bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing inequalities in publicly funded health insurance scheme coverage and out-of-pocket expenditure for hospitalization: findings from a household survey in Kerala
Authors: Sharma Santosh Kumar , Joseph Jaison , D Hari Sankar , Nambiar Devaki
Published: September 2023

Background

Increasing financial risk protection is a key feature of Universal Health Coverage and the path towards health for all. Publicly Funded Health Insurance Schemes (PFHIS) have been considered as one of the pathways to safeguard against financial shocks and potentially reduce Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE). The south Indian state of Kerala has roughly a decade-long experience in implementing PFHIS. To date, there have been very few assessments of the coverage of these schemes and their impact on expenditure. Aiming to fill this gap, we explored the extent of and inequalities in insurance coverage, as well as choice of providers, and median cost of hospitalization in Kerala among insured and uninsured individuals.

Methods

A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in four districts of Kerala as part of a larger health systems research study from July–October 2019. We employed multistage random sampling to collect data from 13,064 individuals covering 3234 households in the catchment area of eight primary health care facilities. We used descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analysis. We evaluated socioeconomic disparities using an absolute measure of inequality—the Slope Index of Inequality (SII) and a relative measure—the Relative Concentration Index (RCI).

Results

A substantial proportion of our study respondents reported that they were covered by PFHIS (45.8%). Respondents belonging to lowest and middle wealth quintiles of household had significantly greater odds of being covered by insurance than respondents belonging to the richest wealth quintile. The negative magnitude of RCI [-16.8% (95%CI: -25.3, -8.4)] and SII [-21.5% (95%CI: -36.1, -7.0)] suggest a higher concentration of PFHIS coverage among the poor. Median OOPE for hospitalisation at private health facilities was INR 9000 (approx. USD 108.70) among those covered by PFHIS, whereas it was INR 10500 (approx. USD 126.82) at private health facilities among those not covered by insurance.

Conclusion

While PFHIS seems to be appropriately targeting poorer populations, among the insured, OOPE for hospitalization persists. Among the uninsured, population subgroups with advantage are spending the greatest amount, raising questions about whether those facing relative disadvantage are forgoing care altogether or seeking care using cheaper, public avenues. Further policy action to more effectively reduce financial burden among left behind eligible populations under PFHIS will be essential to UHC progress in the state.
Tumor microenvironment in a minipig model of spinal cord glioma
Authors: Tora Muhibullah S. , Neill Stewart G. , Lakhina Yuliya , Assed Hemza , Zhang Michelle , Nagarajan Purva P. , Federici Thais , Gutierrez Juanmarco , Hoang Kimberly B. , Du Yuhong , Lei Kecheng , Boulis Nicholas M.
Published: September 2023

Background

Spinal cord glioma (SCG) is considered an orphan disease that lacks effective treatment options with margins that are surgically inaccessible and an overall paucity of literature on the topic. The tumor microenvironment is a critical factor to consider in treatment and modeling design, especially with respect to the unresectable tumor edge. Recently, our group developed a high-grade spinal cord glioma (SCG) model in Göttingen minipigs.

Methods

Immunofluorescence and ELISA were performed to explore the microenvironmental features and inflammation cytokines in this minipig SCG model. Protein carbonyl assay and GSH/GSSG assay were analyzed in the core and edge lesions in the minipig SCG model. The primary core and edge cells proliferation rate were shown in vitro, and the xenograft model in vivo.

Results

We identified an elevated Ki-67 proliferative index, vascular and pericyte markers, CD31 and desmin in the tumor edge as compared to the tumor core. In addition, we found that the tumor edge demonstrated increased pro-inflammatory and gliomagenic cytokines including TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Furthermore, the mediation of oxidative stress is upregulated in the tumor edge. Hypoxic markers had statistically significant increased staining in the tumor core, but were notably still present in the tumor edge. The edge cells cultures derived from SCG biopsy also demonstrated an increased proliferative rate compared to core cell cultures in a xenotransplantation model.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates heterogeneity in microenvironmental features in our minipig model of high-grade SCG, with a phenotype at the edge showing increased oxidative stress, proliferation, inflammatory cytokines, neovascularization, and decreased but present staining for hypoxic markers. These findings support the utility of this model as a means for investigating therapeutic approaches targeting the more aggressive and surgically unresectable tumor border.
Intercellular adhesion molecule 2 as a novel prospective tumor suppressor induced by ERG promotes ubiquitination-mediated radixin degradation to inhibit gastric cancer tumorigenicity and metastasis
Authors: Tang Xiaocheng , Huang Jintuan , Jiang Yingming , Qiu Jun , Li Tuoyang , Li Weiyao , Chen Zijian , Huang Zhenze , Yu Xihu , Yang Tao , Ji Xiang , Tan Rongchang , lv Li , Yang Zuli , Chen Hao
Published: September 2023

Background

Gastric cancer (GC) is a fatal cancer with unclear pathogenesis. In this study, we explored the function and potential mechanisms of intercellular adhesion molecule 2 (ICAM2) in the development and advancement of GC.

Methods

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting were performed to quantify ICAM2 expression in harvested GC tissues and cultured cell lines. Immunohistochemical analyses were conducted on a GC tissue microarray to quantify ICAM2 expression and explore its implication on the prognosis of GC patients. In vitro experiments were carried out to reveal the biological functions of ICAM2 in GC cell lines. Further, in vivo experiments were conducted using xenograft models to assess the impact of ICAM2 on GC development and metastasis. Western blot, immunofluorescence, immunoprecipitation, luciferase assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and ubiquitination analysis were employed to investigate the underlying mechanisms.

Results

ICAM2 expression was downregulated in GC, positively correlating with advanced T stage, distant metastasis, advanced clinical stage, vessel invasion, and shorter patient survival time. ICAM2 overexpression suppressed the proliferation, migration, invasion, metastasis of GC cells as well as their ability to form tumors, whereas ICAM2 knockdown yielded opposite results. Erythroblast transformation-specific-related gene (ERG) as a transcription factor promoted the transcription of ICAM2 by binding to the crucial response element localized within its promoter region. Further analysis revealed that ICAM2 reduced radixin (RDX) protein stability and expression. In these cells, ICAM2 bound to the RDX protein to promote the ubiquitination and degradation of RDX via NEDD4 Like E3 Ubiquitin Protein Ligase (NEDD4L), and this post-translational modification resulted in the inhibition of GC.

Conclusions

In summary, this study demonstrates that ICAM2, which is induced by ERG, suppresses GC progression by enhancing the ubiquitination and degradation of RDX in a NEDD4L-dependent manner. Therefore, these results suggest that ICAM2 is a potential prognostic marker and a therapeutic target for GC.
A phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase is involved in the regulation of phospholipids homeostasis in oleaginous Aurantiochytrium sp.
Authors: Zhang Huidan , Wang Zhuojun , Sun Caili , Zhang Chuchu , Liu Huan , Cui Qiu , Song Xiaojin , Wang Sen
Published: September 2023

Background

Thraustochytrids have gained attention as a potential source for the production of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), where DHA is predominantly stored in the form of triacylglycerol (TAG). The TAG biosynthesis pathways, including the acyl-CoA-dependent Kennedy pathway and the acyl-CoA-independent pathway, have been predicted in thraustochytrids, while the specific details regarding their roles are currently uncertain.

Results

Phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT) plays a key role in the acyl-CoA-independent pathway by transferring acyl-group from phospholipids (PL) to diacylglycerol (DAG) to from TAG. In thraustochytrid Aurantiochytrium sp. SD116, an active AuPDAT was confirmed by heterologous expression in a TAG-deficient yeast strain H1246. Analysis of AuPDAT function in vivo revealed that deletion of AuPDAT led to slow growth and a significant decrease in cell number, but improved PL content in the single cell during the cell growth and lipid accumulation phases. Interestingly, deletion of AuPDAT did not affect total lipid and TAG content, but both were significantly increased within a single cell. Moreover, overexpression of AuPDAT also resulted in a decrease in cell number, while the total lipid and cell diameter of a single cell were markedly increased. Altogether, both up-regulation and down-regulation of AuPDAT expression affected the cell number, which further associated with the total lipid and TAG content in a single cell.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates that AuPDAT-mediated pathway play a minor role in TAG synthesis, and that the function of AuPDAT may be involved in regulating PL homeostasis by converting PL to TAG in a controlled manner. These findings expand our understanding of lipid biosynthesis in Aurantiochytrium sp. and open new avenues for developing “customized cell factory” for lipid production.
luxS contributes to intramacrophage survival of Streptococcus agalactiae by positively affecting the expression of fruRKI operon
Authors: Cao Qing , Dong Yuhao , Guo Changming , Ji Shuting , Nie Meng , Liu Guangjin , Wan Xihe , Lu Chengping , Liu Yongjie
Published: September 2023

The LuxS quorum sensing system is a widespread system employed by many bacteria for cell-to-cell communication. The luxS gene has been demonstrated to play a crucial role in intramacrophage survival of piscine Streptococcus agalactiae, but the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. In this study, transcriptome analysis, followed by the luxS gene deletion and subsequent functional studies, confirmed that impaired bacterial survival inside macrophages due to the inactivation of luxS was associated with reduced transcription of the fruRKI operon, encoding the fructose-specific phosphotransferase system. Further, luxS was determined not to enhance the transcription of fruRKI operon by binding its promoter, but to upregulate the expression of this operon via affecting the binding ability of catabolite control protein A (CcpA) to the catabolite responsive element (cre) in the promoter of fruRKI. Collectively, our study identifies a novel and previously unappreciated role for luxS in bacterial intracellular survival, which may give a more thorough understanding of the immune evasion mechanism in S. agalactiae.
Lithofacies identification from well-logging curves via integrating prior knowledge into deep learning
Authors: Jiang Chunbi , Zhang Dongxiao
Published: September 2023

Lithofacies is a key parameter in reservoir characterization. With advances in machine learning, many researchers have attempted to predict lithofacies from well-log curves by using a machine-learning algorithm. However, existing models are built purely on data, which do not provide interpretability. In addition, lithofacies distribution is highly imbalanced. We incorporate domain knowledge into a gated recurrent unit network to force the model to learn from the data and knowledge. The domain knowledge that we use is expressed as first-order logic rules and is incorporated into the machine-learning pipeline through additional loss terms. Specifically, these rules are: (1) if the density is smaller than or equal to [Formula: see text], then the lithofacies is coal; (2) if the density is larger than or equal to [Formula: see text] or the neutron porosity is smaller than or equal to [Formula: see text], then the lithofacies is anhydrite; and (3) if the gamma-ray value is larger than or equal to [Formula: see text], then the lithofacies is shale. Here, [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] are the parameters that are learned by the model. By applying this domain knowledge, we aim to elucidate why the model predicts lithofacies as coal, anhydrite, or shale and reduce the effect of imbalanced data on the model’s performance. We evaluate the method on a data set from the North Sea, and the machine-learning pipeline with domain knowledge embedded is slightly superior compared with the baseline model that does not consider domain knowledge. One drawback of the method is that the domain knowledge that we provide only works for coal, anhydrite, and shale, which is incomplete. In future work, we will attempt to develop more rules that work for other types of lithofacies.
Carboplatin dosage: prospective evaluation of a simple formula based on renal function.
Authors: Calvert A H , Newell D R , Gumbrell L A , O'Reilly S , Burnell M , Boxall F E , Siddik Z H , Judson I R , Gore M E , Wiltshaw E
Published: September 2023

A dosage formula has been derived from a retrospective analysis of carboplatin pharmacokinetics in 18 patients with pretreatment glomerular filtration rates (GFR) in the range of 33 to 136 mL/min. Carboplatin plasma clearance was linearly related to GFR (r = 0.85, P less than .00001) and rearrangements of the equation describing the correlation gave the dosage formula dose (mg) = target area under the free carboplatin plasma concentration versus time curve (AUC) x (1.2 x GFR + 20). In a prospective clinical and pharmacokinetic study the formula was used to determine the dose required to treat 31 patients (GFR range, 33 to 135 mL/min) with 40 courses of carboplatin. The target AUC was escalated from 3 to 8 mg carboplatin/mL/min. Over this AUC range the formula accurately predicted the observed AUC (observed/predicted ratio 1.24 +/- 0.11, r = 0.886) and using these additional data, the formula was refined. Dose (mg) = target AUC x (GFR + 25) is now the recommended formula. AUC values of 4 to 6 and 6 to 8 mg/mL. min gave rise to manageable hematological toxicity in previously treated and untreated patients, respectively, and hence target AUC values of 5 and 7 mg/mL min are recommended for single-agent carboplatin in these patient groups. Pharmacokinetic modeling demonstrated that the formula was reasonably accurate regardless of whether a one- or two-compartment model most accurately described carboplatin pharmacokinetics, assuming that body size did not influence nonrenal clearance. The validity of this assumption was demonstrated in 13 patients where no correlation between surface area and nonrenal clearance was found (r = .31, P = .30). Therefore, the formula provides a simple and consistent method of determining carboplatin dose in adults. Since the measure of carboplatin exposure in the formula is AUC, and not toxicity, it will not be influenced by previous or concurrent myelosuppressive therapy or supportive measures. The formula is therefore applicable to combination and high-dose studies as well as conventional single-agent therapy, although the target AUC for carboplatin will need to be redefined for combination chemotherapy.
Occupational Factors Associated With Time to Breastfeeding Discontinuation After Return to Work Among Female Anesthesiologists in China: A Nationwide Survey
Authors: Xu Xiaohan , Wang Ruiqi , Zhang Yuelun , Li Juan , Li Hange , Yu Xuerong , Zhang Jiao , Li Xu , Huang Yuguang
Published: September 2023

BACKGROUND:

Breast milk is of great benefit to both infants and mothers. Due to occupational barriers, female physicians are at high risk of unintentionally discontinuing breastfeeding. However, evidence among anesthesiologists was limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate occupational factors associated with time to breastfeeding discontinuation among female anesthesiologists following maternity leave in China.

METHODS:

We conducted a nationwide survey of female anesthesiologists who had given birth since January 1, 2015. A 60-item anonymous questionnaire was developed to collect information regarding breastfeeding practices and related factors. The questionnaire was revised based on the recommendations of 15 experts and feedback from the pilot survey. The survey was distributed by the Chinese Society of Anesthesiology.

RESULTS:

The completion rate was 57.9%. In total, 1364 responders were analyzed from all 31 provinces of Mainland China. In total, 1311 (96.1%) responders reported a reduction in breast milk supply on returning to work. Among the 1161 responders who discontinued breastfeeding, 836 (72.0%) did not achieve desired goals due to occupational factors. The median [interquartile range] of maternity leave length and breastfeeding duration were 5 [4–6] months and 10 [7–12] months, respectively. The following occupational factors were associated with longer time to breastfeeding discontinuation after adjusting for confounding effects of personal factors: length of maternity leave (hazard ratio [HR] per month 0.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.36–0.54; P < .001), pumping breast milk during work time (HR, 0.04; 95% CI, 0.02–0.08; P < .001), support from colleagues (HR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86–0.99; P = .032), and additional nonclinical activities (HR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.77–0.98; P = .022). Trainees under supervision (HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.06–1.43; P = .005) and the need to remain in the operating room during cases (HR, 2.59; 95% CI, 1.09–6.12; P = .031) were associated with shorter time to breastfeeding discontinuation. Approximately 899 (65.9%) responders pumped breast milk during work time. Among them, reduction in pumping frequency (HR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.00–1.36; P = .049) and difficulty in finding opportunities for pumping (HR, 2.34; 95% CI, 1.36–4.03; P = .002) were associated with shorter time to breastfeeding discontinuation.

CONCLUSIONS:

We identified modifiable occupational factors associated with time to breastfeeding discontinuation. These findings underscored the necessity of facilitating breastfeeding in the workplace, including encouraging longer maternity leave and breastfeeding breaks, considering the feasibility of pumping in daily case assignments, establishing supportive culture, providing lactation rooms, and offering nonclinical activities.
Materiality and Language at El Escorial
Authors: Ibarreta Carmen Urbita
Published: September 2023

David Bestué’s recent take on Philip II’s reification of centrality (El Escorial: Imperio y estómago, 2021) is an open contestation of the royal site’s conception—and later reception—as an immutable, transcendental edifice meant to “stop the entropy of physical processes.” Distancing himself from castizo evocations of El Escorial as “piedra lírica” (Ortega y Gasset) and “líneas puras” (Unamuno), Bestué guides us through the building’s secluded sewers, the granite quarries that nourished its construction, and its many scenes of fire and dereliction to dismantle the monastery’s value as purely symbolic permanence. As Bestué explains, his book functions “no como un acto más de significación, otra capa, sino como un corte.” This mechanistic notion of the written word as a device with which to shape abstraction back into physicality, however, is not a novel addition to the literature on El Escorial. This article revisits José de Sigüenza’s Fundación del monasterio de El Escorial (1605)—the most exhaustive and authoritative chronicle of its construction—as a reaction to the official representational apparatus of the building. Whereas the language of Philip II’s instructions allied with Juan de Herrera’s designs to project an immutability beyond space and time, Sigüenza, this article shows, enacts a ventriloquist mimicking of artisanal practice that vindicates process and local experience in conflict with the notion of a petrified center of empire. It also examines, as reverberations of these disparities, late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century appraisals of Sigüenza’s text that have projected the unblemished geometrical lines of the Escorial onto the friar’s writing. Its overall aim is to shed light on the lingering tensions around language, architecture, and place that characterize the most instrumentalized—and yet paradoxically dematerialized—of Iberian materialities.
“Acaricié las cosas”
Authors: Varón González Carlos
Published: September 2023

After her father’s death, the poetic subject in Luz Pichel’s Galician-language Casa pechada (Closed Home, 2006) returns from the city to clear the things in her house in a small Galician village. However, these things do not conform to any sense of social, emotional, or material permanence. The decay of closed-down houses and abandoned farm tools speaks to and reproduces the imprint of rural extractivism, symbolic violence, and ecological precarization on the Galician countryside. The act of naming can determine what things are and the emotions they awaken: utensils or trash, repurposed tools or ruins, personal souvenirs or museum pieces. However, the rural, at times impoverished, at times gentrified, may lack names for its materials. Pichel’s self-translation Cativa en su lughar (Cativa in Her Place, 2013) gets this point across by using familiar Castrapo rather than Spanish: a pidgin romance variation that belongs to no normative language that it is closely related to (Spanish, Galician, or Portuguese) but traverses them all. Phonetic aspects, like accent and phonemes (the “gheada”), resist incorporation to any standardized, state-sponsored language, and in turn, the names that may care for / curate rural things rely on paronomastic associations, identifications, and oppositions across languages. The article claims that in Cativa, signs and names may define the monetary value, the purpose, and the substance of things, but language’s material embodiment also supports and mobilizes their emotional and political meanings.
When Diane Tells Me a Story
Authors: Daley Lashon
Published: September 2023

This essay examines the complex relationship that developed between ethnographer Lashon Daley and her research subject, Diane Ferlatte, over the course of Daley’s master’s thesis project and the years beyond. Through storytelling and narrative prose, Daley investigates the roles that grief, death, Black motherhood, and the Black southern oral tradition play within their ever-growing bond. As their relationship progresses from researcher and respondent to mother and daughter, their bond displays the connective tissue that binds one person to another through history, memory, and the common experience of loss. By exploring the performativity of Black women who are bonded by love and not blood, this essay demonstrates how Black womanhood becomes a conduit for grieving and healing.
scTOP: physics-inspired order parameters for cellular identification and visualization
Authors: Yampolskaya Maria , Herriges Michael J. , Ikonomou Laertis , Kotton Darrell N. , Mehta Pankaj
Published: September 2023

Advances in single-cell RNA sequencing provide an unprecedented window into cellular identity. The abundance of data requires new theoretical and computational frameworks to analyze the dynamics of differentiation and integrate knowledge from cell atlases. We present ‘single-cell Type Order Parameters’ (scTOP): a statistical, physics-inspired approach for quantifying cell identity given a reference basis of cell types. scTOP can accurately classify cells, visualize developmental trajectories and assess the fidelity of engineered cells. Importantly, scTOP does this without feature selection, statistical fitting or dimensional reduction (e.g. uniform manifold approximation and projection, principle components analysis, etc.). We illustrate the power of scTOP using human and mouse datasets. By reanalyzing mouse lung data, we characterize a transient hybrid alveolar type 1/alveolar type 2 cell population. Visualizations of lineage tracing hematopoiesis data using scTOP confirm that a single clone can give rise to multiple mature cell types. We assess the transcriptional similarity between endogenous and donor-derived cells in the context of murine pulmonary cell transplantation. Our results suggest that physics-inspired order parameters can be an important tool for understanding differentiation and characterizing engineered cells. scTOP is available as an easy-to-use Python package.
Transcription inhibition suppresses nuclear blebbing and rupture independently of nuclear rigidity
Authors: Berg Isabel K. , Currey Marilena L. , Gupta Sarthak , Berrada Yasmin , Nguyen Bao V. , Pho Mai , Patteson Alison E. , Schwarz J. M. , Banigan Edward J. , Stephens Andrew D.
Published: September 2023

Chromatin plays an essential role in the nuclear mechanical response and determining nuclear shape, which maintain nuclear compartmentalization and function. However, major genomic functions, such as transcription activity, might also impact cell nuclear shape via blebbing and rupture through their effects on chromatin structure and dynamics. To test this idea, we inhibited transcription with several RNA polymerase II inhibitors in wild-type cells and perturbed cells that presented increased nuclear blebbing. Transcription inhibition suppressed nuclear blebbing for several cell types, nuclear perturbations and transcription inhibitors. Furthermore, transcription inhibition suppressed nuclear bleb formation, bleb stabilization and bleb-based nuclear ruptures. Interestingly, transcription inhibition did not alter the histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) modification state, nuclear rigidity, and actin compression and contraction, which typically control nuclear blebbing. Polymer simulations suggested that RNA polymerase II motor activity within chromatin could drive chromatin motions that deform the nuclear periphery. Our data provide evidence that transcription inhibition suppresses nuclear blebbing and rupture, in a manner separate and distinct from chromatin rigidity.
Ψηφιακή αναπαράσταση υποκείμενων ζωγραφικών στρωμάτων βυζαντινών και μεταβυζαντινών εικόνων μέσω πολυφασματικών απεικονιστικών τεχνικών
Authors: Μπράτιτση Μαρία
Published: September 2023

Οι φορητές εικόνες στη διάρκεια των ετών, μπορεί να δεχθούν πλήθος επεμβάσεων, καθώς φθείρονται, μαυρίζουν ή γίνονται δυσανάγνωστες, που αφορούν στην χρωματική κάλυψη μέρους ή ολόκληρης της έκτασης της ζωγραφικής επιφάνειας τους, με μεταγενέστερη. Κατά τη συντήρηση μπορεί να αποκαλυφθούν αυτές οι υποκείμενες ζωγραφικές στρώσεις, ωστόσο η αποκατάσταση τους δεν είναι εύκολη, καθώς υπάρχουν πολλοί παράγοντες που θα πρέπει να ληφθούν υπόψη. Μια επιζωγράφιση μπορεί να φέρει το συντηρητή σε δίλλημα, για το αν θα πρέπει ή όχι να την αφαιρέσει και να αποκαλύψει σημαντικά κρυμμένα στοιχεία, όπως υπογραφές καλλιτεχνών, χρονολογίες, ή άλλες σημαντικές λεπτομέρειες. Την απάντηση καλούνται να δώσουν τα τελευταία χρόνια οι μη καταστρεπτικές απεικονιστικές τεχνικές, σε μήκη κύματος πέραν του ορατού, αφού εμφανίζουν τα υποκείμενα χρωματικά στρώματα, χωρίς την αφαίρεση των υπερκείμενων, σε ασπρόμαυρες ωστόσο διαβαθμίσεις του γκρίζου. Η παρούσα διατριβή προσέγγισε το θέμα των επιζωγραφήσεων, μέσα από αδρότατη μελέτη των χρωμάτων που βρίσκονται στα υποκείμενα χρωματικά στρώματα, έρευνα πρωτόλεια στο πεδίο αυτό. Ανακαλύπτοντας τα συγγενή φάσματα υποκείμενων χρωματικών στρωμάτων όταν αυτά καλύπτονται από το ίδιο χρώμα, μελέτησε τις επιζωγραφήσεις, προσπαθώντας να αποκαλύψει τα χρώματα που υπόκεινται της υπερκείμενης ζωγραφικής επιφάνειας, χωρίς φυσικά την αφαίρεση της. Δημιουργήθηκε έτσι ένα πλήθος δεδομένων που αποτελούν μια βάση, για την ταυτοποίηση οποιουδήποτε υποκείμενου χρωματικού στρώματος φορητής εικόνας με την τεχνική της αυγοτέμπερας, μέσα από διαδικτυακή πλατφόρμα, έτοιμη για έκθεση της στον παγκόσμιο ιστό.
Risk Assessment in the Auditing Organization in Accordance with International Quality Management Standard (ISQM) 1
Authors: Kochinev Yuriy
Published: September 2023

The article is devoted to a topical issue — the development of a methodology for assessing risks associated with the quality of work of an audit organization. The need to identify and assess the risks associated with quality, as well as the development of response measures by the audit organization, are established by the International Standard for Quality Management (ISQM) 1, the provisions of which are applicable from 12/15/2022. Th e purpose of the work is to develop a methodology for assessing risks associated with the quality of the work of an audit organization. The article substantiates the choice of a method for assessing risks associated with quality; identified and systematized the reasons for the occurrence of risks associated with quality; on the basis of the «fuzzy sets» method, the risk assessment associated with quality is formalized.
Liability for damage associated with the modification and withdrawal from the contract of carriage under international conventions and Polish law
Authors: Garnowski Konrad
Published: September 2023

The article presents the issue of liability for damage caused by the performance of the so-called right of disposal, which in broad terms includes the ability to amend the contract of carriage of goods and withdraw from it. The author conducts a comparative analysis of the regulations provided for in the uniform international conventions regulating road transport (CMR Convention), rail transport (CIM Convention) and air transport (Montreal Convention) and in Polish domestic law (Transport Law and Civil Code). On this basis, an assessment of the norms adopted in the respective acts and the choice of the optimal way to regulate particular issues are made. The author comes to the conclusion that each of the analysed acts contains regulations that deserve approval and stand out from others, but at the same time certain defects are evident in each of them. Taking into account the conclusions formulated, in the final part of the article author proposes possible directions for the development of Polish domestic law.
Przestępstwo usiłowania udzielenia święceń kobiecie w świetle odnowionych przepisów kanonicznego prawa karnego
Authors: Kiełpiński Krzysztof Marek
Published: September 2023

Nauczanie Kościoła katolickiego o udzieleniu święceń kobietom było powodem wielu dyskusji. W tym obszarze Kościół nie posiada władzy i tego typu czynności skutkują ich nieważnością, co jednak nie przeszkodziło uczynić to biskupowi Braschiemu w 2002 r. Główna idea artykułu została podzielona na dwie części. W pierwszej przedstawiono przyczyny bliższe i dalsze, które stały u podstaw określenia przez Stolicę Apostolską usiłowania udzielenia święceń kobiecie mianem przestępstwa. W drugiej dokonano analizy przepisów umieszczonych w czterech dokumentach ogłoszonych na przestrzeni czasu, począwszy od 2007 r. Wskazano zakres przedmiotowy i podmiotowy czynu zabronionego. Podczas prowadzenia badań wykorzystano różne metody: dogmatyczno-prawną, historyczną, porównawczą oraz filologiczną, co pozwoliło dojść do wniosku, że sakramenty stanowią szczególne dobro dla wspólnoty Kościoła i wymagają właściwej ochrony, a tego rodzaju przestępstwa są dla społeczności kościelnej wyjątkowo szkodliwe i wprowadzają wiele wątpliwości we wspólnocie.
Land grabbing i bioprospekcja w perspektywie prawa do własnych zasobów środowiskowych
Authors: Krajewski Piotr
Published: September 2023

Nieustanny kontakt człowieka z przyrodą skłaniał go do szukania możliwie najlepszych i korzystnych dla siebie sposobów wykorzystywania ziemi i znajdujących się na niej zasobów biologicznych. Towarzyszące temu efekty naturalnej, spontanicznej lub celowej wynalazczości zwykle stawały się „własnością”, społeczności, w której one powstawały. Przekazywanie tych doświadczeń i kultywowanie towarzyszącej im wiedzy kolejnym pokoleniom stało się czymś oczywistym, można by rzec – naturalnym. Dziś jednak ta transmisja wiedzy i umiejętności często jest przerywana poprzez zawłaszczanie i ziemi i tego co ona rodzi: jedno i drugie, stając się dobrem prywatnym, poddawane jest wyjątkowo stresogennemu użytkowaniu, ze szkodą dla ludzi i otoczenia. Celem podjętej tu analizy jest nakreślenie ryzyka i skutków odbierania jednostkom i wspólnotom prawa do dysponowania zasobami i spontanicznie nabytą wiedzą. Problem nie jest ograniczony do konkretnego miejsca czy państwa, a świadomość skutków powinna interesować teoretyków i praktyków, zwłaszcza pełniących funkcje decyzyjne.
Denuncjatorzy w narodowosocjalistycznym „podwójnym państwie”
Authors: Kulesza Jan , Kulesza Witold
Published: September 2023

Po przejęciu władzy przez narodowych socjalistów w Niemczech, rozpowszechniło się we wszystkich warstwach społeczeństwa, donosicielstwo do nowej władzy, mające dowodzić lojalności wobec niej i powodujące usunięcie wszystkich niesubordynowanych jednostek, nie zasługujących na udział w narodowej wspólnocie, ze względu na niewystraczający entuzjazm dla narodowego odrodzenia. Denuncjacja skutkowała różnorakimi konsekwencjami, od usunięcia z pracy urzędniczej, poprzez więzienie, obóz koncentracyjny, aż do uśmiercenia. Po upadku III Rezszy, na podstawie prawa wprowadzonego przez Aliantów, pociągano do odpowiedzialności denuncjatorów, za pomocnictwo do zabójstwa oraz, w jednym przypadku, sprawstwo zabójstwa, w przypadkach, w których denuncjacja doprowadziła do skazania na karę śmierci. Jednak od lat 1947/1948, opierając się na poglądach doktryny prawa karnego, dążono, posługując się różną argumentacją, dążono do uwolnienia od odpowiedzialności karnej denuncjatorów, co zostało zakończone pełnym sukcesem. Republika Federalna Niemiec, poprzez swoje sądy, w pełni poprała praktykę sądownictwa okresu III Rzeszy, przyjmując, w istocie, taką samą optykę, zarówno, jeśli chodzi o skazania zadenuncjowanych, jak i ocenę postepowania denuncjatorów.
Model organizacyjny związku komunalnego. W kierunku uelastycznienia ustawowej regulacji
Authors: Szlachetko Jakub
Published: September 2023

Artykuł zbudowano wokół tezy stanowiącej, że ustawowa regulacja modelu organizacyjnego związku komunalnego jest sztywna, co utrudnia praktyczne wykorzystanie instytucji. Ustrojowe ustawy samorządowe posługujące się normami o charakterze kogentywnym nie pozostawiają miejsca współdziałającym gminom i/lub powiatom na wdrażanie rozwiązań organizacyjnych „szytych na miarę”, czyli uwzględniających uwarunkowania danego obszaru (geograficzne, polityczne, gospodarcze, społeczne itd ). Należy zatem te ustawy w określony sposób zmienić Obok analizy normatywnej i wniosków de lege lata zaprezentowano także kilka postulatów do ustawodawcy, a każdy egzemplifikowano propozycją przepisu ustawowego.
From the EU-South Korea to the EU-New Zealand free trade agreements: A path leading to a breakthrough in the enforcement of labour rights
Authors: Tyc Aneta
Published: September 2023

The analysis of the path that led to a breakthrough in the European Commission’s thinking about trade policy in the context of enforcing labour rights turns out to be crucial for formulating further postulates regarding the content of new free trade agreements (FTAs). The arguments contained in the article focus on the problem of the lack of sanctions in FTAs of the fourth generation. The author discusses the EU-South Korea FTA, as it resulted in convening a Panel of Experts whose report contributed to the ratification of ILO Conventions nos. 29, 87 and 98 by South Korea. However, the amendment to Korean legislation has not fully implemented these Conventions. This resulted in a breakthrough in thinking about trade policy. The revision of views on the promotional approach presented by the European Commission was visible in the content of the new FTA concluded in 2022 with New Zealand. It rightly provides for the possibility of sanctions in the event of a serious violation of labour rights, which, according to the author, qualifies it as a FTA of the fifth generation. However, it does not mean that the FTA is perfect. Comparative legal research has led the author to formulate de lege ferenda postulates in this regard.
Czy w Polsce w trakcie polowania na czarownice w XVI–XVIII wieku dochodziło do samosądów?
Authors: Wijaczka Jacek
Published: September 2023

W syntezie polowania na czarownice w Polsce w XVII–XVIII w Bohdan Baranowski sformułował tezę, że około 5000 kobiet oskarżonych o bycie czarownicami straciło życie w wyniku samosądów, do których dochodziło przede wszystkim na wsiach. Na poparcie tej tezy nie przedstawił jednak konkretnych przykładów źródłowych. Mimo to hipoteza ta weszła do literatury przedmiotu i przez kolejnych historyków była traktowana jako pewnik. Analiza dotychczasowej literatury przedmiotu oraz kwerenda archiwalna, w tym sprawdzenie procesów przeprowadzonych w Gnieźnie w 1690 r., ukazują, że w Polsce praktycznie nie dochodziło do samosądów. Miały miejsce jedynie dwa takie przypadki, pierwszy w 1720 r w miasteczku Krasiłów, drugi we wsi Osowo koło Tucholi w 1779 r. Za lincz sądowy można natomiast uznać „proces” przeprowadzony w Czerniewie w 1727 r , którego sprawcy i sędziowie zostali ukarani. Teza Bohdana Baranowskiego z 1952 r była całkiem nieuzasadniona źródłowo.
Participation in inpatient care from the perspective of family members of palliative care patients
Authors: Saarinen Johanna , Mishina Kaisa , Soikkeli-Jalonen Anu , Konradsen Hanne , Haavisto Elina
Published: September 2023

Background:

The participation of family members in inpatient palliative care has been shown to be meaningful; it contributes to the wellbeing of the patient. Even so, little is known about the perspectives of family members regarding their participation in this type of care.

Aim:

The aim of this study was to describe participation in inpatient care from the perspective of family members of palliative care patients.

Method:

This study involved semi-structured individual interviews with family members (n=19) of patients receiving inpatient palliative care, as well as inductive thematic analysis.

Findings:

Four main themes describing the family members’ perspectives of their participation in inpatient palliative care were identified: family members attending to everyday activities, importance of participation to family members, family members providing emotional support to patients and the role of family members in discussions and decision-making processes concerning patient care.

Conclusion:

Family members participate in inpatient palliative care in different ways. Participation was experienced as important to patients and family members, and some family members felt that participation may have supported their coping process.
L’escriptura fotogràfica de Francesca Woodman: una lectura dels seus autoretrats
Authors: Giráldez Arias Núria
Published: September 2023

El present treball pretén ser una lectura dels autoretrats de Francesca Woodman. En concret, Self-Deceit I, House 3, i About Being My Model. L’eix vertebrador de la lectura serà una anàlisi de com la representació d’un cos en constant desplaçament —que, a partir de Foucault, anomenarem utòpic— problematitza, a l’obra de Woodman, la noció d’autoretrat tradicional i resisteix als límits del medi fotogràfic. En la lectura, estructurada en tres parts, s’estudiaran els recursos principals que empra la fotògrafa per a representar un cos utòpic: el mirall, el camuflatge i la màscara.
Limón’s Costa Rica of Color, Species and Land: A First Vegan Ecofeminist Queer Ecological Reading of Rossi’s Limón Reggae and Lobo’s Calypso
Authors: Jimenez Adriana
Published: September 2023

This essay applies a vegan ecofeminist queer ecological methodology to a comparative reading of two novels by Costa Rican authors, Limón Reggae (2007) by Anacristina Rossi, and Calypso (1996) by Tatiana Lobo. This approach focuses on the exercise of highlighting the nonhuman, which is urgent in a planetary context that demands that literary criticism explicitly address the numerous interconnections between literature and “nature”. In the novels, the province of Limón exuberantly exceeds the obsolete category of “setting” and becomes key in de-centering the human and queering the diverse and deep complexities of its varied biocultural ecosystems.
Gentrificación y financiarización del desarrollo urbano en la ciudad de México
Authors: Delgadillo Victor
Published: September 2023

Desde hace dos décadas, diversas investigaciones académicas latinoamericanas han utilizado las teorías de la gentrificación y recientemente de la financiarización, para explicar la reestructuración urbana derivada de políticas públicas e inversiones privadas en áreas urbanas centrales y periféricas, que están profundizando las desigualdades socioeconómicas y socioespaciales. Este artículo analiza el tránsito de los estudios de la gentrificación a la financiarización del desarrollo urbano en la Ciudad de México: se revisa la disputa por el concepto gentrificación, entre quienes rechazaban un concepto “foráneo” y quienes lo usaban para denunciar el despojo de sus barrios. En estos debates, las aportaciones de García-Herrera fueron un referente fundamental y esclarecedor. Enseguida se analiza la financiarización del desarrollo urbano y se presentan dos de las resistencias sociales más significativas contra la gentrificación y la financiarización del desarrollo urbano en la capital mexicana. El texto retoma evidencias de investigaciones pasadas y de una investigación en proceso.
Vietnamese Catholics in the United States and Americanization: A Sociological and Religious Perspective
Authors: Phan Peter C.
Published: September 2023

abstract: Taking a cue from Carilyn Chen's book about the Americanization of Taiwanese immigrant Buddhists, Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Religious Experience (2009), this essay narrates the process by which Vietnamese Catholics are "Americanized." Compared with the Taiwanese Buddhists, Vietnamese Catholics had the advantage of being members of a global Church, were from the beginning incorporated into the American Catholic Church, thereby enjoying the many benefits that this institutional incorporation brought with it, and were cared for pastorally by their own clergy. On the other hand, because of their obligation to strict adherence to the legal structures of the Catholic Church, Vietnamese American Catholics were not free to innovate institutionally as they saw fit, as were their Buddhist counterparts. The essay ends with observations on the Americanization of Vietnamese American Buddhists.
Who is Sitting in the Chair? Job Satisfaction of Women and Men Department Leaders
Authors: Pascale Amanda , Kulp Amanda , Wolf-Wendel Lisa
Published: September 2023

This study explores an understudied yet critically important
role in higher education: the academic department chair. Building on
research related to the gendered organization of faculty life and using
a national sample of department leaders per the COACHE Faculty Job
Satisfaction Survey (n = 1,173), we use descriptive discriminant analysis
to identify the set of factors that differentiate between the job satisfaction of women and men who hold department leadership positions at
four-year colleges and universities. Findings indicate a clear difference
between women and men department leaders in how satisfied they are
with their jobs, particularly when it comes to time spent on research,
salary, and beliefs about the importance of mentoring. Recommendations
and implications for academic leadership are discussed.
FunSpace: A functional and spatial analytic approach to cell imaging data using entropy measures
Authors: Vu Thao , Seal Souvik , Ghosh Tusharkanti , Ahmadian Mansooreh , Wrobel Julia , Ghosh Debashis
Published: September 2023

Spatial heterogeneity in the tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a critical role in gaining insights into tumor development and progression. Conventional metrics typically capture the spatial differential between TME cellular patterns by either exploring the cell distributions in a pairwise fashion or aggregating the heterogeneity across multiple cell distributions without considering the spatial contribution. As such, none of the existing approaches has fully accounted for the simultaneous heterogeneity caused by both cellular diversity and spatial configurations of multiple cell categories. In this article, we propose an approach to leverage spatial entropy measures at multiple distance ranges to account for the spatial heterogeneity across different cellular organizations. Functional principal component analysis (FPCA) is applied to estimate FPC scores which are then served as predictors in a Cox regression model to investigate the impact of spatial heterogeneity in the TME on survival outcome, potentially adjusting for other confounders. Using a non-small cell lung cancer dataset (n = 153) as a case study, we found that the spatial heterogeneity in the TME cellular composition of CD14+ cells, CD19+ B cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and CK+ tumor cells, had a significant non-zero effect on the overall survival (p = 0.027). Furthermore, using a publicly available multiplexed ion beam imaging (MIBI) triple-negative breast cancer dataset (n = 33), our proposed method identified a significant impact of cellular interactions between tumor and immune cells on the overall survival (p = 0.046). In simulation studies under different spatial configurations, the proposed method demonstrated a high predictive power by accounting for both clinical effect and the impact of spatial heterogeneity.
Prevalence and incidence of tuberculosis infection among healthcare workers in chest diseases hospitals, Bangladesh: Putting infection control into context
Authors: Islam Md. Saiful , Gurley Emily S. , Banu Sayera , Hossain Kamal , Heffelfinger James D. , Amin Chowdhury Kamal Ibne , Ahmed Shahriar , Afreen Sadia , Islam Mohammad Tauhidul , Rahman Syed Mohammad Mazidur , Rahman Arfatur , Pearson Michele L. , Chai Shua J.
Published: September 2023

Background

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of tuberculosis infection (TBI). We estimated the prevalence and incidence of TBI and risk factors among HCWs in Bangladeshi hospitals to target TB infection prevention and control (IPC) interventions.

Methods

During 2013–2016, we conducted a longitudinal study among HCWs in four chest disease hospitals. At baseline, we administered a questionnaire on sociodemographic and occupational factors for TB, tuberculin skin tests (TST) in all hospitals, and QuantiFERON ®-TB Gold in-Tube (QFT-GIT) tests in one hospital. We assessed factors associated with baseline TST positivity (induration ≥10mm), TST conversion (induration increase ≥10mm from baseline), baseline QFT-GIT positivity (interferon-gamma ≥0.35 IU/mL), and QFT-GIT conversion (interferon-gamma <0.35 IU/mL to ≥0.35 IU/mL). We included factors with a biologically plausible relationship with TBI identified in prior studies or having an association (p = <0.20) in the bivariate analyses with TST positivity or QFT-GIT positivity in multivariable generalized linear models. The Kaplan-Meier was used to estimate the cumulative TBI incidence rate per 100 person-years.

Results

Of the 758 HCWs invited, 732 (97%) consented to participate and 731 completed the one-step TST, 40% had a positive TST result, and 48% had a positive QFT-GIT result. In multivariable models, HCWs years of service 11–20 years had 2.1 (95% CI: 1.5–3.0) times higher odds of being TST-positive and 1.6 (95% CI 1.1–2.5) times higher odds of QFT-GIT-positivity at baseline compared with those working ≤10 years. HCWs working 11–20 years in pulmonary TB ward had 2.0 (95% CI: 1.4–2.9) times higher odds of TST positivity, and those >20 years had 2.5 (95% CI: 1.3–4.9) times higher odds of QFT-GIT-positivity at baseline compared with those working <10 years. TBI incidence was 4.8/100 person-years by TST and 4.2/100 person-years by QFT-GIT. Females had 8.5 (95% CI: 1.5–49.5) times higher odds of TST conversion than males.

Conclusions

Prevalent TST and QFT-GIT positivity was associated with an increased number of years working as a healthcare worker and in pulmonary TB wards. The incidence of TBI among HCWs suggests ongoing TB exposure in these facilities and an urgent need for improved TB IPC in chest disease hospitals in Bangladesh.