bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Investigating the Effect of Contextual Cueing with Face Stimuli on Electrophysiological Measures in Younger and Older Adults
Authors: Nagy Boglárka , Kojouharova Petia , Protzner Andrea B. , Gaál Zsófia Anna
Published: March 2024

Extracting repeated patterns from our surroundings plays a crucial role in contextualizing information, making predictions, and guiding our behavior implicitly. Previous research showed that contextual cueing enhances visual search performance in younger adults. In this study, we investigated whether contextual cueing could also improve older adults' performance and whether age-related differences in the neural processes underlying implicit contextual learning could be detected. Twenty-four younger and 25 older participants performed a visual search task with contextual cueing. Contextual information was generated using repeated face configurations alongside random new configurations. We measured RT difference between new and repeated configurations; ERPs to uncover the neural processes underlying contextual cueing for early (N2pc), intermediate (P3b), and late (r-LRP) processes; and multiscale entropy and spectral power density analyses to examine neural dynamics. Both younger and older adults showed similar contextual cueing benefits in their visual search efficiency at the behavioral level. In addition, they showed similar patterns regarding contextual information processing: Repeated face configurations evoked decreased finer timescale entropy (1–20 msec) and higher frequency band power (13–30 Hz) compared with new configurations. However, we detected age-related differences in ERPs: Younger, but not older adults, had larger N2pc and P3b components for repeated compared with new configurations. These results suggest that contextual cueing remains intact with aging. Although attention- and target-evaluation-related ERPs differed between the age groups, the neural dynamics of contextual learning were preserved with aging, as both age groups increasingly utilized more globally grouped representations for repeated face configurations during the learning process.
L’élaboration d’une normativité en droit des gens: le recours au discours historique dans le De legationibus d’Alberico Gentili
Authors: Colpaint Emilie
Published: March 2024

The development of normativity in international law: the use of historical discourse in Alberico Gentili’s De legationibus. – The aim of this article is to examine the sources used and the method employed by Alberico Gentili in his De legationibus, to elaborate a norm for the law of embassies. Although legal sources feature prominently in this treatise, the majority of them are derived from a variety of sources from Antiquity (historians, philosophers, rhetors, poets, etc.). Alberico Gentili mainly uses historical sources, and more specifically the exemplum, in his treatise. By mobilizing historical exempla alongside legal sources, the jurist created a rational normative system capable of responding to the diplomatic challenges of the sixteenth century brought about by constantly evolving practice.
Reframing Revolution and Solidarity: Photography and Visual Culture in ospaaal Poster Art (1967–1990)
Authors: Schmiedecke Natália Ayo , Zerwes Erika , Generoso Lídia
Published: March 2024

This article analyses the uses of photography in the posters produced and distributed by the Organisation of solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America (ospaaal) between 1967 and 1990. Founded during the Tricontinental Conference of 1966, ospaaal was active until 2019 and had as one of its main tasks the creation of propaganda materials helping promote causes supported by the Cuban government across the three continents. The organisation produced over 300 posters distributed globally along with its official magazine, the Tricontinental. We combine thematic and visual perspectives in examining how ospaaal posters published during the Cold War period made use of photography. Our goal is to understand how ospaaal contributed to a reframing of ‘solidarity’ and ‘revolution’ through tricontinental lenses. The article is structured to provide an overview of how the organisation utilised photography in its poster production, to demonstrate how this body of work is connected to inter-war photographic traditions and contemporary left-wing visual culture, and to reflect on ospaaal’s contributions to revolutionary iconography.
Morphological, structural, and ultrastructural key features of hyperhydricity in Beta vulgaris L. var. saccharifera
Authors: Petrus-Vancea Adriana , Petrus Cristian Mircea
Published: March 2024

Hyperhydricity, as a phenomenon specific to in vitro plants, triggers a series of changes at the cell and tissue level, which modify the plants’ physiological processes. For a better understanding of this phenomenon, we found it useful to present here the fundamental research on establishing the steps of structural and ultrastructural degradation of cells and tissues, observed by light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses, in the leaves of Beta vulgaris var. saccharifera, at 30 days of secondary culture, and their correlation with viability in the third culture. Comparative with control (non-hyperhydric plants), three degradation steps of hyperhydricity were identified in plants regenerated on a culture medium with 2.5 mg·L-1 6-benzyladenine. The first step involved cell wall deformation, which lost its rigidity and became sinuous, causing the enlargement of the intercellular spaces. In the second step, these spaces formed gaps through their union, and the whole membrane system suffered: both chloroplasts and tonoplast were broken (the cytoplasm and vacuolar composition were mixed), the nuclear membrane presented undulations, just before the damage to the tonoplast, and the nucleus became pyknotic. In step 3, the cell showed the beginning of lysis, which leads to necrosis, the cell had nothing in common with a normal ultrastructure. For in vitro plants in this final step, there was no chance of surviving but in steps I and II, the viability was 55-75%. These features can be useful to producers to calculate the level of culture damage and start measures to prevent losses.
A Change Towards Preschool Inclusion: A Case Study
Authors: Lundqvist Johanna , Arvidsson Patrik
Published: March 2024

The aim is to examine the work at a Swedish preschool that is striving to become inclusive for a group of children with disabilities. The bioecological model and a mixed method case study design were adopted. One head teacher, ten preschool staff members, and four children with disabilities participated. Data were collected by way of observations, one focus group interview, and two retrospective interviews. Statistical and thematic data analyses were conducted. Ethical approval was obtained. A decision is made to create a new unit in the preschool. The unit is given a specialised organisational typology. The preschool integrates activities and different types of support provisions. The quality of inclusion practices and support provisions in the preschool is almost good. At a time when inclusion is valued, this study can provide a basis for interesting discussions about preschool inclusion in Sweden and other countries.
Typification and interpretation of Potentilla acaulis L. (Rosaceae)
Authors: ŠÍDA OTAKAR , BÖHMOVÁ ALŽBĚTA , ROSENBAUMOVÁ RADKA , DUCHÁČEK MICHAL
Published: March 2024

Although the majority of Linnaean Potentilla names (Rosaceae) have been already typified, the type of P. acaulis L. remains uncertain. All material related to P. acaulis were traced in herbaria LINN and PR, and their origin and time of inclusion into Linnaeus’ herbarium are discussed. A lectotype is selected from the original material examined by Linnaeus and now deposited in PR. The change in species concept in later Linnaean works and its importance for interpretation of the extant herbarium material related to the name is also discussed.
Statistical Characteristics and Synoptic Patterns of Convection Initiation over the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Basin as Observed Using the Fengyun-4A Satellite
Authors: Li Shanshan , Wang Xiaofang , Sun Jianhua , Ma Zheng , Zhang Yuanchun , Gao Yuan , Hu Yang , Zhang Wengang
Published: March 2024

Convection initiations (CIs) observed using the advanced geosynchronous radiation imager on the Chinese Fengyun-4A satellite were identified over the middle reaches of the Yangtze River basin during warm season (May–September) of 2018–21. A hybrid objective tracking algorithm combining the conventional area overlapping with the Kalman filter method was applied. Subsequently, spatial and temporal variations in the identified CIs and their synoptic circulation patterns were analyzed. The frequency of CIs was highest in August and lowest in May. Nearly 81% of CIs occurred during noon–afternoon (1100–1859 LST), with the highest frequency in the southern mountains of the study region, whereas the CIs with relatively low frequency moved to the plains from afternoon to morning (1700–1059 LST). The diurnal variation of CIs throughout the study region exhibited a unimodal structure, with a peak appearing at noon (1200–1259 LST). CIs during noon–afternoon in July and August had faster cloud-top cooling rates. The synoptic circulations without tropical cyclones during noon–afternoon hours were classified into four patterns by hierarchical clustering; two dominant patterns (i.e., SW-Flows and S-Flows) had broader areas of higher most unstable convective available potential energy (MUCAPE), whereas the 0–3-km shear (SHR3) was the weakest in the S-Flows pattern. It was clear that the high-frequency areas of CIs were most likely to occur in stronger MUCAPE and weaker SHR3 environments, and CIs were more controlled by thermally unstable environments. We further illustrated that CIs tend to concentrate in unstable and moisture flux convergence areas affected by mountains.
General and Stereotype-Based Microaggressions Experienced by Asians and Asian Americans in the Workplace: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Nguyen Duoc V. , Block Caryn J. , Kim Jennifer Y. , Yu Hong
Published: March 2024

The purpose of this study was to uncover the racial microaggressions that Asians and Asian Americans experience in the workplace. Qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with 19 Asian and Asian American men and women, representing a variety of Asian ethnicities, with work experience in various industries. Results revealed seven themes of workplace racial microaggressions: (a) Invalidation of Individual Differences, (b) Unrecognized Contributions and Undervalued Employee, (c) Being Singled Out, (d) Demeaning Cultural Values and Communication Styles, (e) Ascription of Subservience, (f) Ascription of Diligence, and (g) Ascription of Math Competency. These seven themes were classified into two broader categories. The first four themes were classified into general microaggressions, which embodied microaggressions experienced by Asians but could also be experienced by other people of color. The last three themes were classified into stereotype-based microaggressions, which embodied how Asians were treated differently through the lens of stereotypes that others held of Asians. Although, Ascription of Math Competency and Ascription of Diligence may be seen as positive, these microaggressions yielded more assigned math-related work rather than the employee’s preferences and longer working hours, respectively. The effect of these microaggressions rendered Asian employees as visible in terms of their race, whereas invisible in terms of their professional contributions. Implications of these findings for improving experiences of Asians in the workplace are discussed.
Economics of the Name, Image, and Likeness Landscape: Payoffs, Social Norms, and the Collective Action Problem
Authors: Sadler Thomas R.
Published: March 2024

This article investigates the collective action problem in the name, image, and likeness (NIL) era. By allowing college athletes to profit from their NIL through endorsements, sponsorships, and social media presence, athletes may now receive unlimited monetary benefits for their participation in college sports. But a collection action problem exists. Although all universities benefit from the NIL landscape, they do not have to disclose their NIL data. In addressing this problem, the article finds that, when athletic departments are selfish, defection from a position of cooperation exists as a dominant strategy. An emerging social norm of information disclosure is insufficient to provide an incentive for disclosure.
Safe as Houses: Financialization, Foreclosure, and Precarious Homeownership in the United States
Authors: Kahn Walker Nelson
Published: March 2024

The financialization of the U.S. economy has had important implications for household well-being, but the mechanisms connecting financialization and precarity have not been fully identified. This research identifies mortgage foreclosure as a nexus connecting macro-level financialization to an array of downstream consequences for homeowners and asks (1) how mortgage securitization, a key technology of financialization, enabled new foreclosure practices; and (2) how these practices affect housing precarity among homeowners at risk of foreclosure. To answer these questions, I analyze court records, interviews with key participants, and primary source documents to examine the evolution of mortgage foreclosure in Cook County, Illinois, from 1992 to 2006. I find that as mortgage securitization transformed the social and economic relations between borrowers and lenders, foreclosure became actively managed as both a driver of costs and a source of profits, and loan administrators and their attorneys worked to reduce costly borrower protections. These changes increased housing precarity by making foreclosure more frequent and more rapid.
The Use of Ipratropium Bromide for the Treatment of Pediatric Sialorrhea: A Retrospective Clinical Case Series
Authors: Tunio Suhaima , Strychowsky Julie E. , Dzioba Agnieszka , You Peng , Madou Edward , Chen Breanna A.
Published: March 2024

Objective:

This retrospective review documents the experience of ipratropium bromide use among pediatric patients with sialorrhea at our multidisciplinary sialorrhea clinic at Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC).

Methods:

A retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with sialorrhea at our multidisciplinary clinic between January 2015 and June 2021 was completed. Data on patient demographics, comorbidities, clinical presentation, previous interventions, quality of life, and medication adverse side effects was collected. Drooling Frequency and Severity Scale (DFSS) scores were reviewed to compare sialorrhea management pre- and post-treatment with topical 0.03% ipratropium bromide nasal solution. A descriptive analysis and Wilcoxon signed rank tests were conducted to compare pre- versus post-treatment DFSS scores.

Results:

A total of 12 patients presented for follow-up and were included in the final analysis. At the pre-treatment visit, the median DFSS score was 4 for frequency and 5 for severity. Post-treatment, median DFSS score was 3 for frequency and 4.5 for severity, ( P = .020 and .129, respectively). Minimal adverse effects were encountered.

Conclusions:

Ipratropium bromide provided a statistically significant benefit for drooling frequency in the patients studied and may present an additional topical medical option for pediatric sialorrhea with limited adverse effects.
Triadic Technology Configuration: A Relational Perspective on Technologists’ Role in Shaping Cloud-Based Technologies
Authors: Myers Jenna E.
Published: March 2024

Through an ethnographic study of a manufacturing monitoring technology, the author examines how the relations among workers, managers, and third-party technologists impact the ongoing configuration of cloud-based workplace technologies. Because these technologies are broadly networked, data-driven, and highly malleable, the author argues that technologists have an increasingly prominent role. By tracing issues raised by workers and managers in the focal customer firm, the study shows that the employment relation can explain only a limited set of outcomes. An analysis that accounts for technologists’ innovative and economic relations with their users fully explains which issues are resolved and how. In contrast to research that implies technologists amplify institutionalized patterns of labor–management relations through their design choices, this study shows that technologists are complex organizational actors with situated interests, values, and identities. Through the development of a triadic model of relations, the author demonstrates why technologists must be included in analyses of contemporary technologies.
What Adolescents Do or Say to Actively Influence Peers: Compliance-Gaining Tactics and Adolescent Deviance
Authors: Hoeben Evelien M. , Ten Cate Maartje A. , Weerman Frank M. , McGloin Jean Marie
Published: March 2024

Objectives: Despite abundant evidence of deviant peer influence, it remains unclear precisely how adolescents try to exert such influence. What do adolescents do or say to actively encourage or discourage deviance among their peers? The aim of the current study is to explore the different ways in which adolescents talk each other into—or out of—such behaviors. Methods: We analyzed narratives about delinquency ( N = 37), substance use ( N = 131), and other deviance ( N = 107), which were written by adolescents (ages 14–18) in secondary schools. The study combines criminological perspectives on situational group processes (i.e., instigation, reinforcement, and provocation) with insights on compliance-gaining from other disciplines to inform a qualitative investigation of key influence tactics. Results: Our results demonstrate that adolescents use a number of tactics to encourage and discourage deviance. Many of these same tactics are used to promote prosocial behavior, though provocation-like tactics are largely used to encourage deviance. Conclusions: The range of reported compliance tactics extends well beyond what is captured in typical studies of peer influence, largely revolving around the broader themes of instigation and attempts to impact the anticipated risks, costs, and rewards of behavior. Ultimately, this study underscores the multi-faceted, socially interactive nature of peer influence.
Using Longitudinal Surveillance of Unemployment Claims During Public Health Emergencies to Provide Timely and Granular Data on the Social Determinants of Health
Authors: Acosta Joie D. , Faherty Laura J. , Weden Margaret M.
Published: March 2024

Objective:

Employment is a well-documented social determinant of physical and mental health and can be used to determine who is disproportionately affected by public health emergencies. We examined trends in unemployment overall and by gender, by race or ethnic group, and by their interaction for 2 public health emergencies (the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 California wildfires).

Methods:

We obtained summary data files on the number of initial unemployment insurance (IUI) claims made in all 58 California counties from January 2018 through December 2021. We fit fixed-effects Poisson regression models to county data on weekly IUI claims cross-classified by gender and race or ethnic group. We used models to evaluate the overall effect of COVID-19, whether this effect changed over time increasing under compounding emergencies, and whether the overall and compounding effects of COVID-19 differed by gender and race or ethnic group.

Results:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, weekly IUI claims rates increased to as much as 10 times their prepandemic level. The increase in IUI claims for COVID-19 weeks, compared with weeks from the same month in the 2 years prior, was greater for women than for men of all race or ethnic groups, except for Black women. The higher rates of IUI claims for most women during COVID-19 entailed a reversal of prepandemic gender differences in claims that persisted through 2021.

Conclusion:

Public health officials should consider using IUI claims for surveillance of social determinants of health, particularly in the context of emergencies, which we show can have a persisting effect on the social patterning of social determinants. Future research is needed to forecast these affects and inform public health and policy mitigation and prevention strategies.
Measurement of ring spinning spun yarn spindle position based on binocular vision
Authors: Lv Hanming , Teng Fuhong , Wu Yutao
Published: March 2024

Aiming at the problem of insufficient positioning accuracy of the ring spinning spun yarn automatic jointing machine using an automated guided vehicle platform after spun yarn breakage, a three-dimensional coordinate detection method of the ring spinning spun yarn spindle position based on binocular vision is proposed. The bottom column of the spindle was selected as the detection target, the contrast of the background of the bottom column of the spindle was physically enhanced, the picture of the bottom of the spindle was collected with a calibrated binocular camera, the two-dimensional coordinates of the midpoint of the bottom edge of the spindle bottom profile were obtained by the processing of the local picture, and the three-dimensional world coordinates of the midpoint of the bottom edge of the spindle bottom profile were calculated based on the method of single-pair feature-point matching. Comparing this paper’s single-pair feature-point matching method with the traditional multi-pair feature-point matching detection method (semi-global block matching), the experimental results showed that: the detection errors of both the single-pair feature-point matching method and the traditional semi-global block matching detection method were less than 2 mm; both methods satisfied the requirements of the positional detection accuracy of the spindle joints. The position detection method based on single-pair feature-point matching saved 80% of the program time compared with the traditional semi-global block matching method.
“Harriet Tubman is a Superhero”: Conceptualizing Young African American Children's Sociopolitical Awareness as Imaginative Praxis
Authors: Johnson Wintre Foxworth
Published: March 2024

Imagination is often relegated to the margins of African American children's schooling experiences. Furthermore, the varied role of children in liberation struggles and their centrality in ushering in just futures remain underexplored. This article examines five African American first graders’ sociopolitical knowledge and how they used their imagination to develop counternarratives of refusal and agentic possibilities. I offer imaginative praxis as a conceptual tool to analyze how young African American children name historical and contemporary racialized realities and generate joyful visualizations of actionable resistance. Young children's imaginative praxis challenges the notion that the fight for liberation is void of joy.
Humane Interrogation Strategies Are Associated With Confessions, Cooperation, and Disclosure: Evidence From a Field Study of Incarcerated Individuals in the United States
Authors: Bettens Talley , Cleary Hayley M. D. , Bull Ray
Published: March 2024

The techniques used to interrogate individuals suspected of a crime can profoundly impact their decisions to confess, cooperate, or disclose information. Research using different methods suggests that two prevailing interrogation approaches—accusatorial and information-gathering—differentially impact interrogation outcomes. However, confession, cooperation, and information disclosure are ultimately the suspected person’s decision, yet few studies directly examine their perspectives about how interrogation techniques affect their decisions, and none examine a U.S. sample. This study assessed how interrogation strategies characterized by humanity, rapport, confrontation, and dominance/control predicted interrogation outcomes in a sample of 249 individuals incarcerated in two U.S. jails. Respondents who reported experiencing humane strategies were more likely to confess, cooperate completely, and disclose incriminating information. Dominance/control-oriented strategies predicted partial confession (but not cooperation or disclosure), and rapport-based and confrontational techniques did not predict outcomes. Findings highlight humane interrogation strategies as likely the most productive strategies to adopt in criminal interrogations.
Governance Failure and Governance Under Failure: Reviewing the Role of Directors in Organizational Misconduct
Authors: Paruchuri Srikanth , Hoempler Erik A. , Cowen Amanda P. , Cannella Albert A. , Nahm Peter Inho
Published: March 2024

Research on organizational misconduct has mostly evolved independently from the literature on corporate governance. Yet, our survey of research on the role of directors in organizational misconduct contexts yielded more than 110 articles in the last 17 years across the management, accounting, marketing, operations, public relations, and finance literatures, showing that research on the role of corporate governance in organizational misconduct has increasingly become a distinct domain of inquiry. With its own scholarly audience, including scholars working in strategy, ethics, decision-making, and leadership, this research has employed diverse theories and investigated different antecedents, reactions, and outcomes. It has also focused on how directors both influence and are affected by organizational misconduct. Consequently, this literature is currently fragmented in several respects. Our aim in this review is to generate conceptual integration that brings coherence to this growing body of research and to facilitate future research in this important domain. The review offers a cohesive view of the effects of corporate governance on misconduct and of misconduct on corporate governance and provides frameworks for integrating the disparate macrolevel theories that currently characterize this work.
‘A Pope Shut out of Heaven Gates (Thrice)’: Erasmus’ Julius as a tool of anti-Catholic propaganda in early modern England
Authors: Baratta Luca
Published: March 2024

The present article follows the editorial vicissitudes of Erasmus of Rotterdam's Julius within England's boundaries, where it was translated in 1533–34, in 1673, and in 1719. By interweaving the publishing history of these three English editions with their cultural milieu, it will appear evident that they were ideologically motivated products whose circulation directly coincided with an upheaval in Catholic matters in the country. The final purpose of this article is to demonstrate how Erasmus’ Julius, with its negative protagonist, was too compelling a weapon not to be used to stigmatise Catholicism and to prevent it from returning to the British Isles.
Effective application of a direct-acting oral anticoagulants reversal agent in acute type A aortic dissection repair: A case report
Authors: Wakami Tatsuto , Fukunaga Naoto , Shimoji Akio , Tamura Nobushige
Published: March 2024

There are insufficient reports on the use of andexanet alfa in cardiac surgery. A 67-year-old man was diagnosed with type A aortic dissection and performed emergent surgery. His medical history included atrial fibrillation treated with Edoxaban. We performed total arch replacement. Despite administration of enough protamine, fresh frozen plasma, and platelet administration, controlling bleeding was difficult. Thus, Andexanet Alfa was initiated after CPB withdrawal. Surgical bleeding was dramatically controlled after its administration. There were no findings suggestive of an embolic event. In conclusion, administration of Andexanet Alfa is safe after cardiopulmonary bypass withdrawal.
Psychiatric risks for worsened mental health after psychedelic use
Authors: Marrocu Alessia , Kettner Hannes , Weiss Brandon , Zeifman Richard J , Erritzoe David , Carhart-Harris Robin L
Published: March 2024

Background:

Resurgent psychedelic research has largely supported the safety and efficacy of psychedelic therapy for the treatment of various psychiatric disorders. As psychedelic use and therapy increase in prevalence, so does the importance of understanding associated risks. Cases of prolonged negative psychological responses to psychedelic therapy seem to be rare; however, studies are limited by biases and small sample sizes. The current analytical approach was motivated by the question of whether rare but significant adverse effects have been under-sampled in psychedelic research studies.

Methods:

A “bottom margin analysis” approach was taken to focus on negative responders to psychedelic use in a pool of naturalistic, observational prospective studies ( N = 807). We define “negative response” by a clinically meaningful decline in a generic index of mental health, that is, one standard error from the mean decrease in psychological well-being 4 weeks post-psychedelic use (vs pre-use baseline). We then assessed whether a history of diagnosed mental illness can predict negative responses.

Results:

We find that 16% of the cohort falls into the “negative responder” subset. Parsing the sample by self-reported history of psychiatric diagnoses, results revealed a disproportionate prevalence of negative responses among those reporting a prior personality disorder diagnosis (31%). One multivariate regression model indicated a greater than four-fold elevated risk of adverse psychological responses to psychedelics in the personality disorder subsample ( b = 1.425, p < 0.05).

Conclusion:

We infer that the presence of a personality disorder may represent an elevated risk for psychedelic use and hypothesize that the importance of psychological support and good therapeutic alliance may be increased in this population.
Service Outsourcing and Government Fiscal Conditions: Do Market Competition, Bureaucrat Support, and Management Capacity Matter?
Authors: Wei Wenchi , Chen Xin
Published: March 2024

Scholars have long regarded government fiscal stress as a crucial factor driving public service outsourcing; however, further investigation is still needed to determine whether service outsourcing in turn helps governments improve fiscal conditions. Public choice theory suggests that outsourcing services can lead to efficiency improvement and cost savings. Nevertheless, transaction costs theory implies that the costs associated with service outsourcing may offset or even outweigh its potential benefits. Moreover, the extent of transaction costs depends on contextual factors such as market competition, bureaucrat support, and government management capacity. Empirically, we employ an instrumental variable estimation approach to examine the impact of service outsourcing on the budget balances and debt levels of U.S. municipalities. We find that service outsourcing improves government fiscal conditions, with contextual factors playing an important role in moderating this effect. Additionally, outsourcing services to different types of contractors has varying implications for government fiscal conditions.
Examining the Mediating Role of Challenge and Threat Appraisal Tendencies on the Relationships Between Mastery Imagery Ability, Perceived Stress and Proactive Coping
Authors: Beevor Henry J. , Ginty Annie T. , Veldhuijzen van Zanten Jet J. C. S. , Williams Sarah E.
Published: March 2024

Given the associations between mastery imagery ability, challenge and threat appraisal tendencies, perceived stress and proactive coping, and the implications for health, this research utilised a two-study approach to assess these associations and was the first study to examine whether appraisal states had a mediating role on the relationships of mastery imagery ability with perceived stress and proactive coping. Study 1 used a sample of 148 participants (M age = 22.52, SD = 4.36 years) and Study 2 used a sample of 338 participants (M age = 19.26, SD = 1.58 years). Participants completed online questionnaires measuring mastery imagery ability, challenge and threat appraisal tendencies, perceived stress, and proactive coping. In Study 1, only threat appraisal mediated the relationship between mastery imagery ability and perceived stress. However, both challenge and threat appraisal mediated the relationship between mastery imagery ability and proactive coping. Study 2 results showed challenge appraisal also mediated these relationships, but threat appraisal played no mediating role. Both studies demonstrate the important mediatory role of stress appraisal states, and the role they can have in regulating stress, but further research is warranted to establish when one stress appraisal may mediate the relationship over the other.
Soil, Seeds, and Roses: Plantation Afterlives in an Argentine Soybean Frontier
Authors: Blickstein Tamar
Published: March 2024

In the Argentine Chaco — a world hotspot of agribusiness-driven deforestation — descendants of European settlers ( gringos) who built manual cotton plantations on Indigenous land and labor in the twentieth century, have since been displaced from farming by the “soy boom.” Nevertheless, plantation legacies persist in the racialized plant-relations of these actors today, and in their conflicted — and often acquiescent — attitudes to agribusiness. Drawing on emergent theories of the “Plantationocene,” this essay examines how three settler interlocutors grieve the loss of plant-worlds that soy agribusiness has displaced, with a focus on living soil, cotton seeds, and potted roses. I show that these multispecies attachments perform a double role: while they sensitize these actors to the ecological fallouts of the soy boom, they also reinforce settler colonial plantation logics of racialized progress that ultimately feed their acquiescence to that agribusiness model.
Biomarker cystatin B expression correlates with pathogenesis in cervical cancer
Authors: Ye Danjuan , Duan Xiaoling , Guan Bin , Yuan Jia , Zhu Yan , Shi Jimin , Lu Qi , Xu Guoxiong
Published: March 2024

Objective

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most common gynecologic malignancies worldwide. Although rapid improvements have been made regarding its prevention and treatment, little is known about disease pathogenesis and the clinical relevance of reliable biomarkers. The present study evaluated the expression of cystatin B (CSTB) as a potential biomarker of CC.

Methods

Tissue microarray analysis and immunohistochemical staining were performed to detect CSTB expression, while CSTB mRNA and protein expression levels of freshly isolated CC tissue were measured by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot, respectively. Bioinformatics were used to analyze the CSTB co-expression network and functional enrichments.

Results

We observed high CSTB mRNA and protein expression levels in CC tissues, which was confirmed by tissue microarray in a comparison with paired adjacent non-cancerous cervical tissue samples. CSTB gene enrichments and associations with co-expressed genes were also observed. Further analysis showed that elevated CSTB expression was associated with pathological progress in CC.

Conclusion

Our data demonstrate that CSTB has the potential to be used as a tissue biomarker with clinical value in patients with CC, which may aid the development of intervention strategies.
Experimental oral administration of pollen beetle (Astylus atromaculatus) to cattle results in an acute lethal gastrointestinal disease
Authors: Giannitti Federico , Machado Mizael , Silva Silveira Caroline da , Cibils-Stewart Ximena , Baráibar Nicolás , Queiroz-Machado Cintia R. R. , Poppenga Robert H. , Menchaca Alejo , Uzal Francisco A. , García Juan A. , Matto Carolina , Dutra Fernando , Ruprechter Gretel , Caffarena Darío , Saravia Anderson
Published: March 2024

In the summer of 2023, ingestion of Astylus atromaculatus (pollen beetle) was linked to spontaneous fatal disease in grazing cattle and sheep in Argentina and Uruguay. While the disease was experimentally reproduced in sheep and guinea pigs in the 1970’s, no experimental reproductions have been attempted in cattle, and controversy exists as to whether this insect is indeed noxious to cattle and at which dose. Here, we demonstrate that A. atromaculatus causes acute fatal disease in Hereford calves at single oral dosages of 2.5, 4.5, 10.0, and 15.0 g of insect/kg body weight. Death or severe disease necessitating euthanasia occurred at 38 to 48 hours postinoculation regardless of the dose, suggesting that the single fatal dosage is likely <2.5 g/kg body weight (this dose representing approximately 850 mL of intact beetles in a 100 kg calf). Clinically, the disease was characterized by acute anorexia, prolonged recumbency, reluctance to move, listlessness/apathy, depression, ruminal hypomotility and tympany, hypothermia, bruxism with frothing at the mouth, and mucoid diarrhea progressing to death. Hematologic and biochemical alterations included hemoconcentration, stress/acute inflammatory leukogram, negative energy balance, and ketosis. The pathological hallmark of this experimental disease is acute necrotizing omaso-reticulo-rumenitis, fibrinohemorrhagic enteritis, and exfoliative colitis with intralesional chitinous insect fragments. While A. atromaculatus might contain a gastrointestinal toxin or pathogen, extensive toxicological testing failed to identify a causative toxin. Other pathomechanisms such as direct physical damage caused by insect fragments on the alimentary tract seem plausible, although further studies are needed to elucidate the pathogenesis of A. atromaculatus-associated disease.
Macrophage polarization in lymph node granulomas from cattle and pigs naturally infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex
Authors: Larenas-Muñoz Fernanda , Hamed Mohamed G. , Ruedas-Torres Inés , María Sánchez-Carvajal José , Domínguez Javier , José Pallarés Francisco , Carrasco Librado , Rodríguez-Gómez Irene M. , Gómez-Laguna Jaime
Published: March 2024

Tuberculosis in animals is caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC), with the tuberculous granuloma being the main characteristic lesion. The macrophage is the main cell type involved in the development of the granuloma and presents a wide plasticity ranging from polarization to classically activated or pro-inflammatory macrophages (M1) or to alternatively activated or anti-inflammatory macrophages (M2). Thus, this study aimed to analyze macrophage polarization in granulomas from cattle and pig lymph nodes naturally infected with MTC. Tuberculous granulomas were microscopically categorized into four stages and a panel of myeloid cells (CD172a/calprotectin), M1 macrophage polarization (iNOS/CD68/CD107a), and M2 macrophage polarization (Arg1/CD163) markers were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. CD172a and calprotectin followed the same kinetics, having greater expression in late-stage granulomas in pigs. iNOS and CD68 had higher expression in cattle compared with pigs, and the expression was higher in early-stage granulomas. CD107a immunolabeling was only observed in porcine granulomas, with a higher expression in stage I granulomas. Arg1+ cells were significantly higher in pigs than in cattle, particularly in late-stage granulomas. Quantitative analysis of CD163+ cells showed similar kinetics in both species with a consistent frequency of immunolabeled cells throughout the different stages of the granuloma. Our results indicate that M1 macrophage polarization prevails in cattle during early-stage granulomas (stages I and II), whereas M2 phenotype is observed in later stages. Contrary, and mainly due to the expression of Arg1, M2 macrophage polarization is predominant in pigs in all granuloma stages.
Reduced plasma calcitonin gene-related peptide level identified in cluster headache: A prospective and controlled study
Authors: Petersen Anja Sofie , Lund Nunu , Meßlinger Karl , Christensen Sarah Louise , Barloese Mads , Jørgensen Niklas Rye , Kogelman Lisette , Jensen Rigmor Højland
Published: March 2024

Background

The role of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the cyclic pattern of cluster headache is unclear. To acquire biological insight and to comprehend why only episodic cluster headache responds to CGRP monoclonal antibodies, we examined whether plasma CGRP changes between disease states (i.e. bout, remission and chronic) and controls.

Methods

The present study is a prospective case–control study. Participants with episodic cluster headache were sampled twice (bout and remission). Participants with chronic cluster headache and controls were sampled once. CGRP concentrations were measured in plasma with a validated radioimmunoassay.

Results

Plasma was collected from 201 participants diagnosed with cluster headache according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition, and from 100 age- and sex-matched controls. Overall, plasma CGRP levels were significantly lower in participants with cluster headache compared to controls ( p < 0.05). In episodic cluster headache, CGRP levels were higher in bout than in remission (mean difference: 17.1 pmol/L, 95% confidence interval = 9.8–24.3, p < 0.0001). CGRP levels in bout were not different from chronic cluster headache ( p = 0.266).

Conclusions

Plasma CGRP is unsuitable as a diagnostic biomarker of cluster headache or its disease states. The identified reduced CGRP levels suggest that CGRPs role in cluster headache is highly complex and future investigations are needed into the modulation of CGRP and its receptors.
Research data management in selected East African libraries: A survey
Authors: Subaveerapandiyan A , Ugwulebo Jeremiah E
Published: March 2024

This article investigates the knowledge of research data management and services among library professionals in selected East African libraries. A survey research design was employed, and data was collected using a structured questionnaire from 180 respondents representing four East African countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The findings reveal that only 31.1% of the selected East African librarians agreed that their institutional libraries provided research data management services. The standard research data management services offered by their libraries included data publishing, sharing and reuse, while collaboration with academic programmes was identified as an essential approach for research data management skill development. The study highlights the need for librarians to acquire legal, policy and advisory skills and knowledge of institutional and extra-institutional resources and the research life cycle for effective research data management service delivery.
Multi-Modal Urban Traffic Transfer Schedule Timetable Bi-Objective Optimization: Model, Algorithm, Comparison, and Case Study
Authors: Tian Feng , Liang Jie , Chen Ruihan
Published: March 2024

The optimization of the connection between urban rail transit and the bus is an essential issue that benefits passenger travel and the urban structure and has social benefits, which can be realized by reasonably adjusting the bus departure schedule. This study is necessary because the development status quo of China’s urban transportation network planning is unreasonable, travel efficiency is not high, and operating costs are high. This paper sets up the decision variables of bus departure time and departure interval at each station, establishes a dual-objective optimization model with the minimum schedule change and the minimum transfer time, and studies the application of the augmented Chebyshev algorithm in the dual-objective optimization model. Secondly, based on the Shenzhen metro and public transportation integrated circuit card data, the case analysis uses the generalized Chebyshev algorithm and the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm, respectively. The optimization results show that using the improved augmented and generalized Chebyshev algorithm in the bus schedule alteration time within a reasonable range can maximize the total transfer time, which compared with the original scheme is shortened by 68.06%. In contrast, genetic algorithms will make the complete bus schedule alteration prominent, and the whole transfer time is substantially increased. The results show that the improved augmented generalized Chebyshev algorithm is more suitable for solving the dual-objective rail transit connection problem.
Using Geographically Weighted Models to Explore Temporal and Spatial Varying Impacts on Commute Trip Change Resulting from COVID-19
Authors: Saleh Namadi Saeed , Tahmasbi Behnam , Mehditabrizi Asal , Darzi Aref , Niemeier Deb
Published: March 2024

COVID-19 deeply affected people’s daily life and travel behaviors. Comprehending changes in travel behavior holds significant importance, making it imperative to investigate the influential factors of sociodemographics and socioeconomics on such behavior. This study used large-scale mobile device location data at the U.S. county level in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area, U.S., to reveal the impacts of demographic and socioeconomic variables on commute trip change. The study investigated the impact of these variables on commuter trips over time and space. It reflected the short- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on travel behavior via linear regression and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models. The findings indicated that counties with a higher percentage of people using walking and biking (active mode) for commuting during the initial phase of COVID-19 experienced a greater reduction in their commute trips compared with others. Conversely, for the long-term effect of COVID-19 in November 2020, we can see the impact of using active mode on trip change is not significant any more and, instead, results showed people who were using bus and rail (public mode) for commuting decreased their trips more than others. Additionally, a positive correlation was observed between median income levels and the reduction in commute trips. On the other hand, sectors that necessitated ongoing outdoor operations during the pandemic, such as manufacturing, wholesale trade, and food services, showed a substantial negative correlation with trip change. Moreover, in the DMV area, counties with a higher proportion of Democrat voters experienced less trip reduction than others. Notably, by applying the GWR and multiscale GWR models, the local spatial relationships of variables and commuting behaviors were captured. The results showed the emergence of local correlations as the pandemic evolved, suggesting a geographical impact pattern. At the onset of COVID-19, the pandemic’s impact on commuting behaviors was global. However, as time passed, travel behavior became more influenced by spatial factors and started to show localized effects.
“She Has a Village”: The Intergenerational Benefits of Social Support Networks for Black Mothers and Daughters
Authors: Bryant Lamont S. , Leath Seanna , Billingsley Janelle , Moseley Saidi
Published: March 2024

In the current qualitative study, we explored the perceived benefits of Black mothers’ villages as cultural resource systems of social support. We used consensual qualitative research methods to analyze semi-structured interview data from 28 Black mothers (25–60 years, Mage = 46) in the United States. We identified seven main themes. For Black daughters, village support offered: (a) models of positive relationships, (b) access to social and enriching activities, (c) natural mentorship, and (d) gendered racial identity affirmation. For Black mothers, village support offered the necessary time and space to: (e) engage in personal restorative practices, (f) find joy in Black mama sister circles, and (g) experience support for educational and occupational opportunities. In addition to appreciation for the various ways village members showed up, mothers valued village members’ contributions to daughters’ self-esteem and gendered racial pride. Narratives highlighted Black mothers’ intentional village-making, underscoring fictive and extended kin networks’ enduring importance in Black girls’ identity development and well-being. Our findings hold implications for culturally relevant socialization frameworks for Black girls and stimulate new discussions on supporting Black mothers and daughters more effectively.