bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Call for a More Robust Word in Word and Sacrament
Authors: Davis David
Published: March 2022

The relationship of word and sacrament rests at the very core of a Reformed theology of worship. However, the fundamental inseparability of the two has struggled to find balance within the practice of worship and preaching in congregational life. The last 50 years has seen a significant increase in sacrament practice within the Presbyterian Church. The effort has largely been sparked by the desire to establish a better theological balance of word and sacrament consistent with the ecumenical world church. During that same period, however, preaching’s engagement with the church’s sacramental life has not been well served by the discipline of homiletics. The teaching of preaching has significantly ignored the theological depth and rich imagery of baptism and communion. It is time to call for a more vibrant engagement with the word on the occasions when the sacraments are being celebrated. This essay offers an exploration of how the preacher can live into relatively recent liturgical change that elevates sacramental practice while honoring the Reformed theological heritage of word and sacrament.
Deworlded within the World: Bultmann's Paradoxical Politics in an Age of Polarization
Authors: Congdon David W.
Published: March 2022

Rudolf Bultmann has long been criticized for failing to reflect theologically on political life, and even for developing an apolitical theology that many consider to be supportive of the political status quo. This article challenges that reading by examining Bultmann's account of eschatological existence as a form of social identity set in contrast to what he regarded as the gnostic form of identity: an apocalyptic mode of existence that separates between an objectively redeemed community and an unredeemable world. The gnostic bifurcation between in-group and out-group represents a kind of social polarization that Bultmann rejects in favor of a paradoxical form of existence that is “deworlded within the world.” Bultmann's theology generates a paradoxical politics that becomes highly relevant in light of the apocalyptically polarized nature of contemporary American political life.
Homiletical Peonage: The Pedagogical Dilemma Whiteness Creates
Authors: Gilbert Kenyatta R.
Published: March 2022

This article revisits a key theme in retired Princeton Seminary homiletics professor James F. Kay’s work, preaching as a promissory-kerygmatic saving event. Kay calls for a disciplinary turn in theoretical focus in homiletics, lamenting homiletics’ over-reliance on theories of rhetoric to account for its distinctiveness and argues that theological analysis of preaching leads us to a better understanding of preaching’s essential core and function as Christian proclamation. After briefly summarizing Kay’s proposal on this topic, I bring to bear upon it a central criterion of Black preaching theory and praxis: groundedness in the concrete experience and ongoing legacies of racial injustice. This article’s fundamental question is, “In view of its European developmental origins, does promissory kerygmatics offer a theological theorization of preaching adequate to the demands of Black preaching pedagogy and praxis today?”
An Emergency Powered Air-Purifying Respirator From Local Materials and its Efficacy Against Aerosolized Nanoparticles
Authors: Kessel Jeff , Saevig Christopher S. , Hill W. Cary , Kessel Benjamin , Hull Matthew S.
Published: March 2022

We describe an approach used by a rural healthcare provider to convert surgical helmets into emergency powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The approach uses common materials and efficacy was demonstrated against aerosols measuring 7 nm to 25 μm in diameter.
The Social Epistemology of Scientific Dissent: Responding to William Lynch’s Minority Report
Authors: Fuller Steve
Published: March 2022

William Lynch’s Minority Report is the most comprehensive and fair-minded attempt to give epistemic dissent its due in science that has appeared in recent times. Nevertheless, it remains too beholden to the scientific establishment as its epistemic benchmark. The sophistication of Lynch’s argument lies in the trading of counterfactual intuitions about whether suppressed dissenters would scientifically flourish even given an appropriate level of exposure. Here, he attempts to strike a balance between Lakatos’ instinctive conservatism and Feyerabend’s instinctive radicalism. I argue that Lynch needs to turn the dial more toward Feyerabend, in that science is more authoritarian than he thinks and restricts more than it should. However, the value of Lynch’s book lies in demonstrating that calls for increased openness now (i.e., allowing more dissent) are related to its closure to alternatives in the past. In short, if science is authoritarian now, then it has been so before – and the question is for a how long and to what extent.
Two Dimensions of Professor-Student Rapport Differentially Predict Student Success Outcomes: A Replication of Wilson and Ryan (2013)
Authors: Broom Timothy W. , Dunbar Nora , Demir Melikşah
Published: March 2022

Background

Professor-student rapport is associated with various important student success outcomes, highlighting the need for a good measure of this construct.

Objective

The current study attempted to replicate the components of the Professor-Student Rapport Scale (PSRS) reported in Wilson and Ryan (2013).

Method

760 undergraduate students completed the PSRS and several student outcome measures. The sample was split in half to conduct both an exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The predictive validity of the factors that emerged was then assessed.

Results

The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) did not replicate the components previously reported. Instead, we describe the emergence of two distinct factors: “Professor Cares about Students” and “Professor Creates an Engaging and Constructive Atmosphere.” The factor structure exhibited adequate model fit in the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and significantly predicted five of the six student and course outcomes examined.

Conclusion

We argue that the two factors reported herein better capture and elucidate professor-student rapport than the components previously identified.

Teaching Implications

There appear to be two critical pieces to establishing professor-student rapport. Students must perceive their instructor cares about their individual success/well-being, and is competent at creating an overall atmosphere conducive to engagement/learning.
Nutrition Programs of Higher Education in the Occupied Palestinian Territories: A Descriptive Snapshot
Authors: Mansour Miral , Aboul-Enein Basil H. , Salsa Ghadir Helal , Benajiba Nada
Published: March 2022

This report stresses the importance of promoting capacity building and training of nutritionists and dietitians as vital strategies in addressing nutrition-related health problems and improving health outcomes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Higher education institutions play a vital role in this process. The report identifies degree-granting nutrition programs available in OPT in both Arabic and English by carrying out an electronic review of universities and college websites, department web links, and academic program home pages. Out of the 52 accredited institutions in the OPT, 10 offered nutrition degree programs of which four are located in the Gaza Strip and six in the West Bank. Nutrition-affiliated programs included bachelor’s degrees in nutrition sciences and public health, health nutrition, nutrition and food technology, nutrition and dietetics, therapeutic nutrition, and nutrition and food processing. Two universities offered a master’s degree in clinical nutrition in addition to a bachelor’s program. None of the selected educational institutions offered a doctoral degree program. The number of universities in OPT offering bachelor’s degree in nutrition affiliated programs is relatively high as compared to neighboring Arab countries. Additional development of graduate programs to strengthen the dietetics/nutrition profession in OPT is warranted.
Corruption and Misery Index in Nigeria: Is There a Link?
Authors: Akinlo A. Enisan
Published: March 2022

The study examines the impact of the misery index on corruption in Nigeria over the period 1980–2018 using the autoregressive distributed lag model. The results confirm the long-run relationship between the misery index and corruption. Misery index increases corruption in both the short and long term, while economic growth reduces corruption in the long but not in the short-run period. The results show that the level of corruption is closely related to the country’s dire economic conditions. These findings suggest that inflation and unemployment rates need to be reduced in the country using the appropriate monetary and fiscal policies. Moreover, government efforts at increasing economic activity in the country will reduce the level of corruption, especially in the long run.

JEL: C32, D73, E24, E31
Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Social Feminism and Women’s Suffrage: A Female–Male Net Nutrition Comparison using Differences- in-decompositions
Authors: Carson Scott Alan
Published: March 2022

When other measures for economic welfare are scarce or unreliable, the body mass index (BMI) is a biological measure that reflects current net nutrition. This study uses a difference-in-decompositions framework to analyse how women’s BMIs varied with the advent of early twentieth century social feminism. Late nineteenth and early twentieth century US economic development improved the relative status of women relative to both men before and after the transition to social feminism. Twentieth century women’s BMIs were higher than nineteenth century women relative to men with the rise of social feminism. The primary source of female–male across-group variation was height and nativity, indicating that there was net nutritional progress for women relative to men associated with changing cumulative net nutrition. The primary source of female–male within-group variation was nativity and socioeconomic status, indicating that there was net nutritional progress relative to women born before the transition for women born after the rise of social feminism association with socioeconomic status.

JEL Codes: C1, C4, D1, I1, N3
The Scarring Effects of Depression Symptoms on Sadness Rumination and Peer Victimization in Greek Early Adolescents: Evidence for an Integrated Symptoms-Driven Model
Authors: Spyropoulou Elli , Giovazolias Theodoros
Published: March 2022

The main aim of this study was to examine one potential mediator of the prospective association between depressive symptoms and peer victimization: sadness rumination. Data were collected from 302 early adolescents ( Mage = 10.53, SD =.16; 55.3% girls), at two waves, 1-year spaced, using self-reports. Depressive symptoms preceded increases in peer victimization and sadness rumination. Sadness rumination preceded increases in peer victimization. Sadness rumination mediated the relationship between depressive symptoms and increases in peer victimization. Multi-group analysis indicated that the mediation model tested was significant for boys, but not for girls. Overall, depression-related peer victimization could be minimized with intervention programs targeting early adolescents’ sadness rumination tendencies. Future research should further explain why depressed boys may face greater risk than girls in displaying increases in sadness rumination over time, which in turn, may lead to more frequent experiences of peer victimization.
Distance Deception by Fragmented Objects: How Figures May Alter the Perceived Depth of the Background
Authors: Roncato Sergio
Published: March 2022

Illusory displacements in depth may be perceived in simple geometric configurations devoid of cues for spatial computation but also in real-world images where there is no shortage of information of this kind. Two of these different contexts drew the attention of vision scientists as sources of depth illusions: the Kanizsa square and the images of statues that Catalano's created with a part missing. Similar depth alterations occur in both cases: the portions of the background surrounded by “inducers” (pacmen or body parts) are perceived as coming to the foreground. These illusory effects appear more vivid and diverse in the real-world context leading to hypothesize an involvement of the figural complexity in the misperception. A check was carried out by testing the effects of the background articulation on the depth perception of the illusory Kanizsa square. It was confirmed that both background and inducers articulation enhance the phenomenon. A large set of Catalano's images was analyzed, looking for basic distorting sources along the torn contours. Several basic factors were found, but not enough to account for the complexity of this variegated, often paradoxical phenomenon.
Carceral and military geographies: Prisons, the military and war
Authors: Moran Dominique , Turner Jennifer
Published: March 2022

Geographers have expanded notions of the carceral, the military and war far beyond conventional ideas of the prison, the armed forces of the nation state and armed conflict, thus situating spaces of confinement, surveillance and monitoring in deep histories of violence. Nevertheless, we argue that renewed attention to these ‘conventional’ institutions reveals unanswered questions about prisons during and after war, conversion of military bases, and deployment of ex-military personnel, whose exploration would enhance understandings of the nature of the carceral, and the relationship between ‘military’ and ‘civilian’.
Clinical and hematological characteristics of 300 COVID-19 patients in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Authors: Hwaiz Rundk Ahmad , Zaki Abdullah Sahar Mohammed , Jalal Balaky Salah Tofik , Ali Katan Sabir , Merza Mohammed Yousif , Khailani Shakhawan Assad , Shabila Nazar Pauls
Published: March 2022

Background

COVID-19 primarily presents as a respiratory tract infection, but studies indicate that it could be considered a systemic disease that can spread to affect multiple organ systems, including respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, hematopoietic, neurological, and immune systems.

Objective

To describe and analyze the clinical and hematological characteristics of 300 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Erbil, Kurdistan.

Methods

This retrospective study included 300 patients of any age admitted to hospital due to confirmed COVID-19 between September 2020 and February 2021. Cases were diagnosed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays of nasopharyngeal swab specimens.

Results

The highest proportion of patients were aged 21–40 years. The most common symptoms among the patients were myalgia (66.7%), fatigue (62.3%), headache (50.7%), and chest pain (52.7%). Differences in hematological and biochemical parameters were observed between deceased and recovered patients. Only the mid-range absolute count percentage (MID%) was significantly higher in the recovered patients than in the deceased ones (6.41% vs. 4.48, p = 0.019). Death was significantly higher among older patients (>40 years) than younger ones (≤40 years) (6.8% vs. 1.3%, p = 0.015), diabetic than non-diabetic (10.8% vs. 3%, p = 0.047), and those having chronic diseases than those without chronic diseases (10.6% vs. 2.1%, p = 0.006).

Conclusions

Different hematological and biochemical parameter findings were observed among the COVID-19 patients. Low MID%, older age, and presence of diabetes mellitus and chronic disease were significantly associated with death among COVID-19 patients.
Feasibility and Acceptability of a Group Music Intervention in Memory Care Communities
Authors: Veal Britney M. , Dobbs Debra , Lee Soomi , Bugos Jennifer A. , Pyfrom Mary P. , Boddupalli Samantha , Lengacher Cecile A. , Meng Hongdao
Published: March 2022

Music-based interventions have been shown to reduce behavioral expressions among persons with dementia. The goal of this study was to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a group music intervention to reduce agitation. Two memory care communities were recruited to participate in this single-arm mixed-methods study. The group music intervention program included a total of 12 sessions delivered over 4 weeks. Agitation was assessed quantitatively at weeks 0, 2, and 4. Qualitative interviews of memory care staff were conducted post-intervention. Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models and qualitative content analysis. The study sample ( N = 19) had a mean age of 82.74, and 73.7% were female. The great majority of participants completed the intervention and 63.2% experienced a reduction in agitation, suggesting that the intervention is feasible and acceptable in memory care and may be efficacious. Future research should evaluate the efficacy of the intervention in a randomized controlled trial.
The Relationship Between Light Exposure before Bedtime and Daytime Sleepiness Among People Living With Cognitive Impairment
Authors: Hwang Yeji , McPhillips Miranda V. , Talwar Sonia , Perez G. Adriana , Hodgson Nancy A.
Published: March 2022

While sleep disturbances are common in people living with cognitive impairment, little is known about the influence of evening light exposure on their sleep. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between evening light exposure in natural living environment and daytime sleepiness in community residing people living with cognitive impairment. A secondary data analysis was conducted using the baseline data of the Healthy Patterns Clinical Trial. Actiwatch Spectrum Plus was used to collect information on the average white light intensity of 4 hours before sleep for three consecutive days. Multivariate regression analyses were used. Among 173 participants, the average light intensity during evening was 80.25 ± 123.04 lux. After controlling for covariates, greater intensity of light exposure during evening was related to excessive daytime sleepiness ( β = 0.211, p = .004). The results of our study suggest exposure to light during evening may disturb sleep and subsequently influence daytime sleepiness the following day.
Conduct Problems As a Pathway From Childhood Adversity to Community Violence Exposure: The Protective Roles of Caregiver Knowledge and Involvement
Authors: Evans Meghan C. , Duong Jacqueline B. , Morelli Nicholas M. , Hong Kajung , Voss Claire , Mendez Lucybel , Garcia Jackelyne , Elzie Xavier , Villodas Miguel T.
Published: March 2022

Exposure to community violence (ECV) poses a prevalent threat to the health and development of adolescents. Research indicates those who have more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are at higher risk for ECV, which further exacerbates risk of negative mental and physical health impacts. Additionally, those with more ACEs are more likely to exhibit conduct problems, which has also been linked to risk for ECV. Despite the prevalence and impact of ECV, there is limited longitudinal research on the risk factors that precede this exposure as well as family-level factors that may prevent it. The current study examined conduct problems as a potential mediator between ACEs and future indirect (i.e. witnessing) ECV in adolescents. Additionally, this study included caregiver factors, such as caregiver knowledge about their adolescent, caregiver involvement, and caregiver-adolescent relationship quality as potential protective moderators. Participants included (N = 1137) caregiver-adolescent dyads identified as at-risk for child maltreatment prior to child’s age four for inclusion in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Conduct problems at age 14 mediated the relationship between ACEs from ages 0-12 and indirect ECV at age 16 (standardized indirect effect = .03, p = .005). Caregiver knowledge moderated the indirect relationship (b = −.40, p = .030), and caregiver involvement moderated the direct relationship between ACEs and indirect ECV (b = −.03, p = .033). Findings expand our knowledge about the longitudinal pathways that increase risk of violence exposure over the course of adolescent development, as well as the protective benefits caregivers can offer to disrupt these pathways and reduce risk of future traumatization. Implications are discussed for interventions that aim to address and prevent trauma and adverse outcomes among youth exposed to child maltreatment, household dysfunction, and community violence.
The Effects of Park-Based Interventions on Health-Related Outcomes Among Youth: A Systematic Review
Authors: Wallace Deshira D. , Han Bing , Cohen Deborah A. , Derose Kathryn P.
Published: March 2022

Objective

The purpose of the study is to present a comprehensive systematic review of the effects of park-based interventions on health outcomes among youth, defined as children and adolescents.

Data Source

Web of Science, MEDLINE, and Scopus databases searched through November 2020.

Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

Interventions conducted in publicly accessible parks that evaluated health outcomes (i.e., physical, mental, and emotional); focused on children and adolescents (up to 18 years old, or up to 22 years old for individuals with developmental needs); and was published in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

Data Extraction

Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed the quality of the 15 included studies using the Guide to Community Preventive Services tool.

Data Synthesis

Descriptive summary of study characteristics and summarized methodological quality of the studies.

Results

Twelve studies were person-based interventions involving the evaluation of health outcome changes in cohorts, and the remaining studies were park-based, focused on changing the park environment and observing changes in youth participation in parks. All identified interventions were positively associated with individual-level and park-level outcomes ranging from body weight, moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity, park utilization, and health behavior knowledge.

Conclusions

This systematic review demonstrated that parks as sites of interventions can provide an environment that promotes health and wellbeing for youth. Nevertheless, the number of relevant studies were limited, thus it is important to leverage and expand on existing knowledge of the utility of parks as sites of intervention to address health concerns at this critical juncture of the life course.
The Association Between Discrimination and Falling. A National Sample of Older Adults
Authors: Reyes-Ortiz Carlos A. , Campo-Arias Adalberto , Ocampo-Chaparro Jose Mauricio , Moncayo-Hernández Brigitte A. , Lee Torhonda , Luque John S.
Published: March 2022

Objective

To assess the relationship between discrimination and falling among older people.

Methods

A cross-sectional nationwide population-based face-to-face survey, 2015. The SABE ( Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento) Colombia Study, 19,004 community-dwelling adults aged ≥60 years. Recurrent falling was defined as ≥2 falls during the prior year. Main independent variable was discrimination.

Results

Multivariate logistic regression models showed that recurrent falling was significantly associated with a number of reasons for experiences of everyday discrimination (due to racial, socioeconomic status, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, or disability) (OR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.21–1.33), childhood discrimination score (never = 0 to many times = 3) (OR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.13–1.33), and number of situations for discrimination during the last 5 years due to skin color (group activities, public places, inside the family, or health centers) (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.08–1.17).

Discussion

Discrimination experiences were associated with higher odds of recurrent falling.
Durable crosslinked films based on poly (arylene ether nitrile) materials for ultrahigh temperature applications over 300°C
Authors: He Liang , Tong Lifen , Liu Xiaobo
Published: March 2022

Searching for outstanding films with high temperature resistance has sparked fierce interests in the electronics industry. In this study, a novel high-temperature-resistance phthalonitrile end-capped polyarylene ether nitrile (HTR-PEN-Ph) film was fabricated via cross-linking reaction, applying two different curing programs as contrast. The fabricated HTR-PEN-Ph films were verified through FTIR, gel content test to be confirmed the cross-linking reaction. Then thermal results elucidated that PEN-Ph films treated with two-stage curing program possessed a superior glass transition temperature ( T g) in comparison with untreated one, increasing by 165–270°C. Besides, an evident increment of 5 wt.% decomposition temperature ( T 5%) was seen from the HTR-PEN-Ph film, which was 27–43°C higher than the untreated one. Furthermore, the HTR-PEN-Ph films exhibited notable dielectric stability over 300°C and mechanical properties after the two-stage curing program. Based on these satisfactory results, this study is of great potential to be applied in the field of industrial manufacture to fabricate a range of high-performance films.
Bio-based polybenzoxazines as an efficient coatings to protect mild steel surfaces from corrosion
Authors: Ranganathan Sharanya , Arumugam Hariharan , Krishnasamy Balaji , Sathy Srikandan Subramanian , Mallaiya Kumaravel , Alagar Muthukaruppan
Published: March 2022

New types of mono and bi-functional benzoxazine monomers were synthesized using cardanol (C) and 4-aminobenzonitrile (abn), p-phenylediamine ( ppda) along with paraformaldehyde. The synthesized benzoxazine monomers structure was elucidated by 1H, 13C-NMR and FTIR spectroscopic techniques. The polymerization temperature (Tp) of C-abn and C- ppda are noticed at 280oC and 237oC, respectively. It was also noticed that bi-functional benzoxazine (C- ppda) possesses lower curing temperature than mono-functional benzoxazine (C-abn). The ring opening polymerization of benzoxazine was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. Thermal analyses indicate that, benzoxazine [poly(C- ppda)] possesses higher thermal stability than poly(C-abn). The surface roughness of the benzoxazine coated MS specimen was analysed by atomic force microscope. The values of water contact angles obtained for poly(C-abn) and poly(C- ppda) are 145o and 148o, respectively. It was noticed that the mild steel specimen coated with bio-based benzoxazine C-abn exhibit excellent resistance to corrosion.
Influence of Post Weld Cryogenic Treatment on the Ballistic Penetration Resistance of Friction Stir-Welded AZ31B Magnesium Alloy
Authors: S Dharani Kumar , S Suresh Kumar
Published: March 2022

Influence of post weld cryogenic treatment conditions (deep and shallow) on the ballistic resistance of friction stir welded (FSW) AZ31B magnesium alloy has been investigated. AZ31B welded joints which were prepared by using friction stir welding process were subjected to two types of cryogenic treatment conditions. The microstructural investigation of cryogenic treated joints showed the formation of Mg17Al12 precipitates and conversion of coarse eutectic phase into thin discontinues phase along with halos. In addition, superior microhardness values were noticed for the cryogenically treated joints compared with non-treated joints and base metal. High velocity ballistic experiments were conducted on cryogenically treated and non-treated weld targets using 7.62 mm deformable projectiles at an initial velocity of 450 ± 10 m/s. At the stir zone, the depth of penetration (DOP) of the projectile into the deep cryogenic treated (DCT) target was observed to be 11% and 34 % lesser than the shallow cryogenic treated (SCT) and FSW targets. Thus increase in the ballistic resistance was observed for the post-weld cryogenic treated FSW joints compared to non-treated FSW joints. SEM investigation of the projectile impacted DCT targets showed the formation of cracks, dimples and micro voids at the crater region. It is also noticed that, the Stir Zone (SZ) and Heat Affected Zones (HAZ) of the DCT target has effectively absorbed the ballistic impact energy of the projectile by a ductile fracture and hence DCT can be used to improve the ballistic penetration resistance of the FSW joints at the SZ and HAZ regions.
Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome induced by gluteal silicones in a transgender woman living with HIV
Authors: van der Pluijm Rob W , W Haak Bastiaan , Kers Jesper , L Siegenbeek van Heukelom Thijs , van Vugt Michele
Published: March 2022

We report a case of an immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome induced by gluteal silicones in a transgender woman living with HIV following the start of antiretroviral therapy. This case resembles the autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA) syndrome that has been described as a complication of insertions of materials such as injected or implanted silicones. The potential of developing an inflammatory response in patient with injected or implanted silicones/foreign substances should be considered in patients who have recently started antiretroviral therapy.
Retrobulbar blood flow velocity in systemic lupus erythematosus assessed by color Doppler imaging
Authors: Xue Kang , Guo Tingting , Lei Boya , Chen Sheng , Huang Linlin , Zhou Min
Published: March 2022

Objective

To analyze the blood flow in retrobulbar vessels in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by color Doppler imaging (CDI) and to investigate the associations between immunological markers, retinal abnormalities, disease activity, and vascular parameters.

Methods

We examined 30 patients with SLE who were aged 32.1 ± 11.6 years with a disease duration of 68.0 ± 55.6 months and 30 participants in a control group. The peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), pulsatility index (PI), and resistive index (RI) of the ophthalmic artery (OA), central retinal artery (CRA), and posterior ciliary arteries (PCAs) were determined. Physical and ophthalmic examinations with assessments of immunological markers were performed. All parameters were compared between SLE patients and normal controls while the correlations among parameters were analyzed.

Results

In the SLE group, CDI confirmed blood flow abnormalities in the CRA and PCAs, with significantly lower blood flow velocities and increased RI and PI ( p < 0.05). There was a significantly negative correlation between disease duration and EDV in the CRA, PCA, and OA ( p = 0.0423, 0.0453, 0.0448). There was also a significant relationship between the SLE Disease Activity Index and the PI of the OA ( p = 0.0367). The patients who had received biological agents (Rituximab) had lower EDV in the CRA and PCA ( p = 0.0026, 0.028). SLE patients with kidney or CNS involvement had a significant increase in the PI in the OA ( p = 0.0287). The PSV and EDV in the CRA were significantly related to creatinine ( p = 0.0007 and 0.0418). We also noted a significant decreased EDV in the CRA and an increased RI in the OA among participants positive for anti-dsDNA antibodies ( p = 0.0331 and 0.0228).

Conclusions

Retrobulbar circulatory disturbances were detected in SLE patients by CDI. These findings seem likely to affect smaller vessels like the CRA and PCA. However, the presence of measurable changes in the OA is generally indicative of a coexistent nephropathy or central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis. Creatinine, the disease activity index, being positive for anti-dsDNA, and receiving biological agents were associated with measurable changes on the retrobulbar blood flow.
Aortitis is an under-recognized manifestation of antiphospholipid syndrome: A case report and literature review
Authors: Escoda Thomas , George Julia , Jarrot Pierre-André , Jean Rodolphe , Mazodier Karin , Sanderson Frederick , Poullin Pascale , Saby Ludivine , Jourde-Chiche Noémie , Kaplanski Gilles , Chiche Laurent
Published: March 2022

Aortitis is a classic manifestation of large vessel vasculitis. Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), sometimes known as Hughes syndrome, is an acquired autoimmune disorder that manifests clinically as recurrent venous or arterial thrombosis. Patients with APS may also suffer from various underlying diseases, most frequently systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS) is a rare but serious complication of APS characterized by failure of several organs due to diffuse microcirculatory thrombi. Its main manifestations involve the kidneys, lungs, heart and central nervous system, and require early diagnosis and rapid therapeutic management. While APS can affect virtually any blood vessel, aortitis is not a known symptom of APS. We report the case of a 36-year-old patient with APS and SLE who presented with CAPS during pregnancy, with no concomitant SLE flare. The first manifestation of CAPS was aortitis, preceding renal, cardiac and haematological manifestations. The outcome was favourable with combined treatment including corticosteroids, anticoagulants, plasma exchange and rituximab. We then carried out a literature search for papers describing the presence of aortitis in APS and/or SLE. In the cases of aortic involvement identified in the literature, including another case of CAPS, the occurrence of aortitis in SLE, often associated with the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies/APS, suggests that aortitis should be considered as an under-recognized manifestation and potential non-criterion feature of APS.
The Status of Science, Technology and Innovation in Africa
Authors: Kahn Michael J.
Published: March 2022

‘Science’ has for long been advocated as a key driver of Africa’s post-independence modernisation. This project featured strongly in the Organization of African Unit Lagos Plan of Action of 1980 that called for governments to mobilise 1% of GDP towards building their scientific and technological capabilities. The 1% goal was duly re-affirmed at the African Union Ministers’ Conference of 2003, in Africa’s Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action 2005, and in the 2014 Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa. The contribution presents a high-level assessment of the extent to which these various efforts are revealed in the present continent-wide status of science, technology and innovation (STI). To this end, a high-level appraisal of STI inputs, focus and outputs is assembled. In so doing, the limitations of data and STI indicators must be acknowledged. While there are signs of progress, STI policy has greater rhetorical than operational outcome, raising concerns for African states’ capability to attain the SDGs and shape their participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Interventions Designed to Improve Financial Capability: A Systematic Review
Authors: Birkenmaier Julie , Maynard Brandy , Kim Youngmi
Published: March 2022

Purpose: This study’s aim is to review and synthesize the scientific evidence for financial capability interventions that combine financial education and financial products and services to affect financial behavior. Method: A systematic review process was used to search for, screen, and extract data from relevant studies. Following descriptive analysis, we calculated effect sizes. Results: After excluding duplicates, non-relevant and ineligible reports, this review included 24 unique studies. This review identified several different types of previously evaluated financial capability interventions. Few interventions were evaluated by more than one study that measured the same or similar outcomes. Therefore, evidence is sparse about whether financial capability interventions improved participants’ financial behaviors and/or outcomes. Conclusion: While each type of financial capability intervention has a unique evidence base, this lack of evidence across financial capability interventions points to the need to develop a more definitive evidence base for financial capability interventions about the financial outcomes.
“It All Depends”: Patient and Decision Partner Experiences in Cancer Clinical Trial Decision-Making
Authors: Gray Tamryn F. , Allgood Sarah J. , Nolan Marie T. , Gallo Joseph J. , Han Hae-Ra , Clayman Marla L. , Budhathoki Chakra , Lansey Dina G. , Wenzel Jennifer
Published: March 2022

While the supporting role of families and friends has been widely recognized in cancer care, little data exist on how they influence patients’ decisions regarding clinical trial participation, accounting for patients’ decisional preferences. The goal of our study was to examine the process of clinical trial decision-making from the perspective of adults with cancer and their decision partners. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 patients and 12 decision partners—family and friends engaged in the medical decision-making. Themes included: (1) having the ability and confidence to make decisions; (2) gaining insight about clinical trials; (3) trusting someone in the process; and (4) realizing readiness and context. Our findings will enhance understanding of how patients make clinical trial decisions based on decisional preferences from the perspectives of patients and decision partners. The findings may also help to increase clinician awareness and inclusion of decision partners in conversations regarding clinical trials.
A Double-Edge Sword? Mass Media and Nonviolent Dissent in Autocracies
Authors: Gleditsch Kristian Skrede , Macías-Medellín Martín , Rivera Mauricio
Published: March 2022

It is often assumed that nondemocratic regimes will control mass media and suppress independent information, but in many autocracies the media are partially free and imperfectly controlled. We argue that partial media freedom can increase the prospects for mass nonviolent dissent. We develop a theory emphasizing how even less than perfectly free media outlets can increase the ability of individuals to coordinate and mobilize, and provide an informational endowment that can help non-state actors overcome collective mobilization barriers. We further argue that this informational endowment amplifies the effect of other influences spurring mass protests in autocracies, in particular protest contagion and elections. We find empirical support for our argument in an analysis of all autocracies between 1955 and 2013. A case study of the Georgian Rose revolution provides further support for the postulated mechanisms.
Enhanced design of the quasi-zero stiffness vibration isolator with three pairs of oblique springs: Theory and experiment
Authors: Zhao Feng , Cao Shuqian , Luo Quantian , Ji Jinchen
Published: March 2022

Quasi-zero stiffness vibration isolators have been extensively studied due to superior passive vibration isolation performance. As the quasi-zero stiffness region of the isolators is generally small, the research on their responses to the excitation with high amplitude is currently quite limited. This paper presents an improved design of the quasi-zero stiffness isolator with three pairs of oblique springs to increase the amplitude of the excitation. Theoretical formulations are derived for stiffness and force, and then the influences of three independent parameters on the quasi-zero stiffness region are studied to obtain optimal design parameters. A prototype is fabricated and tested for displacement excitations with amplitudes of 5 mm, 10 mm, and 15 mm in a frequency range of 1.5–10 Hz. The absolute displacement transmissibility of the enhanced quasi-zero stiffness isolator is theoretically and experimentally compared with that of the corresponding linear isolator and that of the previous isolators with three pairs of oblique springs using the same parameter conditions of the loaded mass, the horizontal length of oblique springs, and the vertical spring. The experimental results show that the enhanced design of the quasi-zero stiffness isolator with three pairs of oblique springs can achieve lower displacement transmissibility and deal with the displacement excitation with higher amplitude.
Investigation of the effect of vibration-reducing tracks on the vibration and noise from a large-span steel bridge
Authors: Liang Lin , Li Xiaozhen , Bi Ran , Gong Zhenhua , Sun Yadai
Published: March 2022

The vibration and noise problem of large-span steel bridge in urban rail transit have received increasing attention in recent years. As a common vibration control measure, the vibration-reducing track has been widely used on concrete bridges. However, systematic research on the vibration and noise reduction characteristics of large-span steel bridge by using vibration-reduction track remains insufficient. At the present paper, the vibration and noise reduction mechanism and characteristics of three typical vibration-reducing tracks, which are applied on large-span steel bridge, are studied. Firstly, based on the vehicle, track, and bridge coupling theory, a theoretical analysis model in the frequency domain was established. The dynamic receptance, wheel-rail force, force transmissibility ratio, and force transmitted to the bridge can be obtained, which are used to analyze the vibration-reduction mechanism of each vibration-reducing track. Then, the vibration and noise prediction model of a large-span steel-truss cable-stayed bridge is established by plate-beam combined finite element method and statistical energy method, and verified though the measured results. Finally, the vibration and noise reduction characteristics and effects of large-span steel bridge under the three vibration-reducing tracks are analyzed.
We are also music lovers: Testing vocal tastes in higher musical theater education
Authors: von Germeten Guro
Published: March 2022

This article explores taste processes within a group of musical theater students and their voice teacher, the latter also acting as researcher, while working with an aesthetically broad repertoire in a higher education setting in Norway. The study is designed using an action research approach, and the collected data—students’ reflection notes, the researcher’s field notes, and workshop recordings—are analyzed through Antoine Hennion’s theoretical framework of taste as a performance that acts, engages, transforms, and is felt, and which involves skills and sensitizing. In the social sciences, taste is commonly regarded as a matter of cultural consumption. This article argues that tastes are also part of cultural production: musicians, here musical theater performers, are to be seen as music lovers, performing tastes that stabilize or challenge established taste patterns in the form of styles, genres, or traditions. Accounting for situations where tastes are performed, tested, and negotiated, this article argues that tastes have a history but are brought into a negotiating presence, producing implications for the future; in this case, tastes form vocal behaviors and vocal behaviors form tastes. Hence, in musical theater education, taste, taste-making, and taste-testing are part of systematic and formal pedagogics and students’ ongoing vocal training.
Committed sponsors: external support overtness and civilian targeting in civil wars
Authors: Stein Arthur
Published: March 2022

Does the overtness of external support to rebels affect civilian targeting in civil wars? Conflict studies increasingly scrutinize how insurgent sponsorships shape rebels’ behavior. However, the influence of external sponsors’ decisions to publicly acknowledge or deny their support on rebel conduct is largely neglected. This article introduces a new dataset on the overtness of external support to rebels in civil wars between 1989 and 2018. It then assesses whether the overtness of support is correlated with insurgents’ propensity to target civilians. I hypothesize that overtly supported rebels are less likely to target civilians than covertly supported rebels. This hypothesis stems from how supply-side factors—the way state sponsors expectedly act after having allocated their support—impact insurgents’ structure of incentives around relations with non-combatants. Statistical analyses yield strong support for my hypothesis. Moreover, further analyses show that support overtness influences civilian targeting independently from sponsors’ characteristics, such as political regimes or foreign aid reliance. Thus, in addition to the type of material aid insurgents receive, variation in whether support is covert or overt shapes how rebels treat civilians.
The contagion effect of COVID-19-induced uncertainty on US tourism sector: Evidence from time-varying granger causality test
Authors: Cepni Oguzhan , Dogru Tarik , Ozdemir Ozgur
Published: March 2022

This study investigates the effect of COVID-19-induced uncertainty on the overall stock market and the stock performance of the tourism and hospitality industry and its subsectors utilizing a novel time-varying robust Granger causality test. The results show that the COVID-19 pandemic–induced uncertainty has an adverse impact on the overall economy, tourism and hospitality industry, and subsectors of tourism and hospitality. However, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic–induced uncertainty is more significant in the tourism and hospitality industry and its subsectors. In particular, hotels sector has experienced the largest impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by restaurants and airline sectors, respectively. Research and practical implications are discussed.

JEL Classification: C1, C5, F2, G11, G17, G41
Associations between perceived everyday discrimination and health among college students at a Hispanic-serving institution
Authors: Hua Jacqueline , Johnson Angela E , Hussain Maryam , Howell Jennifer L
Published: March 2022

Despite efforts by universities to promote racial/ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic diversity, college students continue to report discrimination. In two studies, we examined the frequency, predictors, and health consequences of experiencing everyday discrimination at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Findings show the majority of students reported experiencing discrimination at the university, with most experiences attributed to their gender and aspects of their physical appearance. More frequent discrimination was associated with poorer physical and psychological health. Furthermore, most participants cited other students as the source of their discrimination. These findings offer important insight into students’ experiences of everyday discrimination at a diverse setting.
How does industrial agglomeration affect firms’ energy consumption? Empirical evidence from China
Authors: Wei Wei , Zhao Li , Liu ZhongXing
Published: March 2022

Industrial agglomeration is the main engine of economic growth and also the major source of CO2 emission that can have an effect on the social well-being of people in the built environment. This paper investigates the impact of industrial agglomeration on firms’ energy consumption intensity, using Chinese industrial firm data and Chinese industrial firm pollution emission data from 1998 to 2012. We found evidence that industrial agglomeration could effectively cut down firms’ coal consumption intensity and thus reduce the CO2 emission, which shows the positive environmental externality of industrial agglomeration. This finding is robust after carefully dealing with the potential endogeneity issues, while by taking advantage of the rich variations of our dataset, we also found heterogeneous effects across firm ownership, industry and region. In mechanism analysis, we document that specialized agglomeration plays an important role in reducing firms’ energy consumption intensity, and the decline in firms’ energy consumption intensity is mainly caused by the reduction in coal consumption.