bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integrative Pan-Cancer Genomic and Transcriptomic Analyses of Refractory Metastatic Cancer
Authors: Pradat Yoann , Viot Julien , Yurchenko Andrey A. , Gunbin Konstantin , Cerbone Luigi , Deloger Marc , Grisay Guillaume , Verlingue Loic , Scott Véronique , Padioleau Ismael , Panunzi Leonardo , Michiels Stefan , Hollebecque Antoine , Jules-Clément Gérôme , Mezquita Laura , Lainé Antoine , Loriot Yohann , Besse Benjamin , Friboulet Luc , André Fabrice , Cournède Paul-Henry , Gautheret Daniel , Nikolaev Sergey I.
Published: March 2023

Metastatic relapse after treatment is the leading cause of cancer mortality, and known resistance mechanisms are missing for most treatments administered to patients. To bridge this gap, we analyze a pan-cancer cohort (META-PRISM) of 1,031 refractory metastatic tumors profiled via whole-exome and transcriptome sequencing. META-PRISM tumors, particularly prostate, bladder, and pancreatic types, displayed the most transformed genomes compared with primary untreated tumors. Standard-of-care resistance biomarkers were identified only in lung and colon cancers—9.6% of META-PRISM tumors, indicating that too few resistance mechanisms have received clinical validation. In contrast, we verified the enrichment of multiple investigational and hypothetical resistance mechanisms in treated compared with nontreated patients, thereby confirming their putative role in treatment resistance. Additionally, we demonstrated that molecular markers improve 6-month survival prediction, particularly in patients with advanced breast cancer. Our analysis establishes the utility of the META-PRISM cohort for investigating resistance mechanisms and performing predictive analyses in cancer.

Significance:

This study highlights the paucity of standard-of-care markers that explain treatment resistance and the promise of investigational and hypothetical markers awaiting further validation. It also demonstrates the utility of molecular profiling in advanced-stage cancers, particularly breast cancer, to improve the survival prediction and assess eligibility to phase I clinical trials.

This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1027
Optimization of Endoglucanase Synthesis by Trichoderma harzianum via Taguchi Approach
Authors:   University Teknologi Malaysia, Teo Hwee , Wahab Roswanira ,   Dept. of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Published: March 2023

The oil palm biomass produced by plantations and mills in Malaysia is the largest contributor to the nation’s agro-waste, with the oil palm leaves (OPL) topping the list. Nevertheless, the surplus of OPL might have applicability as the substrate for cultivating lignocellulolytic bio-degraders. Ipso facto, this study employed raw OPL as the carbon source for cultivating Trichoderma harzianum under solid-state fermentation (SSF). Optimization of the SSF process using the Taguchi orthogonal design to produce endoglucanase (CMCase) successfully established the optimal fermentation conditions as the following: 7.00 × 108 spore/g inoculum size, 50% moisture content, pH 12 Mandel’s medium, with 3-day incubation at 40°C. The crude enzyme cocktail exhibited the corresponding maximum activity of 417.49 U/g CMCase. The enzymatic activities were significantly affected by factors, moisture content, inoculum size, and initial pH (p-value < 0.05). In short, the high extracellular CMCase activity of the T. harzianum crude enzyme cocktail may prove valuable in accelerating the saccharification of cellulose for biofuel-and nanocellulose production.
Validation of the
International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision
Code for the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale Score
Authors: Kamel Hooman , Liberman Ava L. , Merkler Alexander E. , Parikh Neal S. , Mir Saad A. , Segal Alan Z. , Zhang Cenai , Díaz Iván , Navi Babak B.
Published: March 2023

Background:

Administrative data can be useful for stroke research but have historically lacked data on stroke severity. Hospitals increasingly report the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score using an
International Classification of Diseases
,
Tenth Revision
(
ICD-10
) diagnosis code, but this code’s validity remains unclear.

Methods:

We examined the concordance of
ICD-10
NIHSS scores versus NIHSS scores recorded in CAESAR (Cornell Acute Stroke Academic Registry). We included all patients with acute ischemic stroke from October 1, 2015, when US hospitals transitioned to
ICD-10
, through 2018, the latest year in our registry. The NIHSS score (range, 0–42) recorded in our registry served as the reference gold standard.
ICD-10
NIHSS scores were derived from hospital discharge diagnosis code R29.7xx, with the latter 2 digits representing the NIHSS score. Multiple logistic regression was used to explore factors associated with availability of
ICD-10
NIHSS scores. We used ANOVA to examine the proportion of variation (

R
2

) in the true (registry) NIHSS score that was explained by the
ICD-10
NIHSS score.

Results:

Among 1357 patients, 395 (29.1%) had an
ICD-10
NIHSS score recorded. This proportion increased from 0% in 2015 to 46.5% in 2018. In a logistic regression model, only higher registry NIHSS score (odds ratio per point, 1.05 [95% CI, 1.03–1.07]) and cardioembolic stroke (odds ratio, 1.4 [95% CI, 1.0–2.0]) were associated with availability of the
ICD-10
NIHSS score. In an ANOVA model, the
ICD-10
NIHSS score explained almost all the variation in the registry NIHSS score (
R
2
=0.88). Fewer than 10% of patients had a large discordance (≥4 points) between their
ICD-10
and registry NIHSS scores.

Conclusions:

When present,
ICD-10
codes representing NIHSS scores had excellent agreement with NIHSS scores recorded in our stroke registry. However,
ICD-10
NIHSS scores were often missing, especially in less severe strokes, limiting the reliability of these codes for risk adjustment.
Innovative Remote Management Solutions for the Control of Hypertension
Authors: Lee Simin Gharib , Fisher Naomi D.L.
Published: March 2023

We stand at a critical juncture in the delivery of health care for hypertension. Blood pressure control rates have stagnated, and traditional health care is failing. Fortunately, hypertension is exceptionally well-suited to remote management, and innovative digital solutions are proliferating. Early strategies arose with the spread of digital medicine, long before the COVID-19 pandemic forced lasting changes to the way medicine is practiced. Highlighting one contemporary example, this review explores salient features of remote management hypertensive programs, including: an automated algorithm to guide clinical decisions, home (as opposed to office) blood pressure measurements, an interdisciplinary care team, and robust information technology and analytics. Dozens of emerging hypertension management solutions are contributing to a highly fragmented and competitive landscape. Beyond viability, profit and scalability are critical. We explore the challenges impeding large-scale acceptance of these programs and conclude with a hopeful look to the future when remote hypertension care will have dramatic impact on global cardiovascular health.
Effect of Age on Hypertension Recognition in Children With Chronic Kidney Disease: A Report From the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children Study
Authors: Douglas Chloe E. , Roem Jennifer , Flynn Joseph T. , Furth Susan L. , Warady Bradley A. , Halbach Susan M. ,   for the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children study investigators*
Published: March 2023

Background:

Young age has been associated with poorer control of hypertension in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Using data from the CKiD Study (Chronic Kidney Disease in Children), we examined the relationship between age, hypertensive blood pressure (BP) recognition, and pharmacologic BP control in children with nondialysis-dependent CKD.

Methods:

Participants included 902 CKiD Study participants with CKD stages 2 to 4. A total of 3550 annual study visits met inclusion criteria and participants were stratified by age (0 to <7, ≥7 to <13, ≥13 to ≤18 years). Generalized estimating equations to account for repeated measures were applied to logistic regression analyses to evaluate the association of age with unrecognized hypertensive BP and medication use.

Results:

Children <7 years of age had a higher prevalence of hypertensive BP and a lower prevalence of antihypertensive medication use compared with older children. At visits where participants <7 years of age had hypertensive BP readings, 46% had unrecognized, untreated hypertensive BP compared with 21% of visits for children ≥13 years of age. The youngest age group was associated with higher odds of unrecognized hypertensive BP (adjusted odds ratio, 2.11 [95% CI, 1.37–3.24]) and lower odds of antihypertensive medication use among those with unrecognized hypertensive BP (adjusted OR, 0.51 [95% CI, 0.27–0.996]).

Conclusions:

Children younger than 7 years of age with CKD are more likely to have both undiagnosed and undertreated hypertensive BP. Efforts to improve BP control in young children with CKD are needed to minimize development of cardiovascular disease and slow CKD progression.
Stilobezzia Kieffer (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the Brazilian Amazon: three new species, redescription of S. (Stilobezzia) maculata Lane and new records
Authors: SILVA IRENE M. DA , FERREIRA-KEPPLER RUTH L. , CAZORLA CARLA G.
Published: March 2023

Three new species of Stilobezzia Kieffer, 1911 are described and illustrated from the Brazilian Amazon, two in the nominotypical subgenus Stilobezzia: S. (Stilobezzia) brasiliensis n. sp. and S. (Stilobezzia) campinaranensis n. sp., and one in the subgenus Acanthohelea: S. (Acanthohelea) medialuna n. sp. We also redescribe and re-illustrate S. (Stilobezzia) maculata Lane based on the examination of type material and additional specimens. In addition, S. (Eukraiohelea) proxima Cazorla & Felippe-Bauer, S. (Eukraiohelea) quasielegantula Cazorla & Felippe-Bauer, S. (Stilobezzia) chaconi Macfie, S. (Stilobezzia) glauca Macfie, and S. (Stilobezzia) maculata are recorded for the first time from the state of Amazonas, northern Brazil. The number of Stilobezzia species in Brazilian Amazon increases from 11 to 19.
Effects of Varying Saturation Vapor Pressure on Climate, Clouds, and Convection
Authors: Spaulding-Astudillo Francisco E. , Mitchell Jonathan L.
Published: March 2023

We investigate how climate, clouds, and convection change as the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere is varied by altering the saturation vapor pressure (SVP) by a constant in a one-dimensional climate model. We identify four effects of altering SVP on clouds in an Earthlike climate with distinct layers of low and high clouds. First, the anvils of high clouds get higher as SVP is increased (and vice versa) because they are bound by radiative constraints to occur at a lower temperature. The vapor pressure path above the cold anvils does not change in Earthlike climates. Second, low clouds get lower as SVP increases (and vice versa) because they are coupled to a convective boundary layer (CBL) that shallows primarily from an increase in the tropospheric static stability. The third and fourth effects follow from the first two, namely, that single-layer cloud states exist both in vapor-poor states with a merged cloud deck and vapor-rich states with an elevated cloud deck. We identify two cloud instability parameters that determine the transitions between single- and double-layer cloud regimes. Qualitatively, sufficiently vapor-poor states have a deep, diffusive layer that overlaps with a weaker convective layer (topping out at the tropopause) that cannot maintain low relative humidity in the midtroposphere through the drying of descending air, thus causing the cloud layers to merge. Sufficiently vapor-rich states lose their low clouds as the shallowing CBL drops below the lifting condensation level.
Daily and Subdaily Wind and Divergence Variations Observed by a Shipborne Doppler Radar off the Southwestern Coast of Sumatra
Authors: Geng Biao , Katsumata Masaki
Published: March 2023

This study investigated the daily cycle of the wind and divergence fields observed off the southwestern coast of Sumatra during a field campaign of the Years of the Maritime Continent pilot study. An algorithm was developed to retrieve kinematic variables from the single-Doppler data collected aboard the Research Vessel Mirai from 24 November to 13 December 2015. The observed daily cycles of the wind and divergence fields consisted of diurnal, semidiurnal, and short-term variations. Diurnal wind variation was characterized by deep and three-dimensional circulation. There was an approximate phase locking of the semidiurnal variation to the diurnal variation, both in the wind and divergence fields. The short-term wind variation occurred at a time scale of ∼1–3 h, and this pattern was associated with density currents or mesoscale gravity waves. Up to 73% of the daily vertical motion variance can be attributed to the diurnal and semidiurnal vertical motion variations with comparable strengths. Concurrently, precipitation propagated offshore in phase with density currents and mesoscale gravity waves. Our results suggest that diurnal and semidiurnal wind variations dominate the daily evolution of precipitation, whereas density currents and mesoscale gravity waves control offshore propagation. Additionally, it appears that the daily precipitation cycle is modulated by multiple-time-scale wind variabilities of less than a day, which is also responsible for the development of strong nocturnal convection off the southwestern coast of Sumatra.

Significance Statement

To improve our understanding of the daily wind and divergence cycle off the southwestern coast of Sumatra, we examined wind data collected by a shipborne Doppler radar. The observed daily cycles of the wind and divergence fields consisted of diurnal and semidiurnal variations, as well as a 1–3-h variation associated with a density current or mesoscale gravity wave. Our results suggest that diurnal and semidiurnal wind variations dominate the daily evolution of precipitation, whereas density currents and mesoscale gravity waves control offshore propagation. Thus, we highlight the role of multiple-time-scale wind variabilities of less than a day in modulating the daily precipitation cycle off the southwestern coast of Sumatra.
Rapid Decadal Acceleration of Sea Level Rise along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts during 2010–22 and Its Impact on Hurricane-Induced Storm Surge
Authors: Yin Jianjun
Published: March 2023

Sea level rise (SLR) shows important spatiotemporal variability. A better understanding of characteristics and mechanisms of the variability is critical for future SLR projection and coastal preparedness. Here we analyze various observational and modeling data of sea level and its components, atmospheric pressure and winds, and ocean circulation in the North Atlantic. Both the century-long tide gauge data and the more recent altimetry data reveal a rapid decadal acceleration of SLR during 2010–22 along the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico coast. The acceleration is most notable on the Southeast and Gulf Coasts, as quantified by the decadal rise rate, extreme annual sea level departure from the long-term trend, as well as the sea level record-breaking frequency and magnitude. Our analysis suggests that this SLR acceleration is largely a lagged response to the observed slowdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in 2009–10. In the North Atlantic, the response is characterized by a large-scale pattern of contrast changes in dynamic sea level between the Eastern Subpolar Gyre and the U.S. Southeast and Gulf Coasts. The latest global climate model generally captures this observed pattern and projects that further increase in greenhouse gas forcing will modify it over the twenty-first century. The faster SLR on the Southeast and Gulf Coasts, at a rate of more than 10 mm yr−1 during 2010–22, coincided with active and even record-breaking North Atlantic hurricane seasons in recent years. As a consequence, the elevated storm surge exacerbated coastal flooding and damage particularly on the Gulf Coast.
A Simplified Ocean Physics? Revisiting Abyssal Recipes
Authors: Wunsch Carl
Published: March 2023

Simplified descriptions of the ocean are useful both for formulating explanatory theories and for conveying meaningful global attributes. Here, using a 26-yr average of a global state estimate from ECCO, the basis for Munk’s “abyssal recipes” is evaluated on a global scale between 1000- and 3000-m depth. The two specific hydrographic stations he used prove untypical, with potential temperature and salinity more generally displaying different vertical scale heights, and thus differing in one-dimensional (in the vertical) values of mixing coefficients and/or vertical velocities. The simplest explanation is that the circulation is fully three-dimensional with temperature and salinity fields not describable with a one-dimensional steady balance. In contrast, the potential density and buoyancy are quantitatively describable through a one-dimensional exponential balance, and which calls for an explanation in terms of turbulent mixing processes.
Navigating Pandemic Crises: Encountering the Digital Commons
Authors: Schoonmaker Sara
Published: March 2023

Since the 19th century, sociologists have grappled with understanding the dynamics of social change. In this article, I explore three key changes that emerged with the COVID-19 pandemic. First, professional workers, students, and others who could manage it used platforms like Zoom to shift their work and social activities online to minimize exposure to the virus. At the same time, this surge of online activity expanded the opportunities for corporations and governments to engage in surveillance by collecting user data. I call this the “pandemic surveillance paradox.” This paradox posed potential threats to civil liberties, and particularly the right to privacy, since many users were unaware of the nature and extent of this data collection process. Second, free software and other privacy advocates built on their prior work to educate software and Internet users about strategies to protect their privacy and encounter the digital commons. In the digital commons, all participants can access, use, modify, and share software, the Internet, scientific, educational, and cultural resources. Third, during the pandemic, open science and open education advocates made vital contributions to the digital commons. They accelerated the scientific research process to develop vaccines and treatments for the virus, and disseminated key public health information and other educational resources. Through these diverse activities, digital commoners navigated crises arising from the COVID-19 pandemic by forging alternatives to the dominant capitalist system rooted in profit and proprietary control.
Obesity Associated With Increased Mortality and Hospital Length of Stay in Trauma Laparotomy Patients
Authors: Carpenter Anne-Marie , Neal Daniel W. , Johnson-Mann Crystal N. , Taylor Jessica E.
Published: March 2023

Although obesity in trauma patients is accepted as a risk factor for postoperative complications, recent literature offers conflicting evidence regarding the effect of body mass index (BMI) on mortality in trauma patients undergoing laparotomy. To address this question, we examined the patient population of a Level 1 Trauma Center during a 3-year period to compare mortality rates and other outcomes between BMI groups undergoing laparotomy. Through retrospective chart review of electronic medical records, with subsequent stratification of data based on BMI, we found that mortality, injury severity score, and hospital length of stay all increase significantly with each incremental increase in BMI class. From these data, we concluded that higher BMI class leads to greater morbidity and mortality in trauma patients undergoing laparotomy at this institution.
Gravity Model Approach: An Empirical Application with Implications for BRICS Countries
Authors: Wani Suadat Hussain
Published: March 2023

This article aims to identify the main determinants of annual export flow among BRICS countries through the estimation of panel data from 1992 to 2018. The estimated results suggest that gross domestic product (GDP) and trade openness among other factors can explain export flow among BRICS countries. The most important finding of the study is that the formation of BRICS has exercised a negative and significant impact on bilateral trade among member countries. This study also found that the intra-industry trade dominates the intra-BRICS trade. Finally, the study found that the geographical distance between countries might be a factor for impeding trade among member countries. Thus, this study highlights the importance of increasing economic cooperation among these countries in terms of developing infrastructure, signing of free trade agreement (FTA) and increasing people-to-people contacts.

JEL Codes: F00, F15, C23, F13
Interiority in the Work of Edgar H. Schein: A Personal Reflection
Authors: Coghlan David
Published: March 2023

In this reflection I explore how Ed Schein's philosophy of being a scholar-practitioner is expressed through interiority. By interiority is meant a quality of attentiveness to one's cognitive processes (data of consciousness) while attending to data of sense (what one is seeing and hearing). Throughout his writings Schein explicitly accesses his experience, his questions, his understanding, and his coming to know and judging how to act. This reflection is offered both to celebrate Ed's scholarship of practice and to stimulate reflection on how scholar-practitioners may engage in their craft.
Locating Counterinsurgency in Media on Kashmir in a Post-Neo-Liberal Framework
Authors: Boga Dilnaz
Published: March 2023

Using critical media theories of framing, propaganda and agenda-setting that intersect, the author attempts to unravel the links between counterinsurgency (COIN) and media in India-administered Kashmir against the backdrop of a post-neo-liberal framework as an example of hegemony armoured by coercion. The author will reframe COIN as a state response to a people’s movement for self-determination. An analysis of the effects of the post-neo-liberal framework on the governing class that enacts COIN strategies through the media will not only illuminate the machinations of the media but will also unravel its social and cultural effects and their role in perpetuating an unjust social order in a contested space. An examination of the roots of ethnonationalism will expose the media’s nexus with power and the nature of COIN operations through the media in Kashmir.
Building a predictive soft armor finite element model combining experiments, simulations, and machine learning
Authors: Pittie Tanu , Kartikeya Kartikeya , Bhatnagar Naresh , Anoop Krishnan NM , Senthil Thilak , Rajan Subramaniam D
Published: March 2023

Despite its relevance for law enforcement applications, the design of soft armor has mainly been based on a trial-and-error approach. In this paper, a combined experimental, machine learning, and finite element analysis framework is used to build a predictive numerical model for the analysis and hence, design of soft armor. The material models for major components of the soft armor certification system—bullet, shoot pack, straps, and clay backing, are first constructed using laboratory tests and publicly available data. Next, three metrics, namely, back face signature (BFS), number of penetrated shoot-pack layers, and mushrooming of the bullet are established to gauge the model’s accuracy with respect to the laboratory ballistic test data. A machine learning (ML) model is used as a surrogate to predict the BFS and the number of eroded elements. Finally, optimized material model parameters are obtained through ML-based surrogate model and Bayesian optimization algorithm. The final validation of the developed framework is carried out using laboratory ballistic test data involving multiple shots on the shoot pack. The results indicate that reliable predictive data can be obtained using the developed process, and likely, can be extended for use in modeling other impact simulations.
Support for Diverse Students Through Teacher Education Still Needs Presidential Leadership
Authors: Sleeter Christine
Published: March 2023

In this article, Sleeter reflects on her previous article, “An Invitation to Support Diverse Students through Teacher Education.” She argues that her earlier recommendations are still valid, but changing conditions have lent them greater urgency. Research has made clear the positive impact of culturally relevant curriculum and pedagogy on students of color. Although White teachers still dominate the profession, White students are no longer in the majority. But schools are still highly racially segregated, with unequal access to resources, and school closures coupled with increased online education have only widened racial gaps. Because of these conditions, she argues that public education needs federal leadership.
From the BFI-44 to BFI-20: Psychometric Properties of the Short Form of the Big Five Inventory
Authors: Tucaković Lana , Nedeljković Boban
Published: March 2023

The Big Five Inventory (BFI-44) has been a useful tool for researchers for over three decades. However, the contemporary way of life has created the need for abbreviated versions of psychological instruments. We derived the number of items from the BFI-44 questionnaire in order to create a short form of the questionnaire (BFI-20). In the first study ( N = 1350, 82.4% females, aged 18–60), using a range of criteria, we identified 20 items (four for each of the Big Five traits) that most optimally represent each dimension. The five-factor structure was mostly replicated in the second ( N = 215, 65.1% females, aged 18–65) and third study ( N = 263, 83.7% females, aged 18–42). The BFI-20 demonstrated satisfactory reliability, representativeness, homogeneity, and part-whole convergence. Despite mild attenuation, most BFI-20 correlations with schizotypy, satisfaction with life, and positive orientation remained in the same range compared to the BFI-44. The Agreeableness domain was shown to be the most challenging for capturing with four items. We discuss the advantages of our BFI-20 compared to the other two 20-item versions. In sum, we can recommend the use of this BFI-20 version as a time-efficient, satisfactory reliable, and representative questionnaire.
The Relationship Between Acceptance, Biopsychosocial Factors, and Quality of Life: A Structural Equation Model
Authors: Zhou Kaiqi
Published: March 2023

Disability acceptance is one of the most significant constructs in the psychosocial adaptation process. Although prior research has examined the relationship among different biopsychosocial factors, disability acceptance, and quality of life (QoL), limited study focused on entering a series of biopsychosocial factors simultaneously into analysis to reflect live experience of individuals with disabilities. This study aimed to examine the role of acceptance regarding the relationship between a series of biopsychosocial factors (i.e., general health, physical functioning, pain, anxiety, depression, stress, loneliness, stigma, sense of community, and neighborhood problems) and QoL based on Livneh’s psychosocial adaptation model to inform psychosocial interventions. A total of 430 participants with disabilities completed an online survey consisting of instruments measuring target variables. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated a three-factor structure for selected biopsychosocial factors (i.e., psychological difficulties, physical status, and community issues). Structural equation modeling results showed that the proposed model indicated a fair model fit after respecification. Effect analyses showed that disability acceptance directly affected QoL and partially mediated the relationship between physical status and QoL and psychological difficulties and QoL. In addition, loneliness has been found to significantly and directly predict QoL in the respecified model. The model demonstrated that disability acceptance and loneliness have a significant impact on QoL.
Crossover trial of the effects of a far-infrared heater that heats the feet with ceramic balls on autonomic nervous activity and mood states
Authors: Matsui Yuko , Ueda Terumi , Koizumi Yumi , Kato Chinatsu , Suzuki Yuiko
Published: March 2023

Introduction:

The accumulation of fatigue and stress creates problems, including reductions in quality of life and productivity.

Objectives:

To investigate the effects of a far-infrared heater that heats the feet with ceramic balls on autonomic nervous activity and mood states.

Methods:

This study was performed as a crossover trial. Participants comprised 20 women. On different days, each participant underwent 15 min of foot warming with the far-infrared heater (far-infrared group) or remained seated for 15 min (control group). Autonomic nervous activity (low-frequency component/high-frequency component, high-frequency) and mood states scales (Profile of Mood States Second Edition and Two-Dimensional Mood Scale for Self-monitoring and Self-regulation of Momentary Mood States) during the study intervention were measured and compared between groups.

Results:

Low-frequency/high-frequency was significantly higher in the control group 10 min after the start of intervention than at baseline ( P = .033). Low-frequency/high-frequency was significantly lower in the far-infrared group than in the control group at 5 min ( P = .027), 10 min ( P = .011), and 15 min ( P = .015). High-frequency was significantly higher in the far-infrared group at 5 min ( P = .008), 10 min ( P = .004), and 15 min ( P = .015) than at baseline. High-frequency 5 min after the start of intervention was significantly higher in the far-infrared group than in the control group ( P = .033). POMS2 scores improved significantly more in the far-infrared group than in the control group, including in fatigue-inertia ( P = .019), tension-anxiety ( P = .025), and total mood disturbance ( P = .019). Finally, the far-infrared group showed greater improvements in Two-Dimensional Mood Scale-Short Term scores such as stability ( P = .002) and pleasure ( P = .013).

Conclusion:

Using the far-infrared heater to heat the feet with ceramic balls stabilized and improved mood, reduced Fatigue-Inertia and Tension-Anxiety, and alleviated total mood disturbance. Parasympathetic nervous system activation was observed from 5 min after the start of heating, suggesting that short-duration heat stimulation of the feet is effective.
Difficulty-as-Improvement: The Courage to Keep Going in the Face of Life’s Difficulties
Authors: Yan Veronica X. , Oyserman Daphna , Kiper Gülnaz , Atari Mohammad
Published: March 2023

When a task or goal is hard to think about or do, people can infer that it is a waste of their time (difficulty-as-impossibility) or valuable to them (difficulty-as-importance). Separate from chosen tasks and goals, life can present unchosen difficulties. Building on identity-based motivation theory, people can see these as opportunities for self-betterment (difficulty-as-improvement). People use this language when they recall or communicate about difficulties (autobiographical memories, Study 1; “Common Crawl” corpus, Study 2). Our difficulty mindset measures are culture-general (Australia, Canada, China, India, Iran, New Zealand, Turkey, the United States, Studies 3–15, N = 3,532). People in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic (WEIRD)-er countries slightly agree with difficulty-as-improvement. Religious, spiritual, conservative people, believers in karma and a just world, and people from less-WEIRD countries score higher. People who endorse difficulty-as-importance see themselves as conscientious, virtuous, and leading lives of purpose. So do endorsers of difficulty-as-improvement—who also see themselves as optimists (all scores lower for difficulty-as-impossibility endorsers).
On the Disposition to Think Analytically: Four Distinct Intuitive-Analytic Thinking Styles
Authors: Newton Christie , Feeney Justin , Pennycook Gordon
Published: March 2023

Many measures have been developed to index intuitive versus analytic thinking. Yet it remains an open question whether people primarily vary along a single dimension or if there are genuinely different types of thinking styles. We distinguish between four distinct types of thinking styles: Actively Open-minded Thinking, Close-Minded Thinking, Preference for Intuitive Thinking, and Preference for Effortful Thinking. We discovered strong predictive validity across several outcome measures (e.g., epistemically suspect beliefs, bullshit receptivity, empathy, moral judgments), with some subscales having stronger predictive validity for some outcomes but not others. Furthermore, Actively Open-minded Thinking, in particular, strongly outperformed the Cognitive Reflection Test in predicting misperceptions about COVID-19 and the ability to discern between vaccination-related true and false news. Our results indicate that people do, in fact, differ along multiple dimensions of intuitive-analytic thinking styles and that these dimensions have consequences for understanding a wide range of beliefs and behaviors.
Contextual Inequality in the Performance Costs of Financial Precarity
Authors: Meuris Jirs , Gladstone Joe
Published: March 2023

A substantial proportion of the workforce experiences financial precarity, which is defined as persistent concern about one's personal financial welfare. Research suggests that financial precarity often harms performance at work. In this paper, we investigate whether characteristics of the work context disproportionately occupied by people at the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder (low autonomy, high routinization, high interdependence, low social support) heighten the detrimental impact of financial precarity on performance. Drawing on role stress theory, we propose that these characteristics alter the degree to which the cognitive resources appropriated by financial precarity interfere with the resource requirements of a person's work role. Our predictions are tested using experience sampling data covering 8 consecutive observation days for 956 individuals in the United States (k = 7,015). Analyzing daily observations allows us to distinguish financial precarity from the day-to-day experience of transient financial events. We observed that financial precarity significantly undermined the quality of one's work during a given day, but this relationship was driven by those working in contexts with low levels of autonomy, routinization, and coworker support. This pattern was only observed for those experiencing financial precarity, not those only exposed to a negative financial event in a given day. The research demonstrates that specific characteristics of the work environment can lead to inequality in who bears the performance costs associated with financial precarity.
Risk of Stroke and Cardiovascular Disease According to Diabetes Mellitus Status
Authors: Kim Hyunsu , Lee Hyunjung
Published: March 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the importance of prevention and management of diabetes by analyzing stroke and cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence among people with diabetes. This secondary analysis of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Ⅶ (2016-2018) data included 15,039 adults. Diabetes status was significantly associated with sex, age, marital status, household size, education level, employment status, household income, hypertension, dyslipidemia, stroke, CVD, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, kidney failure, depression, level of stress, smoking, drinking, body mass index, weight control, and the number of days of walking per week; however, it was not associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Stroke and CVD risk significantly increased in the presence of diabetes (by 4.123 times and 3.223 times, respectively). The incidences of stroke and CVD were significantly higher among participants with diabetes than among those without diabetes. Thus, preventing and systematically managing diabetes is crucial to reducing related complications and mortality.
Quarantine Ships as Spaces of Bordering: The Securitization of Migration Policy in Italy During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Montagna Nicola
Published: March 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for bordering, that is, for measures that aim to delineate foreigners’ access to citizenship and membership and to further securitize migration policy. Across the globe, new border controls were introduced, stringent new international regulations applied, and hundreds of thousands of flights cancelled, all of which resulted in millions of travelers, including migrant workers and transnational commuters, being stranded. Among the areas affected by these bordering measures is the central Mediterranean migratory route to Italy. In Spring 2020, the Italian government introduced two measures aimed to block migrant arrivals by sea: the closure of ports to search-and-rescue (SAR) operations and the use of ships to quarantine migrants arriving on SAR ships. While the former was only partially implemented and then lifted in the summer of 2020, the latter has become a cornerstone of current securitization policies in Italy. This article — relying on semi-structured interviews with activists, non-governmental organization volunteers, human rights lawyers, and journalists — interrogates the use of quarantine ships during the pandemic as a means of stopping COVID-19's spread by irregular migrants arriving along the central Mediterranean. It shows how this measure, presented as a humanitarian mission to preserve public health, became an opportunity to securitize national and EU borders and how quarantine ships became spaces aimed at filtering and containing arriving migrants. The article aims to contribute to the debate around the bordering policy measures that characterize current EU migration governance and to consider their application during the pandemic.
Counting Migrants in Russia: The Human Dimension of Administrative Data Production
Authors: Schenk Caress
Published: March 2023

How do states count migrants? This article engages evidence from Russia to demonstrate how official labor migration data depend on human interactions between state actors and migrants in a Russian migration center as a cautionary tale for those that take official data at face value. Drawing on participant observation and analysis of conversations between migration center workers and migrants, I argue that the agency of migrants and local state actors is crucial for creating official migration data, even when such agency is constrained by federally defined rules and priorities. Though Russia has highly centralized bureaucratic structures and procedures, I demonstrate how local state actors exercise agency by toggling between gatekeeping practices that uphold federal priorities and customer-service-oriented practices that attract migrants to voluntarily engage in the process of being documented and counted. Migrant participation in the bureaucratic process is crucial to the migration center's success, and migrants utilize strategies that can maximize their success in obtaining work documents and becoming counted in official statistics, such as using the migration center's commercial services or bringing a friend to help navigate any uncertainties. Evidence from Russia suggests that social environments can both limit and constitute the production of state data. Scholars, policymakers, and the public miss these contingencies and the potential impact that social environments have on final official numbers when they take state-produced migration data at face value.
Against Renaissance Perspective: The Soaring Gaze
Authors: Min’an Wang
Published: March 2023

This essay explores whether ontology is internal to traditional Chinese culture from the perspective of the view from above. Ancient Chinese philosophy, poetry, and art abound with all kinds of descriptions of viewing from above. Such views from on high, as illustrated by famous works discussed in this essay, usually admit of no fixed focus; that is, there is no ontic being, concealed or disclosed, controlling the perceiving eyes. The gaze from above, which is either fluid or decentered, in some cases does not even focus on any real object. It merely reveals an abstract historical review or an attitudinal stance. As such, the fushi gaze, devoid of any concrete object of perception or any central point of reference, always points to the absence of ontology.
Navigating the “Blind World”: The psychosocial and occupational experiences of parents of adolescents with visual impairments
Authors: Cao Peiwen , McGrath Colleen , Rudman Debbie Laliberte
Published: March 2023

Although research has shown that parenting an adolescent with a visual impairment may present unique challenges, a few studies have examined how parents negotiate such challenges and the meanings they derive from their parenting experiences. Using a constructivist narrative inquiry approach, this study explored how four parents of adolescents with visual impairments storied their psychosocial and occupational experiences of childrearing. A holistic-content analysis and thematic analysis of participants’ narrative accounts was conducted, resulting in the identification of the following five themes: (1) Grief, Uncertainty, and Frustration During the Early Years; (2) Identity as An Advocate; (3) Enabling Independence and Planning for the Future; (4) Navigating Challenges in Getting Required Support: Frustrations and Successes; and (5) Changed Perceptions Within the Context of Societal Misunderstanding. Findings of this study address a gap in the current body of literature by highlighting the complexity of parents’ experiences along the journey of raising an adolescent with a visual impairment. These complexities are important to address in low vision rehabilitation practice to best support parents and youth, and further research is required to inform such practice.
Optimum heparin dose in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Khalil Mohamed A , Kaddoura Rasha , Omar Amr S , Abohamar Ahmed D , Izham Mohamed
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) was introduced many years ago aiming to reduce the known complications of conventional on-pump coronary surgeries. Heparin is required during the procedures, but the available protocols have diverse dosage regimens. The primary objective of this systematic review is to examine the effect of different heparin doses on the outcomes of OPCABG.

Evidence acquisition

MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched. Four reviewers identified eligible clinical trials. Two reviewers extracted data and independently assessed the risk of bias using Cochrane tool. The primary outcome was the activated clotting time (ACT) at three minutes. The secondary outcomes were proportion of patients requiring blood products and the length of hospital stay. An aggregate data approach was used.

Evidence synthesis

Three single-center randomized studies recruiting 256 patients were included. The studies compared low-dose (1.5–2 mg/kg) and high-dose (3 mg/kg) heparin boluses. The overall mean difference for ACT after three minutes between low- and high-dose heparin is – 126.16 (95% CI: - 142.19, - 110.14). The proportion of patients requiring blood products after surgery [odd ratio 1.27 (95% CI: 0.69, 2.32)] or the overall length of stay [mean difference −0.15 (95% CI: −0.84, 0.53)] did not differ between the heparin doses.

Conclusions

In OPCABG, high-dose compared with low-dose heparin did not affect the utilization of more blood products or increased the overall length of stay. Unsurprisingly, ACT values were higher in the high-dose heparin group. Larger and adequately powered randomized clinical trials are indicated to resolve the uncertainty.
Space and the Geopolitical
Authors: Niang Amy
Published: March 2023

The paper argues that the dominant geopolitical analysis draws from a tradition of thought that privileges a geographical approach to space. The process that extends such impetus most compellingly can be found in security intervention. Interventionism, specifically under the War on Terrorism (WoT) thinking projects a cartography of (in)security and threat that disrupts on the one hand existing dynamics of space production and on another redefines space as geography with violent consequences for a variety of life-forms. The question that guides my endeavor is the following: how does a rethinking of the geographical question in international relations (IR), particularly with regards to intervention and the WoT enable us to expand an understanding of geopolitics beyond power struggles over space? Thinking from the Sahel-Sahara region, I wish to offer an alternative view of space where life, government, intellectual representations, commerce, culture, landscape, and belief lead to different kinds of relationships. This view is meant to suggest the beginning of the sketching of different systems of thought and morals through which to apprehend more productively a notion of space in IR.
The Hanau massacre and state (in)action: a dossier
Authors: Herzog Astaburuaga Oscar
Published: March 2023

Based on official and unofficial reports into the 2020 massacre at Hanau of nine people in a racist attack by a rightwing German extremist, the article reveals how state agencies fail to acknowledge the danger of the extreme Right in Germany, and also manage to exonerate the police and other agencies over preventing attacks, investigating the circumstances fully and protecting victims – who can themselves be treated as part of the problem. The result is that survivors and families of the deceased still feel that they have been failed. This forensic dissection of the aftermath of the killings draws on evidence presented by NSU-Watch, Initiative 19 February, Forensic Architecture and the official investigation carried out by the Hessen regional parliament.
Low vision home therapy service by occupational therapists: The effectiveness of the Seniors’ Eye Rehabilitation programme, a pilot study
Authors: Tan Yanwen , Sim Tan Anna Cheng , Hui Joy Heng Shih , Lian Tang Li , Wern Chen Li
Published: March 2023

Introduction:

This study aims to explore the effectiveness of the Seniors’ Eye Rehabilitation (SEER) pilot programme, a visual rehabilitation home therapy by specialised low vision occupational therapists (LVOT).

Method:

This was an interventional, longitudinal cohort study. Participants were recruited from Singapore National Eye Centre Low Vision Clinic. The occupational therapy interventions include activities of daily living retraining, activities/home modifications, functional/community mobility training and patient/family education. Each participant set two individualised goals (Priority Goal 1 and Priority Goal 2). The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare baseline and 6-month follow-up scores for Australian Therapy Outcome Measures for Occupational Therapy (AusTOMs-OT) and the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) ( p < 0.05).

Results:

Forty-one participants (mean age: 67, 48.8% male) completed SEER. There was statistically significant reduction in activity limitations (1 median point change (MPC), Z = −4.21, p < 0.01), participation restrictions (1 MPC, Z = −3.951, p < 0.01) and improved well-being (0.5 MPC, Z = −3.668, p < 0.01) for Priority Goal 1 using AUSTOM-OT. With GAS, there was a statistically significant improvement in Priority Goal 1 (1 MPC, Z = −3.886, p < 0.01).

Conclusion:

The SEER programme was found to be effective in improving all domains of the AusTOMs-OT and GAS for Priority Goal 1. This provides evidence that visual rehabilitation home therapy by specialised LVOT is beneficial to older adults with visual impairment.