bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Mini Dental Implant Number on Mandibular Overdenture Retention and Attachment Wear
Authors: Alshenaiber Rafif , Barclay Craig , Silikas Nick
Published: April 2023

Purpose. Evaluate the effect of different mini‐implant numbers on overdenture retention and evaluate attachment wear following one year of simulated placement/removal. Material and Methods. Nine models simulating atrophic mandibles held 27 mini dental implants in three groups of 2, 3, and 4 mini‐implants. A total of 1080 simulated placement/removal cycles were carried out, and a digital force gauge was used to measure the overdenture dislodgment force. The means of the retention forces were analyzed using SPSS with one‐way ANOVA and post hoc (p < 0.05). The inner diameter of attachment inserts was evaluated using a light microscope before and after testing. A paired t‐test was used to compare the mean of inner ring diameters (p < 0.05). Results. The retention was significantly reduced regardless of the mini dental implant number, but the number affected overdenture retention. The placement of 4 mini dental implants provided higher retention and less reduction in retentiveness. However, no significant difference was found when 3 mini dental implants were compared to 2 mini dental implants (p = 0.21). Microscopic examination showed abrasion wear in all inserts following testing. However, the inserts of the 4 mini dental implants showed less wear than those used for 2 or 3 mini dental implants with p ≤ 0.001 and p ≤ 0.001, respectively. Conclusion. Mini dental implant overdenture retention force and attachment wear could improve by increasing the mini dental implants to 4. However, there was no difference in retention force or attachment wear when 2 or 3 mini dental implant overdentures were compared.
Multi-Factor Load Classification Method considering Clean Energy Power Generation
Authors: Zang Yuxiu , Ge Weichun , Wang Shunjiang , Zhao Yan , Chu Tianfeng
Published: April 2023

The analysis of load characteristics is the basis and premise of load actively participating in power grid regulation. This paper proposes a multi-factor load classification method considering the load of clean energy power generation, the rapidity of load classification, and various subjective and objective factors that may affect the behavior of load consumption. First, it describes the characteristic index of load consumption behavior and analyzes the subjective and objective factors that affect the power grid consumption behavior. The effect of clean energy generation on load side is considered. Based on the load characteristics, the K-means algorithm is used for main clustering. Then, the confidence level of the uncertainty of the actual load adjustable capacity is analyzed by quantifying the load adjustable potential index and the fuzzy C-means clustering method was used for secondary clustering of the adjustable capacity. Finally, DBI and SC indexes are used to evaluate the clustering results, standard values of evaluation indexes are set, and unqualified clustering results are recalculated and corrected. 31 industrial users in a province are selected as research objects, and the load data of the past 365 days are collected to verify the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed method. The classification results show that the classification accuracy is still good when the noise is 30%, and the maximum deviation between the clustering results and the actual load regulation potential is 12%. It can meet the actual engineering error standard.
Novel Herbal Therapeutic YH23537 Improves Clinical Parameters in Ligature-Induced Periodontal Disease Model in Beagle Dogs
Authors: Shin Jang-Woo , Lee Eui-Ri , Noh Hyunwoo , Kwak Jiyoon , Gal Ji-Yeong , Park Hyun-Je , Kim Seongkyu , Song Hyun-Kyung , Seo Kangmoon , Han Beom Seok
Published: April 2023

Currently, available medicine does not satisfy the clinical unmet needs of periodontal disease. Therefore, novel drugs with improved efficacy profiles are needed. We previously demonstrated that YH14642, water extracts of Notoginseng Radix and Rehmanniae Radix Preparata, improved probing depths in double-blind phase II clinical trial. However, it still has hurdles for commercialization due to the low efficiency of active compound extraction. To resolve this issue, we developed YH23537 through process optimization to extract active compounds efficiently while still achieving the chemical profile of YH14642. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of YH23537 compared with YH14642 using a canine model of ligature-induced periodontitis. Human gingival fibroblast (hGF) cells were treated with various concentrations of YH23537 or YH14642 with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 24 hr. IL-6 and IL-8 levels in the conditioned media were determined using Luminex. Sixteen 3-year-old male beagle dogs had their teeth scaled and polished using a piezo-type ultrasonic scaler under general anesthesia and brushed once daily for the following 2 weeks. Two weeks after the scaling procedure, the left upper second premolar (PM2), third premolar (PM3), and fourth premolar (PM4) as well as the left lower PM3, PM4, and first molar (M1) were ligated with silk-wire twisted ligatures. The dogs were fed with soft moistened food to induce periodontitis for 8 weeks, and the ligatures were then removed. YH23537 and YH14642 were administered for 4 weeks, and clinical periodontal parameters such as plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and bleeding on probing (BoP) were determined before and 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks after treatment. YH23537 inhibited IL-6 and IL-8 secretion in a dose-dependent manner in hGF cells stimulated with LPS. The IC50 values for YH23537 were 43 and 54 μg/ml for IL-6 and IL-8, respectively, while the values for YH14642 were 104 and 117 μg/ml, respectively. In the animal study, clinical parameters including GI, PD, CAL, and BoP were significantly increased after 8 weeks of ligature-induced periodontitis. The YH23537 300 and YH23537 900 mg groups had significant improvements in CAL from 1 to 4 weeks after treatment in comparison to the placebo group. GR values in the YH23537 900 mg group were decreased throughout the treatment period. GI values were also reduced significantly after 4-week treatment with 300 and 900 mg of YH23537. YH23537 at 300 mg doses showed comparable efficacy for CAL and GR with 1,000 mg of YH14642. YH23537 showed therapeutic efficacy against periodontitis in dogs, mediated by anti-inflammatory effects. These findings indicate that YH23537 has the potential for further development as a new drug for patients suffering from periodontal disease.
Mapping Relationship Discovery of Multidimensional Architectures in Autonomous Transportation System Based on Text-Matching Model
Authors: Liu You , Tuo Haonan , He Mingfan , Fu Qiang , Yu Tianjian , Tang Jinjun
Published: April 2023

Mapping relationships of multidimensional architectures play an essential role in the autonomous transportation system (ATS), which can help understand the complex relationships between multidimensional architectures. The current mapping relationship discovery for multidimensional architectures in ATS requires significant manual involvement, leading to the underutilization of textual data and the intense subjectivity of results. In order to address the above issues, it is necessary to mine and further utilize the semantic information in the textual data. This study applies the text-matching model to the mapping relationship discovery of multi-dimensional architectures, which can calculate the semantic similarity between texts. On this basis, a method based on the Siamese-BERT-wwm-Bi-LSTM model is proposed, which incorporates Chinese BERT with whole word masking (BERT-wwm), bidirectional long-short term memory (Bi-LSTM), and the Siamese Network. A series of experiments are conducted with different text-matching models. The results show that the precision rate, recall rate, and F1-score exceed 80% for most applied methods, which verifies the feasibility of using the text-matching model for mapping relationship discovery. These results expect to provide a method with good performance that can automatically perform mapping relationship discovery.
Current Status of Core Competencies of Chinese Nurses in Burn Departments: A Latent Profile Analysis
Authors: Feng Ping , Hao Jianling , Wang Yuan , Lu Xiaoying , Zha Yuanyuan , Li Xinyu , Zhou Lin , Li Ning , Zhang Jianfang , Zhou Qin , Wang Shujun , Gu Liyan , Zhang Lingjuan
Published: April 2023

Aim. To investigate the current status of NBDs’ core competencies through latent profile analysis, identify potential subgroups and their population characteristics, and analyze the influencing factors of different categories. Background. NBDs are essential in the treatment and rehabilitation of burn patients. However, the core competencies of Chinese NBDs are seldom reported. Methods. Our analyses were based on a cross-sectional and multicenter study of 267 Chinese NBDs. Latent profile analysis was employed to identify NBDs’ core competence profiles using the NBD Core Competencies Self-rating Scale (NBD-CCSS). We then explored the characteristics among different profiles and determined socio-demographic variables associated with profile membership by conducting ANOVA, Chi-square test, and multinominal logistic regression analyses. Results. A 3-profile model provided the best fit. The three profiles were titled “skillful competencies” (Class 1, n = 77, 28.8%), “moderate competencies” (Class 2, n = 140, 52.4%), and “poor competencies” (Class 3, n = 50, 18.7%). Regression analysis suggested that professional title, years of employment, and BICU experience were influencing factors of NBDs’ profile membership of core competencies. NBDs who were supervisor nurses or above (OR = 0.802, 95% CI: 0.009, 0.759), with more than 7 years of employment (OR = 0.091, 95% CI: 0.009, 0.906) and BICU experience (OR = 3.564, 95% CI: 1.423, 8.925) were more likely to fall into Class 1. Conclusions. Our findings could provide evidence for nursing administrators to develop training programs to enhance NBDs’ core competencies. In particular, variables associated with profile membership determined in the study may facilitate more tailored training strategies.
Powder Bed Fusion via Machine Learning-Enabled Approaches
Authors: Chadha Utkarsh , Selvaraj Senthil Kumaran , Abraham Abel Saji , Khanna Mayank , Mishra Anirudh , Sachdeva Isha , Kashyap Swati , Dev S. Jithin , Swatish R. Srii , Joshi Ayushma , Anand Simar Kaur , Adefris Addisalem , Lokesh Kumar R. , Kaliappan Jayakumar , Dhanalakshmi S.
Published: April 2023

Powder bed fusion (PBF) applies to various metallic materials used in the metal printing process of building a wide range of complex parts compared to other AM technologies. PBF process has several variants such as DMLS (direct metal laser sintering), EBM (electron beam melting), SHS (selective heat sintering), SLM (selective laser melting), and SLS (selective laser sintering). For PBF to reach its maximum potential, machine learning (ML) algorithms are used with suitable materials to achieve goals cost-effectively. Various applications of neural networks, including ANNs, CNNs, RNNs, and other popular techniques such as KNN, SVM, and GP were reviewed, and future challenges were discussed. Some special-purpose algorithms were listed as follows: GAN, SeDANN, SCNN, K-means, PCA, etc. This review presents the evolution, current status, challenges, and prospects of these technologies in terms of material, features, process parameters, applications, advantages, disadvantages, etc., to explain their significance and provide an in-depth understanding of the same.
Systematically Prognostic Analyses of Gastric Cancer Patients with Ovarian Metastasis
Authors: Peng Peng , Liu Xiuyuan , Yang Lin , Gu Zhenguang , Cai Lin
Published: April 2023

Ovarian metastasis of gastric cancer indicates that the disease has reached the late stage and the opportunity for radical surgery is restricted. However, the clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with gastric cancer ovarian metastasis (GCOM) remain to be illustrated. Here, we retrieved the information of 780 GCOM cases from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEERs) database and analyzed their clinicopathological characteristics as well as their survival. According to our data, most GCOM patients showed poor pathological differentiation, advanced T and N stages. The prognostic factors include patients’ age, tumor size, surgical resection, and chemotherapy treatment. Of note, the marriage status was also identified as an independent prognostic factor. Besides the identification of prognostic factors, we established nomograms to help predict the overall survival and cancer-specific survival of GCOM, respectively.
A Universal and Efficient Detection of Chytridiomycosis Infections in Amphibians Using Novel Quantitative PCR Markers
Authors: Sreedharan Gayathri , Singh Panwar Yashwant , Murthy Saketh , Klop-Toker Kaya , Ibáñez Roberto , Illueca Estefany E. , Webb Rebecca , Govindappa Venu , Subba Barkha , Segu Harika , Kumar Komanduri Krishna Pavan , Vasudevan Karthikeyan
Published: April 2023

Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease in amphibians caused by two chytrid fungi, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), and is the worst infectious disease known in wildlife so far. Worldwide spread of the disease has caused unprecedented loss of global amphibian diversity. Although some lineages of Bd are enzootic and are not as deadly as the pandemic lineage, nearly 40% of amphibian species are still declining globally due to chytridiomycosis. Efficient surveillance and monitoring of chytridiomycosis are the immediate safeguard against rapid declines or extinctions of amphibian populations. Previous studies showed that existing diagnostic assays were not sensitive to certain Bd haplotypes like those from Korea, China, India, Japan, and Brazil and thereby, there is a need for a universal, sensitive, specific, reproducible, and affordable diagnostic assay. We designed a one-step SYBR green-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction (nSYBR qPCR) for robust detection of Bd. It amplifies an 82 base-pair segment between the 5.8S rRNA and ITS2 of the Bd genome. The primer pair was tested in-silico on 40 isolates from four known Bd lineages. Using skin swab samples of wild amphibians and cultured zoospores from Australia and Panama, we compared the clinical specificity and sensitivity of the newly described primers to the existing TaqMan-based qPCR assay. From India, we used samples which had been previously tested with Nested PCR to validate the new primer pairs. The newly described primer pair was then tested on swab samples from Anura, Caudata and Gymnophiona from India. We report widespread chytridiomycosis with varying infection loads on them. The new assay showed comparable efficiency to the TaqMan-based qPCR assay. This diagnostic assay can facilitate widespread surveillance of chytridiomycosis where it has been previously absent, which may reveal several reservoirs of the pathogen and can improve our understanding of this important wildlife disease.
Media and Face-to-Face Communication Behavior Serang District Communities in Conditions Reducing Cases of Covid-19
Authors: Winangsih Rahmi , Sagita Darwis , Mujtaba Burhanuddin
Published: April 2023

Media communication behavior is a habit that is carried out by individuals or groups in consuming information through the media.With the Covid-19 case, which was experienced by the entire world's population, it resulted in the emergence of new communication patterns, especially to avoid face-to-face communication processes so as to reduce the spread of the virus that was feared by almost the entire world's population, especially the people in Serang Regency. The purpose of this study was to look at communication behavior and face-to-face communication processes in the condition of the Covid-19 virus in people in Serang Regency. From the results of the research it was revealed that there are people who are still afraid of the virus so that activities in carrying out communication processes such as lectures are carried out online, but there are also people in Serang Regency who are ignorant of health protocols and think that the Covid-19 virus is part of human destiny. must be lived and should not be avoided.
Covidization of Media and Entertainment Industry: Current Times and the Future Ahead
Authors: Bhat Romica , Sarkar Prithu
Published: April 2023

The paper has tried to address the modification and adaptation done by the motion pictures industry on the business model, decision-making process, and revenue model, with a case study on Walt Disney. This paper also tried to understand the digital disruptiveness probable strategies taken by media organizations to conquer the spot of market leader and gain a competitive advantage from the set of homogeneous competitors. The new normal business model that has helped Disney+ to create the core competency has given the organization a long-term benefit to make a sustainable business model. The paper further indulges on how Walt Disney’s proactive, informed, and balanced decision-making process about the sudden change in media business dynamics along with the arts and communication industry is going to be a benchmark while keeping the window of both online and offline media business with growing target audience and revenue generation. In the end, we have tried to come up with a business model for the media industry in contemporary times and the future.
Prospects and Problems of Tourism Industry in Sundarbans of Bangladesh
Authors: Rimon Aftab Mahadi , Akhi Nabila , Rina Aktar
Published: April 2023

Tourism is one of the ever-growing industries not only Bangladesh but also all around the world. Meanwhile, Sundarbans has considered as one of the best nature-based tourism sites in Bangladesh whilst few local peoples participate in this tourism sector. This study examines to analyze the present scenario of the tourism industry as well as identifying the different attractive tourist spots and its problems in the Sundarbans for analyzing the opportunities. Handling a self-administered interview schedule through convenience sampling, data were collected from 120 respondents who were obtained tourist spot in Sundarbans of Khulna Division. Findings showed that 88% tourist having knowledge about different tourist Spots of Sundarbans. The majority of the respondents (34%) visited to Koromjol and the other 29% in Herbaria, even 25% in Hiron Point. The different reasons of visiting a place, here, 46% tourist stayed this place along with 25% for place relaxation, even 17% for Study tour and 8% for research as well as 4% others purposes. The study clearly showed that satisfactory level of tourist of sundabans articulated by their ratings. 28% tourist are fully pleased, 35% tourist satisfactory level is good and 20% tourist are gratified. On the constant 13% tourist are dissatisfied and 4% tourist are very dissatisfied on the facilities on sundarbans. However, 33% tourist said developing infrastructure, 39% tourist ensuring tourist security, 17% tourist talking realistic policy as well as only 11% tourist suggested to other policy.
Agricultural Modernization Communication Network in the City of Serang Banten Indonesia
Authors: Surahman Sigit
Published: April 2023

The population density in Serang town has a control the narrowing agricultural. This was the start the concept of slim land farming as food security. the ladies Farmers cluster (KWT) is an alternate thanks to strengthen food security, particularly throughout the Covid-19 amount that occurred in 2020. This analysis can describe the method of its formation through communication actions. 1) however did KWT Annisa amendment ancient farming designs into fashionable ones?; 2) what's role individual vocals in farmer groups?. The idea of communication is that the basis for knowing act of communication. Case studies square measure used as a technique during this analysis. Interviews, observations, and agricultural land information from the Central Statistics Banten became the sources for this analysis. The ultimate analysis shows the results of vocal opinion leaders being the middle that's ready to encourage the utilization of slim land.
Building Organizational Governance and Service Culture Based on Digital Platforms
Authors: Andayani Nopi , Ali Ramdhani Miftah Faiz
Published: April 2023

Digital society is a reality of life in the 21st century where humans in various sectors of their lives are linked to digital technology. The era of digitalization refers to a description of the situation of changes in the lifestyle and behavior of individuals and organizations today. This is evidenced by the increase in internet users in Indonesia. During the Covid 19 pandemic, the use of the internet was used for online learning systems in elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and universities. Internet users are increasing rapidly. 2017 has reached 143.26 million people or equivalent to 54.68 percent of the total population of Indonesia. This number shows an increase of 10.56 million people from the survey results in 2016. 143.7 million people today and 202.6 million in 2021. The digital transaction value of IDR 203 t in 2019 Rp256t, 2020. IDR 403t in 2021 and IDR 530 t in 2022 (projection). The implications of using the internet and other social media in the learning process, shopping, and so on require rearrangement of the business service system; public services are increasingly facilitated on the one hand, and on the other hand, institutional arrangements and a new work culture need to be refined so that positive excesses can be increased and negative excesses can be reduced. The negative excesses of the transformation process resulted in cyberporn and cybercrime. The transformation process toward digital requires structuring talent and culture. The changes in the mindset and culture of the bureaucracy provide evidence of the increasing need for an agile paradigm in reforming the bureaucracy. However, it is realized that the challenges of implementing an agile paradigm are not easy. The bureaucracy is required to be able to create public services that are not one-size-fits-all but rather personalized. The way the public bureaucracy has been working has proven to be unable to produce innovative policies.
PENGGUNAAN BANDAGE CONTACT LENSES SEBAGAI TERAPI SIMPTOMATIS PADA PASIEN PSEUDOPHAKIC BULLOUS KERATOPATHY: SEBUAH LAPORAN KASUS
Authors: Wikananda I Dewa Ayu Rayna Nareswari , Triharpini Ni Nyoman
Published: April 2023

Pendahuluan: Pseudophakic Bullous Keratopathy (PBK) merupakan suatu komplikasi dari operasi ekstraksi katarak disertai implantasi lensa intraokular yang menyebabkan rasa nyeri pada mata, penurunan tajam penglihatan, edema dan erosi kornea serta bula pada lapisan epitel dan subepitel kornea. Terapi yang diberikan meliputi terapi medikamentosa, non medikamentosa, dan tindakan pembedahan. Tulisan ini dibuat untuk mengetahui efektivitas penggunaan bandage contact lenses (BCL) sebagai terapi pada kasus PBK.
Laporan Kasus: Metode yang digunakan adalah dengan studi kasus. Pasien laki-laki berusia 60 tahun datang dengan keluhan nyeri pada mata kanan disertai penurunan tajam penglihatan. Diperoleh tajam penglihatan OD 0.5/60 dan OS 6/9. Pemeriksaan oftalmologi mata kanan ditemukan Conjunctival Vascular Injection (CVI) dan Pericorneal Vascular Injection (PCVI), edema, erosi, dan bula pada kornea, bilik mata depan (BMD) dalam, pupil ireguler, iris atropi, reflek pupil negatif, dan lensa intraokular terpasang di belakang iris. Tes fluorescein mata kanan diperoleh positif. 
Pembahasan: Mata kanan pasien diberi terapi tetes mata Levofloksasin 6x1 tetes, tetes mata Eyefresh sebanyak 1 tetes setiap jam, tetes mata Noncort 3x1 tetes, Parasetamol tablet 3x500mg, dan Vitamin C 2x500mg, serta penggunaan BCL. Setelah menggunakan BCL selama 3 bulan, pasien dapat beraktivitas tanpa terganggu rasa nyeri dan keluhan penglihatan buram dirasakan membaik.
Kesimpulan: Dapat disimpulkan bahwa penggunaan BCL efektif sebagai terapi pada kasus PBK.
A Hidden God: Isaiah 45’s Amun Polemic and Message to Egypt
Authors: Hays Christopher B.
Published: April 2023

This article demonstrates that Isa 45:1–19 is a pro-Persian oracle of well-being, promising the Achaemenid emperor that he will conquer Egypt, and subsequently impugning the theological ignorance of the Egyptians. The Egyptians misspeak in saying that Yhwh is a “Hidden God” like their own Amun (45:15). The unique title, the only reference to divine hiding that uses the reflexive hithpael, was chosen to echo the reflexive formulations in Egyptian texts (including during the early Persian Period) describing Amun’s self-hiding. Two other aspects of Amun’s mythology as creator are also alluded to: His close association with the primordial chaos (45:18–19) and his identification as the divine potter (45:9). Each would have been understandable to an audience in Egypt that lived among the cults of its deities in a very hybridized religious culture. They also would have been clear to elites in Jerusalem who were in regular contact with the Egyptian diaspora.
The Rendering of Unclean Birds in an Arabic Translation of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14
Authors: Bischofberger Aurélie C.
Published: April 2023

This article examines the lists of unclean birds (Lev 11:13–19; Deut 14:12–18) based on a Christian Arabic translation found in twenty medieval manuscripts. While previous research has discussed the bird lists in the Hebrew and Greek traditions, very few studies have analysed the Syriac and Arabic versions. The present essay first demonstrates that the tradition represented by these manuscripts goes back to a single translation, which is itself a fairly literal rendering of the Peshitta. Since the Arabic list, like the Syriac, omits five prohibited birds, the article then turns to explain their omission by comparing the Syriac list with other late antique and early medieval Jewish sources. Finally, it draws several conclusions for the transmission of the bird lists and more generally for the study of Arabic Bible translations.
2 Kings 14:28—A Proposal for Solution
Authors: Bloch Yigal
Published: April 2023

Based on the use of the Hebrew verb שוב in Isa 29:17 and the parallel Akkadian verb târu in SAA 12 19, this note suggests that 2 Kgs 14:28 refers to a change in the political status of Damascus and Hamath, which Jeroboam II made similar to that of Judah vis-à-vis Israel.
Confused Language in Ezra 10:44
Authors: Byun Paul
Published: April 2023

Ezra 10:44 has been known to be notoriously difficult to translate due to its awkward syntax and unconventional use of words. Contrary to various scholarly assessments, this article will argue that the author deliberately constructed this verse in a confusing manner. The context of Ezra 10 and the wordplay embedded within the verse all point towards the fact that Ezra 10:44 is an example of confused language. The use of confused language, thus, suggests that the ending of Ezra is purposely not made clear. The reader is left with no clarity as to the eventual outcome of the foreign wives and their children .
Hieracium lomniczkianum (Asteraceae), a new species in the H. wiesbaurianum aggregate from the Sudetes in Poland
Authors: SZELĄG ZBIGNIEW
Published: April 2023

Hieracium lomniczkianum is a new, apomictic species, discovered in the Karkonosze Mountains (Giant Mountains) in the Sudetes, SW Poland. It belongs to the H. wiesbaurianum aggregate which comprises taxa intermediate in characters between H. bifidum s.lat. and H. schmidtii s.lat. The new species is distinguished by a slender stem with small capitula, and by narrow, weakly dentate rosette leaves which are gradually tapered to a winged petiole.
A new species of Bittacus Latreille (Mecoptera: Bittacidae) from the Andean-Amazonian foothills, Caquetá, Colombia
Authors: MACHADO RENATO JOSE PIRES , HIGINIO MARÍA FERNANDA BERMÚDEZ , GUEVARA YENNIFER ANDREA CARREÑO , RAMOS-PASTRANA YARDANY
Published: April 2023

A new hangingfly species, Bittacus rafaeli sp. nov. (Mecoptera: Bittacidae), is herein described and illustrated, based on two specimens from the municipality of El Doncello, Caquetá, Colombia. This is only the ninth Mecoptera species recorded from the country and the twenty-eighth species of Bittacus from South America. A distribution map of the Bittacus species from Colombia is presented.
‘There is nothing less spectacular than a pestilence’: Picturing the pandemic in Mass Observation's COVID-19 collections
Authors: Pollen Annebella
Published: April 2023

What is to be gained by studying visual observation in Mass Observation's COVID-19 collections? What can we see of the pandemic through diarists’ images and words? Visual methods were part of the plural research strategies of social research organisation Mass Observation (MO) in its first phase, when it was established in 1937, but remained marginal in relation to textual research methods. This continues with the post-1981 revival of the Mass Observation Project (MOP), with its emphasis on life writing. With wider shifts in technology and accessibility, however, even when they are not solicited, photographs now accompany MOP correspondents’ submissions. In MO’s substantial COVID-19 collections, images appear in or as diary entries across a range of forms, including hand-drawn illustrations, correspondent-generated photographs, creative photomontages, and screengrabs of memes. In addition, diarists offer textual reflections on COVID-19's image cultures, such as the role of photographs in pandemic news media, as well as considering how the pandemic is intersecting with the visual in more abstract ways, from themes of surveillance and ‘Staying Alert’ in public health messaging to internal pictorial imaginaries produced as a result of isolation and contemplation. Positioning these materials in relation to wider patterns in pandemic visual culture, including public photographic collecting projects that make explicit reference to MO as their inspiration, this article considers the contribution of the visual submissions and image-rich writing in MO's COVID-19 collections to the depiction of a virus commonly characterised as invisible.
Time shifts: Place, belonging, and future orientation in pandemic everyday life
Authors: Collier Patrick , Connolly James J.
Published: April 2023

The disruptions to everyday life wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic include distortions in the experience of time, as reported widely by ordinary citizens and observed by journalists and social scientists. But how does this temporal disruption play out in different time scales—in the individual day as opposed to the medium- and long-term futures? And how might place influence how individuals experience and understand the pandemic's temporal transformations? This essay examines a range of temporal disruptions reported in day diaries and surveys submitted to the Everyday Life in Middletown project, an online archive that has been documenting ordinary life in Muncie, Indiana, USA since 2016. Viewing these materials as instances of life writing, the essay probes the interactions between temporal disruptions and the local setting as they inflect the autobiographical selves our writers construct in their pandemic writings. It shows how living in Muncie—a postindustrial city with its particular combination of historical, demographic, economic, social, and political dynamics—structures the autobiographical stories available to our writers, and how the disruption of time produces new variations and problems for life writing. In the midst of a global crisis, we glimpse the pandemic's reshaping of a local structure of feeling in which a pervasive, local narrative of civic decline frames individual self-fashioning.
Archiving the COVID-19 pandemic in Mass Observation and Middletown
Authors: Clarke Nick , Barnett Clive
Published: April 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic generated debates about how pandemics should be known. There was much discussion of what role the human sciences could play in knowing – and governing – the pandemic. In this article, we focus on attempts to know the pandemic through diaries, other biographical writing, and related forms like mass photography. In particular, we focus on the archiving of such forms by Mass Observation in the UK and the Everyday Life in Middletown (EDLM) project in the USA, and initial analyses of such material by scholars from across the human sciences. Our main argument is that archiving the pandemic was informed by, and needs viewing through, the history of the human sciences – including the distinctive histories and human sciences of Mass Observation and Middletown. The article finishes by introducing a Special Section that engages with archiving the pandemic in two senses: the archiving of diaries and related forms by Mass Observation and the EDLM project, and the archiving of initial encounters between researchers and this material by History of the Human Sciences. The Special Section seeks to know the pandemic from the human sciences in the present and to archive knowing the pandemic from the human sciences for the future.
Seeing like an epidemiologist? Mobilising people against COVID-19
Authors: Clarke Nick , Barnett Clive
Published: April 2023

Diaries and other materials in the Mass Observation Archive have been characterised as intersubjective and dialogic. They have been used to study top-down and bottom-up processes, including how ordinary people respond to sociological constructs and, more broadly, the footprint of social science in the 20th century. In this article, we use the Archive’s COVID-19 collections to study how attempts to govern the pandemic by mobilising ordinary people to see like an epidemiologist played out in the United Kingdom during 2020. People were asked to think in terms of populations and groups; rates, trends, and distributions; the capacity of public services; and complex systems of causation. How did they respond? How did they use the statistics, charts, maps, concepts, identities, and roles they were given? We find evidence of engagement with science plural; confident and comfortable engagement with epidemiological terms and concepts; sceptical and reluctant engagement with epidemiological subject positions; use of both scientific and moral literacy to negotiate regulations and guidance; and use of scientific literacy to compare and judge government performance. Governing the pandemic through scientific literacy was partially successful, but in some unexpected ways.
Factors associated with prehospital delay in acute myocardial infarction in Maldives
Authors: Hussain Madheeh Mohamed , Baharuddin Kamarul Aryffin , Fauzi Mohd Hashairi , Abu Bakar Mimi Azliha , Ziyan Ahmed , Ahmed Aminath Zeyba , Sunil Mohamed
Published: April 2023

Background

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the top cause of death in Maldives. Our study aims to determine the prehospital delay and its associated factors in AMI patients in Maldives.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 127 patients, divided into early (≤ 6 h) and delayed (> 6 h) presenters to the hospital. The data collection for the study was carried out by interviewing AMI patients, focusing on their socio-demographic characteristics, coronary artery disease risk factors, clinical symptoms, situational factors, and behavioral and cognitive responses to symptoms.

Results

The median onset-to-door time was 230 (IQR 420) minutes. The mean age of AMI patients was 50.9 (SD ± 12.9) years old, and 39.4% of them had delayed presentation to the hospital. Smokers (adj OR = 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.9; P = 0.047) and those with previous episodes of chest pain or AMI (adj OR = 0.2; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.91; P = 0.038) were significant factors for early presentation to the hospital, while denial of symptoms (adj OR = 29.3; 95% CI: 1.6, 547.2; P = 0.024) and lack of knowledge (adj OR = 7.2; 95% CI: 1.77, 29.43; P = 0.006) led to a delayed decision to seek treatment. Situational factors such as onset at the workplace (adj OR = 5.8; 95% CI: 1.24, 26.83; P = 0.025) had lower odds of delay, whereas referral cases (adj OR = 7.7; 95% CI: 1.9, 30.94; P = 0.004) and use of sea ambulance (adj OR = 11.1; 95% CI: 2.8, 43.8; P = 0.001) were prone to delay in presentation to the hospital.

Conclusion

Sea ambulance, referral cases, lack of knowledge, and denial of symptoms are significant factors associated with prehospital delay among patients with AMI. Public awareness about the benefits of early presentation and improvement of the means of transportation between islands is suggested to improve emergency cardiac care in the country.
Much effort, little success: causes for the low ecological efficacy of restoration measures in German surface waters
Authors: Brettschneider Denise Jasmin , Spring Taschina , Blumer Moritz , Welge Lukas , Dombrowski Andrea , Schulte-Oehlmann Ulrike , Sundermann Andrea , Oetken Matthias , Oehlmann Jörg
Published: April 2023

Background

For more than 20 years, restoration measures have been conducted on watercourses in Germany to increase habitat diversity and thus promote biodiversity. However, their ecological efficacy often proved to be limited. While some studies report an increase in species diversity, others show little evidence of improvement even many years after the implementation of restoration measures. In general, ecological efficacy of hydromorphological restoration measures is highest for terrestrial and semiaquatic groups of organisms such as floodplain vegetation and ground beetles. According to the literature, macrophytes responded most strongly to in-stream restoration measures, while fish stocks showed little improvement and macroinvertebrates showed little or no effect in terms of species richness and diversity. These findings raise the question of reasons for the low ecological efficacy of hydromorphological restoration measures, especially for macroinvertebrate communities. The following literature review and a case study for the river Horloff will provide possible indications for failing success of intensive restoration measures.

Results

One reason for the inadequate ecological status of many restored river stretches is the inappropriate scaling of restoration measures. Often, small-scale restoration measures are planned, although the respective water bodies exhibit stressors at the catchment scale that impair the ecological efficacy of restoration measures. In particular, chemical contamination of running waters is often insufficiently addressed in the planning and implementation of restoration measures and hampers efficacy of hydromorphological restoration measures. For a holistic water resource management, the planning and implementation of measures should therefore be more closely coordinated and harmonized between federal states and neighboring countries. For this purpose, the establishment of so-called river basin communities is suitable, as they already exist today on the rivers Rhine, Danube, Meuse, Weser, Elbe, Ems, Eider, Schlei/Trave, Warnow/Peene.

Conclusion

The literature review indicated that for a successful recolonization of restored river stretches by macroinvertebrates and the enhancement of the ecological status, large-scale stressors, i.e., stressors acting at the catchment scale, should be eliminated initially by restoration measures focusing on the chemical contamination and the surrounding land use. Structural restoration measures acting on the reach or local scale should ideally be implemented contemporarily to the removal of large-scale stressors like chemical contamination.
Prediction of disease-related miRNAs by voting with multiple classifiers
Authors: Gu Changlong , Li Xiaoying
Published: April 2023

There is strong evidence to support that mutations and dysregulation of miRNAs are associated with a variety of diseases, including cancer. However, the experimental methods used to identify disease-related miRNAs are expensive and time-consuming. Effective computational approaches to identify disease-related miRNAs are in high demand and would aid in the detection of lncRNA biomarkers for disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. In this study, we develop an ensemble learning framework to reveal the potential associations between miRNAs and diseases (ELMDA). The ELMDA framework does not rely on the known associations when calculating miRNA and disease similarities and uses multi-classifiers voting to predict disease-related miRNAs. As a result, the average AUC of the ELMDA framework was 0.9229 for the HMDD v2.0 database in a fivefold cross-validation. All potential associations in the HMDD V2.0 database were predicted, and 90% of the top 50 results were verified with the updated HMDD V3.2 database. The ELMDA framework was implemented to investigate gastric neoplasms, prostate neoplasms and colon neoplasms, and 100%, 94%, and 90%, respectively, of the top 50 potential miRNAs were validated by the HMDD V3.2 database. Moreover, the ELMDA framework can predict isolated disease-related miRNAs. In conclusion, ELMDA appears to be a reliable method to uncover disease-associated miRNAs.
STING controls opioid-induced itch and chronic itch via spinal tank-binding kinase 1-dependent type I interferon response in mice
Authors: Li Nan , Wang Chunyan , Zhao Yuying , Wang Yigang , Gao Tianyu , Yu Yonghao , Wang Guolin , Zhang Linlin
Published: April 2023

Background

Patients receiving epidural or intrathecal opioids administration for neuraxial analgesia frequently suffer from an irritating itch. STING (stimulator of interferon genes), an innate immune modulator, is strongly implicated in pain pathogenesis via neuron-immune modulation. Given that pain and itch share some common neurocircuits, we evaluate the therapeutic potential of STING agonists in opioid-induced itch and chronic itch.

Methods

Opioids (morphine, fentanyl and sufentanil) were intrathecally injected to induce acute itch. Chronic itch was induced by dry skin and contact dermatitis. Opioids analgesic effect, itch-induced scratching behavior, spinal expression of STING, phosphorylation of TBK1 (tank-binding kinase 1), IRF3 (interferon regulatory factor-3) and ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase), as well as production of IFN-α and IFN-β were examined. STING agonists (DMXAA and ADU-S100), TBK1 inhibitor, recombinant IFN-α and IFN-β elucidated the mechanism and treatment of itch. Whole-brain functional connectivity was evaluated using resting-state fMRI.

Results

We report the primary expression of STING protein by the spinal dorsal horn neurons. Intraperitoneal injection of DMXAA dose-dependently reduces morphine-induced scratch bouts, without impairing morphine antinociception. Simultaneously, DMXAA alleviates fentanyl- and sufentanil-induced itching-like behavior, and chronic scratching behavior caused by dry skin and contact dermatitis. Furthermore, DMXAA drastically increases spinal phosphorylation of TBK1 and IRF3 following morphine exposure, dry skin and contact dermatitis. DMXAA-induced anti-pruritus effects and spinal productions of IFN-α and IFN-β are compensated by intrathecal delivery of the TBK1 inhibitor. Also, ADU-S100, recombinant IFN-α and IFN-β exhibits remarkable attenuation in scratching behaviors after morphine injection and dermatitis. Recombinant IFN-α inhibits morphine-induced spinal phosphorylation of ERK. Finally, DMXAA prevents dermatitis-induced the increase of cerebral functional connectivity between regions of interests such as primary somatosensory cortex, piriform cortex, retrosplenial cortex, colliculus and ventral thalamus.

Conclusions

STING activation confers protection against opioid-induced itch and chronic itch through spinal up-regulation of TBK1-IRF3-type I interferon cascades in mice, suggesting that STING agonists are promising candidates in translational development for pruritus relief.
Co-modulation of TNFR1 and TNFR2 in an animal model of multiple sclerosis
Authors: Fiedler Timon , Fairless Richard , Pichi Kira , Fischer Roman , Richter Fabian , Kontermann Roland E. , Pfizenmaier Klaus , Diem Ricarda , Williams Sarah K.
Published: April 2023

Background

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) is a pleiotropic cytokine and master regulator of the immune system. It acts through two receptors resulting in often opposing biological effects, which may explain the lack of therapeutic potential obtained so far in multiple sclerosis (MS) with non-receptor-specific anti-TNF therapeutics. Under neuroinflammatory conditions, such as MS, TNF receptor-1 (TNFR1) is believed to mediate the pro-inflammatory activities associated with TNF, whereas TNF receptor-2 (TNFR2) may instead induce anti-inflammatory effects as well as promote remyelination and neuroprotection. In this study, we have investigated the therapeutic potential of blocking TNFR1 whilst simultaneously stimulating TNFR2 in a mouse model of MS.

Methods

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) was induced with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG35-55) in humanized TNFR1 knock-in mice. These were treated with a human-specific TNFR1-selective antagonistic antibody (H398) and a mouse-specific TNFR2 agonist (EHD2-sc-mTNFR2), both in combination and individually. Histopathological analysis of spinal cords was performed to investigate demyelination and inflammatory infiltration, as well as axonal and neuronal degeneration. Retinas were examined for any protective effects on retinal ganglion cell (RGC) degeneration and neuroprotective signalling pathways analysed by Western blotting.

Results

TNFR modulation successfully ameliorated symptoms of EAE and reduced demyelination, inflammatory infiltration and axonal degeneration. Furthermore, the combinatorial approach of blocking TNFR1 and stimulating TNFR2 signalling increased RGC survival and promoted the phosphorylation of Akt and NF-κB, both known to mediate neuroprotection.

Conclusion

These results further support the potential of regulating the balance of TNFR signalling, through the co-modulation of TNFR1 and TNFR2 activity, as a novel therapeutic approach in treating inflammatory demyelinating disease.