bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Contributions to the taxonomy of the mugilid genus Chelon Artedi (Teleostei: Mugilidae), with a major review of the status of C. persicus Senou, Randall & Okiyama, 1995
Authors: THIEME PHILIPP , BOGORODSKY SERGEY V. , ALPERMANN TILMAN J. , WHITFIELD ALAN K. , FREITAS RUI , DURAND JEAN-DOMINIQUE
Published: September 2022

New data based on multigene phylogenetic analyses using the COI, 16S, and cytb genes and subsequent molecular species delimitation revealed that the mugilid genus Chelon contains 11 species. Of these, two species, Chelon sp. A and Chelon sp. B, remained unidentified in previous studies. While Chelon sp. B seemingly is a close relative to C. dumerili (Steindachner, 1870), no more detailed information were provided for Chelon sp. A which is present along the east coast of South Africa. Genetic analyses performed in this study, revealed that specimens from the Arabian/Persian Gulf and the Red Sea are nested within one genetic lineage alongside Chelon sp. A. Morphological, morphometric, and meristic analyses of specimens from all three areas demonstrated that they belong to Chelon persicus Senou, Randall & Okyiama, 1995. Chelon persicus was originally described in the genus Chelon but was later placed either in the genus Liza or Planiliza. However, results presented herein confirm its placement in Chelon and its distribution range is extended in the Western Indian Ocean from the type locality (Arabian/Persian Gulf) west to the Red Sea and south to South Africa. Further, the uncertain validity of the recently described Chelon caeruleus Deef, 2018 from the Mediterranean Sea and a previously proposed generic character distinguishing Chelon from Planiliza and Parachelon, the shape of the paired postzygapophyses of the second vertebra, are briefly discussed.
First record of the genus Hemilepistus (Isopoda: Agnaridae) from China, with description of two new species
Authors: WANG JIN , HONG XINKAI , LI WEICHUN
Published: September 2022

The genus Hemilepistus Budde-Lund, 1879 is reported from China for the first time. Two new species of the subgenus H. (Hemilepistus) are described from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China: H. (H.) dushengi sp. nov. and H. (H.) conicus sp. nov. A key to the worldwide species of the subgenus is provided.
Ethnic and Racial Diversity Among Surgeon and Non-Surgeon Deans of Allopathic Medical Schools
Authors: Choubey Ankur P. , Ortiz Alejandro , Parsikia Afshin , Choubey Apurva S. , Jetjomlong Tyler , Martinez Abigail , Abreu Carina , Koizumi Naoru , Ortiz Jorge
Published: September 2022

Introduction

Previous publications have assessed the diversity among medical students, residents, faculty, and department leaders in surgery and medicine overall. We aim to evaluate the diversity among medical school deans in the United States. We quantify and compare the representation of women and underrepresented minority surgeon and non-surgeons.

Methods

151 allopathic medical schools were included. Data regarding demographics, education, training, and previous leadership position were collected from institutional websites, online resources, and July 2021 Association of American Medical Colleges Council of Deans. Demographics for surgeon and non-surgeon were compared using chi square and logistic regression with 5% significance interval.

Results

21.9% (n = 33) of all medical school deans were surgeons. 21.2% (n = 7) were women, which was not significantly different from non-surgeons (22%, P = .92). All the women surgeons were non-Hispanic white, similar to all deans ( P = .83). 78.8% (n = 26) of all surgeon deans were non-Hispanic White compared to 84.7% (n = 100) overall ( P = .28). There were 13 Black deans, four of whom were surgeons, and only one Hispanic dean, who was not a surgeon. Surgeons were more likely to be fellows of their professional society ( P = .012).

Conclusion

The demographic diversity of surgeon and non-surgeon US medical school deans is not significantly different. The deficiencies in leadership diversity in medicine persists among medical school deans. There remains substantial room to improve the representation of women and underrepresented minorities as deans.
Long-Term Outcomes With Drug-Eluting Balloon for the Treatment of In-Stent Restenosis and De Novo Lesions: The Novara-Biella-Trento (NOBITRE) Registry
Authors: Verdoia Monica , Zilio Filippo , Viola Orazio , Brancati Marta Francesca , Fanti Diego , Soldà Pier Luigi , Rognoni Andrea , Bonmassari Roberto , De Luca Giuseppe
Published: September 2022

Drug-coated balloons (DCBs) have emerged for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) of in-stent restenosis or particular anatomical subsets. We provide a real-world analysis of the prognostic determinants and long-term outcomes of patients treated with DCB for any lesion in a comprehensive multicenter registry. The primary study endpoint was the occurrence of major cardiovascular events (MACE: composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, and target vessel revascularization) at the longest available follow-up. We included 267 patients (196 treated for in-stent restenosis and 71 for de novo lesions), with a median follow-up of 616 [368–1025] days. MACE occurred in 70 (26.2%) of the patients and related with higher rates of in-stent restenosis (P = .04), longer and more type C lesions ( P = .05 and P = .04). At multivariate Cox-regression, type C lesions emerged as the only independent predictor of MACE (adjusted OR [95% CI] = 1.83[1.13–2.97], P = .014), mainly driven by target vessel revascularization (adjusted OR[95% CI] = 1.78[1.05–2.95], P = .03) not conditioning survival. In-stent restenosis emerged as major determinant of TLF (adjusted OR[95% CI] = 2.59[1.17–5.75], P = .02). DCBs represent a treatment option for any lesion; however, type C and restenotic lesions are associated with an increased risk of MACE and target lesion failure, where the optimal strategies for patients’ selection and lesion preparation are still undefined.
Early Childhood Referrals by HealthySteps and Community Health Workers
Authors: Germán Miguelina , Alonzo Jayxa K. , Williams I. Mihiri , Bushar Jessica , Levine Sydney M. , Cuno Kate C. , Umylny Polina , Briggs Rahil D.
Published: September 2022

This study explored how a community health worker (CHW) within a primary care team with a HealthySteps (HS) Specialist impacted referrals to social determinant of health resources for families with children aged birth to 5 years. Medical charts with documentation of HS comprehensive services between January and June 2018 were reviewed at 3 primary care clinics: 2 with an HS Specialist (HSS Only) and 1 with an HS Specialist and CHW (HSS + CHW). Eighty-six referrals were identified, 78 of which had documented outcomes. Outcomes were categorized as successful, unsuccessful, and not documented. The HSS + CHW group had a higher rate of successful referrals (96%) than the HSS Only group (74%). Statistical analysis (χ2 = 8.37, P = .004) revealed a significant association between the referral outcome and having a CHW on a primary care team with an HS Specialist. Therefore, primary care practices should consider adapting their HS model to include CHWs.
Self-Monitoring, Loneliness, EAPs, Social Justice, Cross-Cultural Psychology, and Peacebuilding: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Gerstein Lawrence H.
Published: September 2022

This article expands on the author's invited presentation given in Minneapolis in August 2022 as the recipient of the 2020 Leona Tyler Award. Four phases (New York, Georgia, Illinois, and Indiana) of the author's life are described. Challenges and opportunities of the author's pursuit of research and other activities on impression management, loneliness, Employee Assistance Programs, social justice, cross-cultural psychology, and peacebuilding are discussed. Further, the importance of counseling psychologists demonstrating cross-cultural validity and equivalence and reducing bias in the science and application of psychology, and educating students is deemed a social justice imperative. Given the polarization and lack of civility in societies worldwide, the need for more counseling psychologists to function as bridge or peace builders in addition to advocates and activists also is highlighted. Lessons learned, recommendations to move the counseling psychology discipline forward, and appreciation to individuals' instrumental in the author's life are discussed as well.
Buzzati and Nabokov: It is not about desire
Authors: Castelli Alberto
Published: September 2022

Dino Buzzati's Un Amore has been largely defined as a consequence of the progressive development of the phenomenon of “lolitism,” and a few years before, Nabokov's Lolita had been accused of being an example of pedophilia. While both female characters are archetypes of “nymphet,” defiant, sexually promiscuous, capricious, and, above all, skilled in manipulation, the relationship progresses through a labyrinth of absence and deprivation. However, in order to place the novels in a proper perspective, we must avoid any intrusion into the authors’ private sexuality, and search for the aesthetic phenomenon thereby implied. Written from the male's perspective, women are a riddle but their age offers a key to understanding: youth's artful image can grant the illusion of immortality before death.
Nature-based interventions in social work practice and education: Insights from six nations
Authors: Slattery Maddy , Ramsay Sylvia , Pryor Anita , Gallagher Hilary , Norton Christine Lynn , Nikkel Lynette , Smith Amanda , Knowles Ben , McAuliffe Donna
Published: September 2022

This paper presents findings from an investigation of nature-based practices, from the perspectives of 10 academics/educators from six nations. Participants engaged in a focus group exploring the prevalence and inclusion of nature in social work practice and education. While the study focused on individual members’ experiences and perspectives, the findings highlight important context-specific factors for including nature within social work to reconnect humans with nature for health, well-being, healing, and justice. An Integrative Environmental Model for social work is proposed to assist future practice and education.
Understanding Farmer Producer Company (FPC) Ecosystem in Assam: Issues and Challenges
Authors: Bhuyan Ratna , Das Bhargab , Khound Sampurna
Published: September 2022

The agriculture sector, which continues to be pivotal to sustainable growth and development, has been recently mobilising farmers into member-owned producer organisations, or Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) to enhance production, productivity and profitability of agriculturists, especially the small and marginal farmers in the country. The FPCs, which have been brought in for improved transparency and access to the input and output market with higher negotiating powers leading to sustainability of the small and marginal farmers, are said to provide higher legitimacy and credibility in the immediate business environment. Though Assam too is not behind in forming FPCs, challenges and issues abound. Majority of these FPCs are in the nascent stage of their operations with shareholder membership ranging from more than 500 farmers to over 1500 farmers. It is also seen that from capacity building to taking up business operations, many issues need to be addressed in these FPCs. These FPCs are in need of support in technical handholding and provision of adequate capital and infrastructure facilities including market linkages for sustaining their business operations. The present paper tries exploring and understanding the ecosystem of the FPCs in Assam, which are focussing on small and marginal farmers, and delving into the issues and challenges faced by the FPCs in the state and the possible ways out.

JEL Classification: Q13
‘#GodIsInIt’: The Appropriation of Christianity into Politics by Nelson Chamisa in the 2018 Zimbabwean Presidential Election Contestations
Authors: Nenjerama Theophilus Tinashe
Published: September 2022

The November 2017 Zimbabwean elections were highly anticipated and contested since they came after the dethronement of the late former president Robert Mugabe. ZANU-PF’s Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner, an announcement the then Movement for Democratic Change-Alliance (MDC-A) challenged through the court. In the same context, the MDC-A leader, Nelson Chamisa used the phrase and hashtag ‘Godisinit’ as part of his challenge to Mnangagwa’s legitimacy and in connecting with his followers and supporters. The study used digital ethnography to examine the use of Christianity by Chamisa and how his followers received it on Twitter. The study argues that the conflation of religion and politics discounts the relevance of fundamental political strategies important in challenging oppressive governments.
Determinants of Citizen Acceptance of White-Collar Crime in China
Authors: Cheng Hongming , Wang Wei , Li Longhai
Published: September 2022

Existing research on public attitudes toward white-collar crime focuses almost exclusively on Western and Latin American societies. Using data from the seventh wave (2018) of the World Values Survey (WVS) for China, this study confirms the importance of several demographic, value, and belief factors in forming citizens’ attitudes toward white-collar crime, yet show some distinguished patterns in the Chinese context, calling for culture-specific and evidence-informed initiatives to gain public support for white-collar crime policies.
A Critical Analysis of the Law Commission's Proposed Cyberflashing Offence
Authors: Wang Bo
Published: September 2022

The Law Commission has proposed a new offence of cyberflashing to combat the problem of sending unsolicited images or videos of human genitals to others. It seems that what the Law Commission has in mind is not flashing per se, but cyber-nudity. Its proposal fails to comprehensively evaluate the adequacy of existing law and fails to balance the harm of a criminal conviction against the potential harm of cyberflashing. It shall be argued that the Law Commission seems to have conflated wrong with harm and that its harm claim is supported only by anecdotal evidence. The vast majority of cyberflashing cases, including most Airdropping and Bluetoothing cases, are already covered by existing law, leaving untouched only a handful of one-off Airdropping or Bluetoothing cases where the flasher did not intend to cause distress or anxiety and the victim did not apprehend imminent unlawful force. Thus, it is argued that this very narrowly tailored cyberflashing offence adds very little and that amending existing communication offences or harassment offences would provide more protection to victims as such offences could apply to a wide range of sexually harassing content, not just images or videos of human genitals.
Fabrication of space: The design of everyday life in South Korean Songdo
Authors: Bartmanski Dominik , Kim Seonju , Löw Martina , Pape Timothy , Stollmann Jörg
Published: September 2022

Constructed from scratch on land reclaimed from the sea, Songdo was planned to embody new ‘smart city’ life. In reality, it has come to exemplify enclave urbanism that commodifies securitised living for upwardly mobile middle classes. While the political economy of this urban project is by now well studied, the sociological ethnography of the resultant space and its experiential correlates remains less developed and imperfectly contextualised. One needs to connect the dots of power and space. The present paper aims to do that and thematises the ‘design of everyday life’ which rests on (1) the intensification of privatised digital surveillance of mass housing compounds which in turn occasions (2) the remaking of spatial markers and symbolic boundaries between private/public, inclusive/exclusive, inside/outside. As such it is a combination of two different registers of visibility that gets jointly orchestrated by the public–private partnership of Korean state and corporate actors. In order to recognise these regimes as strategic visions of controlled social life we extend James Scott’s notion of ‘seeing like a state’ to include the corresponding regime that we call ‘seeing like a corporation’. This allows us to show that they are mutually elaborative in Songdo through a hybridised fabrication of its lived environment, particularly in the case of one branded housing typology located in the city’s centre called International Business District. This elucidates not only the local entrepreneurial urbanism that gave rise to the controlled environment of Songdo but also more general logics of the ‘compressed modernisation’ in the region which sets a global mode for production of space and re-territorialisation of power.
Universities and Regional Development
Authors: Bagchi-Sen Sharmistha , Mack Elizabeth A.
Published: September 2022

This focused issue entitled “Universities and Regional Development” contains three papers. All three papers focus on universities and their involvement in translating research for commercialization, which in turn supports economic development that often extends beyond the local region.
Selling Yoga ‘Off the Mat’: A 10-year Analysis of Lifestyle Advertorials in Yoga Journal Magazine
Authors: Bhalla Nandini , O’Boyle Jane , Moscowitz Leigh
Published: September 2022

Scholars have critiqued popular media representations of yoga as largely emphasizing thin, white, upper-class female practitioners donning expensive apparel and accessories, exemplifying many aspects of a commercialized and objectified fitness culture and lifestyle brand. However, there is a dearth of research that has investigated the promotional content in popular magazines such as Yoga Journal; for example, no study to date has examined advertorials in yoga lifestyle magazines. Using framing theory, this study reports on a content analysis of advertorials across 10 years (2008–2017) of Yoga Journal magazine and found that products such as health supplements, herbal remedies and lifestyle brands like clothes and shoes were most often featured across the decade. The most common format was a regular feature, entitled “Off the Mat,” which promotes yoga lifestyle products identified by the magazine as “our partners.” This study also found that yoga-related products and female practitioners were the most common image categories displayed in advertorials. As the use and reach of advertorials increase, in the form of native ads in digital media, this study discusses the implications for the continued commodification of yoga and the role of advertorials in print magazines.
Transparency in Non-Technical Project Summaries to Promote the Three Rs in Respiratory Disease Research
Authors: Bonassera Martina , Clews Esther , BéruBé Kelly
Published: September 2022

Non-Technical Project Summaries (NTS) are legal documents that were first introduced by the Directive 2010/63/EU to enhance transparency within scientific animal experimentation. Researchers intending to conduct biological research on animal models must fulfil the NTS requirements by outlining their proposed use of animals and how they plan to implement the Three Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement of animal use) in their experiments. This study outlines a novel systematic analysis approach that enables the assessment of NTS transparency based on the accuracy of reporting of certain Three Rs-specific information. This potentially customisable strategy could help toward the development of practical guidelines for use by Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies (AWERBs) in establishments conducting animal research, in the process of scrutinising NTS during their pre-submission review of proposed licence applications. This could help to identify gaps in reporting of Three Rs-specific information relating to the planned animal experiments, which represents a remarkable step toward achieving greater openness in scientific communication. This study supports the concept that NTS transparency can promote the implementation of non-animal alternatives in fields where this is currently lacking, such as respiratory disease research. Although NTS were originally conceived as informative documents for a lay audience, we can conclude that data in NTS can be successfully used as a basis for systematic analysis. By reviewing the NTS, the experimental limitations of the currently available replacement strategies can also be highlighted, potentially pinpointing where there is a need for future method development.
The psychosocial experiences of girls with visual impairment about the ideal spouse and marriage
Authors: Khodabakhshi-Koolaee Anahita , Amoogholi Zahra
Published: September 2022

Mate choice is one of the biggest psychological, social, and emotional changes in the life of every human being. This issue is associated with challenges and problems for people especially blind and visual impairment (VI) people. Although marriage leads to many changes and transformations in the life of blind and VI people, it is essential for meeting psychological, social, emotional, and sexual needs. Accordingly, this study aimed to analyze the psychosocial experiences of VI girls about the ideal husband and marriage. This qualitative study was conducted with a descriptive phenomenological approach. The data were collected through targeted interviews with 20 single girls with VI who were members of the White Cane Society of Tehran in 2021. The collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method. Four main themes were extracted from the participants’ experiences, including “experience of love and freedom,” “criteria for selecting an ideal spouse,” “fear and worry about the marriage,” and “stigma and strict public judgments.” Following the findings of the study, it can be argued that paying attention to the experience of girls with VI can shed light on their criteria for mate choice and marriage and clarify their needs and demands. This perspective helps mental health professionals and rehabilitation counseling experts to meet their needs through social welfare planning and family awareness programs.
Cancer pain: Results of a prospective study on prognostic indicators of pain intensity including pain syndromes assessment
Authors: Shkodra Morena , Brunelli Cinzia , Zecca Ernesto , Infante Gabriele , Miceli Rosalba , Caputo Mariangela , Bracchi Paola , Lo Dico Silvia , Kaasa Stein , Caraceni Augusto
Published: September 2022

Background:

Pain is a prevalent symptom in patients with advanced cancer. Recognition of prognostic factors associated with pain intensity, could help provide better assessment, leading to better pain management.

Aim:

identifying prognostic factors which could guide improvements on cancer pain classification.

Design:

a prospective observational study on chronic cancer pain, exploring the association between average mean pain intensity during a 28 days study follow-up and patients’ clinical and pain-related characteristics, including pain syndromes. To evaluate these associations, a mixed model was built.

Setting/participants:

Patients attending a Palliative Care and Pain Outpatient Clinic from May 2015 to June 2019 were screened. Patients with moderate to severe cancer pain who were already receiving or needed treatment with third step WHO ladder opioids were enrolled in the study. Data from 342 patients with at least one follow-up visit were analyzed.

Results:

Pain intensity decreased significantly for all patients during time ( p < 0.001). Age, sex, emotional distress, pain duration and neuropathic pain presence evaluated by the Douleur Neuropathique 4 Questions (DN4) questionnaire were not significantly associated to pain intensity. Breakthrough/episodic pain was associated with higher pain intensity during follow-up ( p < 0.001). The diagnosis of pain syndrome was overall significantly associated with mean pain intensity during follow-up ( p = 0.016). Particularly, the concurrent presence of visceral and soft ( p = 0.026) or soft and nervous tissue pain ( p = 0.043) were significantly related to worse outcome, whereas pain due to only soft tissue damage with better outcome ( p = 0.032).

Conclusions:

The recognition of specific pain syndromes may help to better classify cancer pain.
Feasibility of monitoring the resolution of acute pulmonary embolism with non-contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging at one day, one week, one, three, and six months
Authors: Medson Koshiar , Westerlund Eli , Paris Roberto Vargas , Fyrdahl Alexander , Vidovic Nina , Nyren Sven , Lindholm Peter
Published: September 2022

Background

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common cause of death with an incidence of approximately 1–2 cases per 1000 inhabitants in Europe and the United States. Treatment for PE is the administration of anticoagulants for at least three months.

Purpose

To assess the feasibility of following the resolution rate of PE over time using repeated imaging with a non-contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol.

Material and Methods

Patients (n = 18) diagnosed with acute PE via computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) underwent non-contrast-enhanced MRI at two tertiary hospitals. The first MRI was performed within 36 h of CTPA, with follow-up at one week, one, three, and six months. The MRI sequence used was a non-contrast-enhanced standard two-dimensional steady-state free precession under free-breathing and without respiratory or cardiac gating. All MRI scans were then compared to the initial CTPA. The emboli were assessed visually for location and size, and clot burden was calculated using the Qanadli score.

Results

MRI revealed complete resolution in seven cases at one week, in five cases at one month, and in three cases at three months. The most significant resolution of emboli occurred within the first few weeks, with only 10% of the diagnosed emboli persisting at the one-month examination.

Conclusion

The use of MRI imparts the ability to visualize PE without radiation and thus allows multiple examinations to be made, for example in studies investigating the resolution of PE or the evaluation of drug effect in clinical trials.
The impact of homophobic trauma on gay men
Authors: Stevenson Stuart
Published: September 2022

This article is based on a presentation I made to a Group Analytic Society International (GASi) event on ‘The Impact of Homophobia on Mind, Body and Soul’ in May 2021. Much of what I discuss applies to gay women and people who are transgender. However, I will foreground the experience of gay men because I have more clinical and personal experience in this field. I provide a working definition of homophobia and how it impacts on the psychological development of gay men at various points during their earlier life stages. My contention is that the presentation of gay men in our clinics and practices in terms of their psychological difficulties and issues can be attributed, largely, to the impact of homophobic trauma rather than anything that is innate. This is largely due to gay men, from very young ages, having to manage a wide range of traumatizing negative responses and betrayal from their families and communities, ranging from ostracism to extreme violence and rejection from those who are meant to care for them. The more damaging impacts of these attitudes occur at points in the early developmental stages of gay men when they do not have a mature psychic apparatus with which to process and manage repeated and relentless homophobic trauma. This has implications for their personality formation and can lead to their developing some very unhelpful and dysfunctional defences. It is, in fact, surprising that gay men are such positive contributors to society and are not far more disturbed and destructive, given the amount of trauma that they face throughout their early development. I conclude with a discussion of the clinical needs of gay men.
Do Large Employers Discriminate Less? An Exploration of Company Size Variation in Disability Discrimination Based on Data from two Field Experiments
Authors: Bjørnshagen Vegar
Published: September 2022

Recent field experiments have documented that discrimination constitutes a barrier to employment for people with disabilities. Less is known about how disability discrimination varies across contexts in the labor market. This study explores whether hiring discrimination based on a history of mental health problems and against wheelchair users varies with company size using data from two field experiments. The study provides mixed evidence suggesting that the negative effect of disclosing a history of mental health problems on employers' hiring decisions does not vary with company size, whereas discrimination against wheelchair users occurs less often in large companies.
Teaching Data Justice: Algorithmic Bias and Critical Spatial Analysis in Urban Planning Education
Authors: Acolin Arthur , Kim Annette M.
Published: September 2022

As urban planners increasingly use technological advances to generate and analyze new data, we must take care to overcome biases embedded in them. We survey American planning programs and find that very few spatial analysis syllabi explicitly raise this issue or include readings or exercises to train students about the limitations and opportunities for critically handling new data streams. We conclude with suggestions for curricular strategies to help fill this pedagogical gap by incorporating (1) groundtruthing and fieldwork exercises; (2) exercises of comparative urban contexts and spatial patterns; and (3) digital participation and public discourse.
Effects of chromium (VI) on the toxicity of benzo[z]pyrene in 16HBE cells
Authors: Wang Jialin , Xia Bo
Published: September 2022

Contamination of human habitats with complex mixtures of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is an important environmental and industrial health problem. Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and benzo(a)pyrene (B[a] P) are typical of the two, respectively. In recent decades, a great deal of research has focused on their carcinogenicity and mechanisms of action. However, few studies have been conducted to evaluate their combined effects on humans and cells, which has important implications for overall understanding of their toxicity and interaction. In the current study, the combined toxic effects of B[a] P and Cr(VI) were studied in human bronchial epithelial cells (16 HBE). We measured the genotoxic activity and epigenetic changes of these two toxicants alone and in combination on these cells and analyzed the difference between their single and combined toxicity. The results showed that B[a]P caused DNA damage in 16HBE cells in a concentration-dependent manner, while the presence of Cr(VI) showed a sharp decrease in DNA damage, and it inhibited the expression of genes related to base excision repair induced by B[a]P. In addition, Cr(VI) also reduced B[a]P-triggered epigenetic changes in 16HBE cells. In conclusion, the combined effect of B[a]P and Cr(VI) on 16HBE cells was less toxic than single B[a]P exposure, indicating that the combined toxicity of the two toxicants is partially antagonistic. Further research is required to explore the mechanism of this antagonism.
Differences in Cerebellar Volume as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker in Children and Adolescents With Epilepsy of Unknown Etiology
Authors: Glutig Katja , Lange Luisa , Krüger Paul-Christian , Gräger Stephanie , de Vries Heike , Brandl Ulrich , Gaser Christian , Mentzel Hans-Joachim
Published: September 2022

Introduction and Objective

Epilepsy is one of the most common brain diseases during childhood and adolescence. Atrophy in different brain areas is possible during epilepsy. This study aimed to verify whether cerebellar volume differences could be detected by volume analysis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in children with epilepsy.

Method

In this retrospective study, 41 children (3.1-18.8 years) with epilepsy of unknown etiology were included (duration of epilepsy 1.9 ± 3 years). A cranial MRI with a volumetric 3-dimensional, T1-weighted sequence was used for volume analysis. The MRIs of 26 patients with headache (5.3-17.1 years) were analyzed for comparison. A volume analysis of the cerebellum was performed using region-based morphometry. Total cerebellar volume, total white and gray matter volume, and 48 regional lobules (L), separated into white and gray matter, were calculated. Cerebellar volumes are presented in relative ratios as the volume fraction of cerebellar volume to total intracranial volume: CV/TIV.

Results

The ratio of overall white matter volume was significantly lower in the case group (23.93 × 10−3, P = .039). A significantly lower ratio of regional white matter volume was detected in LV right ( P = .031) and left ( P = .014), in LVIIIB right ( P = .011) and left ( P = .019), and in LVIIIA left ( P = .009).

Conclusion

Our results emphasize that volume analysis of the total cerebellar volume alone is insufficient to characterize cerebellar differences in children with epilepsy. Rather, in specific cerebellar region volume analysis using region-based morphometry, children with epilepsy showed significantly lower regional volumes of lobules, which are important for sensorimotor function (LV, LVIII) and higher cognitive function (crus I).
An Autoethnography of “Making It” in Academia: Writing an ECR “Journey” of Facebook, Assemblage, Affect, and the Outdoors
Authors: Stanley Phiona
Published: September 2022

While much has been written to guide early career researchers (ECRs) and those charged with socializing them into academic ontologies, much less is known about ECRs’ own experiences of becoming academic. This article presents a narrative, new-materialist account—drawing on Facebook updates and personal diaries—of one ECR’s experience. Interdisciplinary theorizing is proposed, using work-types and zones-of-development models. Individualism is problematized within three contexts: autoethnography as method, the materiality of affect within ECR assemblages, and the limited capacity of any individual ECR to effect systemic change. As ECRs are driven to produce ever more, and thus to “succeed,” they are their own nexus of accountability, making overwork and burnout endemic. So, although ECRs may progress from adaptive to technical work and from proximal to actual zones of development, their workload has no ceiling. Issues of “balance” are therefore retheorized within the assemblage, with extant models critiqued as problematically dependent on neoliberal framings of individual responsibility.
Avatrombopag for the Treatment of Immune Thrombocytopenia and Periprocedural Thrombocytopenia Associated With Chronic Liver Disease
Authors: Tran Thuy B. , Downing Lauren , Elmes Joseph B. , Arnall Justin R. , Moore Donald C.
Published: September 2022

Objective: To review the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy, safety, dosing and administration, and place in therapy of avatrombopag for the treatment of immune thrombocytopenia and chronic liver disease-associated thrombocytopenia. Summary: Avatrombopag is an orally administered thrombopoietin receptor agonist approved for the treatment of immune thrombocytopenia and is the first oral thrombopoietin receptor agonist approved for the treatment of perioperative thrombocytopenia associated with chronic liver disease in adults. The efficacy and safety of avatrombopag has been demonstrated in a multicenter, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled phase III study in the setting of immune thrombocytopenia and in 2 identically designed, multicenter, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled phase III trials in the setting of thrombocytopenia associated with chronic liver disease. The most common adverse events reported in the clinical trials were headache, fatigue, and gastrointestinal toxicities. The incidence of bleeding events was comparable between the avatrombopag and placebo treatment groups in each study. Avatrombopag has not been shown to be associated with hepatoxicity and does not require food restriction like the other oral thrombopoietin receptor agonist for immune thrombocytopenia, eltrombopag. Also, unlike eltrombopag for immune thrombocytopenia, it can be dosed less frequently than once daily. Conclusion: Avatrombopag offers another safe and effective oral option for the treatment of immune thrombocytopenia without food restrictions and an alternative, transfusion-sparing option for thrombocytopenia associated with chronic liver disease patients undergoing surgery.
Mental Health Benefits and Detriments of Caregiving Demands: A Nonlinear Association in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging
Authors: Bierman Alex , Lee Yeonjung , Penning Margaret J.
Published: September 2022

Objectives

This study examines whether the association between caregiving demands and mental health is non-linear and also, whether this non-linear association is contingent on the marital status of the caregiver.

Methods

We analyze the data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, applying OLS regression and quadratic interaction terms.

Results

A lower level of demands is salubriously associated with symptoms of depression and life satisfaction, but this association becomes deleterious at higher levels of demands. Moreover, a connection to a marital partner extends the benefits of caregiving demands and stems the adverse consequences.

Discussion

This research shows that acts of caregiving may not themselves be detrimental. Instead, the degree and way in which caregiving relates to mental health may vary by both the extent of the demands of the caregiving role and familial relationships in which caregivers are embedded.
Study on properties of copolymers based on different types of benzoxazines and branched epoxy resins
Authors: Liu Lele , Wang Fan , Zhu Yaping , Qi Huimin
Published: September 2022

Previous studies on linear epoxy (bisphenol A epoxy) resin/benzoxazine composites showed that with the addition of epoxy (EP) resin, the resulting copolymers exhibited an increased glass transition temperature ( Tg) ( Tg reached a maximum value at a specific content), improved flexural strength, lower heat resistance, and reduced tensile strength. Herein, branched EP resin (AG-80)/benzoxazine copolymers featuring novolac (N-box) and siloxane (Si-box) chains were prepared without any external curing agent. In both systems, the EP resin endowed the copolymers with an increased crosslinking density; however, Tg continued to increase with increasing EP content. In addition, the heat resistance of the copolymers gradually enhanced. Different types of benzoxazines have various effects on the properties of copolymers. In terms of mechanical properties, AG-80/N-box copolymers exhibited brittle fracture characteristics; with increasing EP content, the flexural strength of the copolymer decreased while the tensile strength increased. AG-80/Si-box copolymers exhibited ductile fracture characteristics, with gradual increases in flexural and tensile strengths. Furthermore, with increasing EP content, the molecular chain migration ability and network homogeneity of the AG-80/N-box copolymers decreased gradually. Alternatively, in the case of the AG-80/Si-box copolymers, the molecular chain migration ability remained unchanged and network homogeneity improved. Hence, the developed copolymers can be used as resin matrices for the fabrication of advanced composites.
Pre-buckling vibration and buckling analyses of composite skew plate: An analytical investigation
Authors: Kumar Rajesh
Published: September 2022

In this work, the analytical investigation for pre-buckling vibration and buckling analyses of a composite skew plate subjected to parabolically and linearly varying in-plane edge load are presented. When the composite skew plate is subjected to parabolic (non-uniform) in-plane edge loading, the pre-buckling stresses within the composite skew plate are not known a priori. To estimate the pre-buckling stresses within the composite skew plate for which the in-plane elasticity problem is solved by minimizing the membrane strain energy using the Ritz method. It is observed that the rate of diffusion of applied parabolic in-plane edge load within the skew plate to a state of uniform in-plane stress is faster in the case of isotropic material than composite material. Using estimated pre-buckling stresses, the total energy functional is derived from the total strain energy, potential energy, and kinetic energy. The total energy functional is reduced into sets of an ordinary differential equation and algebraic equation, respectively for pre-buckling vibration and buckling problems using the Ritz method in conjunction with BCOPs. The associated linear eigenvalue problems are solved to compute the pre-buckling vibration frequency and buckling load of the stressed skew plate. The outcome of the study may provide crucial inputs in the design of skewed bridge decks, ship structures, and aircraft wing design.
A closed-loop directional dynamics control with LQR active trailer steering for articulated heavy vehicle
Authors: Deng Zhao-wen , Jin Yong-hui , Gao Wei , Wang Bao-hua
Published: September 2022

To improve the directional performance of articulated heavy vehicles (AHV), three previewed points driver model and LQR active trailer steering (ATS) strategy are proposed and examined using closed-loop driver/vehicle dynamics simulation. Firstly, a simplified linear three-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) yaw plane model for AHV is established and validated. Secondly, based on the multi-point preview-predictor following strategy, the weighted-average error of three previewed points of the tractor is defined as the final lateral previewed displacement error. According to the assumption of constant yaw rate and the trajectory prediction of AHV, and three previewed points driver model has been configured, it’s path-following performance is verified. Thirdly, instead of using the idea of minimization, a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) controller is proposed based on the linear 3-DOF yaw plane model of AHV to make the control variables to keep following the desired responses. Through joint simulations using MATLAB/Simulink and TruckSim, the effectiveness of the built-in driver model, three-previewed point driver model and three-previewed point driver model + LQR ATS control methods on improving vehicle orientation performance were compared and analyzed through closed-loop driver/vehicle dynamics simulations. The significant effectiveness of the proposed method in improving maneuverability and stability is verified through low-speed 360° trajectory tracking tests and high-speed double lane change maneuver simulations. Finally, a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) platform is used to further verify the effectiveness of the designed strategy.
Effect of idle-start-go on the economy and emissions of gasoline vehicles
Authors: Hu Zhiyuan , Wang Zhuo , Lu Zhangying , Fu Jiaming , Quan Yifeng
Published: September 2022

The idle start-go (ISG) system has been widely used, but there have been few relevant studies of its effect on emissions. This paper investigates fuel economy, total hydrocarbon (THC), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate mass (PM), and particle number (PN) emissions from China VI gasoline direct injection (GDI) vehicles with and without ISG. Three test cycles were performed under hot start conditions, that is, the worldwide harmonized light vehicle test cycle (WLTC), the China light-duty vehicle test cycle (CLTC), and the USA federal test procedure-75 (FTP-75). About 28 idling phases were selected to specifically analyze the influence of ISG system. The results reveal that ISG system helps decrease fuel consumption, THC and CO emissions but aggravates NOx and solid PN emissions. Also, ISG system increases the proportions of sub-23 nm and nucleation-mode particle emission. Idling time plays a role in fuel economy, THC and CO emissions, while accelerated speed affects the emissions of THC, CO, NOx, and PN.
Study of the surgical needle and biological soft tissue interaction phenomenon during insertion process for medical application: A Survey
Authors: Barua Ranjit , Datta Sudipto , RoyChowdhury Amit , Datta Pallab
Published: September 2022

The insertion of the surgical needle in soft tissue has involved significant interest in the current time because of its purpose in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and percutaneous events like biopsies, PCNL, and brachytherapy. This study represents a review of the existing condition of investigation on insertion of a surgical needle in biological living soft tissue material. As observes the issue from numerous phases, like, analysis of the cutting forces modeling (insertion), tissue material deformation, analysis of the needle deflection for the period of the needle insertion, and the robot-controlled insertion procedures. All analysis confirms that the total needle insertion force is the total of dissimilar forces spread sideways the shaft of the insertion needle for example cutting force, stiffness force, and frictional force. Various investigations have analyzed all these kinds of forces during the needle insertion process. The force data in several measures are applied for recognizing the biological tissue materials as the needle is penetrated or for path planning. The deflection of the needle during insertion and tissue material deformation is the main trouble for defined needle placing and efforts have been prepared to model them. Applying existing models numerous insertion methods are established that are discussed in this review.
Cognitive Change Before Old Age (11 to 70) Predicts Cognitive Change During Old Age (70 to 82)
Authors: Conte Federica P. , Okely Judith A. , Hamilton Olivia K. , Corley Janie , Page Danielle , Redmond Paul , Taylor Adele M. , Russ Tom C. , Deary Ian J. , Cox Simon R.
Published: September 2022

Identifying predictors of cognitive decline in old age helps us understand its mechanisms and identify those at greater risk. Here, we examined how cognitive change from ages 11 to 70 is associated with cognitive change at older ages (70 to 82 years) in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 longitudinal study ( N = 1,091 at recruitment). Using latent-growth-curve models, we estimated rates of change from ages 70 to 82 in general cognitive ability ( g) and in three cognitive domains: visuospatial, memory, and processing speed. We found that g accounted for 71.3% of interindividual change variance. Greater cognitive gain from ages 11 to 70 predicted slower decline in g over 12 subsequent years (β = 0.163, p = .001), independently of cognitive level in childhood and at age 70, and domain-specific change beyond g. These results contribute to the goal of identifying people at higher risk of age-related cognitive decline.