bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exceptional refrigeration of motions beyond their mass and temperature limitations
Authors: Lai Deng-Gao , Wang C.-H. , Hou B.-P. , Miranowicz Adam , Nori Franco
Published: January 2024

Coaxing vibrations in the regimes of both large mass and high
temperature into their motional quantum ground states is extremely
challenging, because it requires an ultra-high optical power, which
introduces extraneous excessive heating and intricate instabilities.
Here we propose how to overcome these obstacles and cool vibrational
networks by simply harnessing the power of an exceptional point (EP)
induced in parity-time symmetric structures; and we reveal its
exceptional cooling properties otherwise unachievable in conventional
devices. In stark contrast to standard-cooling protocols, a three
orders-of-magnitude amplification in net cooling rates arises from the
EP-cooling mechanism, without which it vanishes. Remarkably, our EP
cooling is nearly immune to both resonator mass and environmental
temperature, and this overthrows the consensus that poor intrinsic
factors and rugged extrinsic environment suppress cooling channels.
Our study offers the possibility of isolating and engineering motional
properties of large-mass and high-temperature objects for various
applications in optical and acoustic sensing, gravimetry, and inertial
navigation.
Picojoule-level supercontinuum generation in thin-film lithium niobate on sapphire
Authors: Hamrouni Marin , Jankowski Marc , Hwang Alexander , Flemens Noah , Mishra Jatadhari , Langrock Carsten , Safavi-Naeini Amir , Fejer Martin , Südmeyer Thomas
Published: January 2024

We demonstrate ultraviolet-to-mid-infrared supercontinuum generation (SCG) inside thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) on sapphire nanowaveguides. This platform combines wavelength-scale confinement and quasi-phasematched nonlinear interactions with a broad transparency window extending from 400 to 4500 nm. Our approach relies on group-velocity-matched second-harmonic generation, which uses an interplay between saturation and a small phase-mismatch to generate a spectrally broadened fundamental and second harmonic using only a few of picojoules of in-coupled fundamental. As the on-chip pulse energy is increased to tens of picojoules, these nanowaveguides generate harmonics up to the fifth order by a cascade of sum-frequency mixing processes. For in-coupled pulse energies in excess of 25 picojoules, these harmonics merge together to form a supercontinuum spanning 360-2660 nm. We use the overlap between the first two harmonic spectra to detect f-2f beatnotes of the driving laser directly at the waveguide output, which verifies the coherence of the generated harmonics. These results establish TFLN-on-sapphire as a viable platform for generating ultra-broadband coherent light spanning from the ultraviolet to mid-infrared spectral regions.
Choclo virus (CHOV) recovered from deep metatranscriptomics of archived frozen tissues in natural history biorepositories
Authors: Salazar-Hamm Paris S. , Johnson William L. , Nofchissey Robert A. , Salazar Jacqueline R. , Gonzalez Publio , Goodfellow Samuel M. , Dunnum Jonathan L. , Bradfute Steven B. , Armién Blas , Cook Joseph A. , Domman Daryl B. , Dinwiddie Darrell L.
Published: January 2024

Background

Hantaviruses are negative-stranded RNA viruses that can sometimes cause severe disease in humans; however, they are maintained in mammalian host populations without causing harm. In Panama, sigmodontine rodents serve as hosts to transmissible hantaviruses. Due to natural and anthropogenic forces, these rodent populations are having increased contact with humans.

Methods

We extracted RNA and performed Illumina deep metatranscriptomic sequencing on Orthohantavirus seropositive museum tissues from rodents. We acquired sequence reads mapping to Choclo virus (CHOV, Orthohantavirus chocloense) from heart and kidney tissue of a two-decade old frozen museum sample from a Costa Rican pygmy rice rat (Oligoryzomys costaricensis) collected in Panama. Reads mapped to the CHOV reference were assembled and then validated by visualization of the mapped reads against the assembly.

Results

We recovered a 91% complete consensus sequence from a reference-guided assembly to CHOV with an average of 16X coverage. The S and M segments used in our phylogenetic analyses were nearly complete (98% and 99%, respectively). There were 1,199 ambiguous base calls of which 93% were present in the L segment. Our assembled genome varied 1.1% from the CHOV reference sequence resulting in eight nonsynonymous mutations. Further analysis of all publicly available partial S segment sequences support a clear relationship between CHOV clinical cases and O. costaricensis acquired strains.

Conclusions

Viruses occurring at extremely low abundances can be recovered from deep metatranscriptomics of archival tissues housed in research natural history museum biorepositories. Our efforts resulted in the second CHOV genome publicly available. This genomic data is important for future surveillance and diagnostic tools as well as understanding the evolution and pathogenicity of CHOV.
Trends in social determinants of inequality in child undernutrition from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys, 2005–2016
Authors: Birhanu Frehiwot , Yitbarek Kiddus , Atlantis Evan , Woldie Mirkuzie , Bobo Firew
Published: January 2024

Background

While child undernutrition has been eliminated in some middle-income countries, it remains highly prevalent in sub-Sahara African (SSA) and South Asian regions, and is disproportionately concentrated among the poor. In this study, we estimated trends in child undernutrition by social determinants and related risks from wealth inequality in Ethiopia, from 2005 to 2016.

Method

We analyzed data from three consecutive surveys (2005, 2011, and 2016) from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey. First, we estimated trends in the prevalence of childhood undernutrition variables (stunting, underweight, and wasting) and social determinants (household wealth status, education level, place of residence, and administrative regions). Then we assessed evidence of undernutrition by wealth-related inequality with concentration curves (visual) and concentration indeces (quantitative). A multilevel mixed-effect Poisson regression model was used to identify predictors of undernutrition variables expressed as covariate-adjusted rate ratios, with 95% confidence intervals (RRs, 95%CI).

Result

A total of 23,934 mother-child pairs were obtained from the three surveys. The average prevalence decreased by 12.4 percentage points for stunting (from 50.8 to 38.4%, P<0.01), 9.5 percentage points for underweight (33.2% to23.7%, P<0.01), and 2.1 percentage points for wasting (12.2% to10.1%, P<0.01). There was persistent and statistically evidence of wealth inequality in stunting, underweight, and wasting (concentration indeces of -0.2 to -0.04, all P values <0.05). Stunting, underweight, and wasting variables were associated with male sex of the child (RR 0.94, 0.95, 0.85, all P-values <0.01) recent diarrhea (RR 1.18, 1.27, 1.37, all P-values <0.01), secondary education status of the mother (RR 0.66, 0.57, 0.61, all P-values < 0.057), increasing wealth index (richest) (RR 0.73, 0.70, 0.50, all P-values < 0.05), and having no toilet facility (RR 1.16, 1.22, 1.18, all P-values < 0.05).

Conclusion

Despite the decreased burden of stunting and underweight, the prevalence of wasting remained relatively unchanged in Ethiopia from 2005 to 2016. Moreover, wealth-related inequality in child undernutrition increased for most of the child undernutrition indicators during this period. Social determinants of child undernutrition warrant urgent implementation of strategies to reduce their health impacts in SSA.
Do R&D intensity and capacity utilisation matter for SMEs’ innovations within the CEE region? Testing moderating roles of different ownership structures
Authors: Darfo-Oduro Raymond , Prokop Viktor , Stejskal Jan , Klímová Viktorie , Žítek Vladimír
Published: January 2024

Existing innovation literature has assumed that the relationship between firms’ R&D intensity and innovation take place without the interplay of other organizational factors. However, the reality differs, and research to date has shown that other factors affecting firms’ innovation need to be considered. This is important especially in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries, which are highly dependent on both internal and external R&D and are associated with an inability to use R&D resources effectively. This study therefore responds to calls for further analysis, especially within the CEE region, and focuses on the role of two factors affecting SMEs’ innovativeness and their effects, which have been mixed so far. First, we investigate the effects of SMEs’ R&D intensity and capacity utilisation on product innovation. Second, we reveal the moderating role of SMEs’ different ownership structures (ownership concentration; private/public ownership; family/non-family ownership) in the relationship between R&D intensity and product innovation. We confirm that CEE SMEs’ ownership concentration and private ownership moderate the relationship between R&D intensity and product innovation. In contrast, we reject our hypothesis expecting that family ownership of SMEs can significantly moderate the relationship between R&D intensity and product innovation. Interestingly, we also show that the relationship between capacity utilisation and innovation is non-linear (inverted U-shaped). This study makes a significant contribution in the form of analysis within the CEE region, whose innovation systems are seen to be weak, and it is therefore necessary to bring new knowledge and recommendations to managers and public policymakers.
Murine leukemia virus infection of non-dividing dendritic cells is dependent on nucleoporins
Authors: Salas-Briceno Karen , Zhao Wenming , Ross Susan R.
Published: January 2024

Retroviral reverse transcription starts within the capsid and uncoating and reverse transcription are mutually dependent. There is still debate regarding the timing and cellular location of HIV’s uncoating and reverse transcription and whether it occurs solely in the cytoplasm, nucleus or both. HIV can infect non-dividing cells because there is active transport of the preintegration complex (PIC) across the nuclear membrane, but Murine Leukemia Virus (MLV) is thought to depend on cell division for replication and whether MLV uncoating and reverse transcription is solely cytoplasmic has not been studied. Here, we used NIH3T3 and primary mouse dendritic cells to determine where the different stages of reverse transcription occur and whether cell division is needed for nuclear entry. Our data strongly suggest that in both NIH3T3 cells and dendritic cells (DCs), the initial step of reverse transcription occurs in the cytoplasm. However, we detected MLV RNA/DNA hybrid intermediates in the nucleus of dividing NIH3T3 cells and non-dividing DCs, suggesting that reverse transcription can continue after nuclear entry. We also confirmed that the MLV PIC requires cell division to enter the nucleus of NIH3T3 cells. In contrast, we show that MLV can infect non-dividing primary DCs, although integration of MLV DNA in DCs still required the viral p12 protein. Knockdown of several nuclear pore proteins dramatically reduced the appearance of integrated MLV DNA in DCs but not NIH3T3 cells. Additionally, MLV capsid associated with the nuclear pore proteins NUP358 and NUP62 during infection. These findings suggest that simple retroviruses, like the complex retrovirus HIV, gain nuclear entry by traversing the nuclear pore complex in non-mitotic cells.
Pregnancy trained decidual NK cells protect pregnancies from harmful Fusobacterium nucleatum infection
Authors: Kotzur Rebecca , Kahlon Shira , Isaacson Batya , Gamliel Moriya , Charpak-Amikam Yoav , Lieberman Judy , Bachrach Gilad , Goldman-Wohl Debra , Yagel Simcha , Beharier Ofer , Mandelboim Ofer
Published: January 2024

Natural killer cells (NKs) found during pregnancy at the maternal-fetal interface named decidual (d)NKs, show signs of education following first pregnancy, resulting in better placentation and fetus-growth, hence termed pregnancy trained dNKs (PTdNKs). Here we show that PTdNKs provide increased protection of the fetus from Fusobacterium nucleatum (FN) infection. We demonstrate that PTdNKs secrete elevated amounts of the bacteriocidal protein granulysin (GNLY) upon incubation with FN compared to dNKs derived from first pregnancies, which leads to increased killing of FN. Furthermore, we showed mechanistically that the GNLY secretion is mediated through the interaction of the FN’s Fap2 protein with Gal-GalNAc present on PTdNKs. Finally, we show in vivo, using GNLY-tg mice that enhanced protection of the fetuses from FN infection is observed, as compared to wild type and that this enhance protection is NK cell dependent. Altogether, we show a new function for PTdNKs as protectors of the fetus from bacterial infection.
The Institutionalization of Video Art at the Museum of Modern Art
Authors: Vuković Vuk
Published: January 2024

Analysing the history of video art poses challenges due to the complex environments from which video emerged. However, some of its conceptual origins can be traced through art institutions that pioneered the integration of video art into museums. By examining key projects and exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, I argue that the museum’s first study grant obtained from the Rockefeller Foundation not only expanded the exhibition and collection of video work, but also laid the foundation for its institutionalization, which in turn exerted decisive effects on the subsequent history of video art.
A Museum for Future Fossils: On Curating Ecological Crisis in the Vernacular Museum
Authors: Kisin Eugenia , Robertson Kirsty
Published: January 2024

Can a curatorial model based on radical pedagogy encourage action on climate change? To answer this question, this article critically reflects on A Museum for Future Fossils, an emergent and itinerant Malrauxian ‘museum without walls’ initiated by the authors in 2018, which is dedicated to thinking curatorially about the Anthropocene and the climate emergency. This ongoing vernacular museum includes undergraduate classes, art exhibitions, workshops, talks and a graduate summer school. By examining the potentials of land-based curatorial pedagogy through speculative museum text, we introduce a methodology of non-extractive exhibition-making.
Uma Introdução à Política e Ciência do / no Antropoceno
Authors: Soromenho-Marques Viriato
Published: January 2024

Os debates em torno do Antropoceno contribuíram para desqualificar uma interpretação redutora da crise ambiental que a procura entender como uma deficiência no interior de um modelo de civilização que se considera essencialmente positivo e duradouro, deficiência essa que pode ser corrigida por meios tecnológicos, que dispensam um exame crítico mais profundo. O conceito de Antropoceno, pelo contrário, ao juntar a temporalidade histórica com a temporalidade geológica, obriga-nos a perceber tanto a dimensão existencial e ontológica da crise ambiental global em crescimento exponencial, como também a compreender as responsabilidades causais da ação humana nos últimos dois séculos – também ela diferenciada por regiões, classes sociais e modos de produção - na génese dessa crise que pode degenerar em colapso.
Performance of Detectors for Cooperative Spectrum Sensing Under Laplacian Noise
Authors:   National Institute of Telecommunications, Inatel, Barros Guedes Luiz Gustavo , Guimarães Dayan Adionel ,   National Institute of Telecommunications, Inatel
Published: January 2024

Electronic systems in general can be impaired by impulsive noise generated by a variety of sources. Spectrum sensors are of particular interest herein, since their probabilities of detection and false alarm can be severely degraded under this impairment. Several models for impulsive noise have been studied in the literature, all of them having the common characteristic of being well represented by heavy-tailed probability density functions, like Laplace and some Stable distributions. This article addresses the performances of state-of-the-art detectors for cooperative spectrum sensing when the received signal is impaired by Laplacian noise. This is made by means of estimating the probability of detection for a fixed false alarm rate, when important system parameters are varied. It is demonstrated that the robustness against impulsive noise varies significantly depending on the adopted detection strategy.
Pandemic Impact on Population Structure
Authors: Ezepchuk Yurii V. , Skuratovskaya Larisa N.
Published: January 2024

The victims of the first wave of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus Covid-19 were tens of millions of people in the population inhabiting the Earth. A previously unknown strain of Covid 19, which has a specific affinity for lung tissue and high contagiousness, has demonstrated a global danger to the life of the population of the entire planet. The pathogenicity of the virus is due to a three-segment structure, in which the RNA-containing segment, which is a pathogenicity factor responsible for specific lesions, most likely has an enzymatic nature.
Severe Ulcerative Colitis Complicated by Malakoplakia Resulting in Proctocolectomy
Authors: Alphonsus Lotus , De Silva Theshani A. , Driman David , Jairath Vipul
Published: January 2024

We report a 45-year-old man with medically refractory ulcerative colitis with superimposed colonic malakoplakia, presumed related to chronic use of azathioprine and biologics. This is the first reported case of malakoplakia in a patient requiring high doses of combination therapy. Treatment of malakoplakia is not standardized, but can involve systemic antibiotics, or surgical resection, which in this case resulted in proctocolectomy.
The Protection of Privacy Rights and Professional Secrecy in the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938)
Authors: Lytvynenko Anatoliy A.
Published: January 2024

The protection of personality and the legal aspects of maintaining professional secrecy have a complicated history of development in many countries of the world. The evolvement of privacy rights and the protection of professional secrecy remain fairly known in the period of the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938) in both contemporary and historical legal scholarship, despite a substantial number of cases were heard before the courts of the First Czechoslovak Republic upon the said subject. The research shows, that the protection of various privacy-related rights was anchored by different norms of the Civil Code, the Penal Code and other legislative acts; several outstanding court cases heard before the Supreme Court of the First Czechoslovak Republic displayed that the most frequent violations of this type were defamations, privacy violations and insults to the honor of the deceased. In some other cases, the Supreme Court discussed the issues of inviolability of letter correspondence and the admissibility of evidence containing a professional secret.
Zpráva z konference „Antonín Švehla, Alois Rašín a ti druzí“
Authors: Beránek Jan , Blažková Tereza
Published: January 2024

Conference report
Pierwsze zmagania „białych” i „czerwonych” nad „cichym Donem”
Authors: Waszak Damian
Published: January 2024

Krzysztof Marcinek, Don 1917-1918
Florentino Pérez: wizjoner, strateg, lider
Authors: Kubiaczyk Filip
Published: January 2024

Ramón Álvarez de Mon, Florentino. Viaje hacia elReal Madrid del siglo XXI, Editorial Corner, Barcelona 2023, ss. 201
Arystoteles i Biblia pod mezoamerykańskim dachem. Chrystianizacja przez asymilację aspektów wierzeń i dziejów nahua w narracji „Historia ecclesiástica indiana” Jerónimo de Mendiety (1525-1604)
Authors: Wojtczak Igor
Published: January 2024

The aim of this paper is to identify and define how elements of the native Mesoamerican Nahuan beliefs are described in „Historia eclesiástica indiana”, the chronicle written by Spanish Franciscan friar Jerónimo de Mendieta (1525-1604). The Catholic monk exploited numerous components of the Nahuan religious system, while this paper focuses on Mendieta’s rendering of the legendary character of Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, Toltec priest-emperor as well as on the native speeches huehuetlahtolli, delivered by Nahuan parents to their children. The ecclesiastical historian uses the aforementioned themes to unfold his own ideas and narrative about the past and colonial reality of the Nahua people. Mendieta’s writings are compared with fragments of an encyclopaedia by the Franciscan Bernardino de Sahagún (1499-1590), „Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España”, the key source to studying religion and culture of the precolonial societies in Central Mexico. The paper also draws on the accounts of other colonial authors, such as Motolinia, Olmos and Durán.
Matrix representations of arbitrary bounded operators on Hilbert spaces
Authors: Müller Vladimir , Tomilov Yuri
Published: January 2024

We show that under natural and quite general
assumptions, a large part of a matrix for a bounded
linear operator on a Hilbert space can be preassigned.
The result is obtained in a more general setting of operator
tuples leading to interesting consequences, e.g., when the tuple
consists of powers of a single operator. We also prove several variants
of this result of independent interest. The paper substantially
extends former research on matrix representations in infinite-dimensional spaces dealing
mainly with prescribing the main diagonals.
Disconnective futures: Uncertainty, unfathomability, and the collapse of narrative crisis management
Authors: Simon Zoltán Boldizsár
Published: January 2024

The article explores the exhaustion of narrative as a cognitive instrument in trying to make sense of the “disconnective futures” of the Anthropocene and runaway technological imaginaries. Having its point of departure in the organic ties between narrative form and modern historical understanding, the article’s argument begins by sketching how the modern idea of a historical process entails constant crises of uncertainty, on the one hand, and functions simultaneously as the manager of the very crises it brings about, on the other. The means of this crisis management consists of crafting historical narratives which tame uncertainty and smooth ruptures in time into deeper continuities. It is this narrative crisis management of establishing connections between past, present, and futures, which breaks down when encountering the temporal disconnections of the Anthropocene and technological prospects. Narrative crisis management was created to attend to crises of uncertainty, but it is inadequate to cope with disconnective futures which are not merely uncertain, but unfathomable. Based on a distinction between uncertainty and unfathomability, the article argues that efforts to project narrative connections over disconnective futures produce cognitive failures, and concludes on a note of potential resolutions, hinting at the development of non-narrative and yet historically-minded cognitive instruments attuned to making sense of temporal disconnections.
Rhythmic Vitality: Traditional Aesthetics and the Theoretical Vision of Contemporary Chinese Film Aesthetics
Authors: Chen Linxia
Published: January 2024

For Chinese films, the ideal of “rhythmic vitality” (气韵生动, Qiyun Shengdong) pursued by traditional aesthetics is of great significance. Traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy stress the pace of flowing (“similar sounds integrate”) and the rhythm of harmony (“different sounds correspond to each other”). Correspondingly, the aesthetic ideal of rhythmic vitality refers to the awareness of life produced by the cinematic medium during its evolution. However, compared with the aesthetic developments that characterize western cinema, Chinese films should not be content with its current approach, which largely disregards this particular aesthetic ideal. Rhythmic vitality originates from a unique national cosmology and methodology, beginning with the resemblances between appearances and spirit and resulting with the “primordial qi” (元气, Yuanqi) that constitutes all living creatures. It signifies the special aesthetic connection between humans and nature, whereby each are subjects of one another and in complete harmony. Arguably, this aesthetic ideal avoids the subject–object dichotomy of western thought that has prevailed since modern times. Additionally, the unique quality of cinema’s rhythmic vitality involves the use of special footage. Practically, through the use of large (small humans in wider landscape), full (the scene), far (the distance), and long-lens cameras for scenarios depicting intense emotion or conflict, cinema may render the holistic ideal of rhythmic vitality.
Global Geopotential Models assessment in Ecuador based on geoid heights and geopotential values
Authors: Carrión José , Flores Fredy , Rodríguez Freddy , Pozo Miguel
Published: January 2024

Since the 1960s, the analysis of disturbed satellite orbits to infer Earth’s gravity field functionals has been an important element in determining the Earth’s gravitational field. The long wavelengths of the gravitational field are recovered through the analysis of non-Keplerian variations in the orbital path of artificial satellites, from their tracking from ground stations (Satellite Laser Ranging, Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite, and Precise Range And Range-Rate Equipment), from satellite-to-satellite tracking, or by microwave interferometry. In addition, differences in gravitational acceleration in three mutually orthogonal dimensions can be determined by employing a differential accelerometer carried on artificial satellites (satellite gravity gradiometry, SGG). Satellite gravimetry provides global information (long wavelengths) of the Earth’s gravitational field, which is the fundamental basis for the implementation of Global Geopotential Models (GGMs). The GGMs are one of the key tools for the representation of the Earth’s gravity field and, therefore, for the establishment of a Global Height System (i.e., International Height Reference System), whose fundamental reference surface is defined in terms of a geopotential value. In this study, the validation of high-resolution GGMs (coefficients up to degree 2190) was performed based on their performance in Ecuador by comparing geoid heights estimated by the GGMs with the corresponding values derived from Global Navigation Satellite System/leveling records. Furthermore, geopotential values from the GGMs are compared with the corresponding value obtained for the Ecuadorian Vertical Datum by solving the fixed geodetic boundary value problem. The obtained results indicated that the precision of the high-resolution GGMs does not reach the established requirements for the geopotential computation in the International Height Reference Frame fundamental stations.
An application of Hayashi's inequality in numerical integration
Authors: Heilat Ahmed Salem , Qazza Ahmad , Hatamleh Raed , Saadeh Rania , Alomari Mohammad W.
Published: January 2024

This study systematically develops error estimates tailored to a specific set of general quadrature rules that exclusively incorporate first derivatives. Moreover, it introduces refined versions of select generalized Ostrowski’s type inequalities, enhancing their applicability. Through the skillful application of Hayashi’s celebrated inequality to specific functions, the provided proofs underpin these advancements. Notably, this approach extends its utility to approximate integrals of real functions with bounded first derivatives. Remarkably, it employs Newton-Cotes and Gauss-Legendre quadrature rules, bypassing the need for stringent requirements on higher-order derivatives.
Identification and validation of molecular subtypes and prognostic signature for stage I and stage II gastric cancer based on neutrophil extracellular traps
Authors: Mu Lei , Qiu Gang
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This study identified subtypes and prognostic signature of stage I and stage II gastric cancer based on neutrophil extracellular trap (NET)-related genes.

Methods

The gene expression data associated with stage I and stage II gastric cancer were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. NET-related genes were obtained from previous reference. Differentially expressed NET-related genes were selected by consensus cluster analysis. The differences in immune infiltration between two subtypes were analyzed. Prognosis-related genes were further screened by univariate Cox regression analysis. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) of prognostic signatures was conducted with clusterprofiler. Finally, a miRNA–mRNA–transcription factor (TF) network was constructed.

Results

Total 43 differential NET-related genes were obtained and two subtypes were obtained based on these genes. Patients of cluster 2 had a better prognosis compared to cluster 1. Eight types of immune cells were differential in infiltration level between two subtypes. Following univariate Cox regression analysis, two genes of CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and nuclear factor, erythroid 2-like 2 (NFE2L2) significantly related to patient survival were selected. GSEA of single gene revealed thatCXCR4was associated with allograft rejection andNFE2L2was associated with drug metabolism-cytochrome P450. A network with 421 miRNA–mRNA–TF regulatory pairs was constructed.

Conclusion

The present study identified two subtypes and a prognostic signature for stage I and stage II gastric cancer based on NET-related genes.
Erosion susceptibility mapping of a loess-covered region using Analytic Hierarchy Process – A case study: Kalat-e-Naderi, northeast Iran
Authors: Nooshin Nokhandan Fatemeh , Ghahraman Kaveh , Horváth Erzsébet
Published: January 2024

In this study, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is applied to generate erosion susceptibility maps in four basins of Kalat-e-Naderi county, namely Archangan, Kalat, Qaratigan, and Chahchaheh basins, situated in northeast Iran. The Kalat-e-Naderi region is characterized by a partial coverage of loess. Given the agricultural significance of loess and its susceptibility to erosion, this research focuses specifically on regions covered by loess. Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, including ArcMap and Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS), were utilized to facilitate the creation of erosion susceptibility maps. Seven factors, including slope, aspect, elevation, drainage density, lithology, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and precipitation were selected for consideration. Recognizing the variability of precipitation and vegetation cover across different seasons, seasonal data for the specified factors were employed. Consequently, erosion susceptibility maps were generated on a seasonal basis. Pairwise comparison tables revealed that precipitation, lithology, and slope emerged as the dominant factors contributing to erosion susceptibility in this region. The resultant maps distinctly delineate basins with higher precipitation values, unresistant lithology (such as loess, characterized by high porosity and permeability), and steeper slopes, exhibiting heightened susceptibility to erosion (Archangan and Kalat basins). The credibility of the research findings was examined through on-site observations. The outcomes of this study may provide pertinent insights for decision-makers and planners. This information can be effectively employed in formulating strategies aimed at conserving soil quality in areas vulnerable to erosion hazards.
Epidemiological Characteristics of Human Rabies in Urban and Suburban Districts in Shanghai, 2006–2021
Authors: Li Zhi , Hu Jiayu , Huang Zhuoying , Guo Xiang , Ren Jia , Qiu Jing , Ma Xiaoying , Yan Han , Huang Fang , Sun Xiaodong
Published: January 2024

Objective:

Rabies is a vaccine-preventable, viral zoonotic disease caused by a lyssavirus. This study was aimed at analyzing the epidemiological characteristics of human rabies in Shanghai to provide valuable information to support accurate prevention and control.

Methods:

Individual-level data on human rabies and dog bites/attacks in Shanghai were collected from 2006 to 2021. Demographic characteristics, spatial and seasonal patterns, and correlations were analyzed to explore the epidemiological profiles. Infection risk was predicted with a Bayesian aggression model.

Results:

A total of 43 human rabies cases were registered in Shanghai in 2006–2021; the annual average incidence rate was 0.01/100000. Males and residents at ages of 10 to 19 years and over 50 years had an elevated risk of rabies. All cases were reported in suburban districts and peaked in July. The body parts most frequently injured by dogs were the hands (48.84%). The fatality rate was 100%. Most cases (86.05%) were not treated after exposure. A total of 310 dog bites/attacks were reported and significantly correlated with the number of cases (P=0.010). The predicted risk of human rabies was higher in suburban than urban areas.

Conclusion:

The incidence of human rabies in Shanghai was relatively low; nevertheless, risk still existed, particularly in suburban areas.
Wearing the Red, White, and Blue Trunks of Aztlán
Authors: Romero Tom I.
Published: January 2024

This essay examines the relationship between American and Chicano nationalism in the decades after World War II. Focusing on mainstream media portrayals of Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, it argues that one of Chicano cultural nationalism’s most recognizable proponents rose to prominence as a result of his long-standing association with highly mutable American ideals. To prove this thesis, the essay analyzes the meaning of Gonzales’s boxing and political careers in relation to shifting concepts of race and nation. Gonzales’s “all-American” boxing image, it is shown, provided a means to understand the articulation of Chicano nationalism in the early years of the Chicano movement. The essay concludes that in wearing the red, white, and blue trunks of Aztlán, Gonzales demonstrates one way in which American and Chicano nationalist discourse could be resolved in a racially fractured America.
Movidas Rascuaches
Authors: Spener David
Published: January 2024

In the field of Chicana/o arts and letters, rasquachismo refers to the celebration of the sensibility of los de abajo (the underdogs), whose resourcefulness and ingenuity permit them to overcome adversity by stitching together the tools needed to survive from whatever materials they have at hand. In this article, I apply the concept of rasquachismo to interpreting the clandestine border-crossing strategies that Mexican migrants pursue as a way of resisting intensive efforts by the U.S. government to police their movements. More specifically, I describe the types of movidas rascuaches (rascuache maneuvers) practiced by migrants whom I encountered as I conducted ethnographic fieldwork along the South Texas–Northeast Mexico border in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Drawing upon the theoretical reflections of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, I argue that the rasquache sensibility forms an integral part of the habitus of Mexican migrants that inspires the compendium of border-crossing movidas in which they engage.
Chicana/o Students Respond to Arizona’s Anti–Ethnic Studies Bill, SB 1108
Authors: O’Leary Anna Ochoa , Romero Andrea J.
Published: January 2024

Arizona Senate Bill 1108, the “anti–ethnic studies bill,” proposed to eliminate ethnic studies programs and ethnic-based organizations from state-funded education. Along with other anti-immigrant legislation, this bill is creating an oppressive climate of discrimination against individuals of Mexican descent in Arizona. This study investigates the impact of SB 1108 on the mental well-being of Mexican-descent undergraduate students and examines protective factors such as ethnic identity, civic engagement, and individual coping responses (engaged and disengaged). Ninety-nine undergraduates who self-identified as Mexican, Mexican American, or Chicana/o completed an online survey. Pearson productmoment correlation analysis indicates that greater stress due to SB 1108 was significantly associated with lower self-esteem and more depressive symptoms. Engaged coping responses to SB 1108 protected students’ self-esteem even at high levels of stress; in contrast, students who felt high stress but were not engaged had significantly lower self-esteem. Our results also indicate that a positive ethnic identity, based on knowledge of cultural history and traditions, is a significant protective factor. Thus, while legislation such as the anti–ethnic studies bill may have a negative impact on the mental well-being of youth, it may also make them stronger as they become academically and civically engaged in response.
The Vanishing Mexicana/o
Authors: Szeghi Tereza M.
Published: January 2024

This article complements the existing body of Ruiz de Burton scholarship by providing the first sustained examination of her literary representations of American Indians in both Who Would Have Thought It? (1872) and The Squatter and the Don (1885), and by exploring how these representations serve her broader aims of social and political reform. The presence of American Indians in the novels, however marginal, and Ruiz de Burton’s rendering of them as savage, powerless, and justly shut out from the social and political life of the nation are critical to the author’s aims. Accounting for the absence and strategic appearance of American Indians in the novels reveals the complexities of Ruiz de Burton’s manipulations of racial hierarchies as well as the ways in which she connects racial identity to rightful land ownership and social status. Ruiz de Burton reframes popular accounts of American Indians—including the captivity narrative and the myth of the Vanishing Indian—as a means of advancing her political aims. Ultimately, attending to the role of American Indians in the two novels allows for a better appreciation of just how interconnected Ruiz de Burton’s two novelistic projects are and of how each serves her larger vision of social reform.
The Autobiography of an Ancient Statue
Authors: Vizcaíno-Alemán Melina
Published: January 2024

This essay focuses on Fray Angélico Chávez’s 1954 narrative La Conquistadora: The Autobiography of an Ancient Statue as a critical model for re-reading Mexican American women’s literature and Chicana feminist art. The statue of La Conquistadora, which arrived in Santa Fe in 1625, is venerated as the oldest Marian representation in the United States. The autobiography is worth serious study because of its transvestite narrative voice: the female statue tells “her-story” as written by the male author. In La Conquistadora Chávez crosses gender and genre in ways that prompt a critical assessment of the autobiography’s significance through a deconstructive reading that draws on Southwest studies, feminism, and queer theory. This analysis offers a fresh perspective for determining how gender works in the life writings of early-twentieth-century Mexican American writers and the feminist works of contemporary Chicana artists.
Queer Storytelling and Temporality in Trace Elements of Random Tea Parties by Felicia Luna Lemus
Authors: Yarbro-Bejarano Yvonne
Published: January 2024

The essay focuses on temporality in Lemus’s novel, including the critique of generational logics that reinforce the hegemonic family’s reproductive normativity. Following Sandra K. Soto, I read the novel “like a queer,” shifting the focus from the character’s racialized sexual identity to the vehicle for queer storytelling itself: the first-person narration. I argue that it is possible to discern in the very formal elements of Leticia’s narration a calling forth of alternative temporalities and kinship groupings. As narrator, Leticia never completely breaks with generational tropes; nevertheless, I suggest that she often torques them in queer directions. Drawing on the foundational theoretical work of José Esteban Muñoz, I follow some of Leticia’s disidentificatory and even utopian practices vis-à-vis maternally transmitted tales and address the possibility that her narration, the ending in particular, not only brings old stories to life in the narration’s present, but bends it away from linear time. The manner in which Leticia retells these inherited stories tampers with generational succession as well, reconfiguring the hierarchical and vertical transmission of knowledge within Leticia’s matriarchal Mexican and working-class family in a horizontal genderqueer transmission and reception.
Good News and Bad News
Authors: McConnell Eileen Díaz
Published: January 2024

The most politically charged demographic change in Arizona in recent decades is the increase in international migrants who lack legal permission to reside in the country. State-level legislation focused on immigrants has received national and international attention, particularly Senate Bill 1070, which passed in Arizona in 2010. This study focuses on estimates of unauthorized migrants in Arizona and how this quantitative information is represented in a major daily newspaper, the Arizona Republic. The essay first describes how estimates of unauthorized migration are generated and summarizes recent changes in the unauthorized migrant population in Arizona and the United States between 1990 and 2010. It then undertakes a qualitative examination of how newspaper reporters use and frame estimates of unauthorized migrants produced by the Pew Hispanic Center, a research organization. Although some features of the newspaper coverage are encouraging, particularly the accurate reporting of specific Pew estimates, the analysis also uncovers evidence of nonneutral usage and framing of the data. These results point to both progress and continued challenges in contemporary media representations of unauthorized migrant populations in a highly charged social, political, and economic context.
The Neoliberal Policy Regime and Implications for Latino Studies Scholarship
Authors: Córdova Teresa
Published: January 2024

This essay considers how globalized capitalism affects Latino communities in the United States and suggests implications for Latino studies. Contextualizing US Latinos within a restructured economic system and the current neoliberal policy regime provides a lens for understanding their conditions. The essay examines structural dynamics based on the logic of economic imperatives, including the inexorable pressure to accumulate capital by cutting costs and expanding markets, and highlights impacts on Latino labor, immigration, and neighborhoods. An ideological apparatus of social messaging and mechanisms of social control support these imperatives and shift the blame for poor economic conditions to Latinos themselves. Values, principles, and research-based analyses stemming from the foundations of Chicano and Puerto Rican studies can help challenge the dominant discourse and address contemporary issues facing Latino communities. The call for renewed emphasis on the political economy and on research-based solutions is intended to place the output of Latino studies scholarship into discourse and policy debates and to make Latino presence in universities true to the social movements that brought them there.
Symbolic Convergence in Bracero Corrido Narratives
Authors: Calvillo Verónica
Published: January 2024

Chicana/o scholars can use bracero music to help make sense of immigration issues during and after the Bracero Program period (1942–64) of US-Mexican relations. I collect, transcribe, and perform a rhetorical analysis of nine unpublished bracero music recordings, including performances by Lalo Guerrero and Esteban Navarrete, that are archived at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. As a theoretical framework, the study uses symbolic convergence theory, which may help explain why some narratives resonate with particular audiences. I argue that small groups of Mexican working-class men who gather to listen to bracero music can identify with the lyrics, even though they may lack firsthand experience working for foreign landowners. Through identification by antithesis, the portrayal of villainous characters’ behavior in bracero music reinforces the positive values that the audience, as a group, shares. Consequently, and through the symbolic convergence process, group members may then share their own stories. Some of these stories may create fantasy themes that excite the group, and fantasy chains may then move the group to act on a corrido’s message. The study has implications for scholars who are interested in Chicana/o identity formation.
Memory, Temporality, and Communal Realization
Authors: Voelkner Krysten
Published: January 2024

This study explores how Tomás Rivera’s . . . And the Earth Did Not Devour Him theorizes subjectivity as a space in which congruity and differentiation between self and other intersect and are in flux, outside of the restrictions of humanism and logocentrism, in order to propose that such a theory of the subject balances both the aesthetic and ethical demands of contemporary Chicana/o criticism. To articulate this theory of the subject as it is presented in Rivera’s novel, this essay employs the notion of nomadic subjectivity conceived by philosopher and feminist theorist Rosi Braidotti. The study also incorporates relevant contemporary Chicana/o criticism in order to contextualize the proposed theory of subjectivity within a broader conversation concerning alternative conceptions of how the self both operates and is constructed. It is through this framework that the central questions motivating this essay will be examined. Such questions relate to how figurations within And the Earth Did Not Devour Him encompass one’s substance and attributes laterally, via the intersections of individual and communal influence.
Nigerian women’s modern contraceptive use: evidence from NDHS 2018
Authors: Abubakar Ibrahim Banaru , Abubakar Hafsat Banaru
Published: January 2024

Nigeria has the largest population in Africa, a high fertility rate, and unmet needs for family planning. Family planning is a key strategy for sustainable development. A good knowledge of factors that determine contraceptive uptake is imperative for policy formulation. A nationally representative secondary dataset of 41,821 women aged 15–49 years who participated in the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey was analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between various factors and the current use of modern contraceptives. The respondents’ average age was 35.9 ± 7.9 years. Overall, contraceptive prevalence was 16.6% for traditional methods and 12.2% for modern methods. Predictors of an increase in modern contraception use were age 40–44 (aOR = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.75–1.53); being a working-class woman (aOR = 1.15, 95% CI: 0.99–1.33); living in an urban area (aOR = 1.14, 95% CI: 0.97–1.33); living in the South West (aOR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.03–1.79); increasing wealth (aOR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.66–0.93); and health insurance (aOR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.89–1.68). Couple dynamics influencing modern contraceptive use were joint decision (aOR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.81–2.59), self-decision on health care (aOR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.06–1.70), and earning more than a partner (aOR = 1.14, 95% CI: 0.78–1.66). There are significant variations in contraceptive uptake attributable to socioeconomic and political inequalities, requiring a holistic approach to mitigate barriers and improve contraceptive uptake.

Lay summary

This study examined modern contraceptive use among 41,821 Nigerian women aged 15–49 using data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. The average age of the participants was 36 years. The findings showed that 12.2% of women used modern contraceptive methods, while 16.6% used traditional methods. Factors influencing modern contraceptive use included being aged 40–44, being employed, living in urban areas, residing in the South West region, having higher wealth, and having health insurance. Couple dynamics also played a role, with joint decision-making, self-decision on health care, and higher earnings than a partner being associated with increased contraceptive use. The study highlights the importance of addressing socioeconomic and political disparities to improve access to and use of contraceptives for Nigerian women, ultimately contributing to sustainable development.