bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evidence-Based Storytelling for a Strategic Roadmap to Promote Cancer Prevention via Adolescent HPV Vaccination in Northern New England
Authors: Dugan Matthew , Stein Gary S. , Carney Jan Kirk , Clifford-Bova Sheila
Published: January 2024

Vaccination rates for the human papillomavirus (HPV) among rural youth in northern New England lag those of more urbanized areas. Reasons include a lack of available medical offices, time constraints, perceptions of vaccines and HPV, and, to a smaller degree, delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have a responsibility to increase vaccinations in these communities. To do so, vaccination experts recommend addressing the three C's of vaccination hesitation: confidence, complacency, and convenience. With this framework as our foundation, in this article we detail a plan to address these important elements, and we add several more C's: clinics, communication, collaboration, community, capacity, and commitment to the list as we discuss the essential pieces-human, infrastructural, and perceptual-needed to create and promote successful, community-supported, school-based HPV vaccination clinics to serve youths aged nine to 18. We then integrate research and storytelling science into an innovative Persuasion Playbook, a guide for local opinion leaders to use in creating evidence-based, pro-vaccine messages on the community level to promote the clinics via evidence-based, pro-vaccination messages.
Estimating Speech Impairment Profiles of Children with Cerebral Palsy Using a Novel Assessment Protocol Mapped with Updated Reviews
Authors: Bhatia Chandrika , Narayan Amitesh , Karuppali Sudhin
Published: January 2024

Purpose: Cerebral palsy (CP), being a neurological condition, is characterized by abnormalities in either the muscle tone, coordination, and/or motor functions caused by damage to the developing brain. Dysarthria commonly exists as an independent entity in approximately half of the patients with CP, or sometimes with a combination of both impairments. Due to the high variability (type and motor distribution) in the severity of the impairment in CP, a comprehensive speech impairment profile is warranted for deriving a highly customized interventional plan for them.

Objectives: Therefore, the current study aims to develop one such assessment protocol and utilize the same to estimate the speech impairments in children with CP. The objectives of the study were to develop a speech assessment protocol, to administer the same on the patients with CP, and to estimate their speech impairments.

Method: The study followed a cross-sectional design with a non-random convenience sampling method. A total of 51 patients between 3 and 12 years of age diagnosed with CP (any type, severity, motor tone, or motor distribution) were included in the study. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 included the development of the speech assessment protocol, while phase 2 included the administration and profiling of the retrieved data. Descriptive statistics were used to profile the data based on the frequency and percentage of occurrences.

Results: The results have been organized based on the general and oral profile, and subsystems of speech (respiration, phonation, resonance, prosody, articulation, and overall intelligibility) of patients with spastic, flaccid, and ataxic CP.

Conclusion: The developed protocol is comprised of multiple crucial domains that requires to be assessed during a formal speech assessment. The protocol helps tap upon the relevant family, natal, and other medical histories which becomes crucial during the counselling process.
Response of shallow foundations in tire derived aggregate
Authors: Yarahuaman A. A. , McCartney J. S.
Published: January 2024

This study investigates the quasi-static bearing stress-settlement response of shallow foundations in monolithic tire derived aggregate (TDA) layers having a total thickness of 3 m using a large-scale container and loading system. Tests were performed on footings having a range of widths, embedment depths, shapes, and loading inclinations. In tests where tilting was restricted, a clear bearing capacity was not observed for settlements up to 1.2B, where B is the footing width, but in tests where tilting was permitted bearing capacity was observed between settlements of 0.2B to 0.7B. Surface settlements indicate a dragdown response of the TDA adjacent to the footing extending out to more than 3B from the footing center, while settlement plates beneath the footing indicate a zone of influence of induced settlements of 14% at a depth of 4B. While bearing capacity theories for frictional geomaterials provided a reasonable prediction of the bearing capacity of footings in TDA for most tests, the corresponding settlements may be excessive for engineering applications. Accordingly, a correlation was developed between the theoretical bearing capacity and bearing stress at a settlement of 0.1B. A test with sustained loading indicates slight creep settlements with some stress dependency with magnitudes consistent with past studies.
Role of Age and Competing Risk of Death in the Racial Disparity of Kidney Failure Incidence after Onset of CKD
Authors: Yan Guofen , Nee Robert , Scialla Julia J. , Greene Tom , Yu Wei , Heng Fei , Cheung Alfred K. , Norris Keith C.
Published: January 2024

Significance Statement

Black adults in the United States have 2–4 times higher incidence of kidney failure than White adults. Yet, the reasons underlying this disparity remain poorly understood. Among 547,188 US veterans with new-onset CKD, according to a new race-free GFR equation, Black veterans had a 2.5-fold higher cumulative incidence of kidney failure, compared with White veterans, in any follow-up period from CKD onset. This disparity resulted from a combination of higher hazards of progression to kidney failure and lower hazards of competing-risk death in Black veterans. Both, in turn, were largely explained by the younger age at CKD onset in Black veterans, underscoring an urgent need to prevent early onset and slow progression of CKD in younger Black adults.

Background

The Black adult population is well known to have higher incidence of kidney failure than their White counterpart in the United States, but the reasons underlying this disparity are unclear. We assessed the racial differences in kidney failure and death from onset of CKD on the basis of the race-free 2021 CKD Epidemiology Collaboration equation and examined the extent to which these differences could be explained by factors at the time of CKD onset.

Methods

We analyzed a national cohort consisting of 547,188 US veterans (103,821 non-Hispanic Black and 443,367 non-Hispanic White), aged 18–85 years, with new-onset CKD between 2005 and 2016 who were followed through 10 years or May 2018 for incident kidney failure with replacement therapy (KFRT) and pre-KFRT death.

Results

At CKD onset, Black veterans were, on average, 7.8 years younger than White veterans. In any time period from CKD onset, the cumulative incidence of KFRT was 2.5-fold higher for Black versus White veterans. Meanwhile, Black veterans had persistently >2-fold higher hazards of KFRT throughout follow-up (overall hazard ratio [95% confidence interval], 2.38 [2.31 to 2.45]) and conversely had 17%–48% decreased hazards of pre-KFRT death. These differences were reduced after accounting for the racial difference in age at CKD onset.

Conclusions

The 2.5-fold higher cumulative incidence of kidney failure in Black adults resulted from a combination of higher hazards of progression to kidney failure and lower hazards of the competing risk of death, both of which can be largely explained by the younger age at CKD onset in Black compared with White adults.
Epilepsy: a cross‐sectional study of paediatricians and general practitioners on their experiences, knowledge and handling of the disease
Authors: Schnabel Sabrina , Neininger Martina Patrizia , Bernhard Matthias Karl , Merkenschlager Andreas , Kiess Wieland , Bertsche Thilo , Bertsche Astrid
Published: January 2024

Aims: Epilepsy is a life‐changing disease, and patients with epilepsy may face a number of issues. Paediatricians and general practitioners are often the first to be asked for advice. This cross‐sectional study was performed to gain information on the knowledge and experiences of paediatricians and general practitioners on epilepsy.

Methods: From September 2015 to July 2017, paediatricians and general practitioners in Leipzig, Germany, were asked to take part in a face‐to‐face interview.

Results: Overall, 40 paediatricians and 60 general practitioners participated in the study. A total of 99/100 (99%) kept emergency medication available and 96/100 (96%) would administer it during a seizure. Also, 40/40 (100%) of the paediatricians and 34/60 (57%) of the general practitioners recommended that non‐professionals should administer emergency medication, and 18/40 (45%) of the paediatricians and 35/60 (58%) of the general practitioners would put an object in the patient's mouth during a seizure. With regards to safety precautions, paediatricians mentioned the risks associated with swimming (30/40; 75%) and the potential of falling from a height (23/40; 58%), whereas general practitioners focused on being around vehicles including driving regulations (43/60; 72%).

Only 5/60 (8%) of the general practitioners advised that precautions should be taken during swimming. Fatigue/exhaustion was the most common adverse drug event associated with long‐term anticonvulsive therapy mentioned by paediatricians (13/40; 33%) and general practitioners (27/60; 45%). Of all the participants, 23/100 (23%) recommended epilepsy training programmes for patients and families, however, none were able to name a specific programme.

Conclusion: Nearly half of the general practitioners did not recommend the use of rescue medication by non‐professionals. This measure, however, can prevent the occurrence of prolonged non‐treatable seizures. Both paediatricians and general practitioners should bear in mind that placing an object in the mouth during a seizure should be avoided due to the risk of additional injury. To reduce the risk of drowning, physicians should recommend safety precautions during swimming. Information on epilepsy training programmes for patients and families should be diffused to all physicians taking care of patients with epilepsy.
Epilepsy surgery in children: no further threat to theory of mind
Authors: Braams Olga B. , Meekes Joost , van Nieuwenhuizen Onno , Schappin Renske , van Rijen Peter C. , Blijd‐Hoogewys Els M.A. , Steffers Maarten , Braun Kees P.J. , Jennekens‐Schinkel Aag
Published: January 2024

Aims. To investigate whether theory of mind (ToM), an important requirement for adaptive social functioning, is different between children with pharmacologically refractory epilepsy who undergo epilepsy surgery and healthy control children, whether ToM is affected by epilepsy surgery in these children, and whether ToM is associated with demographic or epilepsy variables.

Methods. The “ToM storybooks”, a psychometrically sound ToM instrument designed for children, was administered shortly before and 0.5, one and two years after surgery as part of a neuropsychological assessment. Fifteen patients (mean age: 7.1 years) completed the ToM storybooks before and at least twice after surgery. Two sex‐ and age‐matched healthy control children were included per patient. Linear mixed models were used to analyse differences between patients and controls. The association between ToM and demographic, epilepsy and surgical variables was explored.

Results. Patients had lower ToM scores than healthy control children, even when corrected for verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ). Epilepsy surgery had neither a harmful nor a favourable effect on ToM. Later epilepsy onset and temporal origin of epilepsy were associated with higher (better) ToM scores relative to earlier epilepsy onset and extra‐temporal epilepsy (including hemispherotomy in one case). Children in whom the amygdala was resected had worse ToM scores.

Conclusion. Children with refractory epilepsy have a ToM deficit that may not be accounted for by lower VIQ. Epilepsy surgery does not affect ToM functioning. Younger age at epilepsy onset is associated with poorer ToM, and temporal epilepsy with better ToM. Finally, the amygdala is implicated in ToM deficit. Patients and their parents should be educated about the possible consequences of epilepsy with regards to the development of social cognition and should be guided in order to help improve ToM.
Interictal epileptiform discharges in sleep and the role of the thalamus in Encephalopathy related to Status Epilepticus during slow Sleep
Authors: Gibbs Steve A. , Nobili Lino , Halász Péter
Published: January 2024

EEG activation of interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) during NREM sleep is a well‐described phenomenon that occurs in the majority of epileptic syndromes. In drug‐resistant focal epilepsy, IED activation seems to be related to slow wave activity (SWA), especially during arousal fluctuations, namely phase A of the cyclic alternating pattern (CAP). Conversely, in childhood focal epileptic syndromes, including Encephalopathy related to Status Epilepticus during slow Sleep (ESES), IED activation seems primarily modulated by sleep‐inducing and maintaining mechanisms as reflected by the dynamics of spindle frequency activity (SFA) rather than SWA. In this article, we will review the effect of sleep on IEDs with a particular attention on the activation and modulation of IEDs in ESES. Finally, we will discuss the role of the thalamus and cortico‐thalamic circuitry in this syndrome.
Encephalopathy related to Status Epilepticus during slow Sleep: a link with sleep homeostasis?
Authors: Rubboli Guido , Huber Reto , Tononi Giulio , Tassinari Carlo Alberto
Published: January 2024

Encephalopathy related to Status Epilepticus during slow Sleep (ESES) is a childhood epilepsy syndrome characterized by appearance of cognitive and behavioural disturbances in conjunction with a striking activation of EEG epileptic abnormalities during sleep. The link between the extreme amount of epileptic discharges during sleep and the deterioration of cognitive functions and behavior is poorly understood. We hypothesize that the negative effects of ESES may depend on the impairment of the synaptic homeostasis processes occurring during normal sleep and that are particularly important in the developmental age. Sleep ensures synaptic homeostasis by promoting synaptic weakening/elimination after the increase of synaptic strength that occurs during wakefulness. Changes in synaptic strength are reflected in the EEG by changes of sleep slow wave activity (SWA). Recent studies in ESES have failed to show changes of sleep SWA, particularly at the site of the epileptic focus, suggesting a spike‐related impairment of the homeostatic recovery of sleep. This impaired synaptic homeostasis in the critical period of development may alter cortical wiring and thereby disrupt, often irreversibly, cognitive functions and behavior, leading to the neuropsychological compromise typical of ESES.
Encephalopathy related to Status Epilepticus during slow Sleep: current concepts and future directions
Authors: Tassinari Carlo Alberto , Rubboli Guido
Published: January 2024

We present some aspects relevant to the definition and diagnosis of Encephalopathy related to Status Epilepticus during slow Sleep (ESES) to further understand the pathophysiological mechanisms in the light of current knowledge and some recent research. Future lines of research in ESES that include investigation of impairment of sleep homeostasis and disruption of age‐related plasticity processes in the developmental age are also discussed.
Abdominal epilepsia partialis continua in neurocysticercosis
Authors: Asranna Ajay , Sureshbabu Sachin , Mittal Gaurav , Peter Sudhir , Chindripu Shobhana , Saini Leena
Published: January 2024

Epilepsia partialis continua (EPC) of abdominal muscles is a rare entity with variable clinical localization and aetiology. A 25‐year‐old man presented with sudden onset of intermittent focal myoclonic movements involving the abdominal muscles on the right side exclusively, lasting from 20 minutes to an hour. Brain MRI revealed a ring‐enhancing lesion, suggestive of cysticercal granuloma over the left precentral gyrus. The patient fulfilled the revised diagnostic criteria for definitive diagnosis of neurocysticercosis. EEG did not show focal abnormalities during the events. Episodes of EPC were controlled with difficulty using 600 mg oxcarbazepine, 200 mg lacosamide, and 2,000 mg levetiracetam. The patient received antiparasitic therapy with albendazole (15 mg/kg for two weeks) and oral dexamethasone (0.1 mg/kg) for two weeks which was then tapered. The involvement of the primary motor cortex during ictal propagation may account for this curious phenomenon. This is the first report of abdominal EPC in a patient with inflammatory granuloma as a result of neurocysticercosis.
Brainstem lesion causing paroxysmal ataxia, dysarthria, diplopia and hemifacial spasm (PADDHS)
Authors: Ferrante Enrico , Marazzi Maria Raffaella , Trimboli Michele , Dalla Costa Davide , Erminio Cristina , Nobili Lino
Published: January 2024

Content available: Video
Facial dystonic seizures‐plus associated with anti‐LGI1 antibody encephalitis
Authors: Miao Ailiang , Wang Xiaoshan , Wang Lingling
Published: January 2024

Content available: Video
Ketogenic parenteral nutrition in three paediatric patients with epilepsy with migrating focal seizures
Authors: Armeno Marisa , Verini Antonella , Araujo Maria B. , Reyes Gabriela , Caraballo Roberto H.
Published: January 2024

Aims. Epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures (EIMFS) is a rare epilepsy syndrome, characterized by an onset of multifocal seizures before the age of six months and a rather typical ictal EEG pattern. The ketogenic diet (KD) has been shown to be a treatment option in these patients with variable results. The KD is generally given by enteral formula or solid food, however, patients on the KD often have coexisting medical disorders that may impair the gastrointestinal tract and, in these cases, parenteral nutrition support may be needed. We present our experience with three patients who had been on the KD because of EIMFS, who were acutely unable to absorb nutrients through the intestinal tract.

Results. For these patients, we were unable to reach ketogenic ratios higher than 1.5:1 because of the limited fat intake via the parenteral route. This ratio, nevertheless, was adequate for maintenance of seizure control while allowing short‐term bowel rest.

Conclusions. Even though our report is limited as it provides no controlled evidence, ketogenic parenteral nutrition should be considered in children on the KD when enteral nutrition is not feasible. Special care should be taken to maintain ketosis and avoid undesired carbohydrates. Patients may respond well to ketogenic parenteral nutrition in spite of a lower ketogenic ratio.
Avoiding anaesthetics after multiple failed drug‐induced comas: an unorthodox approach to management of new‐onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE)
Authors: Eaton James E. , Meriweather Matthew T. , Abou‐Khalil Bassel W. , Sonmezturk Hasan H.
Published: January 2024

New‐onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE) is a rare, poorly understood and often catastrophic condition. There is little guidance available for management. Here, we describe the course of a 19‐year‐old man with NORSE who was treated successfully with a new approach. Our patient was initially treated with first‐, second‐ and third‐line agents including a total of seven failed drug‐induced coma courses until the 30th day of hospitalization. When withdrawal of care was contemplated, management was then assumed by dedicated epileptologists and treatment course was changed. An unorthodox decision was made to avoid IV anaesthetics unless there were generalized bisynchronous tonic‐clonic or generalized non‐convulsive (electrographic) seizures. This approach allowed real‐time assessment of treatment response to aggressive non‐sedating AED therapy while the multifocal convulsive and non‐convulsive seizures were ongoing. It also eliminated potentially fatal IV anaesthetic‐induced complications and prevented anaesthetic withdrawal seizures. This was effective in achieving full recovery in our patient. The patient's awakening also changed the perspective of family members and care providers, avoiding premature withdrawal of care, which is often the cause of death in similar patients.
Benign Rolandic epilepsy: widespread increases in connectivity in a focal epilepsy syndrome
Authors: Ghantasala Ramya , Holmes Gregory L.
Published: January 2024

Aim
. Benign Rolandic epilepsy (benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes; recently renamed self‐limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes) is associated with widespread deficits in cognition and behavior, suggesting abnormalities in networks that extend beyond the centrotemporal region. To assess functional connectivity in children with benign Rolandic epilepsy, we assessed EEG spectral power and coherence during awake and sleep records in 27 children with centrotemporal spikes. Coherence represents the consistency of the phase difference between two EEG signals when compared over time and serves as a measure of synchronization between two EEG signals based mainly on phase consistency.

Methods
. Epochs of EEG with and without centrotemporal spikes were compared during both waking and sleep.

Results
. During the spike epochs, there was an increase in spectral power at all frequencies, although statistical significance was seen primarily in the delta, theta and alpha bandwidths. This increase in absolute power was seen at all electrode sites and was similar in left and right‐sided electrodes. During centrotemporal spikes, there were significant changes in coherence compared to the EEG segments without spikes. In the theta, alpha and beta bandwidths, there were significant increases in coherence. The increases in coherences were widespread and bilateral, and involved electrode pairs outside the central and temporal regions. To determine if there was a relationship between location of the spikes and coherence values, right‐sided, left‐sided and bilateral centrotemporal spikes were compared. There was no relationship between location of the centrotemporal spikes and power or coherence values.

Conclusion
. These findings indicate that benign Rolandic epilepsy results in generalized changes in spectral power and connectivity and raises the suggestion that from a functional standpoint, benign Rolandic epilepsy resembles a generalized rather than focal seizure disorder.
Adverse effects of cannabinoids
Authors: Anciones Carla , Gil‐Nagel Antonio
Published: January 2024

Cannabidiol is a cannabinoid‐derived product that has recently been approved for the treatment of pharmacoresistant seizures in patients with epileptic encephalopathies such as Dravet Syndrome and Lennox‐Gastaut Syndrome. Short‐term side effects of cannabidiol are well know and well‐documented in the clinical trials that lead to its approval. Generally, is a well tolerated drug with transitory, dose‐dependent mild to moderate effects like somnolence, decreased appetite or diarrhoea. However severe life‐threatening reactions can also occur, and are often related to the non‐controlled toxic combination with other antiseizure drugs that are widely used in this type of patients like sodium valproate or clobazam. In this brief review we summarize the available data about the short‐term adverse events of cannabidiol. Further studies are required to assess the long‐term outcome and final resolution of these conditions regarding safety of these patients.
Pharmacological monitoring of antiepileptic drugs in epilepsy patients on haemodialysis
Authors: Araki Kunihiko , Nakamura Tomohiko , Takeuchi Yuko , Morozumi Saori , Horie Katsunori , Kobayashi Yasushi , Kawakami Osamu , Sobue Fumio , Ueda Takuya , Hamada Kensuke , Ando Tetsuo , Inoue Yushi , Yasui Keizo , Morozumi Kunio , Maruyama Shoichi , Katsuno Masahisa
Published: January 2024

Aims
: To retrospectively evaluate the pharmacological profiles of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in epilepsy patients during haemodialysis using therapeutic drug monitoring data.

Methods
: The serum concentration of AEDs was collected before and after haemodialysis, and the clearance rate and concentration‐to‐dose ratio were calculated as pharmacological parameters.

Results
: Thirty‐six patients were enrolled in the study (25 males, 11 females; age: 65.3 ± 14.8 years). In 24 of the 36 patients, epilepsy was associated with cerebrovascular disorders, and diabetes was the most common reason for haemodialysis in 16 patients. With regards to seizure type, focal aware seizures were less frequent than focal impaired awareness seizures and focal‐to‐bilateral tonic‐clonic seizures. Interictal EEG showed intermittent rhythmic slow waves and intermittent slow waves more often than spikes or sharp waves. Levetiracetam was the most commonly used AED and led to the highest percentage of responders (80%; 16/20 patients). However, the clearance rate of levetiracetam during dialysis was highest among the antiepileptic drugs used, requiring supplementary doses after haemodialysis in all 20 patients. Valproic acid was not effective for focal epilepsy for patients on haemodialysis, and non‐responders to phenytoin had low serum concentration of phenytoin both before and after haemodialysis. The pre‐haemodialysis concentration of levetiracetam tended to be higher than the reference range, suggesting a potential risk of overdosing before haemodialysis. The pre‐ and post‐haemodialysis concentrations of valproic acid tended to be lower than the reference range, suggesting a potential risk of underdosing. The concentration‐to‐dose ratios for levetiracetam, valproic acid, phenytoin, and carbamazepine were significantly lower after than before haemodialysis.

Conclusions
: The majority of patients with epilepsy on haemodialysis had cerebrovascular diseases, and therapeutic drug monitoring for levetiracetam, valproic acid, and phenytoin, before and after haemodialysis, is needed to ensure proper dosing.
Assessment of physical activity, exercise capacity and fitness level of the Polish esports players
Authors: Frączek Barbara , Szot Monika , Sagalara Andrzej , Krzepota Sebastian , Skorko Maciek , Błachnio Dariusz , Bertrandt Bartosz , Szymaniuk Krzysztof , Klimek Andrzej
Published: January 2024

Professional esport requires players to maintain mental skills at a high level and health-promoting physical condition. The aim of this study was to analyze the levels of physical activity (PA), exercise capacity and physical fitness. The study included 196 male Polish esports players (mean: 20.5±2.4 years), who completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) (n= 187), underwent exercise test using a cycle ergometer (n= 141) and participated in selected tests of physical fitness (n= 175). The average total energy expenditure was 1040 MET-min⋅week-1. The results show that most esports players had low (38%) and moderate (36.4%) levels of PA, and were characterized by an average level of cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max= 41.92±5.41 mL∙kg-1∙min-1), and the amount of muscle power generated at the level of AeT (90.98±27.19 W), AnT (149.91± 29.91 W) and VO2max (210.29±42.63 W) was lower than published evidence on physically-active men. Physical fitness of the players was assessed as being satisfactory, but more research needed to clearly confirm this.
Possible ways of translanguaging at the school’s micro-level. The aftermath of a translanguaging project of introducing non-standardised ways of speaking to school for Roma bilingual children
Authors: Jani-Demetriou Bernadett , Lévai-Kerekes Erika
Published: January 2024

The present study encounters the long-term process of a linguistic ethnographic research. The research took place in a primary school in Hungary, with students being Hungarian-Romani speaking bilingual Roma children and Hungarian as the language of instruction. The research, initiated in 2016, developed an educational approach in the school based on a translanguaging stance through multiple sub-projects and a three-year Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership Program. The applied translanguaging approach involved the Roma children’s home ways of speaking into the children’s learning. Translanguaging was first introduced at the macro level of the school with the cooperation of the school’s management, participant researchers, teachers, parents, teacher trainees and university students. The Erasmus program terminated in 2021. This study details the process of how, following the completion of this macro-level project, translanguaging can be sustained at the micro level within the school. It also discusses the difficulties and challenges faced by teachers when implementing translanguaging at the micro level, after macro-level planning and strategy have concluded.
"A Flight of Alien, Unclean Birds": The Mobility of Hobo Labor in Iowa 1870s-1910s
Authors: Tye Nathan
Published: January 2024

NATHAN TYE explores the place of hobos in Iowa during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He argues that transitory workers' illicit rail travel, apparent disconnection from society, and sudden arrival and departure unsettled rural and urban lowans and that hobos' efforts to advocate and organize publicly elicited strong responses from legislators, law enforcement, editorialists, and even the Iowa Supreme Court
Atlantic Northern & Southern An Iowa Twilight Railroad
Authors: Grant H. Roger
Published: January 2024

H. ROGER GRANT examines the rise and decline of an important twilight railroad in Southwest Iowa, the Atlantic Northern & Southern. Grant's work reveals the complex and occasionally competing interests that contributed to the development of the line. In a saga that ranges from hamlets like Grant and Kimballton to cities like Des Moines and even to international railroad syndicates across the Atlantic, Grant demonstrates the importance of railroads, even in the early twentieth century.
The Concept of Katechon in the Thought of Carl Schmitt: Towards a Different Universalism?
Authors: Uchaev Yevgeny
Published: January 2024

The concept of katechon, in the way it is generally invoked today, only exacerbates already existing political and ideological divisions, pitting ‘conservatism’ against ‘progressivism’, or ‘multipolarity’ against ‘globalism’ and ‘hegemony’. With Carl Schmitt as an unlikely ally, this article argues that the katechon might instead offer an alternative — non-liberal and non-revolutionary — universalist political project, thus showing the way out of these oppositions. Contrary to dominant interpretations, Schmittian notion of the katechon is not a legitimation of either sovereign state power or international plurality. Instead, it embodies an underappreciated universalist strand in Schmitt’s thought, which stands in tension with the confrontational and pluralist logic of his concept of the political or the idea of the Grossraum order. For Schmitt, the katechon implies an essentially non-sovereign form of power, which both maintains and renews an existing social order to ensure the continuation of history understood as the realm of ‘infinite singularity’. In modern times, this primarily involves guarding against the threat of technocratic globalization that portends either a collapse of humanity into nature-like regularities or its technological suicide. However, instead of opting for international plurality as a solution, in an often-neglected Spanish version of an essay “The Unity of the World” Schmitt directly links the katechontic theology of history to a specific kind of ‘true’ political universalism, opposed both to the ‘false’ universalism of techno-economic liberalism, and to antagonistic pluralism. Although he does not explicitly elaborate the details of this ‘true’ universalism, his work hints at the diarchy of spiritual and temporal powers as a crucial element of katechontic world unity.
A new reduced quantile function for generating families of distributions
Authors: Prince O Chukwuma , Etaga O Harrison , Precious Ibeakuzie , Ifeanyi C Anabike , Okechukwu J Obulezi
Published: January 2024

In this paper, a variant of the T-X(Y) generator was developed by suppressing the scale parameter of the classical Lomax distribution in the quantile function. Uniquely, the reduction of the number of parameters essentially accounts for the parsimony of the attendant model. The study considered the Exponential distribution as the transformer and consequently obtained the New Reduced Quantile Exponential-G (NRQE-G) family. The Type-II Gumbel distribution was deployed as the baseline to obtain a special sub-model known as the New Reduced Quantile Exponential Type-II Gumbel (NRQE-T2G) model. Some functional properties of the distribution namely, moment and its related measures such as the mean, variance, second, third, and fourth moments were obtained. The Mode, skewness, Kurtosis, index of dispersion, coefficient of variation, order statistics, survival, hazard, and quantile function were also derived. The maximum likelihood estimation method was used to estimate its parameters. The model's credibility, applicability, and flexibility were proven using two real-life datasets.
Use of Waste Banana Peel Ash in Glaze Making
Authors: Çınar Selim , Tazeoğlu Filiz Ferda
Published: January 2024

Banana peel waste is a very rich organic source of alkali oxides used in glaze composition. Today, the importance of concepts such as sustainability, recycling, and upcycling has accelerated research into recycling mineral-rich resources such as banana peel, which is considered waste. The use of this mineral-rich resource in the production of ash glaze in the field of ceramic art and the development of new surface suggestions in ceramic art in this context constitute the basis of the research. In this research, the banana peel wastes obtained from Selçuk University dining hall were dried and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed. The banana peel ash calcined at 1000°C was analyzed by XRF analyzer on an elemental basis between Na-U and oxide semi-quantitatively. Using the binary system, glaze recipes developed at 1200°C from banana peel ash with potassium, sodium and ulexite additives were prepared and the possibilities of using banana peel ash in glaze were investigated.
The research results show that banana peel ash can be used as the main source for obtaining natural ash glaze, as well as an alternative to alkali oxides in standard transparent glaze composition at 1200°C.
Immunocytochemistry for the characterization of hiPSC to Motor Neuron differentiation v1
Authors: Wright Mallory , not provided ckremitz , J Buchser William
Published: January 2024

This immunocytochemistry protocol is used for the characterization of IPSC differentiation into motor neurons using several biomarkers: neuroepithelial cells (SOX1), motor neuron progenitors (OLIG2 and NKX2.2), motor neurons (MNX1), and the mature motor neurons (ISL, ChAT, MAP2). *Primary and secondary antibody information located in materials section
Mykhailo Moklyachuk – to the 75th anniversary of his birth
Authors:   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, Borysenko Oleksandr , Zubchenko Volodymyr ,   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mishura Yuliya ,   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, Perestyuk Mykola ,   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, Yamnenko Rostyslav ,   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, Yanevych Tetyana ,   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
Published: January 2024

On September 28, 2023, Mykhailo Moklyachuk, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor, Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in Education, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, and Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Higher School of Ukraine, celebrated his 75th birthday. His scientific research is devoted to the study of stationary random processes, functionalities of stationary processes, and random fields.
Investigation of the scoring model for bank borrowers
Authors:   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, Zubchenko Volodymyr , Avramenko A. V. ,   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
Published: January 2024

In the paper we investigate scoring models as a tool for credit risk management, their importance, types, features and applications. We consider the history of scoring models and the development of the modern concepts of creditworthiness and scoring, examine scoring types and their features, methods (logistic regression, decision trees, linear programming, decision trees, and others), strengths and weaknesses of each considered method and stages of building scoring models; we stress the importance of scoring cards for building scoring models, indicate the main quantitative and qualitative features, their classification used for and describe the procedure of creating scoring cards. In the paper we consider the factors needed to be considered for more effective scoring model building process; we indicate the main formulas used to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers and improve the accuracy of scoring models, including Population Stability Index (PSI), R-Square Coefficient, Kolmogorov-Smirnov Coefficient, GINI Coefficient, and others; the practical application of scoring models in banks of Ukraine and their steps after applying scoring models are described on the example of a typical borrower.
Development and Testing of a Test to Measure Unethical Academic Behavior of Students
Authors: Maxim M.R.
Published: January 2024

The modern psychological literature presents several approaches to measuring ethical attitudes in young people. This indicates the prospects for the development of measurement tests and the accumulation of empirical data on their application. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the results of a test measuring students’ attitudes toward unethical academic behavior. This test is the first stage in creating a set of measurements that will allow us to record changes in attitudes toward ethical standards, assess the ability to ethically reason, and predict the likelihood of ethically risky behavior. Based on existing experience, a 40-question test has been developed to measure student unethical academic behavior (UAB). The study received questionnaires from 184 respondents (age range: 18 to 24 years). Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, discriminativity index, and analysis of medial values were used to process and analyze the data. Testing of the questionnaire showed its validity (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for 37 questions was 0.8) and allowed for post-hoc analysis.
Psychological Predicates of Victim Behavior of Young People with Intellectual Disabilities
Authors: Bystrova Yu.A. , Bystrov A.E.
Published: January 2024

The study is aimed at identifying the main individual psychological qualities of a personality that provoking the occurrence of victim behavior in high school students with intellectual disabilities (ID). Victim behavior is considered as the behavior of an individual with a social deviation from the norm, in which the individual himself, due to the commission of certain actions or inaction, finds himself in the role of a victim of a situation, conflict, bullying, fraud or other illegal actions. The study involved high school students with ID (N=492) living in Russia, including the newly annexed regions of Lugansk, Kherson and Donetsk regions. The study used methods of problematization, dialogization, and group interaction. It has been revealed that personal immaturity, impulsiveness, suggestibility, very high or low self-esteem, poor regulation of one’s emotional state and behavior, concrete thinking, and weak analysis of situations contribute to the development of victim behavior in students with ID. The data obtained in the study are sufficient material for organizing preventive work to reduce victimization among students with ID.
Black Mothering, Serious Mental Illness, and Caregiving
Authors:   , Anthony Marcella A. , Smith-Budhai Stephanie C.
Published: January 2024

Several movements in American history have paved the way for social critiques that privilege the experiences and accounts of Black identities as intersectional, critical, and instrumental to social justice (Collins, 1986; Crenshaw, 1991; Crenshaw et al., 2015). "Blackgirl" and "Blackgirlwoman: narratives coined by Boylorn (2016) and Hill (2019) have emerged to describe the uniquely intertwined identities that bleed so thoroughly into one another that the words, like the identities, become inseparable and describe a distinct state of being. The author's Black mother caregiver narrative draws attention to the historical ambivalence toward the prevalence of health disparities in the Black community and its impact on her family, and the mistreatment of Black people, particularly those living with mental illness (Eichelberger et al., 2016; Patterson, 2009) as intersectionality. Serious mental illness (SMI) has been shown to amplify the mortality of Black people due to the combination of race-based health disparities that contribute to early death in this population and increased mortality in people living with SMI. This exploratory singular case study uses an autoethnographic approach to describe the researcher's resistance to society's stereotypes of Black mothers, their progeny, and mental illness in the Black community. It is a critique of the societal systems and historical institutions that were not designed to value or support the Black mother caregiver experience. It blends researcher and participant into one-mirroring the blended identities of BoylornÊ»s "Blackgirl" and HillÊ»s "Blackgirlwoman." Three questions guide this account and deepen the exploration of the Black mother caregiver experience: 1. What societal structures influence how I construct my identity as a Black mother caregiver for a young adult living with serious mental illness (SMI)? 2. How do I perceive social barriers that impact my caregiving identity and effectiveness? 3. In what ways do I negotiate my roles in society that align with the experiences of other Black women? This account applies the exploratory singular case study methodology using an autoethnographic approach to understanding a Black mother caregiver's experiences in society, framed with caregiver identity, the critical theories, and intersectionality to understand the societal bridges and barriers to Black mother caregiver success, empowerment, and thriving. The conceptual framework views and seeks out the Black mother caregiver in the literature through the themes of (1) critical theory, (2) caregiver identity, and (3) intersectionality to inform this study. Keywords: Black mother, Black caregiver, caregiver, caregiving, mental illness, critical disability theory, critical race theory, intersectionality, racism, health disparities, mental health disparities
The birth of the deep state
Authors: Koktysh K.E. , Sergeev V.M.
Published: January 2024

A number of political scientists believe that the ‘deep state’ originated simultaneously with the state itself. But in fact, the authors of the article prove that the first effective ‘deep state’ in modern history appeared in England during the time of Henry VIII. Then, having nationalized the church, the king added to his powers the right to create and interpret norms. In response, reacting to the imbalance of the political system created by the king, the English aristocracy set out to control the monarch. The newly created network of influence was based on corruption: belonging to it guaranteed, to an official in the king’s service, additional benefits and career perspectives. The mean of internal control of the network was ‘ritual compromising evidence’, when other members witnessed the violating of generally accepted norms and rules. This guaranteed that in case of betrayal the reputation and future of any potential renegade would be destroyed. However, this triggered the processes of ‘normalization of violations,’ which culminated in the Cromwellian revolution and the Westminster Confession, which not only nullified out all compromising evidence, but also abolished the concept of sin in general. After recovering from the upheaval, England managed to summarize and theorize its experience. In the following century, it started to extrapolate it to France, which was its main geopolitical rival, mastering the techniques of cognitive programming. The same processes, that had spontaneously developed in England a century earlier, were launched in France, but in a controlled and guided form. England managed to create its own ‘deep state’ in France, which, in fact, inspired and supported the French Enlightenment by introducing into the public discourse concepts, which were in fact, cognitive operators: their implementation led to the natural conclusion of the backwardness of France compared to England. At the same time, the ‘deep state’ became a stable construct: thus, classical institutionalism assumes it as an integral part of the secular political system. In particular, this was realized, and promoted as a norm, by J.-J. Rousseau. The authors draw a number of conclusions on the construction of the deep state. It is always a network of influence, an alternative to power, which actively uses corruption as an instrument of stimulation and employs compromising evidence as an instrument of control.
Nicotine Dependence and Perceived Stress during the Pandemic
Authors: Ryansyah Irgie Catur , Setyaningrum Dyah Ayu Woro
Published: January 2024

Background
The development of COVID-19, which continues to increase in Indonesia, impacts the Indonesian people and causes stress due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior studies in several countries have shown that stress affects smokers during the COVID-19 pandemic. It affects smokers in two different ways, either they increase smoking or decrease smoking. This study aimed to determine the effect of Nicotine, smoking history, and changes in smoking habits during the COVID-19 pandemic on stress in smokers.
Methods
We conducted an online survey among active smokers in one of the villages in the South Lampung district, Indonesia November 2020 (n = 150). The survey includes sex, marital status, age of smoking initiation, duration as a smoker, changes in smoking frequency, questionnaire for nicotine dependence (the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence questionnaire) and The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Data were analyzed with Chi-square<0.05).
Results
The results showed that the PSS score had a significant association with changes in smoking frequency (p=0.004) and nicotine dependence (p=0.001).
Conclusions
The study concluded that variations in nicotine dependence and changing smoking habits impacted perceived stress in smokers during the pandemic. There is a significant relationship between age at starting to smoke, number of cigarettes per day, duration of smoking habits, degree of smoking habits, and changes in smoking habits with stress levels in smokers in the COVID-19 pandemic era, and there is no relationship between types of cigarettes consumed, and stress levels in smokers in COVID-19 pandemic era.
Comparative Studies about vaccine development for COVID-19
Authors: Alsayed Raghda , Zainulabdeen Khalid , Salman Israa , Hairunisa Nany , Amalia Husnun , Yusop Rahimi M , Redwan Amamer M , Yousif Emad
Published: January 2024

The human respiratory system can be infected with coronaviruses (CoVs), one of the families of viruses that can lead to symptoms ranging from mild to fatal. Seven genera of CVS have been identified as having human infection to date. The virus can spread as fine, liquid particles from the mouth or nose of an infected person when coughing, sneezing, speaking, or breathing. The diameter of droplet particles ranges from large to small. In this review, we summarize vaccine development for COVID-19. We anticipate this study will be a valuable resource for any researcher interested in creating a COVID-19 vaccine.