμηριωμένες σχεδιαστικές προτάσεις της παρούσας εργασίας.
Ερμηνευτική ανάλυση των λόγων 38-41 και 47-50 του Δίωνος Χρυσοστόμου
Authors: Τζίφας Χρήστος
Published: June 2022

Η παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή έχει ως αντικείμενο μελέτης της τον Δίωνα Χρυσόστομο, που έζησε κατά την αυτοκρατορική περίοδο (40-120 μ.Χ.) και υπήρξε σημαντικός εκπρόσωπος του κινήματος της Δεύτερης Σοφιστικής. Κύριο χαρακτηριστικό του κινήματος των σοφιστών της συγκεκριμένης περιόδου ήταν η χρήση της ρητορείας για την ανάλυση και παρουσίαση των φιλοσοφικών αναζητήσεων των μελών του. Οι σοφιστές της περιόδου αυτής έχουν το ρόλο του δασκάλου του ελληνικού ιδεώδους και ταυτόχρονα λειτουργούν ως εκπρόσωποι της ρωμαϊκής διοίκησης αλλά και ως ο ενδιάμεσος που διευκολύνει την ελληνική κοινότητα σε υποθέσεις με τη κεντρική διοίκηση και δημιουργεί μια καλλιτεχνική παραγωγή που έχει ως βασικό της όχημα την ελληνική γλώσσα προσαρμοσμένη όμως στις απαιτήσεις και προδιαγραφές της εποχής της. Κύριο αντικείμενο της μελέτης αποτελεί μια ομάδα λόγων από το σύνταγμα των ογδόντα λόγων που διασώζονται με το όνομα του Δίωνος Χρυσοστόμου. Πιο συγκεκριμένα πρόκειται για τους λόγους 38-41 και 47-50. Κοινό χαρακτηριστικό των οκτώ αυτών λόγων είναι ότι έχουν εκφωνηθεί σε πόλεις της Βιθυνίας, επαρχίας της Ρωμαϊκής αυτοκρατορίας, κατά την επιστροφή του από την εξορία, που του είχε επιβληθεί από τον αυτοκράτορα Δομιτιανό και πραγματεύονται θέματα της τοπικής πολιτικής σκηνής. Η μεθοδολογία της έρευνας περιλαμβάνει την μελέτη και ερμηνευτική ανάλυση των συγκεκριμένων λόγων από όπου θα αντληθούν πληροφορίες για το έργο του Δίωνος Χρυσοστόμου, αλλά και για την προσωπική του πορεία ως ρήτορα και φιλοσόφου και για την πρακτική που ακολουθούσαν οι σοφιστές της συγκεκριμένης περιόδου. Μέσα από την ερμηνευτική ανάλυση των συγκεκριμένων λόγων μπορούν να διαπιστωθούν οι επιρροές που ο Δίων έχει δεχτεί από διάφορα κινήματα της φιλοσοφίας, όπως οι στωικοί, οι κυνικοί αλλά και ο Πλάτωνας. Ταυτόχρονα επειδή οι λόγοι αυτοί εντάσσονται στο πλαίσιο της ρητορικής, οφείλεται να εξετασθεί το ιστορικό πλαίσιο και το νομικό πλαίσιο μέσα στο οποίο δημιουργήθηκαν, καθώς πρόκειται για πολύ σημαντικές πηγές άντλησης ιστορικών πληροφοριών για τις σχέσεις των ελληνικών πόλεων της Βιθυνίας μεταξύ τους αλλά και με τη κεντρική ρωμαϊκή διοίκηση δίνοντας παράλληλα πληροφορίες και για διάφορες νομικές διαδικασίες στο εσωτερικό των πόλεων αυτών κατά την Αυτοκρατορική περίοδο. Επίσης κρίνεται ως σημαντικό να εξεταστούν οι λόγοι αυτοί σε σχέση με το έργο του Αριστοτέλη Ρητορική και να εντοπιστεί σε ποιο από τα τρία είδη του ρητορικού λόγου –σύμφωνα με τον Αριστοτέλη– ανήκουν και αν πληρούν τα κριτήρια του εκάστοτε είδους (δικανικού, συμβουλευτικού, επιδεικτικού). Σκοπός μέσα από την έρευνα αυτή είναι να παρουσιαστεί το έργο του Δίωνος Χρυσοστόμου και οι απόψεις που αυτό εκφράζει μέσα από μια ομάδα λόγων, που αναδεικνύουν τις δύο φύσεις του δημιουργού τους, του φιλοσόφου και του ρήτορα. Ακόμα μπορούμε να παρακολουθήσουμε την εξέλιξη της ρητορικής τέχνης μέσα στο πλαίσιο του κινήματος της Δεύτερης Σοφιστικής και το ρόλο που αυτή διαδραμάτισε στην κοινωνία της Αυτοκρατορικής περιόδου.
Θρησκεία-φύση, δίκαιο και πολιτική σκέψη στην Αναγέννηση (15ος -16ος αι. μ.Χ.) και η μετάβαση στις θεωρίες του κοινωνικού συμβολαίου
Authors: Γαλάνης Παναγιώτης
Published: June 2022

Η παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή φέρει ως βασική αποστολή τη συνεξέταση του θρησκευτικού φαινομένου και της φύσης/φυσικής επιστήμης στη (δυτική) Αναγέννηση με το Δίκαιο και τον εν γένει πολιτικό στοχασμό, μέσα από την εξονυχιστική ανάλυση των πολιτικών ιδεών του 15ου και 16ου αι. μ.Χ. Αρχικά, τίθενται εισαγωγικώς οι βασικές παράμετροι που επηρέασαν τη δόμηση της αναγεννησιακής πολιτικής φιλοσοφίας, όπως ενδεικτικώς οι οικονομικές, οι τεχνολογικές, οι ιστορικές μεταλλαγές της περιόδου κλπ. Ύστερα, μελετάται ο σύνθετος τρόπος μέσω του οποίου οι αντιλήψεις των φιλοσόφων (με κύριους εκφραστές τους Μεταρρυθμιστές, τους Σχολαστικούς, αλλά και τους αμιγώς πολιτικούς στοχαστές, όπως οι More, Machiavelli κλπ.) για τη θρησκεία επηρέασαν αμφίδρομα τις θεωρήσεις περί εξουσίας, κράτους και ατόμου. Ακολούθως, σκιαγραφείται η επίδραση της επιστημονικής εξέλιξης και της φυσικής φιλοσοφίας της εποχής στο Δίκαιο και την πολιτική σκέψη, η οποία εξετάζεται τόσο αυτοτελώς, όσο και εν σχέσει με τη θρησκεία, κεφάλαιο στο οποίο συναντώνται στοχαστές όπως Bruno, Campanella, Lipsius κλπ. Τέλος, μεθοδικά, θεματικά, διεπιστημονικά, συγκριτικά και χρονολογικά και με επίκεντρο τον προοδευτικό εξορθολογισμό της εξουσίας τίθεται ως στόχος και σκιαγραφείται η κατανόηση της μετάβασης από την Αναγέννηση και τις κρίσιμες παραμέτρους της Θρησκείας/Φύσης στις Θεωρίες του Κοινωνικού Συμβολαίου του 17ου αι. μ.Χ. (των Grotius, Hobbes και Locke) και η εξαγωγή συμπερασμάτων φιλοσοφικού και δικαιϊκού χαρακτήρα, όπως ενδεικτικώς η σταδιακή ανάδυση της ατομικότητας και της ανεξιθρησκίας.
Cost Effectiveness Analysis: Small Country Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Program Development
Authors: Cardarelli Marcelo , Chadikovski Vladimir , Novick William
Published: June 2022

Abstract

 

Background

The cost-effectiveness of sending children abroad for treatment of their congenital heart disease (CHD) in small population countries versus developing a local program should be carefully considered. We investigated the cost-effectiveness analysis of developing such program in a small Eastern-European country.

Methods

Calculated costs during different stages in the development of a program in North Macedonia were obtained from the Ministry of Health. All patients diagnosed and surgically treated between 2010 and 2017 were included along 3 distinctive periods.

2010-2012 - Outsourcing (All patients sent abroad for surgical treatment)

2013-2016 - Foundational (Program development with assistance from a global charity organization)

2017 - Tutelage Period (Semi-Independent program)

Cost-Effectiveness is provided in US$ per Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) as unit of health value.

Results

Between January 2010 and December 2017, a total of 384 patients diagnosed with CHD underwent surgical treatment at government expense. The breakdown was: 125; 204 and 55 patients in each period.The cost-effectiveness of the intervention was $315; $297 and $251 per DALY averted respectively.

Conclusions

Surgical treatment of patients born with CHD is a highly cost-effective intervention irrespective of the approach taken. Even after accounting for the initial capital investment costs, the development of a local pediatric cardiac surgery program seems to be slightly more cost-effective than outsourcing.
Trends in prevalence and patterns of use of a heated tobacco product (IQOSTM) in Japan: A three-year repeated cross-sectional study
Authors: Fischer Karina , Bajec Martha , Mainy Nelly , AlMoosawi Suzana , Sieverding Marius , Zwisele Bertram , Camille Nathalie , Magnani Pierpaolo , Roulet Steve
Published: June 2022

Background: Numerous smoke-free tobacco or nicotine-containing product (TNP) alternatives have been introduced to support individual- and population-level harm reduction relative to continued cigarette smoking. This article details the nationwide prevalence and patterns of TNP use between 2016 and 2019 in Japan following the commercialization of IQOSTM, a smoke-free heated tobacco product (HTP).

Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted over a period of three study years (2016/2017, 2017/2018, and 2018/2019) in representative samples of the Japanese general adult population and samples of Japanese adult IQOS users registered in the IQOS owner database of Philip Morris International’s affiliate in Japan.

Results: Across the three study years (Y1-Y3), the prevalence of overall current TNP use (Y1-Y3: 18.5%, 18.9%, and 18.2%) and overall TNP use by age and sex remained similar. However, there was a growing shift from cigarette smoking to smoke-free TNP use across the three study years. While the cigarette smoking prevalence (Y1-Y3: 17.6%, 17.3%, and 16.0%) decreased, the use prevalence of smoke-free TNPs, including the HTP IQOS (Y1-Y3: 1.8%, 3.2%, and 3.3%) and e-cigarettes (Y1-Y3, 0.7%, 1.6%, and 2.0%) increased. At the same time, TNP initiation, TNP relapse, and TNP reinitiation with IQOS were all very low across the three study years. Across Y1-Y3, exclusive use of only one type of TNP (Y1-Y3: 82.3%, 75.0%, and 70.4%) decreased, while dual use of two types of TNPs (Y1-Y3: 14.3%, 17.2%, and 16.7%) increased, and poly-TNP use (Y1-Y3: 2.1%, 6.1%, and 10.0%) increased markedly. Moreover, the majority of adult IQOS users were exclusive IQOS users.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that current IQOS use behavior trends are in line with the principles of tobacco harm reduction and that HTPs are effective tools for complementing current tobacco control measures.
Dry textile electrode for ambulatory monitoring after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation: A pilot study of simultaneous comparison to the Holter electrocardiogram
Authors: Machino Takeshi , Aonuma Kazutaka , Komatsu Yuki , Yamasaki Hiro , Igarashi Miyako , Nogami Akihiko , Ieda Masaki
Published: June 2022

Background: Holter electrocardiogram (ECG) is the gold standard for ambulatory monitoring of atrial fibrillation (AF) but it is insufficient because of its limited recording time. Although several consumer ECG devices provide longer recording time, they generally do not undergo the regulatory process for medical use. Furthermore, current medical-grade devices for longer ECG monitoring are not continuous or too invasive for AF monitoring. A wearable ECG with a medical-grade dry textile electrode is a promising technology to remedy this limitation. This pilot study aimed to simultaneously compare the wearable and Holter ECGs for ambulatory monitoring in a clinical setting.

Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled 18 patients who underwent AF ablation. One day after AF ablation, ambulatory ECG was obtained for three hours simultaneously using both the wearable and Holter ECG devices. Automatic ECG interpretations between devices were compared with correlation and agreement analyses.

Results: Simultaneous ECG monitoring demonstrated a comparable analysis time and total heart beats between the two devices. Almost complete correlation and agreement were also demonstrated in all clinically relevant testing aspects except in R-wave amplitude (r = 0.743, p < .001). AF was detected in three patients. AF duration was the same in both ECG devices in two patients with continuous AF. In the remaining patient with intermittent AF, AF duration was shortened by 0.6% with the wearable ECG as compared to that with the Holter ECG.

Conclusions: Simultaneous ECG comparison revealed a high consistency between the wearable and Holter ECG devices. The results of this study warrant further clinical studies for long-term monitoring of ambulatory ECG after AF ablation.
A geospatial source selector for federated GeoSPARQL querying
Authors: Troumpoukis Antonis , Konstantopoulos Stasinos , Prokopaki-Kostopoulou Nefeli
Published: June 2022

Background: Geospatial linked data brings into the scope of the Semantic Web and its technologies, a wealth of datasets that combine semantically-rich descriptions of resources with their geo-location. There are, however, various Semantic Web technologies where technical work is needed in order to achieve the full integration of geospatial data, and federated query processing is one of these technologies.

Methods: In this paper, we explore the idea of annotating data sources with a bounding polygon that summarizes the spatial extent of the resources in each data source, and of using such a summary as an (additional) source selection criterion in order to reduce the set of sources that will be tested as potentially holding relevant data. We present our source selection method, and we discuss its correctness and implementation.

Results: We evaluate the proposed source selection using three different types of summaries with different degrees of accuracy, against not using geospatial summaries. We use datasets and queries from a practical use case that combines crop-type data with water availability data for food security. The experimental results suggest that more complex summaries lead to slower source selection times, but also to more precise exclusion of unneeded sources. Moreover, we observe the source selection runtime is (partially or fully) recovered by shorter planning and execution runtimes. As a result, the federated sources are not burdened by pointless querying from the federation engine.

Conclusions: The evaluation draws on data and queries from the agroenvironmental domain and shows that our source selection method substantially improves the effectiveness of federated GeoSPARQL query processing.
Gold market and selected Nordic stock markets: Granger causality
Authors: Mamcarz Katarzyna
Published: June 2022

Motivation: The turbulence in financial markets, especially stocks, makes investors seek safer ways of capital allocation. Gold exhibiting a low or negative correlation with stocks can constitute an alternative form of investment for them. The price volatility of aforementioned assets has impact on investors’ decisions. That is why the assessment of interrelations between stock and gold returns is important. The direction of causality between the analysed variables is reflected by the fact that investors tend to transfer their funds from gold markets to more profitable markets, or return to gold markets. The research focuses on linkages between gold-stock markets of selected Nordic countries which in comparison with countries classified as key producers and consumers of gold were not under investigation so far. There is therefore a research gap in empirical research.

Aim: The aim of this paper is to investigate the causal relationship between the rates of return on stock markets in three Nordic countries, represented by their respective indices — OMXH25 (Finland: the Helsinki Stock Exchange Index), OMXS30 (Sweden: the Stockholm Stock Exchange Index) and OSEAX (Norway: the Oslo Børs All Share Index) — and the returns from investment in gold. The VAR model was applied in the analysis to perform a Granger non-causality linear test, along with decomposition of variance and the impulse response function. The study covered the period between September 2001 and October 2020.

Results: The study showed no causality between the analysed rates of return, except in Norway, where the gold market was found to have an impact on the stock market, assuming a statistical significance of 0.14. In the other two countries, changes in gold prices did not affect stock prices, and vice versa.
The Impact of Legal Procedures on Hospital Length of Stay: Balancing Legal and Clinical Concerns
Authors: Shin Jinah , San Gabriel Maria Chona P. , Ho-Periola Agnes , Ramer Sheryl , Kwon Youngihn , Bang Heejung
Published: June 2022

Purpose: Psychiatric hospital length of stay (LOS) is not affected solely by socio-clinical factors but also by legal procedures. This study examined the associations between legal procedures and LOS.Methods: Data from 521 patients with psychiatric illnesses hospitalized over 2013-2015 were analyzed. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the predictors of longer (> 14 days) or prolonged (> 30) LOS with socio-clinical factors and legal procedures including court-ordered interventions (assisted outpatient treatment, medication over objection, and retention).Results: Longer LOS occurred in 246 patients and 99 had prolonged LOS. Legal procedures affected 57 patients, with 11 assisted outpatient treatments, 39 cases of medication over objection, and 16 retentions. Longer LOS was significantly associated with six factors including older age, unmarried status, non-Hispanic race, risk of violence, schizophrenia, and legal procedures. Legal procedures had the strongest association. Longer/prolonged LOS yielded qualitatively similar associations.Conclusion: Among 521 psychiatric inpatients, approximately 11% were mandated to receive interventions/procedures by the courts. Court-ordered legal procedures were strongly associated with longer LOS. Mental health providers may consider legal procedures for patients at high treatment/ medication noncompliance risk as early as patient admission to inpatient units to prevent, intervene or prepare for a longer or prolonged LOS.
Experience of Nursing Students' Therapeutic Use of Self in Web-Based Psychiatric Nursing Practicum Focusing on Role-Playing
Authors: Son Mira
Published: June 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the experiences of nursing students' therapeutic use of self in web-based psychiatric nursing practicum focusing on role-playing.Methods: The participants were 13 senior nursing students who had underwent three weeks of web-based psychiatric nursing practicum. Data were collected through in-depth video interviews, and analyzed using the grounded theory method, developed by Strauss and Corbin (1998).Results: In total, 14 categories and 29 sub-categories were generated. The central phenomenon was “hardship in the therapeutic use of self.” The action/interaction strategies were “implementation of role-playing considering therapeutic communication,” “heightened sensitivity about nursing priorities,” and “performing relearning and repetitive training”. The consequences of these action/interaction strategies went through “further development of the therapeutic use of self,” “recognizing that persistent self-reflection is required”, and that the participants “gained confidence about the therapeutic use of self.” The core category of the experience of therapeutic use of self was to “overcome hardship and confidently advance forward.” This process manifested in the stages of burden, crouching, urgency, and confidence.Conclusion: The findings suggest that more attention needs to be paid to the therapeutic relationship and the therapeutic use of self in education and research.
Examining person-centred maternal care services at the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Authors: Mclellan Andrew , Van Ham Patricia Titulaer , Sidney Dana , Aden Abdi , Lacroix Antoine , Edem-Hotah Joseph
Published: June 2022

Background

The World Health Organization includes women's experiences of care and person-centred outcomes as primary components in their quality-of-care framework for maternal and newborn health. Patients' perceptions of quality of care indicate how well health systems meet patients' expectations, as well as their level of trust in the system.

Methods

This study was a cross-sectional examination of person-centred maternal care service delivery, from the perspective of women who used the services of the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital in Sierra Leone. The care was measured using the person-centred maternity care survey, which was administered to 100 women at the hospital.

Results

Person-centred maternal care was found to be lacking in patient–provider interactions, especially in the areas of communication, autonomy and dignity and respect.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence regarding the extent to which person-centred maternity care is delivered at the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital. The findings could be used to target interventions to improve patient satisfaction and quality of care at the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital.
Abdominal pain in a patient with recurrent malaria – a case report
Authors: Sherbatyuk Nataliya , Boyarchuk Oksana , Nykytyuk Svitlana , Mudryk Ulyana
Published: June 2022

Currently the majority of malaria cases in Europe are imported by international travellers and immigrants. Typical clinical signs of malaria are recurrent fever, hepatosplenomegaly and haemolytic anaemia. Abdominal pain is not a specific clinical sign of malaria. We present a clinical case of three-day malaria in a 17-year-old Indian citizen who was admitted to the Ternopil Regional Children’s Hospital with fever and severe abdominal pain. The peculiarity of this case was the presence of fever and severe abdominal pain at the onset of the disease, which led to admission of the patient to surgical department and delayed correct diagnosis. Careful, thoro- ugh case history is one of the key points on the way to the accurate diagnosis. There is a need to increase the physicians’ awareness of malaria in patients with abdominal pain who have come from malaria endemic countries.
The Emperor, the Princes, and the Prefectures: A Political Analysis of the Pu’an Decree of 756 and the Fengjian Issue
Authors: McMullen David L.
Published: June 2022

Abstract: This article analyzes four inter-related themes that influenced Emperor Xuanzong’s 756 Pu’an decree dividing the empire into four commands and issued while he was fleeing the An Lushan rebels: the succession, the record of the princes as military commanders and provincial administrators, Xuanzong’s perspective on the Princes’ Revolt of 688, and the debate among Tang scholars about fengjian. This issue is key to understanding Pu’an episode, as marking a turning point, after which fengjian became less an issue for immediate court political decision and more a recurrent theme in general statecraft discourse.
Never Taking a Shortcut: Examination Poetry of the Tang Dynasty
Authors: Vedal Nathan
Published: June 2022

Abstract: The jinshi examination in the Tang dynasty required poetry composition from the late seventh century onward. This examination poetry was a distinct genre, and extant poems illuminate what skills were in fact being tested in the civil service examinations. Due to the official context of the examinations, this poetry can also shed light on Tang conceptions of poetic standards. This study analyzes a number of poems from the Tang exams, as well as other Tang poems explicitly written in the examination style. I argue that the primary goal of these poems was a display of competence and familiarity with the literary tradition, rather than a demonstration of poetic brilliance. In addition, the apparent acceptability of prosodic freedom on the exams suggests that regulation in Tang verse was conceived even less strictly than commonly imagined.
A “Golden Age” Just for the Living? Silver Vessels in Tang Dynasty Tombs
Authors: Kieser Annette
Published: June 2022

Abstract: This paper analyzes gold and silver vessels as burial goods during the Tang dynasty. It is based on a data collection of vessels found in tombs from the provinces of Shaanxi and Henan. An unexpected result is that although known from hoard and other findings, no golden vessels have been retrieved from Tang tombs, only silver, gilt, or partly gilt ones. Analyzing the typology, grouping, and placement in tombs of these vessels sheds light on their possible functions in burial cult, as well as on the social status of the respective tomb owners. The juxtaposition of historical facts and tomb furnishings shows that usage of silver vessels as grave goods also mirrors shifting political, social and regional centres during the Tang.
Green Memorials: Daoist Ritual Prayers in the Tang-Five Dynasties Transition
Authors: Verellen Franciscus
Published: June 2022

Abstract: Green memorials ( qingci ), instituted by Emperor Xuanzong, mark a new departure for the imperial ancestral cult and the evolution of Daoist prayer texts. By the time of the Northern Song, qingci-memorials had developed into a major genre represented in the collected works of literati and statesmen. The earliest substantial collection of qingci, in the Guangcheng ji of Du Guangting, was composed during the late ninth and early tenth century in the Kingdom of Shu. Commissioned by members of the ruling elite, the memorials document the rise of military and regional potentates as well as innovations in Daoist ritual practice under the late Tang and Five Dynasties. The prayers, expressing the apprehensions and anxieties of the patrons of Daoist rituals, convey vivid testimonies of the violent upheavals of the period.
3D Dirac semimetals-dielectric elliptical fiber supported tunable terahertz hybrid waveguide
Authors: Wang Guangqing , Liang Yubo , Leng Jin , He Xiaoyong , Lin Fangting , Liu Feng
Published: June 2022

Based on the proposed elliptical dielectric fiber-polyethylene gap-3D Dirac semimetal (DSM) hybrid plasmonic waveguide structure, the tunable propagation characteristics have been systematically investigated in the terahertz region, taking into account the influences of the structural parameters, the modified dielectric fiber, and the 3D DSM Fermi levels. The results show that as the ratio of the elliptical semi-axis along the

y

-direction

a
y

and the

x

-direction

a
x

(

a
y

/

a
x

) increases, the hybrid mode confinement increases. The real part of the effective mode index and propagation length increase with increasing the refractive index of the elliptical fiber. The propagation length and figure of merit of the hybrid modes reach

1.56

×

10

4

µ

m

and 300, respectively. In addition, by changing the Fermi level of the 3D DSM layer, the propagation properties of the hybrid modes can also be modulated in a wide range, e.g., the modulation depth of the propagation length reaches about 71.53% if the Fermi level varies in the range of 0.03–0.15 eV. The propagation properties of the hybrid modes are enhanced significantly by utilizing the modified three elliptical fiber structures, the real part of the effective mode index, and the propagation length of the modified structure are enhanced simultaneously. The results are very helpful for understanding the tunable mechanism of the 3D DSM devices and aids the design of novel plasmonic devices, e.g., lasers, modulators, and resonators.
Estimation of atmospheric optical turbulence strength in realistic airborne environments
Authors: Kalensky Matthew , Spencer Mark F. , Jumper Eric J. , Gordeyev Stanislav
Published: June 2022

In this paper, atmospheric optical turbulence strength is estimated for
realistic airborne environments using a modified phase-variance
approach, as well as a modified slope-discrepancy approach. Realistic
airborne environments are generated using wave-optics simulations of a
plane wave propagating through increasing strengths of homogeneous
atmospheric optical turbulence, both with and without aero-optical
contamination (from in-flight wavefront sensor data) and
additive-measurement noise. In comparison to the modified
phase-variance approach, the results show that the modified
slope-discrepancy approach more accurately estimates atmospheric
optical turbulence strength over a wide range of conditions. Such
results are encouraging for realistic airborne environments because
they can be scaled to different freestream conditions as long as the
boundary layer is considered canonical.