bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multifocal Integration and Marginalisation: A Theoretical Model and an Empirical Study on Three Immigrant Groups
Authors: Kemppainen Teemu , Kemppainen Laura , Kuusio Hannamaria , Rask Shadia , Saukkonen Pasi
Published: March 2020

Recent sociological discussions have examined the classic theme of social integration from the point of view of belonging and multiple solidarities. As a research topic, migration importantly elucidates these general sociological questions. Literature on migration, integration and transnationalism lacks an encompassing theoretical model, which limits our understanding of complex integration processes. We propose a multifocal model of migrant integration including three key foci of integration: the host society; transnational sphere; and co-ethnic community in the host society. Moreover, the model considers integration in terms of different dimensions. With this model, we define multifocal marginalisation and study Russian, Kurdish and Somali migrants in Finland. We find that the different foci do not compete with each other, but are in a moderate positive relationship. There are clear group differences in integration patterns. Determinants of multifocal marginalisation include Kurdish background, weak Internet skills and older age. Discussion themes include belonging and social change.
“The Ugly Face of Old Age”: Elders’ Unmet Expectations for Care and Support in Rural Ethiopia
Authors: Zelalem Abraham , Gebremariam Kotecho Messay , Adamek Margaret E.
Published: March 2020

As migration, urbanization, and aging accelerate in developing nations, traditional family supports for elders are diminishing. With these trends in mind, hermeneutic phenomenology was used to examine the experiences of 10 rural Ethiopian elders of age 70 and older. Narrative data from in-depth interviews revealed three prominent themes: the “good old days,” drained happiness, worry and pessimism. Elders felt devalued by their children, grandchildren, and youth in general. Compared to how they treated their own parents, elders believed that their children’s sense of filial obligation was weak and unreliable. Interactions were described as undermining, embarrassing, and abusive. Elders were pessimistic about the prospect of reliable caregivers, even expressing a wish to die before they become dependent on others for care. Despite such challenges, participants viewed aging as a privilege. New cooperative models of community-based care are needed to ensure that elders in developing nations can expect adequate care throughout their lives.
A Jubilee (50) of Fascinating Facts about the Book of Jubilees
Authors: Zucker David J.
Published: March 2020

The Book of Jubilees, dating from about 2300 years ago, contains material that is very similar to narratives found in the Hebrew Bible (Masoretic Text [MT]), specifically the books of Genesis and the first half of Exodus. The text in Jubilees both adds to and omits data found in the MT. In addition, a striking feature of Jubilees is its reliance on a jubilee (50) year cycle, made up of seven sets of “weeks,” and its reliance on solely a solar calendar, as opposed to the Bible’s lunisolar configuration.
Race as a Ghost Variable in (White) Opioid Research
Authors: Hansen Helena , Parker Caroline , Netherland Jules
Published: March 2020

This paper traces the unspoken, implicit white racial logic of the brain disease model of addiction, which is based on seemingly universal, disembodied brains devoid of social or environmental influences. In the United States, this implicit white logic led to “context-free” neuroscience that made the social hierarchies of addiction and its consequences invisible to, and thus exacerbated by, national policies on opioids. The brain disease model of addiction was selectively deployed among the white middle-class population that had long accessed narcotics and pharmaceutical treatments for narcotics disorders from biomedical clinics, as opposed to from illegal sources subject to law enforcement. In turn, new treatments for opioid addiction were racially marketed to the same white clientele to which newly patented opioid analgesics were marketed, tapping into a circumscribed but highly lucrative consumer base that has long benefited from a legally protected, racially segregated safe space for white narcotics consumption. The connecting thread for the contemporary white opioid “crisis,” therefore, is white race as a ghost variable in addiction neuroscience and in its pharmaceutical and biotechnological translation.
The politics in/of pain
Authors: Djordjevic Charles
Published: March 2020

Pain, pain talk and pain ascriptions seem to be universal features of human experience and to have little to do with politics. It is often assumed that pain is always bad, a sign of a malfunctioning machine, that pain talk describes this malfunction and that the humane thing to do is to seek to ameliorate or excise pain. I argue that this viewpoint is one-sided at best and imperialistic at worst. In section I, I outline what I term the ‘prima facie model of pain’ and adumbrate later Wittgenstein’s criticism of it. In section II, I marshal ethnographic evidence that deepens Wittgenstein’s reimagining of pain and acknowledgment. In section III, I link this to ‘progressive’ politics and its normative understanding of the self. Finally, in section IV, I turn to Martin Luther King’s writing and discuss a use of pain that undermines this normative conception of the self and aligns with Wittgenstein’s account.
LncRNA CASC11 was downregulated in coronary artery disease and inhibits transforming growth factor-β1
Authors: Chen Junhua , Dang Jianli
Published: March 2020

Objective

To investigate the involvement of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Cancer Susceptibility 11 (CASC11) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods

This case–control study enrolled patients with CAD and age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. The plasma levels of lncRNA CASC11 and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) were measured. Diagnostic values of lncRNA CASC11 and TGF-β1 for CAD were determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Correlations between plasma levels of lncRNA CASC11 and TGF-β1 were analysed using linear regression.

Results

The study enrolled 82 patients with CAD and 82 healthy controls. Plasma levels of lncRNA CASC11 were downregulated in patients with CAD, while plasma TGF-β1 levels were upregulated in patients with CAD, compared with healthy controls. Plasma levels of lncRNA CASC11 and TGF-β1 distinguished patients with CAD from healthy controls and were inversely correlated in both groups. LncRNA CASC11 over-expression mediated the downregulation of TGF-β1 in human primary coronary artery endothelial cells, while TGF-β1 over-expression showed no significant effects on lncRNA CASC11 levels. An 8-year follow-up study showed that low lncRNA CASC11 levels were closely correlated with a higher mortality rate in patients with CAD.

Conclusion

LncRNA CASC11 is downregulated in CAD and inhibits TGF-β1.
Association between mean corpuscular volume and severity of coronary artery disease in the Northern Chinese population: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Wang Huaiyu , Yang Guang , Zhao Juan , Wang Mengchang
Published: March 2020

Objective

This study was performed to explore the relationship between the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in the Northern Chinese population.

Methods

In total, 1326 patients who underwent coronary angiography from July 2015 to February 2017 were retrospectively enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Coronary artery stenosis was evaluated by the Gensini score. Linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the association between the severity of CAD and the MCV.

Results

Patients within the fourth quartile of the Gensini score had a significantly higher MCV than those within the third, second, and first quartiles (94.1 ± 6.7 vs. 93.2 ± 6.4 vs. 92.8 ± 5.1 vs. 92.6 ± 6.2, respectively). After adjustment for potential confounding factors, the multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the MCV was significantly associated with the severity of CAD. Additionally, the red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and red blood cell count were significantly associated with the severity of CAD.

Conclusions

These results suggest that the MCV, RDW, and red blood cell count are correlated with and may serve as biomarkers for the severity of CAD.
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) stimulates changes in dendritic cell surface marker expression in vitamin D-deficient mice
Authors: Yang Huifeng , Zhan Yang , Wu Haotian , Xiang Liangbi
Published: March 2020

Objective

Vitamin D (VD) deficiency increases susceptibility to tuberculosis and is an important immunomodulator. Dendritic cells (DCs) are important antigen-presenting cells that play a critical role during tuberculosis infection, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis modulates DC responses. The underlying mechanism is poorly understood. Our aim was to study changes in DC surface markers in VD deficient mice administered Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG).

Methods

We divided C57BL/6 mice into a normal group and a VD deficient group. Two groups of mouse bone marrow-derived cells were isolated and cultured with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (20 ng/mL) and interleukin-4 (10 ng/mL) for 6 days. On day 7, BCG (0, 1 or 2 mg/mL) was administered to both groups for 24 hours. Non-adherent cells were harvested to assess DC phenotypic changes induced by different concentrations of BCG.

Results

Expression levels of CD80, MHC-I, MHC-II and CD86 on the surfaces of DCs from VD deficient mice were lower than those in DCs from normal mice. By contrast, the expression level of CD11c on DCs was higher in VD deficient mice than in normal mice. Changes in all factors were concentration-dependent.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that BCG reduced DC surface marker expression to modulate immune responses during M. tuberculosis infection.
Effect of Sex and Ankle Brace Design on Knee Biomechanics During a Single-Leg Cut
Authors: Ihmels Wyatt D. , Seymore Kayla D. , Brown Tyler N.
Published: March 2020

Background:

Despite success at preventing ankle sprain, prophylactics that restrict ankle plantarflexion motion may produce deleterious knee biomechanics and increase injury risk.

Purpose:

To determine if ankle prophylactics that restrict plantar- and dorsiflexion motion produce changes in knee biomechanics during a single-leg cut and whether those changes differ between sexes.

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

A total of 17 male and 17 female participants performed a single-leg cut with 4 conditions: Ankle Roll Guard (ARG), lace-up brace, nonelastic tape, and an unbraced control. Peak stance knee flexion, abduction, and internal rotation joint angle and moment; total knee reaction moment (TKM) and its components (sagittal, frontal, and transverse); and ankle plantarflexion and inversion range of motion (ROM) and peak stance joint moments were tested with a repeated measures analysis of variance to determine the main effect and interaction of condition and sex.

Results:

Brace and tape restricted plantarflexion ROM as compared with ARG and control (all P < .001). With the brace, women had increased peak knee abduction angle versus ARG ( P = .012) and control ( P = .009), and men had decreased peak knee internal rotation moment as compared with ARG ( P = .032), control ( P = .006), and tape ( P = .003). Although the restrictive tape decreased inversion ROM when compared with ARG ( P = .004) and brace ( P = .017), it did not change knee biomechanics. Neither brace nor tape produced significant changes in TKM or components, yet sagittal TKM increased with ARG versus control ( P = .016). Women exhibited less ankle inversion ROM ( P = .003) and moment ( P = .049) than men, while men exhibited significantly greater frontal TKM ( P = .022) and knee internal rotation moment with the ARG ( P = .029), control ( P = .007), and tape ( P = .016).

Conclusion:

Prophylactics that restrict ankle plantarflexion motion may elicit knee biomechanical changes during a single-leg cut, but these changes may depend on prophylactic design and user’s sex and may increase women’s injury risk.

Clinical Relevance:

Sex-specific ankle prophylactic designs may be warranted to reduce knee injury during sports.
Intracranial Epidural Abscess in a 9-Year-Old Boy With Precocious Puberty and Use of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
Authors: Edlund Wendy , Patel Neil , DeLone David , Kotagal Suresh
Published: March 2020

Intracranial extension of rhinosinusitis is rare in children. We report a 9-year-old immunocompetent boy with central precocious puberty and obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome who developed an intracranial epidural abscess secondary to rhinosinusitis while on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment. A retrospective review of the medical record and imaging studies was performed. MEDLINE and Cochrane databases were searched for reports of epidural abscess developing in patients receiving CPAP treatment or in patients with precocious puberty. Intracranial extension of frontal rhinosinusitis is more common during puberty probably because of the active growth of the frontal sinuses and their rich blood supply. Controlled studies show no increase with rhinosinusitis in adults on CPAP; no published studies assess intracranial extension of rhinosinusitis in CPAP use. Patients with unexplained, severe headache and fever following CPAP use may require neuroimaging (magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] / contrast computed tomography) to rule out intracranial extension of sinusitis.
A novel device to capture circulating tumor cells: Quantification and molecular analysis in lung cancer patients
Authors: Cheng Yuxin , Shen Jie , Yuan Ling , Yang Yan , Shen Xiaoyan , Qian Hanqing , Yu Lixia , Li Rutian , Lv Xin , Yan Tingting , Li Yan , Wang Lifeng , Liu Baorui
Published: March 2020

Here, we describe a novel microfilter device to capture circulating tumor cells in an efficient and low-cost manner. Then, we validated the safety and clinical utility of the novel microfilter device. We next performed mutation analysis from circulating tumor cells collected from lung cancer patients using this new device. Our results indicate that this microfilter system can be used to investigate the genome landscape of circulating tumor cells collected from lung cancer patients. Further, our results highlight a proof-of-concept demonstration indicating that circulating tumor cell can be used for mutation profiling during tumor evolution, therapy prediction, and monitoring, with immediate clinical applicability.
Quality of Life of People With Alzheimer Disease: Comparison Between Dyads Degree of Kinship
Authors: Nogueira Marcela Moreira Lima , Neto Jose Pedro Simões , Dourado Marcia Cristina Nascimento
Published: March 2020

The quality of life (QoL) of people with Alzheimer disease (PwAD) may be influenced by the type of relationship between carer and the PwAD. Dyads of 98 PwAD/carers (N = 49 spouse-carers; N = 49 nonspouses carers) were measured about QoL, cognition, dementia severity, awareness of disease, functionality, depression, anxiety, and burden of care. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to identify the factors that influenced the spouse and nonspouse self-report PwAD QoL (PQOL) and to compare carers’ ratings of PwAD QoL (C-PQOL). The total score of QoL for spouse and nonspouse PwAD showed no significant difference ( P = .29). The linear regression demonstrated that higher awareness of disease was significantly related to spouse PQOL ( P = .001). Nonspouse PQOL was negatively related to lower depression ( P = .007). The total score of QoL for spouse and nonspouse C-PQOL showed no significant difference ( P = .14). The linear regression demonstrated that depression of spouse-PwAD ( P < .001) and burden of care ( P = .001) were negatively related to spouse-dyads’ C-PQOL. The nonspouse-dyads C-PQOL was negatively related to depression of nonspouse-PwAD ( P < .001), awareness of disease ( P = .001), and the mood of the carer ( P = .01). Spouse and nonspouse PwAD evaluate PQOL better than carers (C-PQOL). No significant difference was found in the total PQOL and C-PQOL of spouse and nonspouse, but dyads evaluated differently about what is important to assess QoL.
Disentangling the Roles of Cue Visibility and Knowledge in Adjusting Cognitive Control: A Preregistered Direct Replication of the Farooqui and Manly (2015) Study
Authors: Bejjani Christina , Dolgin Jack , Zhang Ziwei , Egner Tobias
Published: March 2020

Recent research suggests that people can learn to link the control process of task switching to predictive cues so that switch costs are attenuated following informative precues of switch likelihood. However, the precise conditions that shape such contextual cuing of control are not well understood. Farooqui and Manly (2015) raised the possibility that cued task switching is more effective when cues of control demand are presented subliminally. In the current study, we aimed to replicate and extend these findings by more systematically manipulating whether cues of control demand are consciously perceived or are presented subliminally and whether participants have explicit prior knowledge of the cue meaning or acquire cue knowledge through experience. The direct replication was unsuccessful: We found no evidence for effective subliminal cuing but observed some evidence for participants reducing switch costs with explicit, supraliminal cues. Thus, cognitive control may be guided most effectively by explicitly understood and consciously perceived precues.
Improved two-stage estimation to adjust for treatment switching in randomised trials: g-estimation to address time-dependent confounding
Authors: Latimer NR , White IR , Tilling K , Siebert U
Published: March 2020

In oncology trials, control group patients often switch onto the experimental treatment during follow-up, usually after disease progression. In this case, an intention-to-treat analysis will not address the policy question of interest – that of whether the new treatment represents an effective and cost-effective use of health care resources, compared to the standard treatment. Rank preserving structural failure time models (RPSFTM), inverse probability of censoring weights (IPCW) and two-stage estimation (TSE) have often been used to adjust for switching to inform treatment reimbursement policy decisions. TSE has been applied using a simple approach (TSEsimp), assuming no time-dependent confounding between the time of disease progression and the time of switch. This is problematic if there is a delay between progression and switch. In this paper we introduce TSEgest, which uses structural nested models and g-estimation to account for time-dependent confounding, and compare it to TSEsimp, RPSFTM and IPCW. We simulated scenarios where control group patients could switch onto the experimental treatment with and without time-dependent confounding being present. We varied switching proportions, treatment effects and censoring proportions. We assessed adjustment methods according to their estimation of control group restricted mean survival times that would have been observed in the absence of switching. All methods performed well in scenarios with no time-dependent confounding. TSEgest and RPSFTM continued to perform well in scenarios with time-dependent confounding, but TSEsimp resulted in substantial bias. IPCW also performed well in scenarios with time-dependent confounding, except when inverse probability weights were high in relation to the size of the group being subjected to weighting, which occurred when there was a combination of modest sample size and high switching proportions. TSEgest represents a useful addition to the collection of methods that may be used to adjust for treatment switching in trials in order to address policy-relevant questions.
The Effect of Recovery Warm-up Time Following Cold Storage on the Dynamic Glucose-stimulated Insulin Secretion of Isolated Human Islets
Authors: Alcazar Oscar , Alvarez Alejandro , Ricordi Camillo , Linetsky Elina , Buchwald Peter
Published: March 2020

Standardized islet characterization assays that can provide results in a timely manner are essential for successful islet cell transplantation. A critical component of islet cell quality is β-cell function, and perifusion-based assessments of dynamic glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) are the most informative method to assess this, as they provide the most complex in vitro evaluation of GSIS. However, protocols used vary considerably among centers and investigators as they often use different low- and high-glucose concentrations, exposure-times, flow-rates, oxygen concentrations, islet numbers, analytical methods, measurement units, and instruments, which result in different readouts and make comparisons across platforms difficult. Additionally, the conditions of islet storage and shipment prior to assessment may also affect islet function. Establishing improved standardized protocols for perifusion GSIS assays should be an integral part of the ongoing effort to increase the rigor of human islet studies. Here, we performed detailed evaluation of GSIS of human islets using a fully automated multichannel perifusion instrument following various warm-up recovery times after cold storage that corresponds to current shipping conditions (8°C). We found that recovery times shorter than 18 h (overnight) resulted in impaired insulin secretion. While the effects were relatively moderate on second-phase insulin secretion, first-phase peaks were restored only following 18-h incubation. Hence, the biphasic profile of dynamic GSIS was considerably affected when islets were not allowed to recover for a sufficient time after being maintained in cold. Accordingly, while cold storage might improve islet cell survival during shipment and prolong the length of culture, functional assessments should be performed only after allowing for at least overnight recovery at physiological temperatures.
Numerical investigation of micro-cracking behavior of brittle rock containing a pore-like flaw under uniaxial compression
Authors: Wong Louis Ngai Yuen , Peng Jun
Published: March 2020

Pore-like flaws, which are commonly encountered in brittle rock, play an important role in the engineering performance of structures constructed in or on rock. Experimental and numerical investigations of micro-cracking mechanism of rock containing a pore-like flaw can enhance our knowledge of rock damage/failure from a microscopic view. In this study, the influences of a two-dimensional circular pore-like flaw with respect to its diameter and position on the strength and micro-cracking behavior of brittle rock under uniaxial compression are numerically investigated. The results reveal that the strength and elastic modulus are significantly affected by the diameter and position in the pore. The uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus of the numerical model with a pore diameter of 15.44 mm located in the center of the model are found to decrease by 58.6% and 56.4% respectively when compared with those of the intact model without a pore. As the pore position varies while the porosity remains unchanged, the simulated uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus are also found to be generally smaller than those of the intact model without a pore. When a pore-containing numerical model is loaded, the micro-cracks are found to mostly initiate at the top and bottom of the pore, due to the local tensile stress increase. The simulation results of the early-stage micro-cracking process and stress distribution are in a generally good agreement with the analytical solution obtained from the Kirsch equations. The grain-based model used in this study can not only study the crack initiation on the boundary of the pore but also provide a convenient means to analyze and visualize the temporal and spatial micro-cracking process after the crack initiation, which accounts for the variations in the simulated strength and modulus satisfactorily from a micro-cracking view.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of femtosecond laser–enabled keratoplasty versus conventional penetrating keratoplasty
Authors: Liu Yang , Li Xiaojun , Li Wenjie , Jiu Xudong , Tian Mannan
Published: March 2020

Purpose:

The aim of this meta-analysis is to compare femtosecond laser–enabled keratoplasty with conventional penetrating keratoplasty regarding postoperative astigmatism, visual functions, graft rejection, graft failure, and complications.

Methods:

Eligible studies were retrieved from five mainstream electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrial.gov. Postoperative topographic astigmatism was set as the primary outcome, and best-corrected visual acuity, spherical equivalent, endothelial cell density, graft rejection, graft failure, and complications were chosen as the secondary outcomes. Standard mean difference and risk ratio were the size effects for continuous data and binomial data, respectively. The data were pooled through either the random-effects model or the fixed-effects model based on data heterogeneity. Moreover, subgroup analyses were conducted when the heterogeneity occurred distinctly (I2 > 50%).

Results:

A total of seven comparative studies were included. The pooled standard mean difference (−0.32, 95% confidence interval: −0.74 to 0.10) showed that femtosecond laser–enabled keratoplasty was not superior over conventional penetrating keratoplasty to decrease postoperative topographic astigmatism (p = 0.14). However, best-corrected visual acuity after femtosecond laser–enabled keratoplasty was significantly better than that after conventional penetrating keratoplasty (p = 0.00, standard mean difference: −0.23, 95% confidence interval: −0.37 to −0.10). Furthermore, endothelial cell density after femtosecond laser–enabled keratoplasty was preserved significantly better (p = 0.03, standard mean difference: 0.63, 95% confidence interval: 0.07–1.20). Moreover, spherical equivalent, graft rejection, graft failure, and complications represented no distinct differences between femtosecond laser–enabled keratoplasty and conventional penetrating keratoplasty (p > 0.05).

Conclusion:

Femtosecond laser–enabled keratoplasty may not be superior over conventional penetrating keratoplasty in decreasing postoperative topographic astigmatism, but might have advantages to achieve best-corrected visual acuity and endothelial cell density preservation. In addition, the two techniques seem to be comparable regarding spherical equivalent, graft rejection/failure, and complications.
A novel missense mutation of CRYBB1 causes congenital cataract in a Chinese family
Authors: Ji Yanan , Zhao Xiangyu , Zhang Juanmei , Zhang Dan , Tian Chunliu , Zhang Linlin , Zhao Youcai , Zhao Jun
Published: March 2020

Objective of the study:

To identify the pathogenic gene and mutation site of a Chinese family with congenital cataract.

Methods:

Eight family members and 100 controls were employed, and targeted exome sequencing was used to identify the genetically pathogenic factor of the proband.

Results:

Targeted next-generation sequencing identified a novel missense mutation c.209A>C (p.Q70P) of CRYBB1 gene in the family. Sanger sequencing results showed that this heterozygous mutation was a causative mutation, which was not found in unaffected family members and healthy controls. Bioinformatics predicts that the effect of this mutation on protein function is probably harmful.

Conclusion:

We demonstrate that c.209A>C of CRYBB1 gene is a pathogenic mutation in the family of congenital nuclear cataract in this study. This is the first report that this mutation leads to congenital nuclear cataract, which broadens the mutation spectrum of CRYBB1 gene in congenital nuclear cataract.
Laudan’s error: Reasonable doubt and acquittals of guilty people
Authors: Vecchi Diego Dei
Published: March 2020

Proof beyond a reasonable doubt (BARD) is one of the most fundamental requirements of American criminal law and other legal systems. Professor Larry Laudan has criticised this requirement for several reasons. His main contention is that the BARD formula converts evidential support into subjective confidence, and is therefore not a genuine standard of proof. At the same time, Laudan holds that BARD produces a large number of guilty defendant’s acquittals due to its excessive demand for evidence. The aim of this article is to show that Laudan’s argument regarding the number of guilty defendant’s acquittals is unacceptable. Perhaps the real ratio of false negatives to false positives were what Laudan holds them to be, yet he fails to provide any suitable argument to support his claim, or to attribute the alleged frequency of errors to a particular standard of proof—BARD or otherwise.
Disappearing acts: Content moderation and emergent practices to preserve at-risk human rights–related content
Authors: Banchik Anna Veronica
Published: March 2020

Human rights groups, journalists, and “open source investigators” increasingly depend on social media platforms to collect eyewitness media documenting possible human rights violations and conflicts. And yet, this content—often graphic, controversial, even uploaded by perpetrators—is often removed by the platforms, for various reasons. This article draws on in-depth interviews to examine how practitioners reliant on human rights–related content understand, experience, and deal with platform content moderation and removals in their day-to-day work. Interviews highlighted that both the actual and anticipated removal of social media content complicated and added to practitioners’ work. In addition, practitioners unevenly possess the technical, financial, and organizational resources to mitigate the risks and ramifications of removal by preserving content and appealing content moderation decisions. This article sheds light on the impacts of content moderation for stakeholders other than the primary account holders, and highlights platforms’ affordances and shortcomings as archives of war.
Tourist engagement and citizenship behavior: The mediating role of relationship quality in the hotel industry
Authors: Shafiee Majid Mohammad , Tabaeeian Reihaneh Alsadat , Khoshfetrat Atefeh
Published: March 2020

Tourist engagement has recently emerged in both academic and practitioner discussions. However, empirical inquiry on tourist engagement as a predictor of tourist citizenship behavior is scarce. The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between tourist engagement, relationship quality, and tourist citizenship behavior in hotels. Participation and social interaction have been considered the tourist engagement dimensions. Relationship quality as a multidimensional variable included satisfaction, trust, commitment, and intimacy, while tourist citizenship behavior is defined as a unidimensional variable. A structural equations approach was applied to the 690 data sets obtained from travelers of selected hotels. The results indicate that tourist engagement dimensions have a positive impact on the relationship quality dimensions. On the other hand, the effect of relationship quality dimensions on tourist citizenship behavior has been positive. This research can help researchers and hotel managers find ways to strengthen relationship quality between hotels and customers. Regarding hotels’ limited resources for promotional activities, the results could help managers formulate plans to persuade tourists to express citizenship behavior toward hotels, which help hotels establish competitive advantages.
(Re)Thinking children as fully (in)human and literacies as otherwise through (re)etymologizing intervene and inequality
Authors: Kuby Candace R , Rucker Tara Gutshall
Published: March 2020

In response to the guest editors’ call to attend to literacy and language as bodily practices and to (re)think social inequality in young children’s literacies, we read a couple of publications by Rosi Braidotti, Maggie MacLure, Nathan Snaza, Sarah Truman and Karin Murris (and others) in relation to a personal narrative gameboard coming to be in a second-grade Writers’ Studio. We also engage in (re)etymologizing the words intervene and inequality. (Re)etymologizing is an enquiry practice of searching for the meanings and origins of words not in an effort to know the words, find their true meaning(s), or to nail-down the definitions, but rather in an effort to unmake the words and think differently. Through these musings, writings and thinkings, we explore the question posed by the guest editors: How can we think literacy otherwise? In doing so, we offer invitations and questions for the reader to ponder related to the ethics and justice orientation of poststructural and posthumanist theories and what they have to offer early childhood literacies.
Tuning into ‘fleshy’ frequencies: A posthuman mapping of affect, sound and de/colonized literacies with/in a primary classroom
Authors: Dernikos Bessie P
Published: March 2020

Within this article, I attend to the slippages among sound, silence, noise, voice and ir/rationality to map out the ways white supremacist forces subtly moved with/in a primary classroom (NYC) through a host of bodies and sounds to reinforce processes of affective assimilation – or demands for first graders to ‘ feel white’. Specifically, I explore how particular sounds as well as the insistence on silence – that is, sound directed in a certain way – circulated within Readers Workshop to discipline students into ‘white’ affective rhythms. In effect, students – mainly boys of colour – who did not consume/produce the sounds of whiteness were initially labelled as ‘struggling readers’. I then show how students resisted the norm through their affective attachments to the book character Messy Bessey and my name/physical body. Ultimately, the students’ love for Bessey/me enabled new affective entanglements between humans and nonhumans that ran ‘pedagogical interference’ into the school’s mandated literacy curriculum and racialized identity scripts, thereby opening up opportunities for ‘struggling readers’ to become ‘successful’. I conclude by inviting literacy educators to consider what it might mean to say no to those space-times that make social and cultural discriminations possible and, in turn, say yes to other ‘fleshy’ worlds where more response-able ways of listening, sounding, knowing, being and doing exist.
Dementia awareness, beliefs and barriers among family caregivers in Pakistan
Authors: Balouch Sara , Zaidi Asghar , Farina Nicolas , Willis Rosalind
Published: March 2020

Objectives

Dementia research and services in Pakistan are limited. The following was explored in experiences of family caregivers of people with dementia in Pakistan: (a) to determine whether culture and religion play a role in caregiving; (b) to draw insights on how family caregivers cope, what barriers they face and what help they would be willing to accept and (c) to determine how these findings could be used to raise awareness and influence public policies in improving the lives of families living with dementia.

Methods

The experiences of family caregivers of people with dementia in Pakistan were explored via semi-structured interviews (10 in Lahore; 10 in Karachi). This was part of a larger qualitative study conducted about dementia in Pakistan. Caregivers interviewed were aged 35–80 (14 female). Most caregivers in the study were educated and affluent. Interviews were conducted in Urdu, translated into English and thematically analysed.

Results

Five themes emerged: knowledge and awareness; stigma; importance of religion and duty to care; use of day care centres and home-help; and barriers. A lack of dementia awareness exists in Pakistan. The religious duty to care for family influenced caregiving decisions. Day care centres and home-help were accessed and viewed positively. The caregivers also wanted extracurricular activities for people with dementia, support groups for caregivers and better training for healthcare staff. Novel findings included that caregivers felt that dementia should not be stigmatised, and awareness should be raised in Pakistan via TV, radio and social media, but not inside mosques.

Discussion

Additional research is necessary to determine if positive views of day care centres and home-help exist more widely. Attitudes and experiences regarding stigma may be different for caregivers of people with more advanced dementia. We recommend raising dementia awareness, allocating more funds to dementia services and an emphasis on home-based care.
Inhibition of myeloperoxidase increases revascularization and improves blood flow in a diabetic mouse model of hindlimb ischaemia
Authors: Weihrauch Dorothee , Martin Dustin P , Jones Deron , Krolikowski John , Struve Janine , Naylor Stephen , Pritchard Kirkwood A
Published: March 2020

Objective:

Diabetes mellitus is a significant risk factor for peripheral artery disease. Diabetes mellitus induces chronic states of oxidative stress and vascular inflammation that increase neutrophil activation and release of myeloperoxidase. The goal of this study is to determine whether inhibiting myeloperoxidase reduces oxidative stress and neutrophil infiltration, increases vascularization, and improves blood flow in a diabetic murine model of hindlimb ischaemia.

Methods:

Leptin receptor–deficient ( db/db) mice were subjected to hindlimb ischaemia. Ischaemic mice were treated with N-acetyl-lysyltyrosylcysteine-amide (KYC) to inhibit myeloperoxidase. After ligating the femoral artery, effects of treatments were determined with respect to hindlimb blood flow, neutrophil infiltration, oxidative damage, and the capability of hindlimb extracellular matrix to support human endothelial cell proliferation and migration.

Results:

KYC treatment improved hindlimb blood flow at 7 and 14 days in db/db mice; decreased the formation of advanced glycation end products, 4-hydroxynonenal, and 3-chlorotyrosine; reduced neutrophil infiltration into the hindlimbs; and improved the ability of hindlimb extracellular matrix from db/db mice to support endothelial cell proliferation and migration.

Conclusion:

These results demonstrate that inhibiting myeloperoxidase reduces oxidative stress in ischaemic hindlimbs of db/db mice, which improves blood flow and reduces neutrophil infiltration such that hindlimb extracellular matrix from db/db mice supports endothelial cell proliferation and migration.
Relationship of Nurse-Led Education Interventions to Liver Transplant Early Readmission
Authors: Dols Jean Dowling , Chargualaf Katie A. , Gordon Amy , Pomerleau Theresa , Mendoza Anna , Schwarzbach Clare , Gonzalez Marcela
Published: March 2020

Introduction:

Early hospital readmission following liver transplantation is associated with lower survival and worse long-term graft function. Language, cultural practices, and health literacy influence patient understanding of posttransplant care education. Complex medication regimes, changes in metabolism and nutrition absorption, and infection/rejection further complicate the prevention of readmission.

Purpose:

The purpose of this study was to compare the 30-day readmissions of single-organ liver transplant recipients for 1-year prior and 1-year following the implementation of nurse-led education. The study examined the demographics, clinical characteristics, and 30-day readmissions of 35 liver transplant recipients who participated in the newly designed nurse-led education and 51 liver transplant recipients who experienced the prior post-liver transplant education.

Design:

A single-center, correlational study with a convenience sample was conducted at a Hispanic-serving South Texas hospital. The new education intervention maintained the standard education and added twice-daily mutual patient-focused goal setting between the nurse and the recipient that aligned with readiness for discharge activities/goals, structured education using abbreviated handouts written at a second-grade level available in both English and Spanish, and the use of repetition through multimodal methods.

Results:

The odds for 30-day readmissions the year prior to the nurse-led patient education intervention were 2.088 times greater than the year following the implementation. Thirty-day readmissions were reduced by 16.3% from the 2017 cohort to the 2018 cohort.

Discussion:

Understanding unique risk factors facilitates structured patient education which can be individualized to the patient and caregiver including collaborative nurse–patient goals.
How Evidence-Based Practice (E3BP) Informs Speech-Language Pathology for Primary Progressive Aphasia
Authors: Ruggero Leanne , Croot Karen , Nickels Lyndsey
Published: March 2020

Amelioration of communication impairment in primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is an area of clinical importance and current research. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have a range of skills and interventions to support communication in PPA; however, underrecognition of their role and low referral rates is an ongoing concern. The E3BP conceptualization of evidence-based practice comprises 3 components: research-based evidence, practice-based evidence, and informed patient preferences. Here, we will describe how evidence for managing the communication difficulties experienced by individuals with PPA exists at all 3 levels of the (E3BP) model, highlighting how this allows SLP interventions to be both evidence based and patient centered. We encourage health professionals to value and utilize the wide range of services that SLPs can offer when working with individuals with PPA, to educate, remediate everyday linguistic skills, increase daily participation, and maximize overall quality of life.
A Biomechanical Examination of Prefabricated Total Contact Cast Kits: Relevance to Patients With Diabetic Neuropathy
Authors: Ersen Ali , Lavery Lawrence A. , Monga Aakshita , Richardson Mike , Schwarz Brandy , Quiben Myles U. , Garrett Alan G. , Flyzik Mike , Wukich Dane K. , Yavuz Metin
Published: March 2020

The traditional Total Contact Cast (TCC) is considered the gold standard for treating plantar diabetic ulcers. A number of prefabricated TCC kits have been introduced, which offer a user-friendly casting process for health care providers. Our objective was to evaluate pressure reduction and gait characteristics after application of a TCC kit (TCC-EZ) and traditional TCC. Fifteen individuals (9 males, 6 females; median age of 51.5 years [range = 40.5-71.2 years]) completed 30-m walking trials while fitted with TCC-EZ and TCC in a randomized order. A pair of automated wireless photogate sensors captured time to traverse the distance and pedobarographic insoles measured and recorded plantar pressures. Paired t tests were used to compare peak pressure, gait speed, and cast weights across the 2 modalities. Peak pressure and cast weight were significantly lower in the TCC-EZ arm (169.6 ± 41.3 kPa vs 214.9 ± 63.2 kPa, P = .0048; and 1.79 ± 0.17 kg vs 2.11 ± 0.25 kg, P = .0004). Contact area and gait speed were not significantly different between the 2 modalities (140.4 ± 25.8 cm2 vs 126.9 ± 37.8 cm2, P = .0228, Cohen’s d = 0.40; and 0.94 ± 0.19 m/s vs 0.83 ± 0.26 m/s, P = .0532, Cohen’s d = .48). TCC-EZ was found to provide more favorable pressure distributions compared with TCC. TCC-EZ is also lighter and may be a preferred treatment modality for patients. More research is necessary to reveal the clinical effectiveness of prefabricated total contact kits.
Situating the Appeal of Fortnite Within Children’s Changing Play Cultures
Authors: Carter Marcus , Moore Kyle , Mavoa Jane , Horst Heather , gaspard luke
Published: March 2020

Fortnite is a massively multiplayer online “battle royale” game that rapidly grew in 2018 to become one of the most popular digital games in the world, with a reported peak of 10.8 million concurrent players and 250 million registered players in March 2019. Based on 24 interviews with young people aged 9–14 (17 boys and 7 girls), this article sets out to provide an account of the appeal and experience of Fortnite. While it is impossible to pinpoint exactly why Fortnite has been such a phenomenal, global success, in this article, we argue that its appeal can be better explained by its intersections with YouTube and game livestreaming, the way the game acts as a vehicle for social capital and the performance of identity, and the rich sociality of play.
Mesoporous Silica Hybridized With Gadolinium(III) Nanoplatform for Targeted Magnetic Imaging–Guided Photothermal Breast Cancer Therapy
Authors: Wang Longqing , Sun Xiaofeng
Published: March 2020

Achieving drug target accumulation in antitumor tissue, simultaneous diagnostic imaging, and optimal release behavior with treatment needs a best chemotherapy procedure involving receptive switch of drug delivery. Constructed on mesoporous silica nanoparticles, which are crossed with multiscale charming nanoparticles for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-aided and alternate magnetic field (AMF) response chemotherapy for breast cancer, we report in this work the assembly of a new theranostics drug conveyance process. Hydrothermal processes (gadolinium(III) oxide nanoparticles [Gd-NPs]) and heat decomposition process (radical size uFe-NPs) were used to prepare superparamagnetic Gd-NPs with multiscale sizes. Gadolinium(III) oxide nanoparticles act as an AMF-responsive heat mediator, while ultra-Fe nanoparticles (uFe-NPs) act as an MRI T2 contrast mediator. Nanoparticles of the mesoporous silica with radially oriented mesochannels were further grown in situ on the surfaces of the Gd-NPs, and the uFe-NPs anticancer drug doxorubicin can be easily incorporated in the mesochannels. To provide better targeting capabilities for the as-synthesized biotin-loaded nanohybrids, the particle surfaces are updated with biotin (Bt). This optimized drug conveyance method based on nanocomposites of SiO2 demonstrated great efficiency of medication charging and receptive properties of AMF stimulus release. However, tests of MRI in vitro showed an outstanding contrast effect in MRI with a high stimulation quality (299 mM−1 s−1). In contrast, the study of in vitro cytotoxicity assessment revealed that an MRI-directed stimulus-mediated theranostics tool can be used as a drug conveyance device to efficiently treat breast cancer.
Effects Induced In Vivo by Exposure to Magnetic Signals Derived From a Healing Technique
Authors: Beseme Sarah , Fast Loren , Bengston William , Turner Michael , Radin Dean , McMichael John
Published: March 2020

Energy healing is a therapy said to manipulate and balance the flow of “energies” in the body. One such technique, the Bengston Healing Method (BHM), has shown some success in healing malignant tumors in animals and humans, but the mechanism of action and factors influencing therapeutic success of this method are poorly understood. In this study, we tested in vivo the antitumor potential of magnetic signals recorded during BHM healing. Balb/c mice engrafted with 4T1 breast cancer cells were exposed to this recording for 4 h/d on a weekly or daily basis for 28 days; control mice were not exposed at all. Tumors showed a trend to grow slower in the treatment versus control group during the fourth week of treatment. Elevated leukocyte counts, associated with an increase in blood levels of granulocyte–macrophage colony stimulating factor and interleukin-6, were observed in tumor-bearing mice exposed to the BHM recording but not in healthy animals exposed to the recording. This suggests that exposure to a recording of BHM may induce a biological response in tumor-bearing mice, but limited effects on tumor growth when observed within the predefined end point of 28 days. Studies involving longer end points are recommended to observe the progression of tumor growth.