bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Connecting post-release mortality to the physiological stress response of large coastal sharks in a commercial longline fishery
Authors: Whitney Nicholas M. , Lear Karissa O. , Morris John J. , Hueter Robert E. , Carlson John K. , Marshall Heather M.
Published: September 2021

Bycatch mortality is a major factor contributing to shark population declines. Post-release mortality (PRM) is particularly difficult to quantify, limiting the accuracy of stock assessments. We paired blood-stress physiology with animal-borne accelerometers to quantify PRM rates of sharks caught in a commercial bottom longline fishery. Blood was sampled from the same individuals that were tagged, providing direct correlation between stress physiology and animal fate for sandbar (Carcharhinus plumbeus, N = 130), blacktip (C. limbatus, N = 105), tiger (Galeocerdo cuvier, N = 52), spinner (C. brevipinna, N = 14), and bull sharks (C. leucas, N = 14). PRM rates ranged from 2% and 3% PRM in tiger and sandbar sharks to 42% and 71% PRM in blacktip and spinner sharks, respectively. Decision trees based on blood values predicted mortality with >67% accuracy in blacktip and spinner sharks, and >99% accuracy in sandbar sharks. Ninety percent of PRM occurred within 5 h after release and 59% within 2 h. Blood physiology indicated that PRM was primarily associated with acidosis and increases in plasma potassium levels. Total fishing mortality reached 62% for blacktip and 89% for spinner sharks, which may be under-estimates given that some soak times were shortened to focus on PRM. Our findings suggest that no-take regulations may be beneficial for sandbar, tiger, and bull sharks, but less effective for more susceptible species such as blacktip and spinner sharks.
Social reward and support effects on exercise experiences and performance: Evidence from parkrun
Authors: Davis Arran J. , MacCarron Pádraig , Cohen Emma
Published: September 2021

There is growing academic, civic and policy interest in the public health benefits of community-based exercise events. Shifting the emphasis from competitive sport to communal activity, these events have wide appeal. In addition to physical health benefits, regular participation can reduce social isolation and loneliness through opportunities for social connection. Taking a broad evolutionary and social psychological perspective, we suggest that social factors warrant more attention in current approaches to physical (in)activity and exercise behavior. We develop and test the hypothesis that social reward and support in exercise are associated with positive exercise experiences and greater performance outputs. Using a repeated-measures design, we examine the influence of social perceptions and behavior on subjective enjoyment, energy, fatigue, effort, and objective performance (run times) among a UK sample of parkrun participants. Social factors were associated with greater subjective enjoyment and energy. Higher subjective energy, in turn, was associated with faster run times, without any corresponding increase in perceived effort. No significant main effects of social factors on fatigue, performance or effort were detected. The role of social structural factors has long been recognized in public health approaches to physical activity. Our results indicate that there should be greater research attention on how positive and rewarding social behaviors and experiences—particularly subjective enjoyment and energy, and perceptions of community social support and belonging—influence exercise-related behavior, psychology and physiology, and promote health through collective physical activity. The research also supplements traditional emphases on social facilitation and team sport that have dominated sport and exercise psychology and offers new avenues for understanding the deep connections among psychological, social and physical function in everyday health.
Comparison of machine learning methods for estimating case fatality ratios: An Ebola outbreak simulation study
Authors: Forna Alpha , Dorigatti Ilaria , Nouvellet Pierre , Donnelly Christl A.
Published: September 2021

Background

Machine learning (ML) algorithms are now increasingly used in infectious disease epidemiology. Epidemiologists should understand how ML algorithms behave within the context of outbreak data where missingness of data is almost ubiquitous.

Methods

Using simulated data, we use a ML algorithmic framework to evaluate data imputation performance and the resulting case fatality ratio (CFR) estimates, focusing on the scale and type of data missingness (i.e., missing completely at random—MCAR, missing at random—MAR, or missing not at random—MNAR).

Results

Across ML methods, dataset sizes and proportions of training data used, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve decreased by 7% (median, range: 1%–16%) when missingness was increased from 10% to 40%. Overall reduction in CFR bias for MAR across methods, proportion of missingness, outbreak size and proportion of training data was 0.5% (median, range: 0%–11%).

Conclusion

ML methods could reduce bias and increase the precision in CFR estimates at low levels of missingness. However, no method is robust to high percentages of missingness. Thus, a datacentric approach is recommended in outbreak settings—patient survival outcome data should be prioritised for collection and random-sample follow-ups should be implemented to ascertain missing outcomes.
Effect of high and low risk susceptibles in the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 and control strategies
Authors: Khan Adnan , Ali Mohsin , Iqbal Wizda , Imran Mudassar
Published: September 2021

In this study, we formulate and analyze a deterministic model for the transmission of COVID-19 and evaluate control strategies for the epidemic. It has been well documented that the severity of the disease and disease related mortality is strongly correlated with age and the presence of co-morbidities. We incorporate this in our model by considering two susceptible classes, a high risk, and a low risk group. Disease transmission within each group is modelled by an extension of the SEIR model, considering additional compartments for quarantined and treated population groups first and vaccinated and treated population groups next. Cross Infection across the high and low risk groups is also incorporated in the model. We calculate the basic reproduction number R0 and show that for R0<1 the disease dies out, and for R0>1 the disease is endemic. We note that varying the relative proportion of high and low risk susceptibles has a strong effect on the disease burden and mortality. We devise optimal medication and vaccination strategies for effective control of the disease. Our analysis shows that vaccinating and medicating both groups is needed for effective disease control and the controls are not very sensitive to the proportion of the high and low risk populations.
Suggested visual blockade during hypnosis: Top-down modulation of stimulus processing in a visual oddball task
Authors: Franz Marcel , Schmidt Barbara , Hecht Holger , Naumann Ewald , Miltner Wolfgang H. R.
Published: September 2021

Several theories of hypnosis assume that responses to hypnotic suggestions are implemented through top-down modulations via a frontoparietal network that is involved in monitoring and cognitive control. The current study addressed this issue re-analyzing previously published event-related-potentials (ERP) (N1, P2, and P3b amplitudes) and combined it with source reconstruction and connectivity analysis methods. ERP data were obtained from participants engaged in a visual oddball paradigm composed of target, standard, and distractor stimuli during a hypnosis (HYP) and a control (CON) condition. In both conditions, participants were asked to count the rare targets presented on a video screen. During HYP participants received suggestions that a wooden board in front of their eyes would obstruct their view of the screen. The results showed that participants’ counting accuracy was significantly impaired during HYP compared to CON. ERP components in the N1 and P2 window revealed no amplitude differences between CON and HYP at sensor-level. In contrast, P3b amplitudes in response to target stimuli were significantly reduced during HYP compared to CON. Source analysis of the P3b amplitudes in response to targets indicated that HYP was associated with reduced source activities in occipital and parietal brain areas related to stimulus categorization and attention. We further explored how these brain sources interacted by computing time-frequency effective connectivity between electrodes that best represented frontal, parietal, and occipital sources. This analysis revealed reduced directed information flow from parietal attentional to frontal executive sources during processing of target stimuli. These results provide preliminary evidence that hypnotic suggestions of a visual blockade are associated with a disruption of the coupling within the frontoparietal network implicated in top-down control.
Is quality maternal healthcare all about successful childbirth? Views of mothers in the Wa Municipality, Ghana
Authors: Baatiema Linus , Tanle Augustine , Darteh Eugene Kofuor Maafo , Ameyaw Edward Kwabena
Published: September 2021

Introduction

In spite of the countless initiatives of the Ghana government to improve the quality of maternal healthcare, Upper West Region still records poor childbirth outcomes. This study, therefore, explored women’s perception of the quality of maternal healthcare they receive in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region of Ghana.

Materials and methods

This is a qualitative cross-sectional study of 62 women who accessed maternal healthcare in the Wa Municipality of Ghana. We analysed the transcripts using the analytic inductive technique. An inter-coding technique (testing for inter-coding agreement) was employed. The iterative coding process resulted in a coding scheme with four main themes. We used peer-debriefing technique in ensuring credibility and trustworthiness.

Results

Logistics and equipment; referral service; empathic service delivery; inadequacy of care providers; affordability of service; satisfaction with services received; as well as experience and service delivery were the parameters used by the women in assessing quality maternity care. A number of gaps were reported in the healthcare system including limited healthcare providers, limited beds and inefficient referral system. Conversely, some of them reported that some healthcare providers offered empathetic healthcare. Contrary views were expressed with respect to satisfaction with maternity care.

Conclusion

Government and all stakeholders seeking to enhance quality of maternal health and accelerate the attainment of the third Sustainable Development Goal need to reconsider the financing of service delivery at health institutions. Indeed, our findings have illustrated that routine workshops on empathetic healthcare are required in efforts to increase the rate of facility-based childbirth, and thereby subside maternal mortality and all adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Management strategies to regulate the introduction of exotic ornamental fish, the silent invaders of freshwater ecosystems in India
Authors: Kumar T. T. Ajith , Lal Kuldeep K.
Published: September 2021

Ornamental fish culture and aquarium keeping have become a booming sector worldwide. It has been observed that a number of stakeholders are involved in introducing exotic ornamentals in India as well, as the takers are interested on variants and new species. Most of the exotic ornamental fishes are also being domesticated in India, since the demand is readily fulfilled through adequate supply to the hobbyists. This sector provides livelihood option to many people and helps to earn millions of dollars to our country every year, however, the invasion of exotic ornamentals in our natural water bodies needs to be assessed, monitored and controlled with due attention as it is a staid menace to our biodiversity. Around 400 species / variants of exotic freshwater ornamentals and around 100 exotic marine ornamental species including invertebrates are found to have introduced in the trade. It is significant to note that an apparent violation in the trade is taking place by concealing the Government of India approval, which is given only for 92 species / variants of fishes for import. Further, as some of the freshwater ornamental fishes currently available in the aquarium trade have invaded through natural water bodies, their impacts need to be studied in detail. To deal with the situation, the proper precautionary approach should be implemented by adopting measures after having proper quarantine, meticulous risk analysis and strategic prevention methods as well. Combined efforts of industry stakeholders with different government agencies, academic and research institutions is required and a suitable protocol has to be formulated for permissible import, sustainable production, supply and management.
Bioaccumulation of trace elements in migratory waterbirds at two wetlands of Indus river
Authors: Ashraf Muhammad Ahsan , Ali Zulfiqar
Published: September 2021

Waterbirds are used as a bioindicator for analyzing wetland health because they are very sensitive to changes in ecosystems at the nutrient level and through exposure to pollutants. In the present study, bioaccumulation of trace elements (Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, Co, Cd, and Mn) was investigated in Common Coot Fulica atra, Gadwall Anas strepera, and Eurasian Teal Anas crecca at Taunsa barrage and Chashma barrage located on Indus River, Punjab, Pakistan. Samples of water, sediments, and waterbirds tissues were collected during autumn 2018 and the spring of 2019. Metal concentrations were assessed by using a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Thermo Scientific iCE 3000 Series). We found that the maximum bioaccumulation in birds was of cadmium. Order of metal accumulation was Cd > Pb > Zn > Co > Mn > Cu > Ni (Common Coot) and Cd > Pb > Zn > Co > Cu > Ni > Mn (Gadwall and Eurasian Teal) at Taunsa barrage. At Chashma barrage metal accumulation order was Cd > Zn > Pb > Co > Cu > Mn > Ni (Common Coot), Cd > Zn > Pb > Cu > Co > Ni > Mn (Gadwall) and Cd > Zn > Pb > Co > Cu > Ni > Mn (Eurasian Teal). A. crecca was the species in which the most of the trace elements (Cu, Ni, Pb, Co, and Mn) were accumulated at Taunsa barrage, while at Chashma barrage Zn, Pb, Cd, and Co accumulated in F. atra. Zn, Pb and Cd (avg. > 10) had a high bioaccumulation ratio and Co, Cu, Ni, and Mn (avg. < 10) had low bioaccumulation ratio. When tissues were compared for accumulation, the highest concentrations were observed in the intestine followed by gizzard, probably because of the feeding habits of these waterbirds.
Children’s narratives on migrant refugees: a practice of global citizenship
Authors: Parejo José Luis , Molina-Fernández Elvira , González-Pedraza Ainoa
Published: September 2021

Globalisation has brought about great social and economic impact, as well as great challenges. Major developments have taken place in the mobility of capital and, to a lesser extent, of goods; not so in the mobility of people seeking asylum due to persecution and war. This article approaches the phenomenon of migration, particularly of refugees, as learning content for early childhood. The research is presented from a qualitative approach based on the results of a project on this topic implemented in a rural school in Spain. The results of the data analysis reveal that children attribute external reasons, of survival, to the refugees’ forced departure from their country of origin. The children’s imaginary reproduces the social construction of adults on the status and situation of refugees, and they also show a critical attitude towards the violation of human rights and the abuse of fellow children. Finally, respect, cultural empathy and social commitment in the face of injustice are presented as fundamental values for education in global citizenship from the earliest stages of schooling.
Production and Optimization of Pectinase from Pectinolytic Fungi Cultivated on Mango peels and Pectin Subjected to Submerged Fermentation
Authors: Mulluye Kelemu , Kebede Ameha , Bussa Negussie
Published: September 2021

Pectinases are the group of enzymes that degrade pectin. This study was conducted with the aim of isolation of efficient pectinase producing pectinolytic fungi from the decomposing mango peels using extracted mango peels pectin as a growth substrate under submerged fermentation, determining optimum pectinase production conditions with regards to some physicochemical parameters. The organisms were screened for the production of pectinase using Pectin agar media, and the two active pectinolytic fungi (P1 and P2) were isolated. pectinase production media was later used for the Lab scale production of pectinase by inoculating p1 and p2 and incubating for 7 days. The enzyme was extracted after seven days of fermentation and every day tested for their pectinolytic activity. P2 showed relatively higher pectinolytic activity and was therefore used for further studies. P2 was inoculated into a broth containing mango pectin under submerged fermentation. Results indicate that a pectin yield of mango peel 17.75%. Different parameters optimization processes were investigated on submerged fermentation namely pH, incubation period, temperature and substrate concentration optima were found 6, 4 days, 35oC and 1.5% respectively. The result suggests that mango peels have high pectin content and can be used for the value-added synthesis of pectinase.
Literatura polska w oczach Chinki polonistki. Z Li Yinan rozmawiają Elżbieta Winiecka i Joanna Krenz
Authors: Krenz Joanna , Winiecka Elżbieta
Published: September 2021

The article presents the dynamics, characteristics and the shifting paradigms of the reception of Polish literature in China from 2012 to 2020. The author analyses the reasons for the popularity of the most often translated and read Polish authors on the Chinese publishing market, with particular interest in Czesław Miłosz, Olga Tokarczuk and Andrzej Sapkowski. She also presents the translators – both experienced and often recognised and awarded doyens of Polish studies in China, and those from the intermediate and youngest generations to whom the oldest ones passed the knowledge, skills, passion and the sense of common mission of building cross-cultural dialogue through literature.
Chiny wyobrażone – Chiny ucieleśnione. Państwo Środka w polskich i serbskich relacjach z podróży (od XVIII do połowy XX wieku)
Authors: Galewska Karolina
Published: September 2021

The article presents an overview of the issues discussed in Tomasz Ewertowski’s monograph Images of China in Polish and Serbian Travel Writings (1720–1949). It reconstructs the discourse that emerges from the journals as their authors report on their journeys to the Middle Kingdom. The article also analyses the conditioning of the presented attitudes in the context of individual experience. Using imagology-based tools, Ewertowski refers to the mental representations of reality recorded in the text in the form of stereotypically formed ethnotypes. Ewertowski creates a mosaic of the way travellers from the West imagined both Chinese cities and the characteristic features of Far Eastern culture, which is often marked by Eurocentrism and an evaluating attitude towards the Other.
Jak opisać dawne galicyjskie przedmieścia we współczesnym języku chińskim? Kognitywna analiza przekładów Sklepów cynamonowych Brunona Schulza
Authors: Jakubów Zofia
Published: September 2021

The article is an analysis of the description of the garden in Bruno Schulz’s The Cinnamon Shops (Sklepy cynamonowe) and its two translations into Chinese. Wei-Yun Lin-Górecka has translated Schulz’s prose from the original Polish, while Lu Yuan’s translation is primarily based on English versions of his work. The analysis employs methods drawn from cognitive poetics and some elements of cognitive theory of translation, especially Elżbieta Tabakowska’s ideas on imagery and translation equivalence. The study helped characterize a complex conceptual blend found in the description and trace structural changes caused by the translators’ specific decisions. The translations are characterized by a relatively high level of equivalence. The conceptual blends they comprise differ from the one created by Bruno Schulz mostly in terms of the described elements’ positions on the empathy scale, which are mainly dependent upon the translators’ manner of using the devices of animation and anthropomorphism.
Lipschitz regularity for degenerate elliptic integrals with 𝑝, 𝑞-growth
Authors: Cupini Giovanni , Marcellini Paolo , Mascolo Elvira , Passarelli di Napoli Antonia
Published: September 2021

We establish the local Lipschitz continuity and the higher differentiability of vector-valued local minimizers of a class of energy integrals of the Calculus of Variations.
The main novelty is that we deal with possibly degenerate energy densities with respect to the 𝑥-variable.
Ian McEwan’s Aesthetic Stakes in Adaptation as Political Rewriting: A Study ofNutshell(2016) andThe Cockroach(2019)
Authors: Tan Ian
Published: September 2021

This essay will examine two of Ian McEwan’s recent novellas as political rewritings of William Shakespeare and Franz Kafka. McEwan’sNutshell(2016) repositions the avenger figure inHamletas an unborn child whose melancholic awareness of the condition of modern existence allows him a mode of ironic commentary about the possibilities of moral and political choices in a world soon to be destroyed by climate change and nuclear apocalypse.The Cockroach(2019) turns Kafkaesque absurdity into political satire as the protagonist-turned-insect first encountered inThe Metamorphosis(1915) is arrogated a position of absolute power in a fictional dystopia eerily resonant of Britain on the verge of Brexit. I argue that McEwan’s re-scripting of these two works of canonical literature imbues his narratives with political resonance, as the formulations and distortions of the physical body in his two novellas map onto the articulations of political belief. In effect, McEwan posits the Foucaultian notion that the body is determined by symbolic systems of power. However, he succeeds in turning the gaze back onto the political by instantiating the radical dimension of a subject whose coming into being is already a political act and event. In other words, McEwan’s artistic intervention in rewriting the narratives of Hamlet and Gregor Samsa explodes the hermeticism of the family drama in the originals by relocating the theatre of subjectivity within the sphere of the political.
Callus-mediated biosynthesis of Ag and ZnO nanoparticles using aqueous callus extract of Cannabis sativa: Their cytotoxic potential and clinical potential against human pathogenic bacteria and fungi
Authors: Zaka Mehreen , Hashmi Syed Salman , Siddiqui Moiz A. , Rahman Lubna , Mushtaq Sadaf , Ali Haider , Hano Christophe , Abbasi Bilal Haider
Published: September 2021

In this paper, we have presented the method of green synthesis of ZnO and Ag-NPs using the callus extract (CE) of medicinally important Cannabis sativa. The synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) was confirmed by UV-Vis spectroscopy, while as far as the size and shape of the NPs were concerned, they were validated using the techniques of X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The energy dispersive X-ray analysis graph confirmed the constitution of elements along with the surface chemical state of NPs. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy was utilized for the confirmation of biomolecules capping the NPs. In order to test the application of these biosynthesized NPs on biological entities, four bacterial strains, including Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were used. On the other hand, five fungal strains, namely Mucor, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, and Fusarium solani, were utilized for antifungal assay. Cytotoxicity assay was also performed using the HepG2 cell line. The results showed considerable antibacterial and antifungal activities. It also showed better cytotoxicity values as compared to the control.
Does serum TSH level act as a surrogate marker for psychological stress and cardio-metabolic risk among adolescent and young people?
Authors: Gopal Niranjan , Pune Akash Shivaji , Takhelmayum Roshan , Ahirwar Ashok Kumar
Published: September 2021

Objectives

The incidence of metabolic syndrome is increasing even at younger ages. Metabolic syndrome constitutes a group of cardiovascular risk factors that include high cholesterol, triacylglycerol, hyperglycemia, central obesity, etc., which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, may be even cancer. Indian students enter colleges just after crossing their adolescent age and will be exposed to greater academic stress. Psychological stress or depression is associated with transient change in thyroid hormones level or dysfunction. To explore an association among serum Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) levels, fT3:fT4 ratio, psychological stress scores, and selected known cardio-metabolic risk markers.

Methods

Forty first year MBBS students were included. Their demographic, anthropometric variables, and the blood pressure were documented. Serum TSH, fT3, fT4, and salivary cortisol level was quantified. The stress level was assessed using Cohen Perceived Stress Scale Scoring. Data were expressed in mean ± standard deviation. Data (parametric/non-parametric) were compared by Independent unpaired ANOVA or Kruskal Wallis test whichever is appropriate. Spearmen correlation analysis was performed.

Results

Serum TSH and Cohen stress score are negatively correlated (r=−0.152), but serum cortisol showed (r=0.763) a positive correlation. TSH levels and the marks obtained in the summative assessments were negatively correlated and the correlation was not statistically significant.

Conclusions

The psychological stress is associated with low serum TSH, high cortisol, and poor academic performance in first year MBBS students. Blood pressure, plasma glucose, and anthropometric measures were not associated with the psychological stress.
Constructing a white mask through English: the misrecognized self in Orientalism
Authors: Cho Jinhyun
Published: September 2021

By examining relationships between language and race within Bourdieu's theoretical concept of “misrecognition”, this article highlights distinctive ways in which the mental structure of a minority individual becomes Orientalized in relation to a racialized identity construction. Specifically, it examines how English becomes misrecognized asthekey to a desired white identity in the case of one prominent Korean intellectual of the 19th century, Yun Chi-Ho (1864–1945). To this end, this article analyses the English diaries written by Yun, which began during his sojourn in the United States (1888–1893). The analysis of the diaries illustrates how Yun subjected himself to an Orientalized gaze in 19th century America, a society marked by racial and language boundaries and how his inferiority complex led him to pursue a white identity with English as a primary tool. While Self-Orientalism is regarded as both a cause and outcome of Asian participation in the construction of the Orient, this article reconceptualizes Self-Orientalism as a process of misrecognition born out of the colonial context of superior-inferior distinction characterized by the boundedness of language and race. The article concludes by broadening out from the case of Yun to illustrate the impact of misrecognition on the continued covert operation of Self-Orientalism in contemporary times.
Numerical Simulation and Process Optimization of a 3D Thin-Walled Polymeric Part Using Injection Compression Molding
Authors: Sönmez D. , Eker A. A.
Published: September 2021

Injection compression molding (ICM) is a hybrid injection molding process for manufacturing polymer products with high precision and surface accuracy. In this study, a 3D flow simulation was employed for ICM and injection molding (IM) processes. Initially, the process parameters of IM and ICM were discussed based on the numerical simulations. The IM and ICM processes were compared via numerical simulation by using CAE tools of Moldflow software. The effect of process parameters of mold surface temperature, melting temperature, compression force and injection time on clamping force and pressure at the injection location of molded 3D BJ998MO Polypropylene (MFI 100) part was investigated by Taguchi analysis. In conclusion, it was found that the ICM has a relatively lower filling pressure than ICM, which results in reduced clamping force for producing a 3D thin-walled polymeric part.
Perinatal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by acute pancreatitis
Authors: Cai Emmy , Czuzoj-Shulman Nicholas , Abenhaim Haim A.
Published: September 2021

Objectives

Acute pancreatitis is a rare condition that can be associated with significant complications. The objective of this study is to evaluate the maternal and newborn outcomes associated with acute pancreatitis in pregnancy.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project-Nationwide Inpatient Sample from the United States was performed. All pregnant patients with acute pancreatitis were identified using International Classification of Disease-9 coding from 1999 to 2015. The effect of acute pancreatitis on maternal and neonatal outcomes in pregnancy was evaluated using multivariate logistic regression, while adjusting for baseline maternal characteristics.

Results

From 1999 to 2015, there were a total of 13,815,919 women who gave birth. There were a total of 14,258 admissions of women diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, including 1,756 who delivered during their admission and 12,502 women who were admitted in the antepartum period and did not deliver during the same admission. Acute pancreatitis was associated with increased risk of prematurity, OR 3.78 (95% CI 3.38–4.22), preeclampsia, 3.81(3.33–4.36), postpartum hemorrhage, 1.90(1.55–2.33), maternal death, 9.15(6.05–13.85), and fetal demise, 2.60(1.86–3.62) among women diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. Among women with acute pancreatitis, delivery was associated with increased risk of requiring transfusions, 6.06(4.87–7.54), developing venous thromboembolisms, 2.77(1.83–4.18), acute respiratory failure, 3.66(2.73–4.91), and disseminated intravascular coagulation, 8.12(4.12–16.03).

Conclusions

Acute pancreatitis in pregnancy is associated with severe complications, such as maternal and fetal death. Understanding the risk factors that may lead to these complications can help prevent or minimize them through close fetal and maternal monitoring.
Theodoret of Cyrus and His Exegetical Predecessors: A Study of His Biblical Commentary Prefaces
Authors: De Cock Miriam
Published: September 2021

In this article, I examine the biblical commentary prefaces of Theodoret of Cyrus (d. 458), particularly the exegete’s presentation of his self-image in relation to his predecessors in the Greek exegetical tradition. I contend that in addition to its introductory function, the biblical commentary preface provided the context in which the exegete could rhetorically style himself vis-à-vis the prior tradition, articulating his own skills, credentials, and distinctive interpretive approach. Of Theodoret’s nine biblical commentaries, I focus particularly on the prefaces of his Commentary on the Song of Songs, Commentary on Daniel, Commentary on the Twelve Prophets, Questions on the Octateuch, and Commentary on the Psalms, given that in these five, we find Theodoret remarking explicitly on the prior interpretive tradition. I demonstrate that at times Theodoret engages with the prior tradition with a critical tone, and at others, he shows respectful deference to his predecessors. In every case, however, his comments serve the rhetorical end of presenting himself as both an authoritative exegetical inheritor and curator of the prior interpretive tradition. The overarching argument of this article then is that Theodoret fashions his own identity as an exegete by making his relative late appearance on the exegetical scene work to his advantage, claiming that an authoritative interpreter of scripture is one who inherits and curates the exegetical legacy and traditions of the prior tradition. In other words, Theodoret overcomes the (rhetorical) problem that others have previously produced commentaries on the biblical book by claiming that the true authoritative interpreter is in fact one who knows both scripture and the prior tradition intimately, and that the exegete’s role at this stage in the tradition is to faithfully transmit the most fitting comments of others.
Getting Younger
Authors: Vázquez Daniel
Published: September 2021

I argue that in Plato’sParmenides141a6–c4, things in time come to be simultaneously older and younger than themselves because a thing’s past and present selves are both real. As a result, whatever temporal relation is predicated of any of these past and present selves is true of the thing in question. Unlike other interpretations, this reading neither assumes that things in time have to replace their parts, nor that time is circular. I conclude that the passage is committed to a conception of the ongoing present and a rejection of presentism and endurantism in favour of a growing universe theory and perdurantism.
Gender Assignment Strategies Among Simultaneous Spanish/English Bilingual Children from Miami, Florida
Authors: Balam Osmer , Lakshmanan Usha , Parafita Couto María del Carmen
Published: September 2021

We examined gender assignment patterns in the speech of Spanish/English bilingual children, paying particular attention to the influence of three gender assignment strategies (i.e., analogical gender, masculine default gender, phonological gender) that have been proposed to constrain the gender assignment process in Spanish/English bilingual speech. Our analysis was based on monolingual Spanish nominals (n = 1774), which served as a comparative baseline, and Spanish/English mixed nominal constructions (n = 220) extracted from oral narratives produced by 40 child bilinguals of different grade levels (second graders vs. fifth graders) and instructional programs (English immersion vs. two-way bilingual) from Miami Dade, Florida. The narratives, available in the CHILDES database (MacWhinney, Brian. 2000.The CHILDES project: Tools for analyzing talk, 3rd edn. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), were collected by Pearson, Barbara Z. 2002. Narrative competence among monolingual and bilingual school children in Miami. In D. Kimbrough Oller & Rebecca E. Eilers (eds.),Language and literacy in bilingual children, 135–174. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. Results revealed that in Spanish nominal constructions, children across both instructional programs and grade levels evinced native-like acquisition of grammatical gender. In mixed nominals, children overwhelmingly assigned the masculine gender to English nouns. Notably, irrespective of schooling background, simultaneous Spanish/English bilingual children used the masculine default gender strategy when assigning gender to English nouns with feminine translation equivalents. This suggests that from age seven, simultaneous Spanish/English child bilingual acquisition of grammatical gender is characterized by a predisposition towards the employment of the masculine default gender strategy in bilingual speech.
Pronominal Feature Re-assembly: L1 and L2 Pronoun Resolution of Spanish Epicene and Common Gender Antecedents
Authors: Faber Andie , Amaral Luiz , Maia Marcus
Published: September 2021

In this paper, we propose the implementation of a full-fledged feature-based lexicalist syntactic theory as a way to represent the possible configurations of features in the learner’s interlanguage and formalize a theory of acquisition based in feature reassembly. We describe gender agreement pronominal coindexation in Spanish using Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG) and use it to analyze the results of a self-paced reading test with L1 and L2 speakers. We find that the specification of the gender feature value at the syntactic level in epicene antecedents facilitates pronominal resolution in L1 Spanish speakers. Conversely, there is a cognitive cost when the gender feature is underspecified at the syntactic level in common gender antecedents; this cost is not found among L2 speakers. The detailed descriptions in terms of feature specification in the HPSG framework allow us to observe differences between the L1 and L2 grammars in fine-grained detail and represent optionality at the lexical level.
Tuteo, Effeminacy and Homosexuality: Change and Continuity in Costa Rican Spanish
Authors: Fernández-Mallat Víctor , Dearstyne Matt
Published: September 2021

Costa Rica’s second-person singular (2PS) address system is known for both its changing nature and its incorporation oftuteo, ustedeo,andvoseoforms. While the latter are generalized across communicative contexts,tuteouse has oscillated over time, being consistently associated with foreignness, effeminacy and homosexuality, with one study (Marín Esquivel, Rebeca. 2012. El pronombre ‘tú’ en los grupos homosexual y heterosexual heredianos.Revista Comunicación21(2). 31–40) suggesting that homosexual men report usingtuteoat levels significantly higher than heterosexuals. In this study, we revisit this finding using new data from a survey that elicited stated preferences for address forms and attitudes towardstuteoacross different communicative contexts. Multinomial logistic regressions compared the address choices of homosexual men with those of heterosexual men and women, and attitudes were gauged by means of a thematic analysis. Results indicate that currently, with few exceptions, what best characterizes the distribution of address forms are similarities, regardless of sexuality or gender, with all participants reporting low rates oftuteouse across communicative settings. While these results suggest continued change intuteouse, linguistic attitudes reveal a persistent perceived ideological connection betweentuteo,foreignness, effeminacy and homosexuality.
Reappraisal of Fall-Cone Flow Curve for Soil Plasticity Determinations
Authors: Soltani Amin , O’Kelly Brendan C.
Published: September 2021

Several attempts have been made to devise alternate plastic limit (PL) determination methods, targeting higher degrees of repeatability and reproducibility. Among these, empirical-type correlations linking the plasticity index (PI) to the flow index (FI)—the slope magnitude of the flow curve—seem to be gaining increased attention, particularly for the fall-cone (FC) approach, and hence demand further examination. To better understand the true potentials and limitations of this emerging practice for soil plasticity determination, this study presents a critical statistical appraisal of FI-based correlations—using a large and diverse database of 230 FC tests (for the 80 g–30° cone)—in estimating the PI (and hence the PL). It is demonstrated that the so-called “strong” correlation between the PI and FI reported in some literature, favoring the use of FI as a PI estimator, is an overlooked “statistical pitfall” originating from an over-reliance on the coefficient of determination (R2) statistic. Employing appropriate error-related statistics, it is shown that the PI predictions made by FI-based correlations are associated with high average errors of 22–33 %. Hence, such correlations, at best, can only provide a rough approximation of the actual PI (and hence PL). An attempt is also made to assess the validity of FI-based correlations in the context of soil classification using the Casagrande-style plasticity chart. The agreement level between the conventional classification approach and that performed using PI deduced from FI-based correlations was 75–80 %. This analysis, however, did not account for errors in the rolling-thread plastic limit data, maintaining a strong possibility that FI-based correlations may be suitable for routine soil classification purposes.
Variants of SARS Coronavirus-2 and Their Potential Impact on the Future of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Li Xin , To Kelvin Kai-Wang , Yuen Kwok-Yung
Published: September 2021

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs), especially the sweeping spread of the delta variant, and differing public health management strategies, have rendered global eradication of SARS-CoV-2 unlikely. The currently available COVID-19 vaccines, including the inactivated whole virus vaccines, mRNA vaccines, and adenovirus-vectored vaccines, are effective in protecting people from severe disease and death from COVID-19, but they may not confer good mucosal immunity to prevent the establishment of infection and subsequent viral shedding and transmission. Mucosal vaccines delivered via intranasal route may provide a promising direction, which, if given as a third dose after a two-dose series of intramuscular vaccination, likely promotes mucosal immunity in addition to boosting the systemic cell-mediated immunity and antibody response. However, immunity induced by vaccination, and natural infection as well, is likely to wane followed by re-infection as in the case of human coronaviruses OC43, 229E, NL63, and HKU1. It is a challenge to prevent and control COVID-19 worldwide with the increasing number of VOCs associated with increased transmissibility and changing antigenicity. Nevertheless, we may seek to end the current pandemic situation through mass vaccination and gradual relaxation of non-pharmaceutical measures, which would limit the incidence of severe COVID-19. Repeated doses of booster vaccine will likely be required, similar to influenza virus, especially for the elderly and the immunocompromised patients who are most vulnerable to infection.
RASFF SİSTEMİNDE TAHIL VE FIRINCILIK ÜRÜNLERİNİN AFLATOKSİN VE OKRATOKSİN A DÜZEYLERİ VE HATAY YÖRESİ BUĞDAYLARININ BU MİKOTOKSİNLER AÇISINDAN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ
Authors: SAĞLAM Aydın , MASATCIOĞLU Mustafa Tuğrul
Published: September 2021

Bu araştırma makalesi esas olarak iki bölüm halinde tasarlanmıştır. Öncelikle, Gıda ve Yemler için Hızlı Alarm Sistemi (RASFF) veri kaynağı kullanılarak 2009-2018 yılları arasında yapılan tahıl ve fırıncılık ürünleri bildirimlerinde mikotoksin seviyeleri araştırılmıştır. Son on yılın bildirimleri değerlendirildiğinde, ortalama aflatoksin B1 (AFB1), toplam aflatoksin (TAF), okratoksin A (OTA) konsantrasyonları sırasıyla; 21.92, 34.98, 23.10 µg/kg olarak bulunmuştur. Çalışmanın ikinci bölümünde, Hatay yöresinde yetiştirilen 29 buğday örneğinde aflatoksin (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2) ve OTA analizi yapılmıştır. Mikotoksinlerin konsantrasyonu, HPLC-FD sistemi ile belirlenmiştir. Analitik yöntem, 401/2006 sayılı EC yönetmeliğine göre valide edilmiş ve geri kazanımlar %83.0-107.2 aralığında saptanmıştır. AFB1, AFB2 ve AFG1 için pozitif örnek yüzdesi sırasıyla; %44.8, %13.8 ve %27.6 bulunmuştur. Bu çalışmada en yaygın mikotoksin, 0.174-137.880 µg/kg aralığında olan OTA’dır (%82.8). İncelenen numunelerin 5’inde OTA düzeyinin, Avrupa mevzuatı maksimum limit değerini (5 µg/kg) aştığı tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca, RASFF bildirimlerinde belirlenen maksimum OTA düzeyi ortalamasından üç numune daha yüksek çıkmıştır.
INFLUENCE OF SELECTED MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS ON EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION
Authors: Hitka Miloš , Ďurian Jozef , Lorincová Silvia , Dúbravská Bianka
Published: September 2021

Motivation is considered one of the most important prerequisites for the success and effectiveness of the resulting performances. Usually, we meet only with a perspective of employee motivation from inside the company. However, the external environment, i.e. macro-environment, also influences the motivation of employees. We decided to focus on exploring how macroeconomic indicators evolution affects employee motivation. By means of the research conducted in Slovakia during the period from 2008 to 2019 on a sample of more than 30,000 respondents, we define the dependence of selected macroeconomic indicators and employee motivation. The research focuses on the analysis of average annual wage and household debt influence on the most important employees’ motivational factors. Based on our findings, we can state that macroeconomic indicators affect the importance of motivational factors in Slovakia. Especially, the average annual wage strongly influences the six motivational factors (communication at the workplace, duties and type of work, working hours, working environment, superior approach, psychological burden). The results of the research also show that the seven motivational factors (atmosphere at the workplace, good team, communication at the workplace, working hours, working environment, superior approach, psychological burden) strongly depend on the macroeconomic indicator of household debt. Therefore, when creating incentive programs, business managers in Slovakia should take into account not only the effects of the company’s microenvironment on motivation but also the effects of the macro-environment and thus macroeconomic changes in the state. The role of a manager is to keep balance between external environment influence on employee motivation and internal actions. The paper presents inspiring ideas in a field of employee motivation and the influence of external environment on motivation.
GENERATION Y AND GENERATION Z EMPLOYMENT EXPECTATIONS: A GENERATIONAL COHORT COMPARATIVE STUDY FROM TWO COUNTRIES
Authors: Egerová Dana , Komárková Lenka , Kutlák Jiří
Published: September 2021

Generational differences in work values and workplace expectations have become a widely discussed research and intervention topic in recent years. However, little is known about Generation Z, who are now entering the labour market, and this presents challenges to both researchers and companies. Therefore, the primary purpose of the present study is to extend generation research by examining generational cohort differences in workplace expectations, specifically between Generation Z and the previous closest generation, Generation Y. The study is also intended to add to the limited empirical evidence of the workplace expectations of the most recent Generation Z. The theoretical framework guiding this study includes generational cohort theory and anticipatory psychological contract dimensions: job content, career development, social atmosphere, the fairness of organisational policies and rewards. The study was based on an online questionnaire survey. Data was collected from a sample of 1,000 respondents for the Czech Republic and 600 for the Slovak Republic including Generations Y and Z in the ratio 1:1. The generational differences in the workplace expectations, controlling the effects of gender and country, were investigated using multiple linear regression. The overall findings of the study indicate that both generations are more similar than different regarding their future employment expectations. We also find that those preferences may be more heterogeneous within a homogeneous group than across generational cohorts. The findings specifically indicate that some characteristics, such as geographical environment, professional experience and gender may shape employment expectations more than generational difference. The study suggests that companies also need to appreciate heterogeneity within a homogeneous generational group instead of treating current or prospective potential employees simply as members of one generation. The directions of future research, as well as the limitations of the study, are discussed.