bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Endothelial Immune Activation by Medin: Potential Role in Cerebrovascular Disease and Reversal by Monosialoganglioside‐Containing Nanoliposomes
Authors: Karamanova Nina , Truran Seth , Serrano Geidy E. , Beach Thomas G. , Madine Jillian , Weissig Volkmar , Davies Hannah A. , Veldhuizen Jaimeson , Nikkhah Mehdi , Hansen Michael , Zhang Weiyang , D'Souza Karen , Franco Daniel A. , Migrino Raymond Q.
Published: January 2020

Background

The function of medin, one of the most common human amyloid proteins that accumulates in the vasculature with aging, remains unknown. We aim to probe medin's role in cerebrovascular disease by comparing cerebral arterial medin content between cognitively normal and vascular dementia (VaD) patients and studying its effects on endothelial cell (
EC
) immune activation and neuroinflammation. We also tested whether monosialoganglioside‐containing nanoliposomes could reverse medin's adverse effects.

Methods and Results

Cerebral artery medin and astrocyte activation were measured and compared between VaD and cognitively normal elderly brain donors.
EC
s were exposed to physiologic dose of medin (5 μmol/L), and viability and immune activation (interleukin‐8, interleukin‐6, intercellular adhesion molecule‐1, and plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1) were measured without or with monosialoganglioside‐containing nanoliposomes (300 μg/
mL
). Astrocytes were exposed to vehicle, medin, medin‐treated
EC
s, or their conditioned media, and interleukin‐8 production was compared. Cerebral collateral arterial and parenchymal arteriole medin, white matter lesion scores, and astrocyte activation were higher in VaD versus cognitively normal donors. Medin induced
EC
immune activation (increased interleukin‐8, interleukin‐6, intercellular adhesion molecule‐1, and plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1) and reduced
EC
viability, which were reversed by monosialoganglioside‐containing nanoliposomes. Interleukin‐8 production was augmented when astrocytes were exposed to medin‐treated
EC
s or their conditioned media.

Conclusions

Cerebral arterial medin is higher in VaD compared with cognitively normal patients. Medin induces EC immune activation that modulates astrocyte activation, and its effects are reversed by monosialoganglioside‐containing nanoliposomes. Medin is a candidate novel risk factor for aging‐related cerebrovascular disease and VaD.
New and interesting aerial diatom assemblages from southwestern Iceland

Authors: FUREY PAULA C. , MANOYLOV KALINA M. , LOWE REX L.
Published: January 2020

Examination of algal assemblages from aerial environments around the globe, especially those from pseudoaerial habitats found on moistened rocks underneath waterfalls or around springs and seeps, reveals the presence of unique diatom floras. Yet, diatom assemblages from northern regions like Iceland remain understudied, especially those from the volcanic rock outcrops and boulders that create euaerial habitats where biota receive moisture from the atmosphere or the rock itself. During the summers of 2013 and 2015, we examined the biodiversity of mostly euaerial, but also pseudoaerial, diatom assemblages collected from volcanic rock outcrops or large boulders on the landscape from southwestern Iceland. We used light and scanning electron microscopy to document the biodiversity of common, smaller, new, or interesting specimens, such as Humidophila and Eunotia. We describe one new Humidophila species, H. eldfjallii sp. nov., with triundulate valve margins and include information on another unidentified taxon, Humidophila sp. 1, naviculoid in shape with tapering to rounded ends, continuous striae through the length of the valve, and a circular central area. We formally transfer Diadesmis contenta var. biceps to Humidophila biceps. To correct the nomenclature, we recognized Humidophila parallela at the species level. Relative abundance estimates of diatom populations provided further characterization of the assemblages on these habitats. Humidophila taxa, especially H. gallica dominated the diverse diatom flora. We discuss adaptations for survival with access to mostly atmospheric water. The diatom flora described here adds to the flora for this region, highlights the diversity of diatom assemblages that can inhabit euaerial environments, and provides evidence of adaptive success of diatoms in extreme habitats with limited moisture and nutrients.
A new species of Diphascon (Tardigrada: Hypsibiidae) from Northern China supported by integrated taxonomy
Authors: SUN XUE-LING , ZHANG JING-YU , WANG NING , ZHAO MIN , LUO XUE-GANG
Published: January 2020

Morphological and molecular analyses have determined that there is a new species of Tardigrada found in China. Diphascon wuyingensis sp. nov., has smooth cuticle, pharyngeal apophyses, three rod-shaped macroplacoids (increasing in length from first to third, with the second macroplacoid clearly longer than the first) and lacks microplacoids and septulum. The new species has a very small drop-shaped formation and small claws of the Hypsibius type, but no pseudolunules or other cuticular thickenings. Three individual specimens and a group of four specimens were used for DNA isolation and 18S rRNA and COI sequencing; the p-distances to another three Diphascon species used for comparison varied in ranges of 8.8–10.2% (18S rRNA) and 24.2–26.7% (COI).
A Double-Thermostad Warm-Core Ring of the Gulf Stream
Authors: Belkin Igor , Foppert Annie , Rossby Tom , Fontana Sandra , Kincaid Chris
Published: January 2020

An unusual double-thermostad warm-core ring of the Gulf Stream was discovered in the Slope Sea, south of Georges Bank, during the R/V Endeavor cruise 578 in May 2016. The ring’s stratification was peculiar as it included two thermostads at, respectively, 100–200 m (core T = 18.14°C, S = 36.52) and 250–500 m (core T = 16.70°C, S = 36.35). Extensive use of satellite data (SST imagery and SSH maps) allowed the life history of this ring to be reconstructed, with independent SST and SSH data mutually corroborating each other. The double-thermostad ring was formed by vertical alignment of two preexisting warm-core anticyclonic rings of the Gulf Stream. The first ring spawned by the Gulf Stream in February has cooled by ~2°C before merging in April with the second ring spawned by the Gulf Stream in March. During vertical alignment of these rings, the warmer ring overrode the colder ring, thereby forming the double-thermostad ring surveyed in May 2016. From ADCP sections through the ring, the upper and lower thermostads had different core relative vorticities of −0.65f and −0.77f, respectively, where f is the local Coriolis parameter. An in-depth literature survey has confirmed that this is the first report of a double-thermostad warm-core ring of the Gulf Stream and one of the best-documented cases of vertical alignment of two eddies ever observed in the World Ocean.
Candidacy Eligibility Criteria and Party Unity
Authors: Rehmert Jochen
Published: January 2020

Extant research suggests that candidate selection methods can be consequential for party unity in legislative voting. Yet thus far, only variations in the selectorate and the degree of centralization have been examined. This article argues that Candidacy Eligibility Criteria (CEC), too, have implications for party unity. I theorize that with stricter formal requirements, parties avoid adverse selection and ensure the nomination of committed candidates. By using roll-call vote data from 16 industrial democracies, candidate surveys and an original data set consisting of nearly 500 historical party constitutions, I show that parties demanding prior membership and nudging aspirants to maintain networks within the party tend to be more unified in parliamentary voting. Moreover, their candidates, too, express greater loyalty when compared with parties without formal CEC. Thus, this article contributes to the literatures on party unity and on candidate selection by showing how certain party rules, hitherto neglected, affect party unity.
Common, Difficult Questions about Providing Nutrition at End of Life: Bedside Application of Catholic Moral Teaching
Authors: Raphael John J. , Vacca Michael A. , Hosie Annmarie , Rodden Natalie , Fernandes Ashley K. , Ely E. Wesley
Published: January 2020

There is much confusion surrounding how to interpret provision of artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) at the bedside in complicated clinical circumstances. The specific scenario that prompted these questions was a request by a patient and her family to remove a feeding tube that had become, in the patient’s eyes and opinion, disproportionately burdensome in her particular set of clinical circumstances. This clinically relevant article can be viewed as a bedside interpretation of Catholic bioethical teachings on provision of ANH to the dying patient. Please note that this article does not address specific ethical issues that pertain to persistent vegetative state, which is beyond the scope of this particular discussion.
Factors Influencing Student-Athletes’ Identity: A Multilevel Regression and Poststratification Approach
Authors: Quinaud Ricardo T. , Gonçalves Carlos E. , Capranica Laura , Carvalho Humberto M.
Published: January 2020

We considered identity variation among Brazilian university student-athletes in relation to their gender, sport type, competition level, and university type. Participants were 506 student-athletes (219 males and 287 females) from public and private Brazilian universities, competing in team and individual sports, at local, state, and national levels. We used multilevel regression and poststratification to estimate each participant’s identity from the aforementioned variables. Gender and sport type were not associated with any substantial identify variation, but there were higher values on Baller Identity Measurement Scale dimensions for student-athletes from public versus private universities, and student-athletes competing at the highest level had lower Baller Identity Measurement Scale values compared to peers competing at lower levels. Overall, university type and sport competitive level were the contextual factors that most influenced Brazilian student-athletes’ identities.
Sacrificing Oneself or Another: The Difference Between Prescriptive and Normative Judgments in Moral Evaluation
Authors: Bahník Štěpán , Efendic Emir , Vranka Marek A.
Published: January 2020

When asked whether to sacrifice oneself or another person to save others, one might think that people would consider sacrificing themselves rather than someone else as the right and appropriate course of action—thus showing an other-serving bias. So far however, most studies found instances of a self-serving bias—people say they would rather sacrifice others. In three experiments using trolley-like dilemmas, we tested whether an other-serving bias might appear as a function of judgment type. That is, participants were asked to make a prescriptive judgment (whether the described action should or should not be done) or a normative judgment (whether the action is right or wrong). We found that participants exhibited an other-serving bias only when asked whether self- or other-sacrifice is wrong. That is, when the judgment was normative and in a negative frame (in contrast to the positive frame asking whether the sacrifice is right). Otherwise, participants tended to exhibit a self-serving bias; that is, they approved sacrificing others more. The results underscore the importance of question wording and suggest that some effects on moral judgment might depend on the type of judgment.
Political Orientations and Morality Judgments in the Turkish Context: Considering the Roles of the Needs for Cognition and Recognition
Authors: Tekeş Burcu , Imamoğlu E. Olcay , Özdemir Fatih , Öner-Özkan Bengi
Published: January 2020

The aims of this study were to test: (a) the association of political orientations with morality orientations, specified by moral foundations theory, on a sample of young adults from Turkey, representing a collectivistic culture; and (b) the statistically mediating roles of needs for cognition and recognition in the links between political orientation and morality endorsements. According to the results (a) right-wing orientation and need for recognition were associated with all the three binding foundations (i.e., in-group/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity); (b) right-wing orientation was associated with binding foundations also indirectly via the role of need for recognition; (c) regarding individualizing foundations, left-wing orientation and need for cognition were associated with fairness/reciprocity, whereas only gender was associated with harm/care; and (d) left-wing orientation was associated with fairness dimension also indirectly via the role of need for cognition. The cultural relevance of moral foundations theory as well as the roles of needs for cognition and recognition are discussed.
Is Chinese urbanisation unique?
Authors: Hamnett Chris
Published: January 2020

The future of cities in China is becoming increasingly important, not just within China but globally. China’s urban population has grown from about 200 million in 1980 to about 800 million or 59% in 2018: that is about twice the total population of the USA and 1.5 times the total population of the EU. China has over 100 cities with over a million people. There are also more and more papers being written about urbanisation in China. However, urban development in China is very unlike urban development in the west or in many other developing countries. Despite the growth of a large, dynamic market sector, China is still a Communist country in terms of the pervasive and leading role of the party and the state. The question posed in this commentary is whether urbanisation in China is unique; or, to be more precise, whether the post-reform Chinese experience of urbanisation since around 1980 is so unusual that it constitutes an entirely unique case which lies outside conventional generalisations about urban change processes. This question links to recent discussions of comparative urbanism in which various scholars have grappled with questions about the generalisability of urban theory and experience. The tentative conclusion is that Chinese urbanisation may be unique and is certainly not easily subsumed into standard discussions about urban development and urban change.
Estimating and mapping urban heat islands of the UK by interpolation from the UK Met Office observing network
Authors: Chowienczyk K , McCarthy MP , Hollis D , Dyson E , Lee M , Coley D
Published: January 2020

In this paper, we estimate the climatological impact of urbanisation in the UK as derived from the present and historical set of temperature observations from the UK network of meteorological observing stations. A well-established method for interpolation of in-situ temperature observations is used to make an estimate of temperatures at urban weather station locations based on rural climate data. This method avoids reliance on simple pairing of urban–rural stations commonly used for station-based analysis, and explicitly accounts for other topographic features such as elevation and coastal effects that will introduce geographical differences in temperature. The method is then applied to select a network of ‘rural’ weather stations deemed to be largely free from the direct influence of urban micro-climate effects. Comparison of the temperature grids derived from the ‘urban’ and ‘rural only’ station sets enables quantification of climatological urban heat island intensity across the UK and the influence on temperature in the UK national observational network observations from urban stations.

Practical application: This new method allows the estimation of the urban heat island for towns and cities of any size. Researchers will find it useful when making predictions of the urban heat island and of climate change in the urban environment, and when investigating morbidity and mortality due to overheating in buildings.
An economic evaluation on welfare distribution and carbon sequestration under competitive pyrolysis technologies
Authors: Gong Xiaoyu , Kung Chih-Chun , Zhang Liguo
Published: January 2020

Pyrolysis and gasification are considered as a means of producing renewable energy and improving energy sustainability, which has become attractive renewable technologies to many countries. Unlike other studies that are conducted in small scale, this study aims to aggregate the economic and environmental effects such as agricultural benefits, energy sale, and carbon sequestration to provide more detailed information to decision-makers before these projects are widely employed. This study first employs a lifecycle assessment to investigate the feasibility, profitability, and emission reduction of four major pyrolysis and gasification technologies using crop residuals, and then conducts a sensitive analysis to examine the most influential factors. The results indicate that the intermediate pyrolysis with rice straw and slow pyrolysis from corn stover could offset the carbon dioxide the most. However, the pyrolysis value is also sensitive to production of the feedstock used. Value adding of stover-based biochar under fast pyrolysis improves profitability but other technologies do not have such patterns. Additionally, while gasification can generate considerable amount of renewable electricity, it yields almost zero percent of biochar that can be used as a soil amendment, and thus its contribution to agricultural sector is trivial.
The Use of 532-Nanometer-Pulsed Potassium-Titanyl-Phosphate (KTP) Laser in Laryngology: A Systematic Review of Current Indications, Safety, and Voice Outcomes
Authors: Lechien Jerome R. , Burns James A. , Akst Lee M.
Published: January 2020

Objective:

To investigate the indications, efficacy, safety, and outcomes of potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) laser procedures for treatment of laryngeal disease.

Methods:

PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Scopus were searched for studies providing information about the indications, efficacy, and safety of both in-office and operative suspension microlaryngoscopy KTP laser procedure in treatment of laryngeal disease. Diagnostic criteria and clinical outcome evaluation of included studies were analyzed using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses criteria.

Results:

Of the initial screened 140 papers, 17 met our inclusion criteria. Six papers involved KTP laser procedures for benign and malignant vocal fold lesions in suspension microlaryngoscopy only, 10 papers focused on only in-office KTP laser procedures for benign vocal fold lesions, and 1 paper included both in-office and suspension microlaryngoscopy procedures. The following lesions may be considered as indications for KTP laser procedures: Reinke’s edema, sulcus vocalis, vocal fold hemorrhage, polyp, granuloma, cyst, scar, papillomatosis, dysplasia, leukoplakia, and early vocal fold malignancies. Irrespective of the types of procedure (in-office vs suspension microlaryngoscopy), the KTP laser is associated with a low complication rate and overall good vocal fold vibration recovery. There is an important heterogeneity among studies concerning laser settings, indications, and outcomes used for the assessment of treatment effectiveness. There are no controlled studies directly comparing KTP laser with other lasers (ie, carbon dioxide laser).

Conclusion:

The use of KTP laser procedures for treatment of laryngeal disease has increased over the past decade, especially for office-based management of vocal fold lesions. Future controlled studies are needed to compare the safety and outcomes of the KTP laser to other techniques.
The Global Refugee Crisis: Pathway for a More Humanitarian Solution
Authors: Shultz Clifford , Barrios Andrés , Krasnikov Alexander V. , Becker Ingrid , Bennett Aronté M. , Emile Renu , Hokkinen Maria , Pennington Julia R. , Santos Marcos , Sierra Jaime
Published: January 2020

The global refugee crisis reveals refugees and other forcibly displaced persons (FDP) are uniquely vulnerable consumers on a dynamic pathway precipitated by trigger events that have disrupted or fractured marketing systems requisite for safety and well-being, resulting in dangerous journeys to temporary or permanent settlements. The Syrian Conflict is introduced to contextualize the challenges along the pathway and to show that a more Humanitarian Marketing System, spanning time, space and other systems, brings opportunities for governments, NGOs and businesses to cooperate and to provide FDP with resources, which enhance connectedness, reduce vulnerabilities and suffering, illuminate good practices and enable FDP to flourish when resettled. The authors discuss research-opportunities to facilitate further understanding, to develop and repair marketing systems, and to enhance the well-being of FDP and other stakeholders of the crisis.
Perspectives on Macromarketing in the African Context: Introduction to the Special Issue
Authors: Dadzie Kofi Q. , Sheth Jagdish N.
Published: January 2020

Introduction to the Special Issue on Macromarketing in the African Context
Aligning in the dark: Variable and shifting (user-) settings in developing point-of-care diagnostics for tuberculosis and HIV
Authors: Engel Nora
Published: January 2020

To be effective, healthcare technologies should be attuned to particular contexts of use. This article examines how such attuning is articulated in global innovation practices for tuberculosis and HIV diagnostics, and to what effect. It examines the development of point-of-care (POC) diagnostics – promised to be designed for users outside laboratories or in resource constrained settings – to study what developers and implementers do to align diagnostic technologies to the POC. Fieldwork among global health actors involved in diagnostic development, including manufacturers, donors, industry consultants, international organizations, policymakers, regulators and researchers, is combined with fieldwork among users of diagnostics in India, including decision-makers, NGOs, program officers, laboratory technicians and nurses. The article adds to STS’s theory of alignment and user interaction, where the setting and user to which developers and implementers of global health diagnostics align are multiple, varied, emerging and keep shifting. The characteristics of a local user setting include multiple engaged and imagined user settings, but also the settings of developers, of global intermediaries, competitors and diseases. As such, alignment is happening across multiple dimensions and scales and has an important temporal dimension. The results reveal how alignment happens to some extent in the dark, characterized by uncertainty about the elements that should align. Standardizing elements, politics and scarce resources cause frictions in the temporalities of aligning and over what constitutes a well-aligned diagnostic.
Familial trigeminal neuralgia – a systematic clinical study with a genomic screen of the neuronal electrogenisome
Authors: Di Stefano Giulia , Yuan Jun-Hui , Cruccu Giorgio , Waxman Stephen G , Dib-Hajj Sulayman D , Truini Andrea
Published: January 2020

Objective

This cross-sectional study examined, for the first time, a large cohort of patients with trigeminal neuralgia, to ascertain the occurrence of familial cases, providing a systematic description of clinical features of familial disease. Since there is evidence linking hyperexcitability of trigeminal ganglion neurons to trigeminal neuralgia, we also carried out an exploratory genetic analysis of the neuronal electrogenisome in these patients.

Methods

We recorded familial occurrence by systematically interviewing all patients with a definite diagnosis of classical or idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia. We found 12 occurrences of trigeminal neuralgia with positive family history out of 88 enrolled patients. Whole-exome sequencing was carried out in 11 patients. We concentrated on the genetic variants within a 173-gene panel, comprising channel genes encoding sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, transient receptor potential channels, and gap junction channels. Gene expression profiles were based on published RNA sequencing datasets of rodent/human trigeminal ganglia tissues, with a focus on genes related to neuronal excitability.

Results

In patients with familial trigeminal neuralgia, pain was more often located in the right, second division. All patients reported triggers. Four patients experienced concomitant continuous pain. Whole-exome sequencing analysis within the trigeminal ganglion electrogenisome identified 41 rare variants in ion channels, consisting of variants in sodium channels (6), potassium channels (10), chloride channels (5), calcium channels (7), transient receptor potential channels (12), and gap junction channels (1). In one patient, a previously profiled gain-of-function mutation in SCN10A (Nav1.8 p.Ala1304Thr), previously reported in painful neuropathy, was found; this variant was not present in unaffected siblings.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that familial occurrence of trigeminal neuralgia is more common than previously considered. Although our results demonstrate variants in genes encoding voltage-gated ion channels and transient receptor potential channels within these patients, further study will be needed to determine their roles in the pathogenesis of trigeminal neuralgia.
Flexibility Index Threshold Optimization for Various Asphalt Concrete Mixes and Climatic Conditions
Authors: Ali Uthman Mohamed , Al-Qadi Imad L. , Ozer Hassan
Published: January 2020

Cracking is a major distress that adversely affects the performance of asphalt concrete (AC); a material used as a surface layer on most United States (US) paved roads. The Illinois Flexibility Index Test (I-FIT) is a simple, rapid, repeatable, and cost-effective test used to assess AC cracking potential. Flexibility Index (FI) is the main resultant parameter of the I-FIT. Test conditions (25°C and 50 mm/min), however, yield dissimilar FI values for AC mixes containing different binder grades, which may make the use of a single FI threshold inappropriate. This research effort developed a framework for establishing FI thresholds for unaged AC specimens that were tested using the current I-FIT temperature and loading rate. Five laboratory-designed AC mixes with the same aggregate skeleton and binder content—but different binder grades—were used to isolate the binder’s influence. A reference AC mix was selected and its FI and secant modulus used as target parameters. An equivalent-stiffness approach, utilizing loading rate or temperature variations to attain the target secant modulus, was used to account for the impact of binder grades on FI of the remaining four AC mixes. The equivalent-stiffness approach yielded a narrower FI range compared to the conventional I-FIT. Statistical analysis of FI results showed no significant differences in the mean FI values of the control mix and of the four AC mixes tested using equivalent-stiffness approach. FI thresholds based on conventional I-FIT (25°C and 50 mm/min) could be established once the FI obtained from equivalent stiffness testing matches or exceeds the target FI.
Learning and Adaptation in Dynamic Transit Assignment Models for Congested Networks
Authors: Cats Oded , West Jens
Published: January 2020

The distribution of passenger demand over the transit network is forecasted using transit assignment models which conventionally assume that passenger loads satisfy network equilibrium conditions. The approach taken in this study is to model transit path choice as a within-day dynamic process influenced by network state variation and real-time information. The iterative network loading process leading to steady-state conditions is performed by means of day-to-day learning implemented in an agent-based simulation model. We explicitly account for adaptation and learning in relation to service uncertainty, on-board crowding and information provision in the context of congested transit networks. This study thus combines the underlying assignment principles that govern transit assignment models and the disaggregate demand modeling enabled by agent-based simulation modeling. The model is applied to a toy network for illustration purposes, followed by a demonstration for the rapid transit network of Stockholm, Sweden. A full-scale application of the proposed model shows the day-to-day travel time and crowding development for different levels of network saturation and when deploying different levels of information availability.
An Undergraduate Primer on Quality-Differentiated Demand
Authors: Adams Charles F.
Published: January 2020

This article presents a student exercise on the logic underlying demand for quality-differentiated products. The argument builds and extends on basic constructs from undergraduate microeconomics, developing a linear demand structure to reflect consumer preferences for quality variation and a brief critique of market responses to those preferences that indicates potentially greater efficiency loses under monopoly once the possibility of quality distortions are accounted for. Various policy extensions are noted. These include applications in utility pricing tied to quality variations in service reliability, the potentially disproportionate impact on lower income households of quality distortions created by monopoly practices, and the potential of profligate resource use by monopolies which are shown to favor higher over lower quality products. Following along with the student exercise is a series of instructor notes with references to the scholarly literature and possible elaborations on various aspects of the exercise that instructors may chose to address.

JEL Classifications: D4, D41, D42
Pseudotumor Cerebri Syndrome: From Childhood to Adulthood Risk Factors and Clinical Presentation
Authors: Mahajnah Muhammad , Genizi Jacob , Zahalka Hazar , Andreus Ronza , Zelnik Nathanel
Published: January 2020

Introduction:

Although considered uncommon, pseudotumor cerebri syndrome (PTC) is a significant cause of headache among children and adults. However, the presenting symptoms may be different among diverse age groups. In the present study, we compared the risk factors and clinical presentation of PTC across life—from childhood to adulthood.

Methods:

A retrospective survey of PTC patients aged 7 years or older between 2011 and 2013 was carried out. Pooled analyses were performed comparing characteristics from our data with those of published data subdivided into 3 age groups: pre-young children, adolescents, and adults.

Results:

Our cohort consisted of 72 patients: 32 children (10 pre-young children, 22 adolescents) and 40 adults. Within the pre-young children age group: 20% were females versus 82% in the adolescent age group and 85% of the adult age group. Obesity was found in 10% of the young children group, 64% of the adolescents, and 80% of the adults. Headache was reported in 70% young children, 82% adolescents, and 83% adults. Pooled analysis of 1499 patients showed that young children with PTC tend to complain less about headache compared with older ones. Vomiting and visual impairment were most common among adolescents, and dizziness and tinnitus were most common in adults.

Conclusion:

PTC has different risk factors and clinical presentation throughout life. In young children, there is no gender preference and most patients are not obese. Risk factors in adolescents resemble those of adults.
Domestic Violence Interventions in Social and Health Care Settings: Challenges of Temporary Projects and Short-Term Solutions
Authors: Husso Marita , Notko Marianne , Virkki Tuija , Holma Juha , Laitila Aarno , Siltala Heli
Published: January 2020

Social welfare service and health care providers are in a key position to implement successful domestic violence (DV) interventions. However, it is known that DV intervention and prevention work is often lacking in coordination and continuity. In addition, the limited resources, hectic work pace, and changing practices negatively affect the development of successful ways to prevent and intervene in DV. This qualitative study involving 11 focus groups, composed of social welfare and health care professionals ( n = 51) in a midsized Finnish hospital, examined the challenges and possibilities within DV interventions and the adoption of good practices produced by a DV intervention development project funded by the European Union (EU). The results show that short-term development projects, amid the pressure of limited time and resources, encounter serious challenges when applied to wicked and ignored problems, such as DV. Developing successful violence intervention practices requires a broad understanding of the challenges that rapid development projects present to professionals and social welfare service and health care practices at the organizational level. Hence, the implementation of good practices requires continuity in managerial and organizational support, distribution of information, documentation of DV, awareness raising, education, training, and agreement on basic tasks and responsibilities. Otherwise, the failure to continue development work derails the results of such work, and short project durations lead to unnecessary work and the need to reinvent temporary work practices time and again. Short-term interventions provide inefficient solutions to the problem of DV, and a built-in organizational structure can prevent the misuse of organizational and human resources.
Are Children With a Number of Disabilities and Long-Term Illnesses at Increased Risk of Mental Violence, Disciplinary Violence, and Serious Violence?
Authors: Seppälä Piia , Vornanen Riitta , Toikko Timo
Published: January 2020

The focus of this study was on the question of whether or not children with a number of disabilities and long-term illnesses are at increased risk of child maltreatment (mental violence, disciplinary violence, and serious violence). This study was based on the Child Victim Survey of 2013 (FSD2943). The data consist of a nationally representative sample of pupils in Finland in sixth grade (12–13 years of age) and ninth grade (15–16 years of age). The sampling was undertaken as a stratified cluster by province, municipality type, and school size. The total number of respondents was 11,364. According to the logistic regression analyses, the children with at least three disabilities or long-term illnesses had an increased risk of violence compared with children with no disability: The risk of mental violence increased by 2.96 times, the risk of disciplinary violence by 4.30 times, and the risk of serious violence by 3.53 times. The effect of the category of at least three disabilities and illnesses remained statistically significant, although the analysis also accounted for several confounding factors. Thus, a child’s multiple morbidity (in the case of three or more disabilities and illnesses) can be categorized as one of the major risk factors for child maltreatment. The study complements the results of previous studies concerning the effect of children’s disabilities and long-term illnesses and their impact on child maltreatment. The results underline the importance of employees of health and social care having knowledge of multiple morbidity and its importance as a key factor regarding child maltreatment.
Intimate Partner Violence in Honduras: Ecological Correlates of Self-Reported Victimization and Fear of a Male Partner
Authors: Wheeler Jennifer , Hutchinson Paul , Leyton Alejandra
Published: January 2020

The experience of intimate partner violence (IPV) is influenced by individual, relationship, community, and societal-level factors, including the prevalence and acceptance of societal violence in which the victim lives. These factors transcend a woman’s present circumstances and personal history and the gender and power relationships within her household. This is particularly relevant in Honduras, where a high level of IPV occurs within a traditionally patriarchal society and growing societal violence and crime. This study examines the factors—informed by a social ecological theoretical perspective—associated with the experience of IPV. We use data from the Honduras Demographic and Health Survey (ENDESA) 2011–2012 to estimate multilevel, multivariate models predicting the likelihood that a woman experiences emotional, physical, and/or sexual IPV and/or fear of her partner. Our models contain higher level contextual effects that capture regional variations in social violence and aggregated norms capturing acceptance of IPV. We find that a woman’s likelihood of experiencing violence is related to individual, relationship, and household-level characteristics, including marital status, age at first cohabitation, employment status, violence within the parental home, women’s accepting attitudes toward IPV, autonomy in decision-making, partner’s use of alcohol, the nature of the relationship with her partner (i.e., living together or not), and educational and age differences with her partner. Notably, women living in more violent areas—measured by violence statistics and aggregate community-level norms regarding spouse beating—were more likely to experience IPV. These findings contribute to our understanding of the risk of IPV and to the evidence that can be used to identify the most vulnerable women and opportunities for intervention to prevent further victimization. By using an analytical methodology that reflects the complexity of factors that place women at risk for IPV, we can isolate, address, and advocate for changing circumstances that make Honduran women vulnerable to IPV.
Sexual and Reproductive Health Web Sites: An Analysis of Content for Sexual and Gender Minority Youth
Authors: Andrzejewski Jack , Rasberry Catherine N. , Mustanski Brian , Steiner Riley J.
Published: January 2020

Purpose:

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth face risks for negative sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes; it is critical to provide these populations with health education that is both inclusive of and specific to their needs. We sought to characterize the strengths and weaknesses of SGM-related messages from web sites that address SRH for young people. We considered who is included, what topics are discussed, and how messages are framed.

Methods:

A systematic Google search and screening process was used to identify health promotion web sites with SRH content for adolescents and young adults. Using MAXQDA, we thematically coded and analyzed SGM content qualitatively.

Results:

Of 32 SRH web sites identified, 23 (71.9%) contained SGM content. Collectively, the sites included 318 unique SGM codes flagging this content. Approximately two-thirds of codes included messages that discussed SGM youth in aggregate (eg, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender)—specific content about the diverse subpopulations within this umbrella term (eg, transgender youth) was more limited. In addition to SRH topics, most web sites had messages that addressed a broad array of other health issues including violence, mental health, and substance use (n = 17, 73.9%) and SGM-specific topics, for example coming out (n = 21, 91.3%). The former were often risk-framed, yet affirmational messages were common. Most web sites (n = 16; 69.6%) presented information for SGM youth both in stand-alone sections and integrated into broader content. Yet, integrated information was slightly more common (56.6% of all codes) than stand-alone content.

Conclusions:

Challenges of developing SRH content related to SGM youth include: (1) aggregate terms, which may not represent the nuances of sexual orientation and gender, (2) balancing risk versus affirmational messages, and (3) balancing stand-alone versus integrated content. However, SGM-related content also offers an opportunity to address diverse topics that can help meet the needs of these populations.
A Study on the Potential Role of Occlusal Fissure Fractures in the Etiopathogenesis of Equine Cheek Teeth Apical Infections
Authors: Wellman Katherina Y. , Dixon Padraic M.
Published: January 2020

Thirty-nine equine cheek teeth diagnosed as having anachoretic apical infections and also having occlusal fissure fractures, but without occlusal pulpar exposure, that had been orally extracted without causing occlusal damage and 10 control teeth were used in this study. The teeth were individually imaged by computed tomography, occlusally stained with methylene blue and visually reexamined, then sectioned subocclusally at 5 mm intervals until the fissure fractures could no longer be detected. A limited histological study was then performed on 7 apically infected and 5 control teeth. Standard computed tomography only detected 1 of 39 fissure fractures. Thirteen of the 39 stained teeth had subocclusal fissure fractures visually identified at approximately 6 mm beneath the surface, and in 9 of these 13 teeth the fissure fractures had deeper staining to a level immediately above or into a pulp horn, indicating a potential route for bacterial pulpitis. However, the current study cannot rule out the possibility that the extraction process, long-term formalin storage, or the processing of teeth may have allowed for deeper staining. Additionally, methylene blue may penetrate dental tissue more readily than bacteria can invade. Further studies on the potential role of fissure fractures in the etiopathogenesis of cheek teeth apical infection are warranted.
State–society relations under a new model of control in China: Graduated control 2.0
Authors: Qiaoan Runya
Published: January 2020

Graduated control models are often used to explain the variety of government treatment of social organizations in China. These models have been slowly losing their explanatory power in recent years, with advocacy-oriented grass-roots groups participating in the policymaking process. Why are these social groups not regulated in the way the graduated control models predict? Based on an analysis of three recent policy advocacy cases, this article proposes a graduated control 2.0 model to explain the new dynamics in Chinese state–society interactions. The upgraded model argues that the government officials’ behaviour patterns are influenced by numerous factors such as the inherent nature of social groups highlighted by graduated control models, and inter-ministerial competition – the power position of the state sector and its rival sector in the bureaucratic system. Some contingent factors also play a part, such as timing and the NGO’s onstage performance. This research contributes to the ongoing discussion on Chinese state–society relations by developing a theoretical model that highlights both the fragmentation and reactiveness of state control over social groups and further unpacks the ‘monolithic state’ in China studies.
Reinventing education for an entrepreneurial culture
Authors: Formica Piero
Published: January 2020

Education, starting with primary school, does not need to be reformed; it needs to be reinvented. Short-term reforms must be the prelude to a revolution in learning in the medium to long term. This editorial comment by Professor Piero Formica proposes some basic principles for a new entrepreneurial approach to learning that nourishes the imagination, cultivates an openness of mind and lays the foundations of an entrepreneurial culture.
Understanding competing and conflicting interests for peri-urban land in Ethiopia’s era of urbanization
Authors: Adam Achamyeleh Gashu
Published: January 2020

Understanding the competing and conflicting interests in peri-urban land is crucial for informed decisions and well-managed urbanization. These interests in peri-urban land in Ethiopia are explored from a political economy perspective, using desk review and case study research. The findings show that the state, the private business sector and the local community are the three main sets of players with competing interests in peri-urban land, which has resulted in the rapid conversion of farmland into built-up urban property. The more land is expropriated by government agents, and the more land is developed by developers, the more revenues are collected by the government and the more profit is realized by developers and dealers, but with less opportunity and security for local communities in the peri-urban areas. Therefore, urban spatial expansion and development programmes in urban fringe areas require purposeful intervention of the government in a way that can accommodate the interests of all parties without conflict.
Hydroclimate influences on modern pollen rain of upland southeastern Amazonia
Authors: da Silva Edilson Freitas , Lopes Karen da Silva , Alves Ronnie , Carreira Léa Maria Medeiros , Silva Delmo Fonseca da , Romeiro Luiza de Araújo , Batista Júnior Wilson Filgueira , Rodrigues Tarcísio Magevski , Secco Ricardo de Souza , Guimarães José Tasso Felix
Published: January 2020

For accurate interpretations of palaeopalynological data, it is important to understand the influence of the current vegetation composition and characteristics on the formation of the palynological assemblage recorded in artificial or natural pollen traps. Therefore, in this study, modern pollen rain was characterized using artificial pollen traps under different ecological conditions and climatic seasons in Trilha da Mata Lake, Carajás North Ridge, southeastern Amazonia. The collection of pollen rain data comprises the total period from September 2015 to August 2016. There were two periods of low rainfall (September to December 2015 and May to August 2016) and one period of high rainfall (January to April 2016). The first two periods were represented by a predominance of canga vegetation pollen relative to forest pollen. Under dry conditions, the associations among the taxa Aparisthmium/Alchornea, Myrcia and Bellucia dichotoma were considered important for forest ecosystems, while those among Pleroma, Hyptis parkeri, Borreria and Perama carajensis were considered important for canga ecosystems. Under wet conditions, the forests were well represented by Schefflera, Anthurium lindmanianum, Pseudopiptadenia suaveolens and Glycydendron, and the most represented canga vegetation in the pollen rain were Poaceae undif., Miconia, M. acutistipula var. ferrea and Psychotria. Aparisthmium/Alchornea and Poaceae undif. Aparisthmium/Alchornea was related to periods of low water availability, and Poaceae undif. was associated with marshy or flooded environments. Thus, an increase in the influx of Poaceae undif. pollen grains was determined by variations in the extension of flooded areas, indicating an increase in the amount of rainfall and not the opposite case. Thus, future studies on vegetation reconstruction must consider modern pollen assemblages to precisely determine paleoenvironmental and paleoclimate conditions during sediment deposition.