bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Treatment of low-risk prostate cancer: a retrospective study with 477 patients comparing external beam radiotherapy and I-125 seeds brachytherapy in terms of biochemical control and late side effects
Authors: Moll Matthias , Paschen Christopher , Zaharie Alexandru , Berndl Florian , Goldner Gregor
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The goal of our study was comparison of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and I‑125 seeds brachytherapy in terms of biochemical control and development of late gastrointestinal and genitourinary side effects.

Patients and methods

477 low-risk prostate cancer patients treated between 2000 and 2019 at our department using either I‑125 seeds brachytherapy or EBRT with a dose of 74 or 78 Gy were reviewed for our analysis. 213 patients were treated with EBRT and 264 with seeds.

Results

Patients were followed up yearly with a median follow-up of 70 (3–192) months. The biochemical no evidence of disease (bNED) rates after 5 years were 95% for both EBRT and seeds, and after 10 years 87% for EBRT and 94% for seeds using the Phoenix criteria, although no significant difference was observed. Concerning gastrointestinal side effects, EBRT showed significantly higher rates of RTOG grade ≥2 toxicity compared to seeds, but at no point in follow-up more than 15% of all patients. On the other hand, genitourinary side effects were significantly more prevalent in patients treated with seeds, with 40% RTOG grade ≥2 toxicity 12 months after treatment. Nevertheless, both types of side effects decreased over time.

Conclusion

Both EBRT and seeds provide excellent biochemical control with bNED rates after 10 years of about 90%. In terms of side effects, patients treated with seeds show higher grades of genitourinary side effects, while patients treated with EBRT show higher grades of gastrointestinal side effects.
Socioeconomic position and mental health care use before and after first redeemed antidepressant and time until subsequent contact to psychologist or psychiatrists: a nationwide Danish follow-up study
Authors: Packness Aake , Wehberg Sonja , Hastrup Lene Halling , Simonsen Erik , Søndergaard Jens , Waldorff Frans Boch
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose was to investigate inequalities in access to care among people with possible depression.

Method

In this nationwide register-based cohort study of 30,593 persons, we observed the association between socioeconomic position (SEP, education/income) and mental health care use (MHCU) four months before the date of first redeemed antidepressant (Index Date/ID) and 12 months afterwards—and time to contact to psychologist/psychiatrist (PP). Logistic, Poisson, and Cox regression models were used, adjusted for sex, age, cohabitation, and psychiatric comorbidity.

Results

Before ID, high SEP was associated with less GP contact (general practitioner), higher odds ratios for GP-Mental Health Counseling (GP-MHC), psychologist contact, and admissions to hospital. This disparity decreased the following 12 months for GP-MHC but increased for contact to psychologist; same pattern was seen for rate of visits. However, the low-income group had more contact to private psychiatrist.

For the 25,217 individuals with no MHCU before ID, higher educational level was associated with almost twice the rate of contact to PP the following 12 months; for the high-income group, the rate was 40% higher. 10% had contact to PP within 40 days after ID in the group with higher education; whereas, 10% of those with a short education would reach PP by day 120. High-income group had faster access as well.

Conclusion

Being in high SEP was positively associated with MHCU, before and after ID, and more rapid PP contact, most explicit when measured by education. Co-payment for psychologist may divert care towards private psychiatrist for low-income groups.
Benefits of combining GPS and GLONASS for measuring ocean tide loading displacement
Authors: Abbaszadeh Majid , Clarke Peter J. , Penna Nigel T.
Published: July 2020

GPS has been used to estimate ocean tide loading (OTL) height displacement amplitudes to accuracies of within 0.5 mm at the M2 frequency, but such estimation has been problematic at luni-solar K2 and K1 frequencies because they coincide with the GPS orbital period and revisit period, leading to repeating multipath and satellite orbit errors. We therefore investigate the potential of using the GLONASS constellation (with orbital period 11.26 h and true site revisit period of 8 sidereal days distinct from K2 and K1) for OTL displacement estimation, analysing 3–7 years of GPS and GLONASS data from 49 globally distributed stations. Using the PANDA software in kinematic precise point positioning mode with float ambiguities, we demonstrate that GLONASS can estimate OTL height displacement at the M2, N2, O1 and Q1 lunar frequencies with similar accuracy to GPS: 95th percentile agreements of 0.6–1.3 mm between estimated and FES2014b ocean tide model displacements. At the K2 and K1 luni-solar frequencies, 95th percentile agreements between GPS estimates and model values of 3.9–4.4 mm improved to 2.0–2.8 mm using GLONASS-only solutions. A combined GPS+GLONASS float solution improves accuracy of the lunar OTL constituents and P1 (but not significantly for K1 or K2) compared with a single-constellation solution and results in hourly-to-weekly spectral noise very similar to a GPS ambiguity-fixed solution, but without needing uncalibrated phase delay information. GLONASS estimates are more accurate at higher compared with lower latitudes because of improved satellite visibility, although this can be countered by using a lower elevation cut-off angle.
COVID-19 and ethical preparedness?
Authors: Druml Christiane
Published: July 2020

Mankind has to prepare for a pandemic with respect to medical and practical aspects, but also with respect to ethical issues. There are various ethical guidelines for managing infectious disease outbreaks, but they do not apply to the specific aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, since they were formulated after the different kinds of outbreaks of avian influenza and Ebola. Today we are confronted with completely new issues endangering our fundamental human rights. As COVID-19 is spreading all over the world, we are in a desperate situation to find treatment solutions; however, despite the urgency, scientific rules have to be applied as bad science is unethical since it might be harmful for patients. Fake news and alternative facts might not be easily recognized and are also threatening scientific values. Pandemics might be leading to a meltdown of the health system if no measures are being taken constraining fundamental human rights. Tracking of persons is violating human rights as well if not accepted on a voluntary basis. A failure to have safeguards for times of crisis leads to a scarcity of medicinal products and goods resulting in a nationalistic approach and ignorance of international solidarity. And last but not least selective measures and triage in intensive care have to be taught to young physicians and nursing staff in medical schools in order to be prepared in times of an infectious disease outbreak and scarcity of resources.
Correction to: Nanoemulsions as delivery systems for lipophilic nutraceuticals: strategies for improving their formulation, stability, functionality and bioavailability
Authors: Choi Seung Jun , McClements David Julian
Published: July 2020

The article “Nanoemulsions as delivery systems for lipophilic nutraceuticals: strategies for improving their formulation, stability, functionality and bioavailability”, written by Seung Jun Choi and David Julian McClements, was originally published Online First without Open Access. After publication in volume 29 issue 2, page 149–168 the author decided to opt for Open Choice and to make the article an Open Access publication. Therefore, the copyright of the article has been changed to © The Author(s) 2020 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Searching therapeutic strategy of new coronavirus pneumonia from angiotensin-converting enzyme 2: the target of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV
Authors: Li Shu-ren , Tang Zi-jian , Li Zai-han , Liu Xuan
Published: July 2020

Since December 2019, the infection of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) caused an outbreak of new coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China, and caused great public concern. Both COVID-19 and SARS-CoV belong to the coronavirus family and both invade target cells through ACE2. An in-depth understanding of ACE2 and a series of physiological and physiological changes caused by the virus invading the human body may help to discover and explain the corresponding clinical phenomena and then deal with them timely. In addition, ACE2 is a potential therapeutic target. This article will summarize the role of ACE2 in multiple organ damage caused by COVID-19 and SARS-CoV, targeted blocking drugs against ACE2, and drugs that inhibit inflammation in order to provide the basis for subsequent related research, diagnosis and treatment, and drug development.
Population differentiation, antifungal susceptibility, and host range of Trichophyton mentagrophytes isolates causing recalcitrant infections in humans and animals
Authors: Gnat Sebastian , Łagowski Dominik , Nowakiewicz Aneta , Osińska Marcelina , Kopiński Łukasz
Published: July 2020

The major problems in determining the causative factors of the high prevalence of dermatophytoses include the lack of a well-standardized antifungal susceptibility testing method, the low consistency of in vitro and clinical minimal inhibitory concentration values, the high genomic diversity of the population, and the unclear mechanism of pathogenicity. These factors are of particular importance when the disease is recalcitrant and relapses. Herein, we identified and characterizedTrichophyton mentagrophytesisolates obtained from therapy-resistant cases in humans and animals. We used genomic diversity analysis of 17 human and 27 animal clinical isolates with the MP-PCR technique, determined their phenotypic enzymatic activity and host range, and performed antifungal susceptibility testing to currently available antifungal drugs from various chemical groups. Genomic diversity values of 35.3% and 33.3% were obtained for clinical isolates from humans and animals, respectively, yet without any relationship to the host species or antifungal drug to which resistance in therapy was revealed. The highest activity of keratinase enzymes was recorded for fox, guinea pig, and human hairs. These hosts can be considered as the main species in the host range of these isolates. A phenyl morpholine derivative, i.e. amorolfine, exhibited superior activity against strains obtained from both humans and animals with the lowest MIC50. Interestingly, high compliance of terbinafine in vitro resistance with clinical problems in the treatment with this substance was shown as well. The high resistance of dermatophytes to drugs is the main cause of the recalcitrance of the infection, whereas the other features of the fungus are less important.
Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for production of chemicals derived from the shikimate pathway
Authors: Li Zhu , Wang Huiying , Ding Dongqin , Liu Yongfei , Fang Huan , Chang Zhishuai , Chen Tao , Zhang Dawei
Published: July 2020

The shikimate pathway is indispensable for the biosynthesis of natural products with aromatic moieties. These products have wide current and potential applications in food, cosmetics and medicine, and consequently have great commercial value. However, compounds extracted from various plants or synthesized from petrochemicals no longer satisfy the requirements of contemporary industries. As a result, an increasing number of studies has focused on this pathway to enable the biotechnological manufacture of natural products, especially in E. coli. Furthermore, the development of synthetic biology, systems metabolic engineering and high flux screening techniques has also contributed to improving the biosynthesis of high-value compounds based on the shikimate pathway. Here, we review approaches based on a combination of traditional and new metabolic engineering strategies to increase the metabolic flux of the shikimate pathway. In addition, applications of this optimized pathway to produce aromatic amino acids and a range of natural products is also elaborated. Finally, this review sums up the opportunities and challenges facing this field.
Assessment and Comparison of the Overall Analytical Potential of Capillary Electrophoresis and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Using the RGB Model: How Much Can We Find Out?
Authors: Nowak Paweł Mateusz , Sekuła Edyta , Kościelniak Paweł
Published: July 2020

The choice between capillary electrophoresis (CE) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is not easy and depends on many factors. An attempt to facilitate this choice is this work, in which both techniques have been confronted on the basis of the RGB model, offering a transparent and pictorial way to compare individual parameters as well as the overall analytical potential of each tool.
To ensure the universal nature of the comparison, a simple in composition and chemically diverse model sample was used, accompanied by the data processing method reducing the potential impact of analyte selection. Moreover, permanent coating of the inner surface of the capillary and addition of a surfactant to the separation buffer were considered as the additional factors that may affect the assessment of the CE technique. The presented analysis can be valuable in any discussions about the intrinsic advantages and disadvantages of CE and HPLC, and divagations on how they affect the overall potential and usability of each. We also provide access to the Excel worksheets used for the assessment, which can be easily modified to reevaluate the methods with a different selection of variables, and analyze other possible scenarios.
Dominance, reproductive behaviours and female mate choice in sterilised versus non-sterilised invasive male crayfish
Authors: Green Nicky , Britton J. Robert , Bentley Matt , Stebbing Paul , Andreou Demetra
Published: July 2020

Many methods of controlling invasive crayfishes have limited success because they fail to target all life stages of the population, notably by capturing only large adults that can result in increased juvenile recruitment by removing intraspecific predation. An alternative approach uses the sterile male release technique that involves the mass release of sterile males into the environment, which then mate with fertile females, resulting in unfertilised eggs and, ultimately, reduced juvenile recruitment. This does, however, rely on the sterilised males exhibiting behaviours similar to non-sterilised (entire) males and remaining attractive to females during mate choice. Post-copulatory male guarding behaviour and female promiscuity might also be affected by male sterilisation. To test for the presence of normal reproductive behaviours in sterilised male American signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus, a two-stage experiment examined how sterilisation affects female mate choice and promiscuity, male hierarchical status (relative dominance) and post-copulation guarding. Sterilised males showed similar reproductive behaviours to entire males and remained as attractive to females, with no differences in relative dominance. Post-copulation, guarding behaviours were also unaffected. Females did not display promiscuous behaviour and this was unaffected by whether males were entire or sterilised. The results demonstrated that sterilised males were equally as capable as entire males of achieving dominance and winning mates. In combination, these findings suggest that male sterilisation could be an effective control technique to help reduce juvenile recruitment in wild P. leniusculus populations by reducing reproductive success.
How Elastic is the Labour Supply of Female Migrants Relative to the Labour Supply of Female Natives?
Authors: Fendel Tanja
Published: July 2020

This study estimates the wage elasticities of migrants and natives by using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel from 1984 to 2015 and a grouping instrumental variable estimator. Female migrants who live with a partner have lower own- and cross-wage elasticities than respective female natives, and the elasticities of non-Western female migrants are insignificant. The relationship between participation and elasticity is not in all cases positive, but parallel to labour market integration, the time since migration increases the elasticities of women. Elasticities indicate the potential to increase participation; therefore, it is especially important for non-Western female migrants to remove barriers to flexible wage responses.
Identity of China’s modern academic system: A Chinese–Western interaction perspective
Authors: Yan Fengqiao
Published: July 2020

The establishment of China's modern academic system was shaped by the interaction of internal (traditional) elements and external (Western) forces. Therefore, China and Western countries display many similarities in their academic systems. As with its Western counterpart, China’s modern academic system is characterized by disciplined knowledge, theories, and research methods. However, there are also significant differences between the modern Chinese and Western academic systems. China’s academic system has made significant progress in modernization, yet is also distorted in this process. This paper traces the historical evolution of the modern Chinese academic system and the key thoughts of contemporary Chinese scholars to reevaluate China’s academic modernization experience.
Evaluation of the mechanical properties of high-strength cement paste at elevated temperatures using metakaolin
Authors: Abdelmelek Nabil , Lubloy Eva
Published: July 2020

This paper presents a wide experimental study, in which it evaluates the performance of high-strength paste exposed to elevated temperatures up to 900 °C. Several factors have been investigated at the age of 90 days, i.e. metakaolin (MK) dosages, water to binder ratio (w/b) as well as elevated temperatures. Results proved that MK improves the relative residual compressive strength and relative residual bending strength showing a gain up to 52% and of 71% at 500 °C, respectively, compared to the pure cement paste in case of 0.3 w/b. The maximum use of MK is not more than 12%, and the optimum dosages were 9, 12, and 12% of MK replacements for 0.3, 0.35, and 0.4 w/b, respectively. The optimum dosage could change with changing w/b ratio and this up to the density of the microstructure which is controlled by the amount of w/b ratio and the packing effect of MK amount. In addition to the mechanical properties, the adoption of MK decreases the cracking of the specimens at elevated temperatures. SEM investigations show the positive physical morphology contribution of MK, specific surface area as well as its chemical composition for decreasing the Ca(OH)2effect. Different phases that formed during temperatures elevation are illustrated by TG analysis. Results showed the reason behind using MK on the cracking enhancement and mechanical properties improvement after high temperatures exposure. Meanwhile, the obtained optimum MK dosages at ambient temperature are not similar to that obtained at elevated temperatures.
A history of post-communist remembrance: from memory politics to the emergence of a field of anticommunism
Authors: Dujisin Zoltan
Published: July 2020

This article invites the view that the Europeanization of an antitotalitarian “collective memory” of communism reveals the emergence of a field of anticommunism. This transnational field is inextricably tied to the proliferation of state-sponsored and anticommunist memory institutes across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), but cannot be treated as epiphenomenal to their propagation. The diffusion of bodies tasked with establishing the “true” history of communism reflects, first and foremost, a shift in the region’s approach to its past, one driven by the right’s frustration over an allegedly pervasive influence of former communist cliques. Memory institutes spread as the CEE right progressively perceives their emphasis on research and public education as a safer alternative to botched lustration processes. However, the field of anticommunism extends beyond diffusion by seeking to leverage the European Union institutional apparatus to generate previously unavailable forms of symbolic capital for anticommunist narratives. This results in an entirely different challenge, which requires reconciling of disparate ideological and national interests. In this article, I illustrate some of these nationally diverse, but internationally converging, trajectories of communist extrication from the vantage point of its main exponents: theanticommunist memory entrepreneurs, who are invariably found at the helm of memory institutes.Inhabiting the space around the political, historiographic, and Eurocratic fields, anticommunist entrepreneurs weave a complex web of alliances that ultimately help produce an autonomous field of anticommunism.
High expression levels of pyrimidine metabolic rate–limiting enzymes are adverse prognostic factors in lung adenocarcinoma: a study based on The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus datasets
Authors: Wang Haiwei , Wang Xinrui , Xu Liangpu , Zhang Ji , Cao Hua
Published: July 2020

Reprogramming of metabolism is described in many types of cancer and is associated with the clinical outcomes. However, the prognostic significance of pyrimidine metabolism signaling pathway in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is unclear. Using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets, we found that the pyrimidine metabolism signaling pathway was significantly enriched in LUAD. Compared with normal lung tissues, the pyrimidine metabolic rate–limiting enzymes were highly expressed in lung tumor tissues. The high expression levels of pyrimidine metabolic–rate limiting enzymes were associated with unfavorable prognosis. However, purinergic receptors P2RX1, P2RX7, P2RY12, P2RY13, and P2RY14 were relatively downregulated in lung cancer tissues and were associated with favorable prognosis. Moreover, we found that hypo-DNA methylation, DNA amplification, and TP53 mutation were contributing to the high expression levels of pyrimidine metabolic rate–limiting enzymes in lung cancer cells. Furthermore, combined pyrimidine metabolic rate–limiting enzymes had significant prognostic effects in LUAD. Comprehensively, the pyrimidine metabolic rate–limiting enzymes were highly expressed in bladder cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, and stomach cancer. And the high expression levels of pyrimidine metabolic rate–limiting enzymes were associated with unfavorable prognosis in liver cancer. Overall, our results suggested the mRNA levels of pyrimidine metabolic rate–limiting enzymes CAD, DTYMK, RRM1, RRM2, TK1, TYMS, UCK2, NR5C2, and TK2 were predictive of lung cancer as well as other cancers.
Regular endurance exercise of overloaded muscle of young and old male mice does not attenuate hypertrophy and improves fatigue resistance
Authors: Hendrickse Paul William , Krusnauskas Raulas , Hodson-Tole Emma , Venckunas Tomas , Degens Hans
Published: July 2020

It has been observed that there is an inverse relationship between fiber size and oxidative capacity due to oxygen, ADP, and ATP diffusion limitations. We aimed to see if regular endurance exercise alongside a hypertrophic stimulus would lead to compromised adaptations to both, particularly in older animals. Here we investigated the effects of combining overload with regular endurance exercise in young (12 months) and old (26 months) male mice. The plantaris muscles of these mice were overloaded through denervation of synergists to induce hypertrophy and the mice ran on a treadmill for 30 min per day for 6 weeks. The hypertrophic response to overload was not blunted by endurance exercise, and the increase in fatigue resistance with endurance exercise was not reduced by overload. Old mice demonstrated less hypertrophy than young mice, which was associated with impaired angiogenesis and a reduction in specific tension. The data of this study suggest that combining endurance exercise and overload induces the benefits of both types of exercise without compromising adaptations to either. Additionally, the attenuated hypertrophic response to overload in old animals may be due to a diminished capacity for capillary growth.
Using Social Life Cycle Assessment to analyze the contribution of products to the Sustainable Development Goals: a case study in the textile sector
Authors: Herrera Almanza Ana María , Corona Blanca
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Evaluation and monitoring systems are perceived as an effective tool to understand and improve the contribution of business activities to the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there is currently a lack of guidance and support on assessing the influence that the life cycle of products and services has on the SDGs. This article presents a case study where Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) is applied to understand the social performance of a textile product and its potential contribution to the SDGs.

Methods

In this study, the link between the S-LCA methodology and the SDG framework was made at the indicator level, through a new classification of S-LCA indicators. This classification was aimed at indicating the positive or negative contribution of products or services into the SDGs. The method was tested with the case study of a man’s shirt whose supply chain takes place across five countries, from the cotton farming in China to the retailing in The Netherlands. The social performance of the shirt’s life cycle was analyzed through a social hotspot assessment (using PSILCA database) and a site-specific assessment following the UNEP/SETAC S-LCA guidelines. Primary data was collected for 6 different suppliers regarding 51 social indicators and four stakeholder categories (workers, local communities, value chain actors, and society).

Results and discussion

The social hotspot assessment indicated high social risks on indicators related to the following SDGs: health and well-being, affordable and clean energy, decent work, and responsible production and consumption. These risks were mainly located in Bangladesh (shirt manufacturing) and Malaysia (fabric manufacturing). The site-specific assessment indicated different results than the social risk assessment, showing worse social performance in the spinning stage (located in China). Negative scores were obtained for every supplier in at least four indicators, including working hours, safe and healthy living conditions, and access to immaterial resources.

Conclusions

The results indicated negative social performance of the supply chain in most of the SDGs and identified points of improvement for the final retailer. The linkage of the S-LCA framework with the SDGs presented methodological challenges, mainly related to the different scope of the SDG indicators and the S-LCA indicators.
CEOT Variants or Entities: Time for a Rethink? A Case Series with Review of the Literature
Authors: Siriwardena B. S. M. S. , Speight Paul M. , Franklin Christopher D. , Abdelkarim Rasha , Khurram Syed Ali , Hunter Keith D.
Published: July 2020

The first detailed description of calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumor (CEOT) are ascribed to Jens Pindborg, but this tumor was described some years previously. Subsequently, CEOT was included in the 1971 WHO classification of odontogenic tumors and a since then number of variants have been described, which have added confusion to the diagnostic criteria. We aimed to survey the literature on the variants of CEOT, in parallel with a review of our single institution experience of CEOTs. Cases identified were collated, including available clinical, radiological and histological information and then reviewed, taking into account changes in the understanding and classifications of odontogenic tumors since initial diagnosis. We identified 26 cases from 1975 to 2017 for which histological material was available. Of these, only 13 (50%) showed the “classic” histological appearance, whilst two cases were identified as recognized variants. In 11 cases, other diagnoses or a differential diagnosis were preferred, with no agreed diagnosis in four of these. The proliferation fraction (Ki67) in the 10 cases tested was 2.1% ± 0.18. These findings illustrate the diagnostic challenges in this group of tumors and highlight the gaps in knowledge. Techniques, such as EWSR1 gene cytogenetic analysis, may be helpful in cases with clear cells. However, in other areas of controversy, including the non-calcifying and Langerhans cell rich variants, further investigation, perhaps utilizing sequencing technologies may be needed to refine the classification. Owing to the relative rarity of these lesions it would be beneficial if future work could be pursued as an international collaboration.
Intellectually Humble, but Prejudiced People. A Paradox of Intellectual Virtue
Authors: Colombo Matteo , Strangmann Kevin , Houkes Lieke , Kostadinova Zhasmina , Brandt Mark J.
Published: July 2020

Intellectual humility has attracted attention in both philosophy and psychology. Philosophers have clarified the nature of intellectual humility as an epistemic virtue; and psychologists have developed scales for measuring people’s intellectual humility. Much less attention has been paid to the potential effects of intellectual humility on people’s negative attitudes and to its relationship with prejudice-based epistemic vices. Here we fill these gaps by focusing on the relationship between intellectual humility and prejudice. To clarify this relationship, we conducted four empirical studies. The results of these studies show three things. First, people are systematically prejudiced towards members of groups perceived as dissimilar. Second, intellectual humility weakens the association between perceived dissimilarity and prejudice. Third, more intellectual humility is associated withmoreprejudice overall. We show that this apparently paradoxical pattern of results is consistent with the idea that it is both psychologically and rationally plausible that one person is at the same time intellectually humble, epistemically virtuous and strongly prejudiced.
Interpretative Pros Hen Pluralism: from Computer-Mediated Colonization to a Pluralistic Intercultural Digital Ethics
Authors: Ess Charles Melvin
Published: July 2020

Intercultural Digital Ethics (IDE) faces the central challenge of how to develop aglobalIDE that can endorse and defend some set of (quasi-) universal ethical norms, principles, frameworks, etc.alongsidesustaining local, culturally variable identities, traditions, practices, norms, and so on. I explicate interpretivepros hen(focal or “towards one”) ethical pluralism (EP(ph)) emerging in the late 1990s and into the twenty-first century in response to this general problem and its correlates, including conflicts generated by “computer-mediated colonization” that imposed homogenous values, communication styles, and so on upon “target” peoples and cultures via ICTs as embedding these values in their verydesign. I contrast different kinds of ethical pluralisms as structural apparatus for understanding whatdifferencesmay mean and allow for, as these emerged in the 1990s forwards with EP(ph). As interwoven withphronēsis, a form of reflective judgment and virtue, EP(ph) more radically preserves irreducible differences and so fosters positive engagements across deep cultural differences. I show how EP(ph) emerged in the context of empirical research on “Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication” (CATaC) beginning in 1998, and then in specific applications within Internet Research Ethics (IRE) beginning in 2000. I summarize its main characteristics and trace how it has further been taken up in ICE, IRE, Intercultural Information Ethics, and virtue ethics more broadly. I respond to important criticisms and objections, arguing that EP(ph) thus stands as an important component for a contemporary IDE that seeks an ethicalcosmopolitanismin place of computer-mediated colonization.
Religion, Religiosity, and Corruption
Authors: Gokcekus Omer , Ekici Tufan
Published: July 2020

High levels of corruption in a country could be detrimental to the overall well-being of the economy. Although legal enforcement mechanisms are in place for most countries, corruption still exists, even in the most developed countries. Researchers have tried to identify the correlates of corruption across different countries in the world. One major finding is that religious affiliation in a country tends to matter for the corruption level of that country. However, previous research has rarely focused explicitly on differentiating between religion and religiosity. In this study, we test if the level of devotion to religion (religiosity) is more important than the specific type of religious denomination. We use data from multiple countries over different time periods and experiment with different measures of ‘religiosity’. The empirical evidence indicates that religiosity, rather than religious affiliation, impacts corruption levels. The more religious a society is, the higher the corruption, regardless of religious affiliation.
Network-inference-based prediction of the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak in the Chinese province Hubei
Authors: Prasse Bastian , Achterberg Massimo A. , Ma Long , Van Mieghem Piet
Published: July 2020

At the moment of writing, the future evolution of the COVID-19 epidemic is unclear. Predictions of the further course of the epidemic are decisive to deploy targeted disease control measures. We consider a network-based model to describe the COVID-19 epidemic in the Hubei province. The network is composed of the cities in Hubei and their interactions (e.g., traffic flow). However, the precise interactions between cities is unknown and must be inferred from observing the epidemic. We propose the Network-Inference-Based Prediction Algorithm (NIPA) to forecast the future prevalence of the COVID-19 epidemic in every city. Our results indicate that NIPA is beneficial for an accurate forecast of the epidemic outbreak.
Balanced Semi-Latin Rectangles: Properties, Existence and Constructions for Block Size Two
Authors: Uto N. P. , Bailey R. A.
Published: July 2020

There exists a set of designs which form a subclass of semi-Latin rectangles. These designs, besides being semi-Latin rectangles, exhibit an additional property of balance, where no two distinct pairs of symbols (treatments) differ in their concurrences, that is, each pair of distinct treatments concurs a constant number of times in the design. Such a design exists for a limited set of parameter combinations. We designate it a balanced semi-Latin rectangle and give some properties and necessary conditions for its existence. Furthermore, algorithms for constructing the design for experimental situations where there are two treatments in each row–column intersection (block) are also given.
End-stage renal disease reduces the expression of drug-metabolizing cytochrome P450s
Authors: Déri Máté Tamás , Kiss Ádám Ferenc , Tóth Katalin , Paulik József , Sárváry Enikő , Kóbori László , Monostory Katalin
Published: July 2020

Background

End-stage renal disease is an irreversible status of kidney dysfunction that reduces both renal and non-renal drug clearance. Accumulation of uremic toxins seems to modify the activities of drug-metabolizing cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. The aim of the present work was to refine gene expression analysis for efficient and accurate quantification of CYP mRNAs in patients’ leukocytes.

Methods

We compared six liquid–liquid extraction reagents for RNA isolation and five reverse transcriptase kits for RNA-to-cDNA conversion, and developed quantitative polymerase chain reaction methods for duplex measurements of CYP target genes and the reference gene. The expression of CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 in patients with end-stage kidney disease (N = 105) and in organ donors with healthy kidney function (N = 110) was compared.

Results

Regarding the RNA yield and purity, TRIzol, Trizolate and TRI reagents were equal; however, TRI reagent was the most advantageous in terms of financial cost. Reverse transcription using Maxima First Strand cDNA Synthesis kit appeared to be the most efficient with the widest range for quantification of the target transcript. The refined method with the detection of various CYPs and the reference gene in duplex PCR efficiently quantified even the low-level CYP expression. In leukocytes of patients with end-stage renal disease, all four CYPs were expressed at significantly lower level than in organ donors with normal kidney function (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Reduced CYP expression was a direct evidence of transcriptional down-regulation of CYP genes in patients with impaired kidney function.
Predicting Regulatory Product Approvals Using a Proposed Quantitative Version of FDA’s Benefit–Risk Framework to Calculate Net-Benefit Score and Benefit–Risk Ratio
Authors: Sun Stephen , Heske Suzanne , Mercadel Melanie , Wimmer Jean
Published: July 2020

Background

Approval of regulated medical products in the USA is based upon a rigorous review of the benefits and risks as performed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff of scientists and is summarized in a descriptive and qualitative format called the FDA’s Benefit–Risk Framework (BRF). This present method highlights the key factors in regulatory decision-making, but does not clearly define the reason for its final approval.

Method

This study proposes a quantitative version of FDA’s BRF to calculate a Net-Benefit Score and a Benefit–Risk Ratio as a method to define a single-value summary of the tradeoffs between benefits and risks and allow comparisons among other products. In this retrospective review of five years of new molecular entities and new biologic (N = 185 products) regulatory decision-making, this proposed scoring system codifies and quantitates the information about a product’s benefits, risks, and risk management information in a format that may predict why regulated medical products are approved in the USA.

Results

Simple calculation of codified benefits, risks, and risk mitigations with numerical limits is proposed to provide a repeatable process and transparency for documenting the net-benefit of regulatory product approval.

Conclusion

Use of a strict process of collecting, codifying, and analyzing public information to determine a Net-Benefit score and a Benefit–Risk Ratio is possible to anticipate regulatory product approval.
Social studies education in Argentina: Hacia Una Ciudadania global?
Authors: Byker Erik Jon , Vainer Violeta
Published: July 2020

The purpose of our article is to investigate and report on a document analysis study of social studies education in Argentina. In particular, our focus is on the progression of citizenship education and the inclusion of global perspectives in social studies education within Argentina's elementary schools. Like many other countries in the world, Argentina has followed a growing trend to include global perspectives in their national curricula. We investigate the contours of what this entails for Argentina's elementary schools. We begin the article by situating our purpose in the larger field of global citizenship education. Next, we review the literature and describe Argentina's socio-historical context and report on how that context informs Argentina's education system. We then move to the study's methodology, which is grounded in the following research questions: (1) How is social studies organized in Argentina and how has the purpose of social studies evolved over time? (2) To what degree, if any, are global perspectives represented in Argentina's elementary social studies curricula? To address these questions, we employ document analysis research design (Bowen, 2009). In this analysis, we review Argentina's education policy documents and social studies curricular documents. We follow Fereday and Muir-Cochrane's (2006) three-prong approach for data analysis of documents. We share the findings of the research based on the aforementioned questions. We conclude the article with a discussion of how environmental awareness, human rights, and global competencies are included in the initiative to increase global citizenship education within Argentina's social studies curricula.
Monitoring evolution of melt ponds on first-year and multiyear sea ice in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago with optical satellite data
Authors: Li Qing , Zhou Chunxia , Zheng Lei , Liu Tingting , Yang Xiaotong
Published: July 2020

The evolution of melt ponds on Arctic sea ice in summer is one of the main factors that affect sea-ice albedo and hence the polar climate system. Due to the different spectral properties of open water, melt pond and sea ice, the melt pond fraction (MPF) can be retrieved using a fully constrained least-squares algorithm, which shows a high accuracy with root mean square error ~0.06 based on the validation experiment using WorldView-2 image. In this study, the evolution of ponds on first-year and multiyear ice in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago was compared based on Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 images. The relationships of pond coverage with air temperature and albedo were analysed. The results show that the pond coverage on first-year ice changed dramatically with seasonal maximum of 54%, whereas that on multiyear ice changed relatively flat with only 30% during the entire melting period. During the stage of pond formation, the ponds expanded rapidly when the temperature increased to over 0°C for three consecutive days. Sea-ice albedo shows a significantly negative correlation (R= −1) with the MPF in melt season and increases gradually with the refreezing of ponds and sea ice.
Hawkish Partisans: How Political Parties Shape Nationalist Conflicts in China and Japan
Authors: Incerti Trevor , Mattingly Daniel , Rosenbluth Frances , Tanaka Seiki , Yue Jiahua
Published: July 2020

It is well known that regime types affect international conflicts. This article explores political parties as a mechanism through which they do so. Political parties operate in fundamentally different ways in democracies vs. non-democracies, which has consequences for foreign policy. Core supporters of a party in a democracy, if they are hawkish, may be more successful at demanding hawkish behavior from their party representatives than would be their counterparts in an autocracy. The study draws on evidence from paired experiments in democratic Japan and non-democratic China to show that supporters of the ruling party in Japan punish their leaders for discouraging nationalist protests, while ruling party insiders in China are less likely to do so. Under some circumstances, then, non-democratic regimes may be better able to rein in peace-threatening displays of nationalism.
Non-O1/non-O139 Vibrio cholerae bacteraemia in mainland China from 2005 to 2019: clinical, epidemiological and genetic characteristics
Authors: Li Xinyao , Wu Yuanyuan , Sun Xiaojun , Ma Jianping , Li Xiaofeng , Liu Cuiping , Xie Hongxiang
Published: July 2020

In mainland China, the clinical, epidemiological and genetic features of non-O1/non-O139 Vibrio cholerae (NOVC) bacteraemia have been scarcely investigated. Herein, we describe a patient with NOVC bacteraemia diagnosed in our hospital and present a retrospective analysis of literature reports of 32 other cases in China, detailing the clinical epidemiology, antibiotic resistance and molecular characteristics of isolates. Most patients were male (84.8%; median age, 53 years) and had predisposing factors, such as cirrhosis, malignant tumours, blood diseases and diabetes. In addition to fever, gastroenteritis was the most frequent presenting symptom. The mortality rate during hospitalisation was 12.1%. NOVC bacteraemia cases were more common in June–August, with the majority in coastal provinces and the Yangtze River basin. Only 42.4% of cases were attributed to consumption of marine (aquatic) products. Tetracycline, third-generation cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones were the most effective antimicrobial agents, and the highest frequencies of resistance were recorded for ampicillin/sulbactam (37.5%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (33.3%), ampicillin (29.2%) and sulfamethoxazole (20%). Multi-drug resistant isolates were not detected. Limited data indicate that ctxAB and tcpA genes were absent in all NOVC isolates but other putative virulence genes (hlyA, toxR, hap and rtxA) were common. Ten multilocus sequence types were identified with marked genetic heterogeneity between different isolates. As clinical manifestations of NOVC bacteraemia may vary widely, and isolates exhibit genetic diversity, clinicians and public health experts should be alerted to the possibility of infection with this pathogen because of the high prevalence of liver disease in China.
A rare coincidence: the long QT syndrome and cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome
Authors: Giray Dilek , Donmez Yasemin N. , Epcacan Serdar , Goktas Emine
Published: July 2020

Cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome is a genetic anomaly characterised by craniofacial dysmorphia, developmental retardation, skin lesions, mental retardation/learning disability, and cardiac malformations. Cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome rarely causes arrhythmias and has not been previously associated with long QT in the literature. With this report, it was aimed to draw attention to a different presentation of the long QT syndrome.
Memory Properties in Cloud‐Resolving Simulations of the Diurnal Cycle of Deep Convection
Authors: Daleu C. L. , Plant R. S. , Woolnough S. J. , Stirling A. J. , Harvey N. J.
Published: July 2020

A series of high‐resolution three‐dimensional simulations of the diurnal cycle of deep convection over land are performed using the new Met Office NERC cloud‐resolving model. This study features scattered convection. A memory function is defined to identify the effects of previous convection in modifying current convection. It is based on the probability of finding rain at time t0 and at an earlier time t0−Δt compared to the expected probability given no memory. The memory is examined as a function of the lag time Δt. It is strongest at gray‐zone scales of 4–10 km, there is a change of behavior for spatial scales between 10 and 15 km, and it is reduced substantially for spatial scales larger than 25 km. At gray‐zone scales, there is a first phase of the memory function which represents the persistence of convection and it is maintained for about an hour. There is a second phase which represents the suppression of convection in regions which were raining 1 to 3 hr previously, and subsequently a third phase which represents a secondary enhancement of precipitation. The second and third phases of the memory function develop earlier for weaker forcing. When thermodynamic fluctuations resulting from the previous day are allowed to influence the development of convection on the next day, there are fewer rainfall events with relatively large sizes, which are more intense, and thus decay and recover more slowly, in comparison to the simulations where feedback from previous days is removed. Further sensitivity experiments reveal that convective memory attributed to these thermodynamic fluctuations resides in the lower troposphere.