bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quine’s conflicts with truth deflationism
Authors: Tauriainen Teemu
Published: October 2022

Compared to the extensive amount of literature on various themes of W.V.O. Quine’s philosophy, his immanent concept of truth remains a relatively unexplored topic. This relative lack of research contributes to a persistent confusion on the deflationary and inflationary details of Quine’s truth. According to a popular reading, Quine’s disquotational definition of the truth predicate exhausts the topic of truth, thus amounting to a deflationary view. Others promote opposing interpretations. I argue that by relying on Tarski’s semantic conception of truth, Quine’s disquotational account inherits a commitment to classical correspondence intuitions. Based on this, Quine posits a firm constitution for truth as an intermediary between language and the world. From this constitution claim follows that the disquotational account proves incompatible with both the general deflationary thesis and, more specifically, the minimalist account, which deny any constitution for truth past what is given by the preferred deflationary schema. This reading is significant for refuting the widespread misrepresentations of Quine as a prominent deflationist.
Cinderella's Glass Slipper
Authors: Warwick Genevieve
Published: October 2022

Cinderella's Glass Slipper studies Renaissance material cultures through the literary prism of fairy-tale objects. The literary fairy-tale first arose in Renaissance Venice, originating from oral story-telling traditions that would later become the Arabian Nights, and subsequently in the Parisian salons of Louis XIV. Largely written by, for, and in the name of women, these literary fairy-tales took a lightly comic view of life's vicissitudes, especially female fortune in marriage. Connecting literary representations of bridal goods - dress, jewellery, carriages, toiletries, banqueting and confectionary foods - to the craft histories of their making, this Element offers a newly-contextualised socio-economic account of Renaissance luxe, from architectural interiors to sartorial fashioning and design. By coupling Renaissance luxury wares with their fairy-tale representation, it locates the recherché materialities of bridal goods - gold, silver, diamonds and silk - within expanding colonialist markets of a newly-global early modern economy in the age of discovery.
A Comparative Case Study of Match-Fixing Laws in Singapore, Australia, Germany, and Switzerland
Authors: Hessert Björn , Goh Chui Ling
Published: October 2022

Despite being ranked top three countries in the world in the Corruption Perception Index 2018, Singapore has a reputation in sports integrity for being the ‘academy of match-fixers’ in football and home to the leader of ‘the world's most notorious match-fixing syndicate’. It is curious (and somewhat ironic) that Singapore, as one of the world's leaders in managing public section corruption, has been home to sports corruption and match-fixing locally and internationally.

To date, Singapore has not instituted sport-specific laws on match-fixing to specifically combat match-fixing and other forms of manipulation of sports competitions in the country, and primarily relies on its criminal laws on corruption to prosecute match-fixing conduct, pursuant to the Prevention of Corruption Act (Cap 241, 1993 Rev Ed Singapore). This is in comparison to other countries which are home to match-fixing conduct, such as Australia, Germany, and Switzerland.

This article will focus on the discussion on whether it is necessary for countries, with particular focus on Singapore, to enact sport-specific laws on match-fixing in their endeavour to combat match-fixing in their country. This work will conclude that while there are benefits to enacting sport-specific match-fixing laws, there may not be a dire or urgent need for Singapore to enact sport-specific laws on match-fixing. In any event, it may be necessary for Singapore authorities and sport governing bodies to take certain concrete steps to buttress the present regulation of match-fixing and state of players’ contracts in order to mitigate the risks of such sports manipulation activities. One of these steps may include for Singapore to become a Signatory to the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competition (Macolin Convention).
US economic statecraft and great power competition
Authors: Lee James , Maher Richard
Published: October 2022

This article develops a conceptual framework for explaining variation in the United States’ economic statecraft in the Cold War and the present day, focusing on how US officials perceived the type of geoeconomic capability that its rivals possessed and the type of national security challenge that they posed. This framework specifies four ideal-type strategies on the part of the United States: economic containment, national economic competition, technological containment, and national technological competition. Analyses of U.S. strategy toward the Soviet Union, China, and Japan support the theory. These ideal types explain why, in the rivalry with Japan in the 1980s, the United States openly engaged in competition but did not adopt containment, relying on Voluntary Export Restraints, currency devaluation agreements, and bilateral semiconductor agreements rather than placing Japan on something historically analogous to the Commerce Department's contemporary Entity List or targeting Japan with comprehensive export controls through an institution like CoCom. These ideal types (and the theory behind them) also explain why the United States has implemented containment measures against specific Chinese companies but has not pursued a systematic “decoupling” of the US and Chinese economies.
A Canadian National Survey of the Neurosurgical Management of Intracranial Abscesses
Authors: Kameda-Smith Michelle M. , Ragulojan Malavan , Hart Shannon , Duda Taylor R. , MacLean Mark A. , Chainey Jonathan , Aminnejad Minoo , Rizzuto Michael , Bergeron David , Eagles Mathew , Chalil Alan , Langlois Anne-Mare , Gariepy Charles , Persad Amit , Hasen Mohammed , Wang Alick , Elkaim Lior , Christie Sean , Farrokhyar Forough , Reddy Kesava
Published: October 2022

Objective:

Intracerebral abscess is a life-threatening condition for which there are no current, widely accepted neurosurgical management guidelines. The purpose of this study was to investigate Canadian practice patterns for the medical and surgical management of primary, recurrent, and multiple intracerebral abscesses.

Methods:

A self-administered, cross-sectional, electronic survey was distributed to active staff and resident members of the Canadian Neurosurgical Society and Canadian Neurosurgery Research Collaborative. Responses between subgroups were analyzed using the Chi-square test.

Results:

In total, 101 respondents (57.7%) completed the survey. The majority (60.0%) were staff neurosurgeons working in an academic, adult care setting (80%). We identified a consensus that abscesses >2.5 cm in diameter should be considered for surgical intervention. The majority of respondents were in favor of excising an intracerebral abscess over performing aspiration if located superficially in non-eloquent cortex (60.4%), located in the posterior fossa (65.4%), or causing mass effect leading to herniation (75.3%). The majority of respondents were in favor of reoperation for recurrent abscesses if measuring greater than 2.5 cm, associated with progressive neurological deterioration, the index operation was an aspiration and did not include resection of the abscess capsule, and if the recurrence occurred despite prior surgery combined with maximal antibiotic therapy. There was no consensus on the use of topical intraoperative antibiotics.

Conclusion:

This survey demonstrated heterogeneity in the medical and surgical management of primary, recurrent, and multiple brain abscesses among Canadian neurosurgery attending staff and residents.1
Cognitive skills and intra-household allocation of schooling: do parents reinforce or correct for cognitive differences between siblings?
Authors: García-Hombrados Jorge , Masset Edoardo
Published: October 2022

Using household data from Northern Ghana, this study examines how cognitive skills affect the allocation of schooling across the children of a household. The analysis reveals that relative to the rest of the siblings in the household, an increase of one standard deviation in the score of cognitive tests increases by 0.123–0.237 the number of years of schooling attended in the following four years, depending on the cognitive test used. These results are consistent with the main prediction of the theoretical model for intra-household allocation of resources developed in the seminal paper Becker (1981): parents reinforce cognitive differences between siblings through allocating more human capital resources to the more able siblings. We find larger effects for boys than for girls while they do not differ significantly among poorer and less poorer households.
Precision oncology using ex vivo technology: a step towards individualised cancer care?
Authors: Williams Sophie T. , Wells Greg , Conroy Samantha , Gagg Hannah , Allen Richard , Rominiyi Ola , Helleday Thomas , Hullock Katie , Pennington Catherine E. W. , Rantala Juha , Collis Spencer J. , Danson Sarah J.
Published: October 2022

Despite advances in cancer genomics and the increased use of genomic medicine, metastatic cancer is still mostly an incurable and fatal disease. With diminishing returns from traditional drug discovery strategies, and high clinical failure rates, more emphasis is being placed on alternative drug discovery platforms, such as ex vivo approaches. Ex vivo approaches aim to embed biological relevance and inter-patient variability at an earlier stage of drug discovery, and to offer more precise treatment stratification for patients. However, these techniques also have a high potential to offer personalised therapies to patients, complementing and enhancing genomic medicine. Although an array of approaches are available to researchers, only a minority of techniques have made it through to direct patient treatment within robust clinical trials. Within this review, we discuss the current challenges to ex vivo approaches within clinical practice and summarise the contemporary literature which has directed patient treatment. Finally, we map out how ex vivo approaches could transition from a small-scale, predominantly research based technology to a robust and validated predictive tool. In future, these pre-clinical approaches may be integrated into clinical cancer pathways to assist in the personalisation of therapy choices and to hopefully improve patient experiences and outcomes.
Spanish validation of the Stigma of Occupational Stress Scale for Doctors (SOSS-D) and factors associated with physician burnout
Authors: Torales J. , González R. E. , Ríos-González C. , Real-Delor R. , O'Higgins M. , Paredes-González X. , Almirón-Santacruz J. , Díaz N. R. , Castaldelli-Maia J. M. , Ventriglio A. , Barrios I.
Published: October 2022

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Stigma of Occupational Stress Scale for Doctors (SOSS-D) and the factors associated with Physician Burnout in Paraguay.

Methods:

Participants included 747 Paraguayan healthcare workers, aged 24–77 years old, of both sexes. SOSS-D was translated into Spanish and validated through an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Participants were also scored with the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), the CAGE questionnaire, and the stigma subscale of the Perceived Barriers to Psychological Treatment (PBPT) measure.

Results:

Three factors had a raw eigenvalue greater than 1, and explained 61.7% of total variance. The confirmatory analysis confirmed that the scale is three-dimensional. The model adjustment was good, according to all fit indices. OLBI results indicate clinically significant disengagement in 85.9% and clinically significant exhaustion in 91.6% of participants. Of the 747 participants, 57.6% reported alcoholic beverage consumption and among those, 19.3% had problematic alcohol consumption according to the CAGE questionnaire. The correlation between SOSS-D and the stigma subscale of the PBPT was statistically significant (r = 0.245, p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

The Spanish version of the SOSS-D was found to have good psychometric properties and adequately reproduces the three-dimensional model of the original English version.
Stories from London's Docklands: Heritage Encounters, Deindustrialization, and the End of Empire
Authors: Gleeson Finn
Published: October 2022

This article analyzes the activism of Eastside Community Heritage in London's Docklands, circa 1997 to 2003, following its establishment by community activists concerned by the British National Party's electoral success in the postindustrial area. Eastside attributed local racism to deindustrialization and unaccountable, exclusionary redevelopment. Aiming to recenter solidarity against economic injustice—thereby countering racism—and to challenge redevelopers’ neglect, the group published booklets celebrating the area's working-class past. But the project's archived oral histories show that residents remembered an area forged by different ideals. Their nostalgia was for participation in empire through the docks as much as for an idealized working-class community. Residents rarely distinguished between the interconnected losses of imperial purpose and social cohesion. I frame these tensions as a heritage encounters, making three key arguments. First, memories of youth in the imperial metropole informed residents’ perceptions of the late twentieth-century nation, despite recent scholarly efforts to separate them temporally and conceptually. Second, contrary to their predominance within histories of postwar class identity, deindustrialization and urban change were popularly understood within a larger, postimperial narrative of local and national decline. Finally, a close reading of this project offers a vivid case study into the fragility of British multiculturalism in the 1990s and 2000s.
On the global and specific nature of psychological need satisfaction and work motivation in predicting employees' wellbeing: a self-determination theory perspective
Authors: Blechman Yael , Tóth-Király István , Nadon Lindsey R. , Fernet Claude , Morin Alexandre J. S.
Published: October 2022

Using data from 708 French-Canadian nurses, the present study relies on self-determination theory (SDT) and its proposed motivation mediation model to examine the associations between need satisfaction, work motivation, and various manifestations of psychological wellbeing (work satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and turnover intentions). To increase the precision and accuracy of these analyses, we relied on analytic approaches that explicitly account for the dual global/specific nature of both work motivation and need satisfaction. Results revealed that nurses' global psychological need satisfaction, and their specific autonomy and competence satisfaction, were positively associated with their global self-determined work motivation and specific intrinsic motivation. In turn, global self-determined work motivation and specific intrinsic motivation were associated with more desirable outcome levels. Nurses' global need satisfaction and specific autonomy satisfaction were also directly associated with more desirable outcome levels. Our results provided support for a partially mediated version of SDT's motivation mediation model.
A comparison between three-dimensional, transient, thermomechanically coupled first-order and Stokes ice flow models
Authors: Yan Zhan , Leng Wei , Wang Yuzhe , Xiao Cunde , Zhang Tong
Published: October 2022

In this study, we investigate the differences between two transient, three-dimensional, thermomechanically coupled ice-sheet models, namely, a first-order approximation model (FOM) and a ‘full’ Stokes ice-sheet model (FSM) under the same numerical framework. For all numerical experiments, we take the FSM outputs as the reference values and calculate the mean relative errors in the velocity and temperature fields for the FOM over 100 years. Four different boundary conditions (ice slope, geothermal heat flux, basal topography and basal sliding) are tested, and by changing these parameters, we verify the thermomechanical behavior of the FOM and discover that the velocity and temperature biases of the FOM generally increase with increases in the ice slope, geothermal heat flux, undulation amplitude of the ice base, and with the existence of basal sliding. In addition, the model difference between the FOM and FSM may accumulate over time, and the spatial distribution patterns of the relative velocity and temperature errors are in good agreement.
Can Stakeholders Mobilize Businesses for the Protection of Democracy? Evidence from the U.S. Capitol Insurrection
Authors: LI ZHAO , DISALVO RICHARD W.
Published: October 2022

An unprecedented number of major U.S. companies announced changes to their campaign contributions following the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021. We analyze the role of corporate stakeholders in these announcements as well as their implications for democratic institutions and business–government relations. Mirroring polarized public reactions to the Capitol insurrection, companies with more Democratic-leaning stakeholders (e.g., employees, consumers, shareholders) were more likely to publicly refuse contributing to Republican legislators who objected to the electoral college results. Moreover, these pledges held up in available campaign finance records through the third quarter of 2021, implying significant losses in corporate political action committee contributions for said Republican legislators. Given increasing polarization and heightened expectations of the civic responsibility of businesses, the partisanship of corporate stakeholders may prove important in mobilizing businesses to protect democratic institutions. However, such stakeholder pressure may also weaken businesses’ bipartisan legislative coalitions and compel corporate influence-seeking activities to go dark.
Model for ASsessing the value of Artificial Intelligence in medical imaging (MAS-AI)
Authors: Fasterholdt Iben , Kjølhede Tue , Naghavi-Behzad Mohammad , Schmidt Thomas , Rautalammi Quinnie T.S. , Hildebrandt Malene G. , Gerdes Anne , Barkler Astrid , Kidholm Kristian , Rac Valeria E. , Rasmussen Benjamin S.B.
Published: October 2022

Objectives

Artificial intelligence (AI) is seen as a major disrupting force in the future healthcare system. However, the assessment of the value of AI technologies is still unclear. Therefore, a multidisciplinary group of experts and patients developed a Model for ASsessing the value of AI (MAS-AI) in medical imaging. Medical imaging is chosen due to the maturity of AI in this area, ensuring a robust evidence-based model.

Methods

MAS-AI was developed in three phases. First, a literature review of existing guides, evaluations, and assessments of the value of AI in the field of medical imaging. Next, we interviewed leading researchers in AI in Denmark. The third phase consisted of two workshops where decision makers, patient organizations, and researchers discussed crucial topics for evaluating AI. The multidisciplinary team revised the model between workshops according to comments.

Results

The MAS-AI guideline consists of two steps covering nine domains and five process factors supporting the assessment. Step 1 contains a description of patients, how the AI model was developed, and initial ethical and legal considerations. In step 2, a multidisciplinary assessment of outcomes of the AI application is done for the five remaining domains: safety, clinical aspects, economics, organizational aspects, and patient aspects.

Conclusions

We have developed an health technology assessment-based framework to support the introduction of AI technologies into healthcare in medical imaging. It is essential to ensure informed and valid decisions regarding the adoption of AI with a structured process and tool. MAS-AI can help support decision making and provide greater transparency for all parties.
Crystal structure of imepitoin, C13H14ClN3O2
Authors: Kaduk James A. , Gindhart Amy M. , Gates-Rector Stacy , Blanton Thomas N.
Published: October 2022

The crystal structure of imepitoin has been solved and refined using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data, and optimized using density functional techniques. Imepitoin crystallizes in space group Pbca (#61) with a = 12.35541(2), b = 28.43308(8), c = 7.340917(7) Å, V = 2578.882(7) Å3, and Z = 8. The roughly planar molecules stack along the c-axis. There are no traditional hydrogen bonds in the structure, but several intramolecular and intermolecular C–H⋯O, C–H⋯N, and C–H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds contribute to the crystal energy. The powder pattern has been submitted to ICDD for inclusion in the Powder Diffraction File™ (PDF®).
Crystal structure of diclazuril, C17H9Cl3N4O2
Authors: Kaduk James A. , Gates-Rector Stacy , Blanton Thomas N.
Published: October 2022

The crystal structure of diclazuril has been solved and refined using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data, and optimized using density functional theory techniques. Diclazuril crystallizes in space group P21/a (#14) with a = 27.02080(18), b = 11.42308(8), c = 5.36978(5) Å, β = 91.7912(7)°, V = 1656.629(15) Å3, and Z = 4. The crystal structure consists of layers of molecules parallel to the ac-plane. A strong N–H⋯O hydrogen bond links the molecules into dimers along the a-axis with a graph set R2,2(8). The powder pattern has been submitted to ICDD for inclusion in the Powder Diffraction File™ (PDF®).
Nest microclimate and heat stress in African Penguins Spheniscus demersus breeding on Bird Island, South Africa
Authors: Welman Shaun , Pichegru Lorien
Published: October 2022

Low-latitude penguins naturally breed in burrows dug in guano. This affords them a buffered environment that remains cool and humid, reducing the risk of hyperthermia while on land. As a conservation strategy, several versions of artificial housing units have been trialled at various breeding sites of African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus) around South Africa, where former guano exploitation forced many penguins to breed in exposed surface nests. While some units yielded a positive effect on breeding success by providing protection against predation, none of them have effectively mitigated the risk of heat stress in penguins or their eggs. Here, we investigated the microclimate of a recent double-layered design of ceramic artificial nests and compared that to natural burrows, exposed surface nests, and commonly used cement pipe nests, in austral summer 2021 on Bird Island, South Africa. We also recorded penguin behaviour during the hottest period at each of these nest types using remote camera traps to determine the onset of heat stress (panting). Double-layered ceramic nests out-performed all other nest types, including natural burrows, by remaining cooler throughout the day, with temperatures never exceeding 36.7°C. By contrast, all other nest types had multiple episodes where temperatures exceeded 40°C. Double-layered ceramic nests also maintained constant levels of high humidity (relative humidity [RH] >70%) throughout our study, whereas low humidity levels were observed in surface nests (RH ≈ 60%) and cement nests (RH <50%) during midday heat. We observed penguins panting at temperatures of 25°C in nest boxes, and at 22°C in exposed surface nests. This suggests that heat stress in African Penguins may occur much sooner than anticipated and that they are particularly vulnerable to hyperthermia as climate change-related global warming progresses. Fortunately, we are encouraged by the capacity of double-layered ceramic nest boxes to buffer environmental extremes and maintain suitable breeding conditions.
Going to the cinema: princely urbanism in Hyderabad and Secunderabad
Authors: Krishna C. Yamini
Published: October 2022

The experience of the urban in nineteenth-century Hyderabad was interwoven with the experience of modern technologies like film. Cinema participated in constituting a modern public; practices of film viewing were practices of enacting the modern. Through a study of conflicts in the space of cinema, this article examines the politics of constituting and controlling the urban in the princely city of Hyderabad and the cantonment town of Secunderabad. It suggests that the princely modern adapted new technologies but was rooted in patrimonial traditions. The article also argues that the cantonment had a dependency relationship with the princely city, and urban space as constituted through cinema was the site of power negotiations between the princely ruler and the British.
Milrinone for treatment of elevated lactate in the pre-operative newborn with hypoplastic left heart syndrome
Authors: Beshish Asaad G. , Aljiffry Alaa , Aronoff Elizabeth , Chauhan Dhaval , Zinyandu Tawanda , Basu Mohua , Shashidharan Subhadra , Maher Kevin O.
Published: October 2022

Background:

There is a paucity of information reported regarding the use of milrinone in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome prior to the Norwood procedure. At our institution, milrinone is initiated in the pre-operative setting when over-circulation and elevated serum lactate levels develop. We aimed to review the responses associated with the administration of milrinone in the pre-operative hypoplastic left heart syndrome patient. Second, we compared patients who received high- versus low-dose milrinone prior to Norwood procedure.

Methods:

Single-centre retrospective study of patients diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome between January 2000 and December 2019 who underwent Norwood procedure. Patient characteristics and outcomes were compared.

Results:

During the study period, 375 patients were identified; 79 (21%) received milrinone prior to the Norwood procedure with median lactate 2.55 mmol/l, and SpO2 93%. Patients who received milrinone were older at the time of Norwood procedure (6 vs. 5 days) and were more likely to be intubated and sedated. In a subset analysis stratifying patients to low- versus high-dose milrinone, median lactate decreased from time of initiation (2.39 vs 2.75 to 1.6 vs 1.8 mmol/l) at 12 hours post-initiation, respectively. Repeated measures analysis showed a significant decrease in lactate levels by 4 hours following initiation of milrinone, that persisted over time, with no significant difference in mean arterial pressure.

Conclusions:

The use of milrinone in the pre-operative over-circulated hypoplastic left heart syndrome patient is well tolerated, is associated with decreased lactate levels, and was not associated with significant hypotension or worsening of excess pulmonary blood flow.
Health Care Management during a Major Planned Event in Italy
Authors: Melegari Gabriele , Giuliani Enrico , Fornaciari Davide , Cremonini Claudia , Di Pietro Giulia , Barbieri Alberto
Published: October 2022

Events involving a high number of participants should be planned and implemented with the primary objective of guaranteeing the highest possible level of safety, which is ever more essential in the recent years due to the risk of terrorism, violence, and highly transmissible pathogens like coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The aim of this study was describing health care management of the Vasco Modena Park July 1, 2017 concert by the artist Vasco Rossi that involved 220,000 participants, more than doubling the population of Modena (Italy), the city hosting the event.

Data were retrospectively collected from all health care registers used during the concert. Descriptive data regarding the event were recorded, as well as the medical records generated by the advanced medical posts.

For analysis, patients were divided into two groups: the LOW-Severity (admission code green) and HIGH-Severity (admission codes yellow and red). The number of patients within the inclusion period was 1,088; there were 953 green discharge codes (97.74%), 16 yellow (1.64%), and six red (0.61%). Patients who needed a second-level assessment were 5.85% (57 events). HIGH-Severity patients needed to be further evaluated in 45.45% of the cases versus 4.93% of the LOW-Severity patient group (P value <.001).

The health care management proved adequate to the number of participants and the severity of patients. Descriptive data reported add the mass-gathering database useful for further events.
Toward a Narrow Cosmopolitanism: Kant’s Anthropology, Racialized Character and the Construction of Europe
Authors: Valdez Inés
Published: October 2022

This article explores the distinctions among European peoples’ character established in Kant’s anthropology and their connection with his politics. These aspects are neglected relative to the analysis of race between Europeans and non-Europeans, but Kant’s anthropological works portray the people of Mediterranean Europe as not capable of civilization because of the dominance of passion in their faculty of desire, which he ties to ‘Oriental’ influences in blood or government. Kant then superimposes this racialized anthropology over the historical geopolitics of Europe, obscuring the indebtedness of Northern European trade dominance to Mediterranean historical tactics and financial wealth. By relegating the Mediterranean to the margins and dismissing contentious commercial exchange in the region as mere violence spearheaded by North African corsairs, Kant gives us an elitist cosmopolitanism unable to cope with hierarchy and inequality, diminishing its potential for egalitarian global projects today.
Acceptability of a Serious Illness Conversation Guide to Black Americans: Results from a focus group and oncology pilot study
Authors: Sanders Justin J. , Durieux Brigitte N. , Cannady Kimberly , Johnson Kimberly S. , Ford Dee W. , Block Susan D. , Paladino Joanna , Sterba Katherine R.
Published: October 2022

Objectives

Serious illness conversations (SICs) can improve the experience and well-being of patients with advanced cancer. A structured Serious Illness Conversation Guide (SICG) has been shown to improve oncology patient outcomes but was developed and tested in a predominantly White population. To help address disparities in advanced cancer care, we aimed to assess the acceptability of the SICG among African Americans with advanced cancer and their clinicians.

Methods

A two-phase study conducted in Charleston, SC, included focus groups to gather perspectives on the SICG in Black Americans and a single-arm pilot study of a revised SICG with surveys and qualitative exit interviews to evaluate patient and clinician perspectives. We used descriptive analysis of survey results and thematic analysis of qualitative data.

Results

Community-based and patient focus group participants (N = 20) reported that a simulated conversation using an adapted SICG built connection, promoted control, and fostered consideration of religious faith and family. Black patients with advanced cancer (N = 23) reported that SICG-guided conversations were acceptable, helpful, and promoted conversations with loved ones. Oncologists found conversations feasible to implement and skill-building, and also identified opportunities for training and implementation that could support meeting the needs of their patients with low health literacy. An adapted SICG includes language to assess the strength and affirm the clinician–patient relationship.

Significance of results

An adapted structured communication tool to facilitate SIC, the SICG, appears acceptable to Black Americans with advanced cancer and seems feasible for use by oncology clinicians working with this population. Further testing in other marginalized populations may address disparities in advanced cancer care.
Oral histories of three pioneers in organic agriculture research
Authors: Figueroa Shayne Leslie
Published: October 2022

This article offers a window onto the experience of three researchers who influenced the direction of organic agriculture research from the 1980s through today. Kathleen Delate, Catherine Greene and Deborah Stinner have all contributed important work in the field, from organizing and executing research projects to analyzing the collecting hard data that provided insight into the numerous environmental and economic benefits of organic agriculture. Their stories share many similar biographical markers, from the importance of food and nature in childhood memories to trailblazing projects in the early 2000s.
Saving children's lives through interventions: a quasi-experimental analysis of GAVI
Authors: Maruta Admasu Asfaw , Afoakwah Clifford
Published: October 2022

This study evaluates the impact of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) on children's health outcomes in developing countries. Using a difference-in-differences identification strategy, we find that GAVI has reduced neonatal, infant and under-five mortality rates. The impact of GAVI on children's health outcomes is larger in countries with lower per capita income. Our findings underscore the relevance of health interventions in improving children's health outcomes in developing economies.
Divine attribution? The interaction of religious and secular beliefs on climate change attitudes
Authors: Djupe Paul A. , Burge Ryan P.
Published: October 2022

After five decades of research, there is still little consensus about the relation of religious variables to environmental attitudes. Even putting aside variations in sampling and measurement, we still have doubts about where modest consensus exists—the role of religious beliefs. Religious beliefs, such as mastery over nature, are more unstable than previously considered. Moreover, more importantly, these studies have generally failed to consider the role of secular beliefs about environmental problems and the interaction they may have with religion. Using data from a 2012 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey, we find religious variables have effects conditional on secular beliefs. Moreover, we draw upon an embedded experiment that shows instability in religious dominionism—the dominant religious effect in previous work. The results suggest previous reports of religious effects are not wrong, but overstated, and eliding secular beliefs is a serious sin of omission.
Magnetosphere‐Ionosphere Coupling Between North‐South Propagating Streamers and High‐Speed Earthward Flows
Authors: Weygand J. M. , Bortnik J. , Chu X. , Cao X. , Li J. , Aryan H. , Tian S.
Published: October 2022

The magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling between the high‐speed earthward flows and the north‐south oriented streamers in the ionosphere has been discussed for decades, but to date, no one has examined the formation of that coupling from the start of the streamer to the end. We investigate the formation and development of the magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling using THEMIS observations of high‐speed earthward flows within the magnetotail, simultaneous auroral all‐sky images, and ionospheric equivalent current maps derived from ground magnetometer measurements. We show the formation of a downward field‐aligned current on the dawnside of the north‐south streamer and the upward current on the duskside, as well as the vortices within the equivalent currents around the field‐align‐like currents from the poleward boundary to the equatorward edge of the auroral oval for two substorm streamer events. By removing the background Birkeland current system, we can determine the current densities uniquely associated with the streamer current wedge and demonstrate that the downward and upward currents within the streamer are approximately balanced for one event. Furthermore, we find that the longitudinal size of the streamer current wedge is more transient and localized, and does not change, whereas the substorm current wedge is larger and expands during the first part of the substorm.
Investigating Eddies From Coincident Seismic and Hydrographic Measurements in the Chukchi Borderlands, the Western Arctic Ocean
Authors: Zhang Kun , Song Haibin , Coakley Bernard , Yang Shun , Fan Wenhao
Published: October 2022

Halocline eddies transport mass and energy across the Arctic Ocean. Seismic oceanography uses multichannel seismic reflection (MCS) data to create high resolution images of the water column, revealing oceanic fine structures. In this paper, we present water column images processed from MCS data acquired during cruise MGL1112 on the Chukchi Borderlands in the western Arctic Ocean. Combined with along‐track images of current velocities measured during MCS acquisition by a hull‐mounted acoustic Doppler current profilers, a total of 23 mesoscale eddies were detected, of which 19 are anticyclonic, and 4 are cyclonic. They correspond to the lentoid and mounded reflections on the seismic images, respectively. These shallow eddies are constrained by the halocline and occur in regions with rugged seafloor. The geometric parameters of these eddies were estimated from the underway data collected during MGL1112. These parameters could be valuable for modeling 3D eddy structures and validating high‐resolution climate projection models. Expendable Bathythermography (XBT) profiles of water temperature and sound speed versus depth were collected during this ruise. Three of the 24 XBT stations sampled eddies opportunely, we found one was warm‐core and two were cold‐core anticyclonic eddies combined with historical conductivity‐temperature‐depth data. The cores of these eddies might be made up of Pacific water. We synthesized the MCS records with coincident and historical hydrographic data which permitted distinctions between the seismic responses of the eddies. Distinctive reflection structures are observed around the eddy core (e.g., chaotic, imbricate, layered, and listric reflections), which could constrain stirring and mixing process of the eddies. These results are useful for better understanding the structure and evolution of the eddies on the Chukchi Borderlands and better understanding regional mass and energy transport processes in the western Arctic Ocean.
Peripheral level of CD33 and Alzheimer’s disease: a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Gu Xiaojing , Dou Meng , Cao Bei , Jiang Zheng , Chen Yongping
Published: October 2022

Increased expression of CD33 in the brain has been suggested to be associated with increased amyloid plaque burden, while the peripheral level of CD33 in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and its role in AD remain unclear. The current study aimed to systematically explore the bidirectional relationship between peripheral CD33 and AD. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets of AD (Ncases: 21982; Ncontrols: 41944), blood CD33 mRNA level, the plasma CD33 protein level, and CD33 expression on immune-cell subtypes were obtained from GWASs conducted in the European population. Eligible IVs were extracted from the GWASs. MR estimates were calculated by inverse-variance weighting (IVW) and other sensitivity analyses. The main statistical analyses were conducted using TwoSampleMR (v.0.5.5) in R package (V.4.1.2).In the forward MR analysis (CD33 as exposure and AD as outcome), the IVW results indicated that elevated blood CD33 mRNA level (OR [95% CI] = 1.156[1.080, 1.238], p = 3.25e-05), elevated serum CD33 protein level (OR [95% CI] = 1.08 [1.031, 1.139], p = 1.6e-03) and increased CD33's expression on immune cell subtypes (p < 0.05) were all leading to a higher risk of AD. And sensitivity analyses supported these findings. While the reverse MR analysis (AD as exposure and CD33 as outcome) indicated that AD was not leading to the elevation of CD33's protein level in the blood (p > 0.05). In conclusion, our results indicated that elevated peripheral expression of CD33 was causal to the development of AD. Future studies are needed to work on developing CD33 as a biomarker and therapeutic target in AD.
Multidimensional analysis of behavior predicts genotype with high accuracy in a mouse model of Angelman syndrome
Authors: Tanas Joseph K. , Kerr Devante D. , Wang Li , Rai Anika , Wallaard Ilse , Elgersma Ype , Sidorov Michael S.
Published: October 2022

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by loss of expression of the maternal copy of the UBE3A gene. Individuals with AS have a multifaceted behavioral phenotype consisting of deficits in motor function, epilepsy, cognitive impairment, sleep abnormalities, as well as other comorbidities. Effectively modeling this behavioral profile and measuring behavioral improvement will be crucial for the success of ongoing and future clinical trials. Foundational studies have defined an array of behavioral phenotypes in the AS mouse model. However, no single behavioral test is able to fully capture the complex nature of AS—in mice, or in children. We performed multidimensional analysis (principal component analysis + k-means clustering) to quantify the performance of AS model mice (n = 148) and wild-type littermates (n = 138) across eight behavioral domains. This approach correctly predicted the genotype of mice based on their behavioral profile with ~95% accuracy, and remained effective with reasonable sample sizes (n = ~12–15). Multidimensional analysis was effective using different combinations of behavioral inputs and was able to detect behavioral improvement as a function of treatment in AS model mice. Overall, multidimensional behavioral analysis provides a tool for evaluating the effectiveness of preclinical treatments for AS. Multidimensional analysis of behavior may also be applied to rodent models of related neurodevelopmental disorders, and may be particularly valuable for disorders where individual behavioral tests are less reliable than in AS.
Exosomal miR-328 originated from pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells enhances osteoclastogenesis via downregulating Nrp-2 expression
Authors: Zhang Chengcheng , Qin Jingru , Yang Lu , Zhu Zhiyao , Yang Jia , Su Wan , Deng Haibin , Wang Zhongqi
Published: October 2022

Osseous metastases of pulmonary carcinoma and the detailed mechanisms remain unclear, and the effects of exosomes (Exos) originated from pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells in this process have received a lot of attentions. Our study revealed that the Exos secreted from A549 cells (A549-Exos) enhanced osteoclastogenesis and osseous resorption in vitro. In addition, A549-Exos showed a targeted effect on bones to enhance osseous resorption in vivo. A549-exosomal miR-328 enhanced osseous resorption via downregulating neuropilin 2 (Nrp-2) expression, and A549-Exos miR-328 inhibitors suppressed osseous resorption in vivo. Therefore, A549-exosomal miR-328 enhances osteoclastogenesis via downregulating Nrp-2 expression, thus A549-Exos miR-328 inhibitors can be used as a potential nanodrug for treating osseous metastases.
Sexual activities and experiences in women who underwent genital cosmetic surgery: a cross-sectional study using data from the German Health and Sexuality Survey (GeSiD)
Authors: Koops Thula U. , Wiessner Christian , Briken Peer
Published: October 2022

The aim of this study was to compare women who have undergone genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS) with women who have not regarding past sexual activities and experiences. It draws on data from the German Health and Sexuality Survey (GeSiD). The subsample of women who had undergone FGCS (n = 32) was compared to a subsample of women who had not had FGCS (n = 96); the samples were matched for age, education, relationship and marital status, and whether participants had born a child. Variables concerning the present relationship, recent/lifetime sexual activities, sexual orientation, pregnancy-related experiences, health, sexual boundary violations/violence, sexual difficulties, and migration background served as main outcome measures. Women who had undergone FGCS reported more often anal intercourse during their last sexual encounter (13% vs. 1%, p = 0.021), a pregnancy ending in miscarriage (34% vs. 16%, p = 0.016), and not to be satisfied with their own appearance (41% vs. 15%, p = 0.002) than women who had not undergone FGCS. The results indicate women’s motivations for FGCS beyond the desire to improve genital appearance or function, and that contributing factors might be clinically relevant regarding more general psychological wellbeing.
A meta-analysis on the structure of pulmonary rehabilitation maintenance programmes on COPD patients’ functional capacity
Authors: Silva Liliana , Maricoto Tiago , Costa Patrício , Berger-Estilita Joana , Padilha José Miguel
Published: October 2022

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) improves functional capacity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in COPD patients, and maintenance programmes are relevant in preserving those improvements. However, little is known about the structure of maintenance programmes after PR. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental and quasi-experimental studies evaluating individuals with COPD admitted to a maintenance PR programme, delivered after an initial PR programme. We reported functional capacity evaluation (6-minute-walking-test), HRQoL, dyspnoea and symptom control. Searches were performed on the 11th April 2021 using MEDLINE, Embase, EBSCO, CINAHL, Web of Science and Cochrane Library. We extracted summary-level data from trial publications and used a random-effects model, predicting that severe heterogeneity was detected. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021247724). Fifteen studies were included in the meta-analysis, with 1151 participants. Maintenance programmes were associated with a pooled mean increase of 27.08 meters in 6mWT (CI: 10.39 to 43.77; I2 = 93%; p < 0.0001), being better in supervised, long (>12 month) home-based programmes; and having a potential MD of -4.20 pts in SGRQ (CI: -4.49 to -3.91; I2 = 0%; p = 0.74). Regarding dyspnoea and exacerbations, we found a nonsignificant trend for improvement after maintenance PR programmes. Severe COPD patients showed smaller improvements in programmes up to a year. Overall, the strength of the underlying evidence was moderate. Despite limitations of risk of bias and heterogeneity, our results support that home-based, supervised, long-term maintenance PR programmes may significantly improve functional capacity in COPD patients and HRQoL.
Profiling RNA at chromatin targets in situ by antibody-targeted tagmentation
Authors: Khyzha Nadiya , Henikoff Steven , Ahmad Kami
Published: October 2022

Whereas techniques to map chromatin-bound proteins are well developed, mapping chromatin-associated RNAs remains a challenge. Here, we describe Reverse Transcribe and Tagment (RT&Tag), in which RNAs associated with a chromatin epitope are targeted by an antibody followed by a protein A-Tn5 transposome. Localized reverse transcription generates RNA/cDNA hybrids that are subsequently tagmented by Tn5 transposases for downstream sequencing. We demonstrate the utility of RT&Tag inDrosophilacells for capturing the noncoding RNA roX2 with the dosage compensation complex and maturing transcripts associated with silencing histone modifications. We also show that RT&Tag can detect N6-methyladenosine-modified mRNAs, and show that genes producing methylated transcripts are characterized by extensive promoter pausing of RNA polymerase II. The high efficiency of in situ antibody tethering and tagmentation makes RT&Tag especially suitable for rapid low-cost profiling of chromatin-associated RNAs.