bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Abstract 17241: The Impact of Overweight and Obesity on End-Organ Function in Fontan Patients
Authors: Gaydos Stephanie S , Chowdhury Shahryar M , Kasi Nagraj , Jackson Lanier , Woodard Frances K , ATZ Andrew M , McHugh Kimberly E
Published: November 2020

Introduction:
Patients with Fontan circulation often develop multiorgan dysfunction. Obesity is a risk factor for systemic complications in the general population, but the impact of obesity in Fontan circulation is unclear. This study investigates the impact of increased BMI on end-organ function in Fontan survivors.

Methods:
Single center data from patients 13 years and older with Fontan circulation were retrospectively collected from June 2018 to May 2020. Weight at clinic visit was categorized as normal or overweight/obese by WHO BMI-for-age classifications. End-organ function between normal and overweight patients was assessed. The relationship between overweight and measures of end-organ function were modeled via multivariable regression analyses controlling for age, sex, race, heterotaxy, time since Fontan, ventricular function, and atrioventricular valve (AVV) regurgitation.

Results:
Among 75 patients (median age 18 [15, 26] years), 24 (32%) were overweight or obese. Age, race, duration since Fontan, oxygen saturation, and dominant ventricle did not differ between groups. There were significantly more overweight females (p= 0.02). Overweight patients had significantly lower GFR (p= 0.01), lower predicted peak VO2 (p= 0.02), and higher systemic vascular resistance (SVR) (p= 0.02) than normal weight patients. Duration since Fontan (β= 0.38, p = 0.02) and overweight (β= -0.35, p = 0.03) were independently associated with GFR. Female sex (β= -0.42, p < 0.01) and overweight were independently associated with lower predicted peak VO2. Overweight was independently associated with presence of high SVR (OR = 7.5, p= 0.03). Other tested variables for hepatic (MELD-XI score, liver stiffness), cardiovascular (cardiac index, Fontan pressure, ventricular and AVV function), pulmonary, bone, and hematologic function did not significantly differ between groups.

Conclusions:
Overweight/obese BMI is common in aging Fontan patients and is significantly associated with worse renal function, exercise capacity, and elevated SVR. These findings suggest a possible relationship between weight, vascular changes, and renal perfusion. Further studies are needed to investigate this mechanism and the impact on Fontan patient outcome.
Sketch-Driven Regular Expression Generation from Natural Language and Examples
Authors: Ye Xi , Chen Qiaochu , Wang Xinyu , Dillig Isil , Durrett Greg
Published: November 2020

Recent systems for converting natural language descriptions into regular expressions (regexes) have achieved some success, but typically deal with short, formulaic text and can only produce simple regexes. Real-world regexes are complex, hard to describe with brief sentences, and sometimes require examples to fully convey the user’s intent. We present a framework for regex synthesis in this setting where both natural language (NL) and examples are available. First, a semantic parser (either grammar-based or neural) maps the natural language description into an intermediate sketch, which is an incomplete regex containing holes to denote missing components. Then a program synthesizer searches over the regex space defined by the sketch and finds a regex that is consistent with the given string examples. Our semantic parser can be trained purely from weak supervision based on correctness of the synthesized regex, or it can leverage heuristically derived sketches. We evaluate on two prior datasets (Kushman and Barzilay 2013 ; Locascio et al. 2016 ) and a real-world dataset from Stack Overflow. Our system achieves state-of-the-art performance on the prior datasets and solves 57% of the real-world dataset, which existing neural systems completely fail on. 1
From Postcolonialism to Post-Arab Spring
Authors: Zaamout Noureddin Mahmoud
Published: November 2020

Hamid Dabashi (2012) saw the Arab spring revolutions as a collective act of overcoming the colonial condition and retrieving a repressed cosmopolitan worldliness that has been overshadowed by the contradictions of postcolonial politics. Dabashi posits that the pluralist and egalitarian slogans of protesters were an expression of this worldliness. In this research I assess this claim in the context of Syria. I examine the question: Has this cosmopolitan orientation resurfaced in Syria? I argue that the 2011 Syrian uprising was a retrieval of what Dabashi describes as repressed cosmopolitan worldliness. It was a grassroots attempt to bring an inclusive meaning to Syrianism, consistent with the country’s boundaries and reflective of its ethnic and religious cosmopolitanism. The transformation of the crisis into a global proxy war has resulted in the rise of hundreds of armed groups driven by competing projects that have vacated the revolutionary attempt to redefine Syrianism.
Jules Vuillemin et la philosophie analytique
Authors: Recanati François
Published: November 2020

Dans cette communication, qui reprend en partie les idées exposées il y a trente ans dans un article de Critique, François Recanati entreprend de caractériser la philosophie analytique en discutant une demi-douzaine de traits supposés distinctifs de la discipline : l’usage de la logique, l’importance de la philosophie du langage considérée comme philosophie première, le refus de réduire la philosophie à l’histoire de la philosophie, l’idée que la philosophie est une discipline de second niveau, l’idée qu’un progrès est possible en philosophie, ou encore – trait fondamental selon l’auteur – le caractère intersubjectif de la pratique analytique, qui rappelle la pratique scientifique et constitue ce que François Recanati appelle « l’esprit scientifique » de la philosophie analytique. A chaque étape du parcours, l’auteur s’interroge sur les aspects de cette philosophie qui pouvaient susciter des réserves de la part de Jules Vuillemin, malgré son admiration globale pour ce courant.
Coarazuphium lundi (Carabidae: Zuphiini), a new Brazilian troglobitic beetle, with the designation of a neotype for C. pains Álvares & Ferreira, 2002
Authors: PELLEGRINI THAIS GIOVANNINI , FERREIRA RODRIGO LOPES , ZAMPAULO ROBSON DE ALMEIDA , VIEIRA LETÍCIA
Published: November 2020

In this paper, we describe Coarazuphium lundi sp. nov., from a single male specimen collected in Gruta 06L cave located in the municipality of Prudente de Morais (Minas Gerais state, Brazil). The two most striking differences between C. lundi and other species of the genus is the presence of two pairs of posterior supraorbital setae and the elytra shape with parallel, not rounded sides. Coarazuphium pains Álvares & Ferreira 2002 is an endemic species restricted to a few caves at the Bambuí Carbonatic Group in the midwest of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The holotype of C. pains was unfortunately lost in 2010, due to a fire that destroyed almost the entire zoological collection at the Butantã Institute, São Paulo state in Brazil. In recent years, several species of the genus have been described and compared to C. pains only based on its paper description, clearly prompting the need for the C. pains neotype designation. In order to provide a necessary standard for comparison, a neotype is designed for this species based on the material collected from the best approximation of the type locality (caves). Lastly, we also provide a brief discussion on the presence of eyespots of C. cessaima, originally described as blind.
A new species of the Scinax catharinae species group (Anura: Hylidae) from the Atlantic rainforest of northeastern Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil
Authors: LOURENÇO ANA CAROLINA C. , LACERDA JOÃO VICTOR A. , CRUZ CARLOS ALBERTO GONÇALVES , NASCIMENTO LUCIANA BARRETO , POMBAL JR JOSÉ P.
Published: November 2020

We describe a new species of the Scinax catharinae group from one of the last remaining fragments of Atlantic Forest in northeastern Minas Gerais. The new species is distinguished from most species of the group mainly by having the mucronate snout in dorsal view, the unique light-yellow coloration on the gular surface in life contrasting with its overall color pattern, and the m. depressor mandibulae with an origin on the dorsal fascia at the level of the m. dorsalis scapulae. These two latter features are novelties in the diagnosis of Scinax species. The new species is currently known only from municipality of Santa Maria do Salto, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This locality is a remaining fragment of Atlantic Forest and has a peculiar geomorphic feature that has been poorly sampled so far.
Impact of Winds and Southern Ocean SSTs on Antarctic Sea Ice Trends and Variability
Authors: Blanchard-Wrigglesworth Edward , Roach Lettie A. , Donohoe Aaron , Ding Qinghua
Published: November 2020

Antarctic sea ice extent (SIE) has slightly increased over the satellite observational period (1979 to the present) despite global warming. Several mechanisms have been invoked to explain this trend, such as changes in winds, precipitation, or ocean stratification, yet there is no widespread consensus. Additionally, fully coupled Earth system models run under historic and anthropogenic forcing generally fail to simulate positive SIE trends over this time period. In this work, we quantify the role of winds and Southern Ocean SSTs on sea ice trends and variability with an Earth system model run under historic and anthropogenic forcing that nudges winds over the polar regions and Southern Ocean SSTs north of the sea ice to observations from 1979 to 2018. Simulations with nudged winds alone capture the observed interannual variability in SIE and the observed long-term trends from the early 1990s onward, yet for the longer 1979–2018 period they simulate a negative SIE trend, in part due to faster-than-observed warming at the global and hemispheric scale in the model. Simulations with both nudged winds and SSTs show no significant SIE trends over 1979–2018, in agreement with observations. At the regional scale, simulated sea ice shows higher skill compared to the pan-Antarctic scale both in capturing trends and interannual variability in all nudged simulations. We additionally find negligible impact of the initial conditions in 1979 on long-term trends.
Using Satellite Observations to Evaluate the Relationships between Ice Condensate, Latent Heat Release, and Tropical Cyclone Intensification in a Mesoscale Model
Authors: Wu Shun-Nan , Soden Brian J. , Miyamoto Yoshiaki , Nolan David S. , Buehler Stefan A.
Published: November 2020

This study examines the relationship between frozen hydrometeors and latent heating in model simulations and evaluates the capability of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model to reproduce the observed frozen hydrometeors and their relationship to tropical cyclone (TC) intensification. Previous modeling studies have emphasized the importance of both the amount and location of latent heating in modulating the evolution of TC intensity. However, the lack of observations limits a full understanding of its importance in the real atmosphere. Idealized simulations using WRF indicate that latent heating is strongly correlated to the amount of ice water content, suggesting that ice water content can serve as an observable proxy for latent heat release in the mid- to upper troposphere. Based on this result, satellite observations are used to create storm-centered composites of ice water path as a function of TC intensity. The model reasonably captures the vertical and horizontal distribution of ice water content and its dependence upon TC intensity, with differences typically less than 20%. The model also captures the signature of increased ice water content for intensifying TCs, suggesting that observations of ice water content provide a useful diagnostic for understanding and evaluating model simulations of TC intensification.
Soggetti nomadi alla ricerca delle Terre promesse (2017) di Milena Agus
Authors: Heyer-Caput Margherita
Published: November 2020

Una delle interpreti di maggior successo della Primavera Letteraria Sarda e della narrativa italiana contemporanea al femminile, Milena Agus offre nel suo ultimo romanzo, Terre promesse, un’espressione originale di scrittura come poiēsis, in cui l’atto del narrare si configura come forza creativa capace di plasmare la realtà attraverso la riflessione. Partendo dal significato diacronico del concetto di poiēsis, in particolare nei suoi sviluppi modernisti attraverso la riflessione di Martin Heidegger, questa analisi testuale segue la ricerca di una mitica “terra promessa” di tre generazioni sarde attraverso la struttura tripartita del romanzo. Nel corso di un ampio arco di tempo che va dall’immediato secondo dopoguerra attraverso il boom economico degli anni Sessanta fino al tardo capitalismo del terzo millennio, lungo un altrettanto ampio percorso migratorio da “la Sardegna” a “il Continente” a “l’America” con molteplici andate e ritorni, Felicita emerge come l’unico personaggio capace di raggiungere “terre promesse”. Felicita, per la sua accettazione costruttiva della fluidità dell’esistenza, incarna la soggettività nomade proposta da Rosi Braidotti, e diviene agente di trasformazioni dinamiche infuse di un’etica dell’affermazione. Nell’inerente nomadismo di Felicita ed attraverso la sua creatività poietica, l’autrice persegue “pratiche della speranza” per plasmare una comunità più inclusiva perché trans-gressiva.
Routine Screening and Linkage to Care for Hepatitis C Virus in an Urban Safety-Net Health System, 2017-2019
Authors: Hunt Bijou R. , Ahmed Christopher , Ramirez-Mercado Kimberly , Patron Christopher , Glick Nancy R.
Published: November 2020

Objective

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major threat to public health in the United States. We describe and evaluate an HCV screening and linkage-to-care program, including emergency department, inpatient, and outpatient settings, in an urban safety-net health system in Chicago.

Methods

Sinai Health System implemented a universal HCV screening program in September 2016 that offered patient navigation services (ie, linkage to care) to patients with a positive result for HCV on an RNA test. We collected data from February 1, 2017, through January 31, 2019, on patient demographic characteristics, risk factors, and various outcomes (eg, number of patients screened, test results, proportions of new diagnoses, number of patients eligible for patient navigation services, and proportion of patients who attended their first medical appointment). We also examined outcomes by patients’ knowledge of infection.

Results

Of 21 018 people screened for HCV, 6% (1318/21 018) had positive test results for HCV antibody, 68% (878/1293) of whom had positive HCV RNA test results. Of these 878 patients, 68% were born during 1945-1965, 68% were male, 65% were Black, 19% were Latino, 55% were newly diagnosed, and 64% were eligible for patient navigation services. Risk factors included past or current drug use (53%), unemployment (30%), and ever incarcerated (21%). Of 562 patients eligible for navigation services, 281 (50%) were navigated to imaging services, and 203 (72%) patients who completed imaging attended their first medical appointment.

Conclusion

Patient navigation played a critical role in linkage success, but securing stable, long-term financial support for patient navigators is a challenge.
Behind Veterans’ Protests: Passive and Piecemeal Policy-Making in China
Authors: Wang Junyang
Published: November 2020

Veterans have become one of China’s largest and most vocal protest groups. Studies on the country’s veterans have focused on their grievances and have identified these individuals as “unlucky” victims of economic reforms who suffer because of the state’s inadequate attention and local governments’ poor policy implementation. However, this article argues that the difficulties veterans face are the product of piecemeal policies adopted by central authorities. These policies have been inherited from the Maoist era’s principle of local resettlement of demobilized soldiers. Local governments have tried to reduce the heavy burden this resettlement policy imposes on them. Drawing on a review of a large number of policy documents, as well as interviews with dozens of veterans, this article presents a comprehensive picture of the resettlement system and the way piecemeal reforms have spurred various forms of unrest among veterans. It also shows that the differential treatment of various veteran groups in similar situations, as a result of the fragmented system and accumulated policy changes, has exacerbated veterans’ grievances. Finally, the article explores the conundrum of reforming the resettlement system. While the local resettlement of veterans is guaranteed and remains a cornerstone of civil/party-military relations, it has become impossible for the government to locally resettle all veterans. The resettlement system’s internal fragmentation also allows different authorities to shirk responsibility and eventually puts the burden on the veterans themselves. The elusive reforms proposed by the current leadership are unlikely to resolve these tensions.
An Interview with Jean-Luc Nancy on Literature, Philosophy and the Present
Authors: Boelderl Artur R.
Published: November 2020

‘We are before Dante’: In this interview, held via email in March 2020 amid the massive outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jean-Luc Nancy leads us on a brief but far-reaching foray through his thought. He succeeds in providing an overview of the subjects that he has raised since the beginning of his career as a philosopher, while maintaining a focus on their pertinence for what we are currently facing in the world today. He supplements his insight that ‘we are before Dante’ with the equally remarkable conclusion: ‘Desire is what is born par excellence’. In between these two propositions, and in between the lines and words documented here – touching upon topics as diverse as the moai statues of Easter Island, the music of Schumann, Wagner, and techno, as well as the writing of Artaud, Proust, and Verlaine – we find an exciting, up-to-date treatment of the question of how to ‘deal with the world intellectually’ (Musil) without, in doing so, participating in the modern claim to ‘master’ it. Instead, Nancy suggests, we ought to be attentive to what escapes us by its very principle, with philosophy, literature, and art serving as witnesses of what has always been absent from our mind, that is, the sensibility of meaning, in order to become aware that, since we are always already before and after birth, ‘we come from nowhere and everywhere’. This realization enables us to understand the political consequences that it has for our understanding of a world in metamorphosis, including for highly controversial issues such as colonialism, anti-Semitism, the far right, neo-liberalism, and other totalitarian forms that supposedly manifest a return of the myth, as well as its consequences for the insurmountability of Marx(ism).
Toward an Agentic Approach to Activist Learning: The Interplay Between Agency and Learning in the Narrative of Polish Activist
Authors: Bilon Anna Dorota
Published: November 2020

This article develops an agentic approach to activist learning and analyzes the interplay between agency and learning. The agentic approach derives from Alheit’s concept of biographical learning and Emirbayer and Mische’s concept of agency. The article builds on the case study of an activist’s narrative to show that the development of agency is not a linear process, and that no single unilateral relation was discernible between learning and agency. The interrelations between agency and learning are analyzed in the context of temporality, causation, and agentic dimensions. The article suggests a cycle of learning, action, and agency in activism as a framework for the study of activists learning.
Formability and densification behavior of two-layered structure powder metallurgical hot-pressed Al-Cu/Al composites during hot-upsetting
Authors: Rajasekhar Kotikala , Babu V Suresh , Davidson MJ , Raghavendra G
Published: November 2020

An experimental investigation has been performed on the hot formability and densification characteristics of Al-Cu/Al two-layered structure composites. The two-layered composites having different Cu compositions in the Al-Cu layer such as (Cu: 5wt. %, 10wt. %, and 15wt. %) were prepared using the powder metallurgy (P/M) route. The composites were hot-pressed as layer by layer in a steel cylindrical die at 550°C temperature with 0.9 initial relative density (IRD) and 0.1 s−1 strain rate. The preforms were hot deformed between two flat dies with a capacity of 50-ton hydraulic press machine at a temperature range of 150°C – 450°C under triaxial stress state condition. The hot-upsetting behaviour of preforms was analyzed until the cracks begin on the cylindrical preform at the outer surface. The effect of different Cu composition and various deformation temperatures on two-layered preforms were discussed. Results revealed that the (10wt. %Cu) preform achieved good cooperative deformation behaviour between Al-Cu and Al layers at the interface region. The relationship between the process parameters was discussed such as the effect of axial stress ([Formula: see text]), relative density ( R) on axial strain ([Formula: see text]) and formability stress index ( β), different stress ratio parameters ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]) on relative density ( R).
Early Patient Experiences of Primary Above-the-Knee Amputation From Vascular Etiologies: A Phenomenological Study
Authors: Gómez-Ibáñez Rebeca , Bernabeu-Tamayo Maria Dolors , Aguayo-González Mariela , Granel Nina , Watson Carolina E. , Escribano Xavier
Published: November 2020

The aim of this study was to explore the different meanings of the experience of lower-limb amputation due to vascular causes in the time period from the fifth to twelfth week post-amputation. A phenomenological study involving semi-structured interviews was carried out. Data collection took place in a Public Hospital in Spain and included a convenience sample of 20 patients who had undergone amputation. The study highlighted patients’ fears related to mobility, pain, dependence, and autonomy. Moreover, patients experience of the rehabilitation process and resources for adaptation were described as well as all the changes related to the social environment. The figure of a nurse was considered essential after amputation by the patients. This study provides a deep understanding of their experiences at the immediate time after amputation considering patients demographical associations and the etiology of the vascular pathology. This could be the starting point to understand patients’ immediate needs upon discharge.
Impact of Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy in Post-Operative Atrial Fibrillation and Long-Term Mortality in Patients Among Esophageal Cancer
Authors: Chen LaiTe , Li BinBin , Jiang ChenYang , Fu GuoSheng
Published: November 2020

Aims:

Postoperative Atrial fibrillation (POAF) after esophagectomy may prolong stay in intensive care and increase risk of perioperative complications. A minimally invasive approach is becoming the preferred option for esophagectomy, yet its implications for POAF risk remains unclear. The association between POAF and minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) was examined in this study.

Methods:

We used a dataset of 575 patients who underwent esophagectomy. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between MIE and POAF. A cox proportional hazards model was applied to assess the long-term mortality (MIE vs open esophagectomy, OE).

Results:

Of the 575 patients with esophageal cancer, 62 developed POAF. MIE was negatively associated with the occurrence of POAF (Odds ratio: 0.163, 95%CI: 0.033-0.801). No significant difference was observed in long-term mortality (Odds ratio: 2.144, 95%CI: 0.963-4.775).

Conclusions:

MIE may reduced the incidence of POAF without compromising the survival of patients with esophageal cancer. Moreover, the specific mechanism of MIE providing this possible advantage needs to be determined by larger prospective cohort studies with specific biomarker information from laboratory tests.
Children’s Signaling of Incomprehension: The Diagnosticity of Practice Questions During Interview Instructions
Authors: Henderson Hayden M. , Lyon Thomas D.
Published: November 2020

Forensic interviewers are routinely advised to instruct children that they should indicate when they do not understand a question. This study examined whether administering the instruction with a practice question may help interviewers identify the means by which individual children signal incomprehension. We examined 446 interviews with children questioned about abuse, including 252 interviews in which interviewers administered the instruction with a practice question (4- to 13-year-old children; Mage = 7.7). Older children more often explicitly referred to incomprehension when answering the practice question and throughout the interviews, whereas younger children simply requested repetition or gave “don’t know” responses, and individual children’s responses to the practice questions predicted their responses later in the interviews. Similarly, older children were more likely to seek confirmation of their understanding of interviewers’ questions and to request specification. The results highlight the need for interviewers to test and closely monitor younger children’s responses for ambiguous signs of incomprehension.
Impact of early and delayed Nd:YAG laser goniopuncture on results of deep sclerectomy (5-years follow up period)
Authors: Volkova Natalia , Iureva Tatiana , Shchuko Andrey
Published: November 2020

Purpose:

To report on impact of Nd:YAG laser goniopuncture (LGP) timing on hypotensive efficacy of deep sclerectomy (DS) for open-angle glaucoma (OAG) patients.

Methods:

228 patients who underwent DS followed by Nd:YAG LGP between January 2010 and December 2013, (follow up – 5 years) were enrolled into a single-center, retrospective, non-randomized, consecutive study. Subjects were divided into two groups (1 – delayed LGP, n = 116; 2 – early LGP, n = 112). Demographic variables, preoperative glaucoma medications, preceding surgeries and glaucoma severity were analyzed. Intraoperative and postoperative complications, intraocular pressure (IOP), ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) values were recorded. Success rate was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curve. UBM data were the criteria for early or delayed LGP.

Results:

LGP was performed 3.46 ± 1.9 (1.5–6.7) months after DS in group 1, 1.12 ± 0.08 (0.9–1.5) months in group 2 ( p = 0.0001). Mean IOP before LGP in group 1 was 18.5 ± 4.7 (11.2–22.9) mm Hg; 15.7 ± 4.1 (9.1–18.5) mm Hg in group 2 ( p = 0.001). Choroidal effusion occurred in 8.6% of group 1 and 3.5% of group 2 ( p = 0.0001). Postoperative IOP: 15.6 ± 4.6 (group 1) and 15.7 ± 4.3 mm Hg (group 2) at 12 months ( p = 0.98), 16.7 ± 4.3 and 14.9 ± 1.6 mm Hg at 24 months ( p = 0.004), 16.8 ± 3.9 and 14.5 ± 3.2 mm Hg at 60 months, respectively ( p = 0.0001). Complete success rates: 68.07% and 92.59% at 12 months, 40.7% and 75.8% at 24 months, 15.2% and 48.93% at 36, 48, 60 months in groups respectively ( p = 0.0001).

Conclusion:

Early LGP after DS excludes TDM influence on further formation of intrascleral canal cavity and outflow pathways demonstrating pronounced hypotensive success in a long-term follow-up.
Superficial Thrombophlebitis of the Breast (Mondor’s Disease): An Uncommon Localization of Common Disease
Authors: Obradovic Katarina , Adzic Nina , Pavlovic Stankovic Dragana , Petkovic Ivana , Urban Vladimir , Milosevic Zorica
Published: November 2020

Mondor’s disease (MD), or superficial thrombophlebitis of the anterolateral thoracoabdominal wall, is a rare disease that presents with a palpable cord-like induration beneath the skin. It is a benign, self-limiting condition with probably underestimated significance due to the fact it may be a rare manifestation of an underlying breast carcinoma. It can also resemble breast malignancy and, if physician is not familiar with clinical features of MD, it may lead to unnecessary biopsy. The diagnosis is straightforward in most cases and it may be based on a thorough history and physical examination and it can be ultrasonographically confirmed. Raising awareness of this condition may facilitate recognition and diagnosing MD and eventually limit unnecessary diagnostic procedures.
Safe uncertainty: Reflecting on the pandemic responses of two Asian cities
Authors: Sim Timothy
Published: November 2020

This reflection focuses on the salient racial, cultural and political processes in the response to COVID-19, particularly in Hong Kong and Singapore, using a framework that examines safety and certainty or the lack of it. It begins by examining the awful racism internationally toward Chinese and the unique Chinese culinary practices that has become a contentious focus in this pandemic. It will then reflect on the meaning and impact of political contexts, with reference to the use surgical masks in Hong Kong and Singapore. Next, it will discuss the disruptions and discoveries for social work teaching and learning and practice during this turbulent time. The reflection will end by looking at the silver linings, and re-thinking about safety and certainty for individuals and social work development, as the pandemic continues to evolve.
Imagining a wilder policy future through interstitial tactics
Authors: Aikens Kathleen
Published: November 2020

This paper takes as its central concern the concept of wilding education policy and explores implications for systemic change in education. It starts from shared premises with wild pedagogies, namely, that current human operations are unsustainable and require deep transformation, and that education is (or should be) a partner in this transformation. The arguments herein focus on the relationship of the institution of formal schooling to the ‘wild,’ and posits that, because of the inherent tensions between the two, interstitial policy tactics are required. This paper proposes five working principles of interstitial tactics and examines these against a meta-synthesis of recent research on transformative environmental and sustainability practices in schools.
Morpho-orthographic segmentation of opaque and transparent derived words: New evidence for Spanish
Authors: Lázaro Miguel , García Lorena , Illera Víctor
Published: November 2020

Semantic transparency has been extensively analysed in research on visual word recognition. Under the masked priming paradigm, it has consistently been shown that opaque and transparent words are facilitated relative to form-related controls, but differences in priming between one condition and another have not been conclusively proven. Hence, research has been unable to theoretically elucidate the possible value of semantic transparency in the processing of derived words. This study describes two lexical decision experiments in Spanish. Experiment 1 revealed differences between the transparent and orthographic conditions, with no differences between the other conditions in the analyses of the error rates. In the second experiment, the participants visited the laboratory on two occasions, separated by a week. The task was administered twice, with participants responding to one of the experimental lists on each day. The results of this second experiment revealed significant differences in the size of the priming effect of the opaque and transparent conditions compared with the form-related condition, but without differences between these two effects. We discuss these findings from the perspective of current models of visual lexical processing.
Change in skeletal muscle index and its prognostic significance in patients who underwent successful conversion therapy for initially unresectable colorectal cancer: observational study
Authors: Nozawa Hiroaki , Emoto Shigenobu , Murono Koji , Shuno Yasutaka , Kawai Kazushige , Sasaki Kazuhito , Sonoda Hirofumi , Ishii Hiroaki , Iida Yuuki , Yokoyama Yuichiro , Anzai Hiroyuki , Ishihara Soichiro
Published: November 2020

Background:

Systemic therapy can cause loss of skeletal muscle mass in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in the neoadjuvant and palliative settings. However, it is unknown how the body composition is changed by chemotherapy rendering unresectable CRC to resectable disease or how it affects the prognosis. This study aimed at elucidating the effects of systemic therapy on skeletal muscles and survival in stage IV CRC patients who underwent conversion therapy.

Methods:

We reviewed 98 stage IV CRC patients who received systemic therapy in our hospital. According to the treatment setting, patients were divided into the conversion, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), and palliation groups. The cross-sectional area of skeletal muscles at the third lumbar level and changes in the skeletal muscle index (SMI), defined as the area divided by height squared, during systemic therapy were compared among patient groups. The effects of these parameters on prognosis were analyzed in the conversion group.

Results:

The mean SMI increased by 9.4% during systemic therapy in the conversion group ( n = 38), whereas it decreased by 5.9% in the NAC group ( n = 18) and 3.7% in the palliation group ( n = 42, p < 0.0001). Moreover, patients with increased SMI during systemic therapy had a better overall survival (OS) than those whose SMI decreased in the conversion group ( p = 0.025). The increase in SMI was an independent predictor of favorable OS on multivariate analysis (hazard ratio 0.25).

Conclusions:

Stage IV CRC patients who underwent conversion to resection often had an increased SMI. On the other hand, a decrease in the SMI during systemic therapy was a negative prognostic factor in such patients.
Irinotecan combined with oxaliplatin and S-1 in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a single-arm, three-centre, prospective study
Authors: Nie Keke , Zhang Ling , You Yunhong , Li Hongmei , Guo Xiuhui , Zhang Zhongfa , Zhang Chunling , Ji Youxin
Published: November 2020

Objective:

To study the efficacy and toxicity of irinotecan combined with oxaliplatin and S-1 in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Patients and methods:

Previously untreated patients with cytologically or histologically confirmed metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma underwent a treatment regimen consisting of an intravenous infusion of irinotecan 165 mg/m2 and oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2 on day 1, and oral S-1 40 mg/m2 twice daily on days 1–14, repeating the regimen every 21 days until one of the following occurred: disease progression, intolerable toxicity, or patient death. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and the secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), response rate, toxicity, and quality of life. This ongoing study had been registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03726021.

Results:

A total of 41 patients were enrolled in this study, 18 men and 23 women. The median PFS was 4.33 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.83–5.88] and the median OS was 11.00 months (95% CI: 9.16–12.84). There were no instances of a complete response; the partial response, stable disease, and disease progression rates were 39.02% (16/41), 29.27% (12/41), and 31.71% (13/41), respectively. The most common adverse side effects were mild to moderate nausea, vomiting, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia. Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were observed in 29.27% (12/41) and 12.20% (5/41) of the patients, respectively. No treatment-related death was observed.

Conclusion:

Irinotecan combined with oxaliplatin and S-1 is a safe and effective treatment for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and any toxicities are mild to moderate and tolerable. A larger study population is needed for further evaluation.
Numerical prediction of damage mechanisms of E-Glass/epoxy composite material against ballistic impact of 7.62 MS projectile
Authors: Bodepati Venkata Ramudu , C Jayarami Reddy , Vemuri Madhu
Published: November 2020

The fibre reinforced polymer matrix composite materials have acquired more credibility over other materials like metals and ceramics due to their high specific strength. Numerical simulations of ballistic impact of 7.62 mild steel projectile on various thicknesses of plain woven E-Glass/epoxy composite material were performed. Residual velocity and ballistic limit of the composite material were determined numerically and the results are compared with that of experiments published elsewhere. The numerical and experimental results are in good agreement. The numerical results are also compared with Recht-Ipson (R-I) and Gellert et al analytical models and are found to be in good correlation. Various failure mechanisms such as two stage damage mechanism namely dishing in target materials less than 10mm and indentation followed by dishing in target materials greater than 10 mm, delamination, and fibre and matrix failure modes of the composite material were studied and compared with the analytical models and experimental results. The wave propagation mechanisms and the damage phenomena are also studied and correlated.
Hip Fracture Volume Does Not Change at a New York City Level 1 Trauma Center During a Period of Social Distancing
Authors: Haskel Jonathan D. , Lin Charles C. , Kaplan Daniel J. , Dankert John F. , Merkow David , Crespo Alexander , Behery Omar , Ganta Abhishek , Konda Sanjit R.
Published: November 2020

Purpose:

To characterize the volume and variation in orthopedic consults and surgeries that took place during a period of social distancing and pandemic.

Methods:

All orthopedic consults and surgeries at an urban level 1 trauma center from 3/22/20-4/30/2020 were retrospectively reviewed (the social distancing period). Data from the same dates in 2019 were reviewed for comparison. Age, gender, Score for Trauma Triage in the Geriatric and Middle Aged (STTGMA) score and injury type were queried. Operating room data collected included: type of surgery performed, inpatient or outpatient status, and if the cases were categorized as elective, trauma or infectious cases.

Results:

Compared to 2019, there was a 48.3% decrease in consult volume in 2020. The 2020 population was significantly older (44.0 vs 52.6 years-old, p = 0.001) and more male (65% vs 35%, p = 0.021). There were 23 COVID positive patients, 10 of which died within the collection period. Consult distribution dramatically changed, with decreases in ankle fractures, distal radius fractures and proximal humerus fractures of 76.5%, 77.4% and 55.0%, respectively. However, there was no significant difference in volume of hip, tibial shaft and femoral shaft fractures (p > 0.05). In 2020, there was a 41.4% decrease in operating room volume, no elective cases were performed, and cases were primarily trauma related.

Conclusions:

During a period of pandemic and social distancing, the overall volume of orthopedic consults and surgeries significantly declined. However, hip fracture volume remained unchanged. Patients presenting with orthopedic injuries were older, and at higher risk for inpatient mortality.
Assessing the Magnitude of Nonworker Deaths During Workplace Homicide Incidents: An Epidemiological Analysis Using the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)
Authors: Doucette Mitchell L. , Crifasi Cassandra K.
Published: November 2020

Background

Recent workplace homicide investigations have noted that the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) has several limitations that reduce our ability to understand who dies as part of a workplace homicide incident. We sought to assess the magnitude of nonworker deaths associated with workplace homicide incidents.

Methods

Using National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) data from 2003 to 2017, we employed a descriptive epidemiological investigation. The counts of worker and nonworker deaths during a workplace homicide incident were ascertained, as well as other characteristics (e.g., gender, age, mechanism of death, and race/ethnicity). We used multiple logistic regression to estimate the relationship between incident characteristics and the odds of having a nonworker death.

Results

Across the study period, there were 2,020 workplace homicides. The number of deaths associated with workplace homicide incidents increased 8.2% when considering nonworker deaths ( n = 2,186). Including those nonfatally shot as part of a workplace homicide incident increased causalities by 18.2% ( n = 2,388). If a firearm was used during perpetration, the odds that a nonworker was killed during a workplace homicide incident increased 3.76 times (95% confidence interval: 2.03, 6.96).

Conclusion/Application to Practice

Considering nonworkers killed as part of workplace homicide incidents is essential to understanding the true magnitude of violence associated with these incidents. Likely, it is the lethality of firearms that greatly increases the likelihood that nonworkers are killed as part a workplace homicide incident. To best understand the epidemiology of workplace homicide incident, we recommend CFOI adopt an incident-based method for coding workplace deaths.
A Critical Discourse Analysis of Military-Related Remembrance Rhetoric in UK Sport: Communicating Consent for British Militarism
Authors: Kelly John
Published: November 2020

Sport has been a major strategic cultural practice used by Western allies to encourage citizens to support and “thank” their governments’ military actors. This increasingly visible intersection of sport and militarism occurred simultaneously alongside the development of propaganda departments by the American and Canadian governments seeking to use sport (and other popular cultural activities) to communicate consent for their respective military actors and actions. United Kingdom (UK) has witnessed many of these campaigns being replicated with a wide range of popular culture practices being utilized to provide public performances of support for its nation’s military personnel. This article critically analyzes “support the troops” rhetoric in UK by discussing a selection of official sporting and political articulations. Of significance is the extent to which those coordinating numerous support strategies for military-related violence (and its political rationale) have incorporated the language and symbolism of UK military-related remembrance, which historically has been viewed as a sorrowful and sombre reflection on the mass slaughter of millions during two world wars. The significance and centrality of on-the-surface-apolitical communication in and of sport as a form of ideological inculcation is illustrated.
Long Non-coding RNAs Responsive to Blast Fungus Infection in Rice
Authors: Wang Lan-Lan , Jin Jing-Jing , Li Li-Hua , Qu Shao-Hong
Published: November 2020

Background

Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have emerged as important regulators in many physiological processes in plant. By high-throughput RNA-sequencing, many pathogen-associated LncRNAs were mapped in various plants, and some of them were proved to be involved in plant defense responses. The rice blast disease caused byMagnaporthe oryzae(M. oryzae) is one of the most destructive diseases in rice. However,M. oryzae-induced LncRNAs in rice is yet to be studied.

Findings

We investigated rice LncRNAs that were associated with the rice blast fungus. Totally 83 LncRNAs were up-regulated after blast fungus infection and 78 were down-regulated. Of them, the natural antisense transcripts (NATs) were the most abundant. The expression of some LncRNAs has similar pattern with their host genes or neighboring genes, suggesting acisfunction of them in regulating gene transcription level. The deferentially expressed (DE) LncRNAs and genes co-expression analysis revealed some LncRNAs were associated with genes known to be involved in pathogen resistance, and these genes were enriched in terpenoid biosynthesis and defense response by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis. Interestingly, one of up-regulated DE-intronic RNA was derived from a jasmonate (JA) biosynthetic gene, lipoxygenase RLL (LOX-RLL). Levels of JAs were significantly increased after blast fungus infection. Given that JA is known to regulate blast resistance in rice, we suggested that LncRNA may be involved in JA-mediated rice resistance to blast fungus.

Conclusions

This study identified blast fungus-responsive LncRNAs in rice, which provides another layer of candidates that regulate rice and blast fungus interactions.
A rare case of right-sided varicocele in right renal tumor in the absence of venous thrombosis and IVC compression
Authors: Adhikari Priyabrata , Neeli Siddalingeshwar I. , Mohan Shyam
Published: November 2020

Background

The presence of unilateral right-sided varicocele hints at a serious retroperitoneal disease such as renal cell neoplasm. Such tumors are usually associated with a thrombus in renal vein or spermatic vein. We report a rare presentation of right-sided renal tumor causing right-sided varicocele in the absence of thrombus in renal vein and spermatic vein but due to an anomalous vein draining from the tumor into the spermatic vein as demonstrated by computed tomography angiogram.

Case presentation

A 54-yr-old hypertensive male presented with unilateral grade 3 right-sided varicocele and no other signs and symptoms. Ultrasound examination of his abdomen showed the presence of a mass lesion in the lower pole of right kidney. Computed tomography confirmed the presence of right renal mass, absence of thrombus in right renal vein or inferior vena cava. The angiographic phase of CT scan showed an anomalous vein from the tumor draining into the pampiniform plexus causing varicocele.

Conclusion

The presence of right-sided varicocele should raise a suspicion hidden serious pathological retroperitoneal condition, renal malignancy in particular, and should prompt the treating physician to carry out imaging studies of the retroperitoneum and careful study of the angiographic phase of the CT scan can ascertain the pathogenesis of the varicocele.
Estimate of prevalent ischemic stroke from triglyceride glucose-body mass index in the general population
Authors: Du Zhi , Xing Liying , Lin Min , Sun Yingxian
Published: November 2020

Background

To investigate the relationship between triglyceride glucose-body mass index (TyG-BMI) and ischemic stroke.

Methods

Leveraging two Chinese general population surveys, the Northeast China Rural Cardiovascular Health Study (NCRCHS, N = 11,097) and the National Stroke Screening and Intervention Program in Liaoning (NSSIPL, N = 10,862), we evaluated the relationship between TyG-BMI and ischemic stroke by a restricted cubic spline and multivariate logistic regression after adjusting age, sex, level of education, exercise regularly, current smoking, current drinking, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, coronary artery disease, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The category-free analysis was used to determine whether TyG-BMI enhanced the capacity of estimating ischemic stroke.

Results

A total of 596 and 347 subjects, respectively, from NSSIPL and NCRCHS were survivors of ischemic stroke. In NSSIPL, the relationship between TyG-BMI and ischemic stroke was linear and did not have a threshold or saturation effect according to the results of the restricted cubic spline. The regression analysis indicated that the risk of ischemic stroke increased 20% for per SD increase of TyG-BMI after multivariate adjustment [odds ratio (OR): 1.20, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10–1.32]. Compared with those in the lowest tertile, the risk of ischemic stroke in subjects with intermediate and high TyG-BMI was significantly higher [OR (95% CI): 1.39 (1.10–1.74); OR (95% CI) 1.72 (1.37–2.17), respectively]. Category-free analysis indicated that TyG-BMI had a remarkable improvement in the ability to estimate prevalent ischemic stroke [NRI (95% CI): 0.188 (0.105–0.270)]. These abovementioned relationships were confirmed in NCRCHS.

Conclusions

The present study found the robust correlation between TyG-BMI and ischemic stroke, independently of a host of conventional risk factors. Meanwhile, our findings also suggested the potential usefulness of TyG-BMI to improve the risk stratification of ischemic stroke.