bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mismatch Profile Influences Outcome After Mechanical Thrombectomy
Authors: Olivot Jean-Marc , Albucher Jean-François , Guenego Adrien , Thalamas Claire , Mlynash Michael , Rousseau Vanessa , Drif Amel , Christensen Soren , Sommet Agnes , Viguier Alain , Darcourt Jean , Calvière Lionel , Menegon Patrice , Raposo Nicolas , Januel Anne-Christine , Bonneville Fabrice , Tourdias Thomas , Mazighi Mikael , Sibon Igor , Albers Gregory W. , Cognard Christophe , Chollet François , Barbieux Marianne , Michelozzi Caterina , Tall Philippe , Caparros François , Pouzet Brigitte , Calvas Fabienne , Galitzki Monique , Renou Pauline , Rouanet François , Berge Jerome , Marnat Gauthier , Lucas Ludovic , Coignon Cyrielle , Sagnier Sharmila , Debruxelle Sabrina , Ledure Sylvain
Published: December 2020

Background and Purpose:

Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is the recommended treatment for acute ischemic stroke caused by anterior circulation large vessel occlusion. However, despite a high rate of reperfusion, the clinical response to successful MT remains highly variable in the early time window where optimal imaging selection criteria have not been established. We hypothesize that the baseline perfusion imaging profile may help forecast the clinical response to MT in this setting.

Methods:

We conducted a prospective multicenter cohort study of patients with large vessel occlusion–related acute ischemic stroke treated by MT within 6 hours. Treatment decisions and the modified Rankin Scale evaluation at 3 months were performed blinded to the results of baseline perfusion imaging. Study groups were defined a posteriori based on predefined imaging profiles: target mismatch (TMM; core volume <70 mL/mismatch ratio >1.2 and mismatch volume >10 mL) versus no TMM or mismatch (MM; mismatch ratio >1.2 and volume >10 mL) versus no MM. Functional recovery (modified Rankin Scale, 0–2) at 3 months was compared based on imaging profile at baseline and whether reperfusion (modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction 2bc3) was achieved.

Results:

Two hundred eighteen patients (mean age, 71±15 years; median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, 17 [interquartile range, 12–21]) were enrolled. Perfusion imaging profiles were 71% TMM and 82% MM. The rate of functional recovery was 54% overall. Both TMM and MM profiles were independently associated with a higher rate on functional recovery at 3 months Adjusted odds ratios were 3.3 (95% CI, 1.4–7.9) for TMM and 5.9 (95% CI, 1.8–19.6) for MM. Reperfusion (modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction 2bc3) was achieved in 86% and was more frequent in TMM and MM patients. Reperfusion was associated with a higher rate of functional recovery in MM and TMM patients but not among those with no MM.

Conclusions:

In this cohort study, about 80% of the patients with a large vessel occlusion–related acute ischemic stroke had evidence of penumbra, regardless of infarction volume. Perfusion imaging profiles predict the clinical response to MT.
Meaningful Work
Authors: Voswinkel Stephan
Published: December 2020

Though work is important for people’s self-esteem and recognition, the sociology of work pays little attention to the meaning of work. This reflects that work in capitalist societies tends to be alienated. But empirical findings show that employees nevertheless try to appropriate their work by asking for its meaning. They claim for a meaningful work and for the possibility to execute work in a meaningful way. If they have to carry out work they feel to be meaningless they can suffer psychological strain. Meaning has not only an individual dimension but it refers to the meaning for society and other people and there are social institutionalizations of recognized meanings of work. Fordism and flexible capitalism are connected to different forms of alienation and difficulties to appropriate work as meaningful. Therefore, meaningful work is embedded in relations of collegiality and cooperation and can be damaged by the fragmentation of work.
‘The Masses Make History’: On Jameson’s Allegory and Ideology
Authors: Noys Benjamin
Published: December 2020

This essay responds to Frederic Jameson’s Allegory and Ideology by arguing that this book is centrally concerned with the masses. By developing Jameson’s own model of allegorical reading, the pressure of the masses on the text is explored. This is demonstrated through a reading of Albert Camus’s The Plague, Jameson’s central example of ‘bad’ allegory. While this novel is ‘bad’ for implying a one-to-one allegorical relationship between the plague infection and the Occupation of France during World War Two, or to the human condition, a reading of the text as biopolitical allegory reveals the complex presence of the masses. Finally, this response considers the ‘immortality’ of the masses as the utopian moment traced within Allegory and Ideology.
On the Reform, Measures and Evolution of the Journalism System in Late Soviet Union
Authors: Juxi Zhang , Wenjuan Wang
Published: December 2020

Using a combination of literature analysis and historical literature comparison methods, the study analyzes the international and domestic social background of Glasnost and journalism reform, reviews and studies Gorbachev’s objectives, measures and development process of carrying out journalism reform. Journalism reform is a part of Glasnost and also a method demand of other reforms within socialism. The implementation of the reform of the journalism has taken a variety of measures, and has gone through three historical stages: impediment stage, expansion stage and development of liberalization stage. The results show that the failure of journalism reform and the disintegration of the state are caused by the political and economic situation in the Soviet Union and the historical legacy problems. However, a series of improper measures carried out by the journalism reform undoubtedly accelerated the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
Religious Parental Transmission and the Importance of Authenticity
Authors: Høeg Ida Marie
Published: December 2020

During the last decades, European historic churches have experienced a decline in the number of baptisms. This paper maps, describes, and analyses existing relevant empirical research from the Norwegian context by focusing on the social-economic transformation of the society and how it has impacted upon the parents’ generation and the transmission of Christian tradition. The paper examines empirical studies of parents who are themselves baptized in the Church of Norway but have opted out of infant baptism for their child. The paper argues that this practice refers jointly to consumption and the subjectivation of worldviews. The parents’ narratives give the child a strong voice. They emphasize the child’s authenticity and the child’s right to make his/her own decisions. Embedded in consumption norms, the parents relate to a plural market of religious and secular alternatives where the child is viewed as a future actor for positive encounters and critical views.
Corporate Belligerency and the Delegation Theory from Grotius to Westlake
Authors: Giladi Rotem
Published: December 2020

This article starts with a critical reflection on John Westlake’s reading of the history of empire and the English/British East India Company – for him, essentially, the proper concern of ‘constitutional history’ rather than international law. For Westlake, approaching this history through the prism of nineteenth-century positivist doctrine, the Company’s exercise of war powers could only result from state delegation. Against his warnings to international lawyers not to stray from the proper boundaries of international legal inquiry, the article proceeds to recover Hugo Grotius’s theory of corporate belligerency in his early treatise De iure praedae. For Grotius, corporations could wage public war on behalf of the state yet, at the same time, were in law capable of waging private war in their own right. The article proceeds to reflect on the practice of corporate belligerency in the centuries separating Westlake and Grotius; it concludes with observations on the implications of Grotius’s theory of corporate belligerency today.
Micro Meta Encounters with Revolutionary Temporalities
Authors: El Helou Maya
Published: December 2020

Through the anthropological labor of making sense of everyday life, I question if normative time suffices in capturing revolutionary temporalities.
Cities, States, and Citizens in the Atlantic World: Towards a New Narrative
Authors: Hart Emma , Allison Robert J. , Musselwhite Paul P. , Richter Daniel K. , Peterson Mark
Published: December 2020

In his book Mark Peterson presents an innovative perspective on the development of Boston and its New England hinterland as an early modern city-state. His purpose was to tell the story of Boston in its own right, shedding US national history as the dominant interpretative framework. The four reviewers pick up various strands, focusing, among others, on the validity of the city-state concept, especially as Boston did not become an incorporated city until 1822, criticize what one of them sees as an attempt to return New England to the center of early American historiography, and assess whether the city-state model can be applied elsewhere in early America and in the Atlantic World. In his response, Peterson argues that his aim was not to propose a city-state paradigm for comparative purposes, but rather to employ the city-state concept as the best way to explain Boston’s historical trajectory over two centuries, and to highlight the contingency of US history.
The Phonology of Anglicisms in French, German and Czech: A Contrastive Approach
Authors: Duběda Tomáš
Published: December 2020

In this article, I analyse the phonological adaptation of Anglicisms in three languages (French, German and Czech) from a contrastive perspective. The classification of standard phonological forms, based on a system of eight adaptation principles, aims at capturing the degree of phonological permeability/resistance for each of the languages. Phonological approximation (the substitution of foreign phonemes with native ones) seems to be the fundamental principle in all three languages analysed. The spelling pronunciation principle is observed predominantly in French; phonological import occurs only in German. Globally, phonological resistance increases in the following order: German – Czech – French.
Grammaticalization of Progressive Aspect in a Slavic Dialect in Albania
Authors: Makartsev Maxim
Published: December 2020

The article focuses on two markers of progressive aspect that are emerging in a Balkan Slavic dialect in Albania, presumably under Albanian influence. One of them dates back to locative (ǵe ‘where’). Two processes intertwine on the grammaticalisation path of the other (toko): originally an adversative conjunction (‘but’), it was structurally mapped to its polysemic (adversative, but also affirmative, progressive, conditional) Albanian counterpart po. At the same time, its choice to mark progressive was additionally motivated by the phonetic similarity with another Albanian progressive marker duke. In the first third of the 20th century both markers were used as synonyms. However, during the subsequent process of language attrition the language community in question split into three groups regarding the use of the markers: of the last six remaining speakers one speaker used only ǵe as an optional marker; one speaker used toko as an optional marker; four other speakers used toko as a regular progressive marker.
Phonological Variation and Prosodic Representation: Clitics in Portuguese-Veneto Contact
Authors: Guzzo Natália Brambatti , Garcia Guilherme Duarte
Published: December 2020

In a variety of Brazilian Portuguese in contact with Veneto, variable vowel reduction in clitic position can be partially accounted for by the phonotactic profile of clitic structures. We show that, when phonotactic profile is controlled for, vowel reduction is statistically more frequent in non-pronominal than in pronominal clitics, which indicates that these clitic types are represented in separate prosodic domains. We propose that this difference in frequency of reduction between clitic types is only possible due to contact with Veneto, which, unlike standard BP, does not exhibit vowel reduction in clitic position. Contact thus provides speakers with the possibility of producing clitic vowels without reduction, and the resulting variation is used to signal prosodic distinctions between clitic types. We show that the difference in frequency of reduction is larger for older speakers, who are more proficient in Veneto and use the language regularly.
Waqf as a Political Weapon
Authors: Meier Astrid
Published: December 2020

The aim of this article is to highlight the political uses of the legal concept of waqf in a confrontation between an Orthodox and a Catholic institution during the initial phase of the schism within the Church of Antioch. The Monastery of St Catherine at Mount Sinai confronted the hospice of the Franciscans in the court of the Chief Judge of the province of Damascus in 1145/1733. The legal aspects of the lawsuit are an interesting example of the use of the Ottoman judiciary by non-Muslims, but in order to understand the political implications of the case, it needs to be analysed in the broader context of the religious and political tensions of the time. Therefore, a sketch of the history of both monasteries and their endowments is supplemented with a chapter on the role of Sylvestros, Patriarch of Antioch, in Damascus and an examination of the French and Spanish interests within this Ottoman context.
The Editorial Opinion of the Mainstream Media During the Catalan Elections of 2017: A Madrid–Barcelona Comparative Study
Authors: Xicoy-Comas Enric , Perales-García Cristina , Xambó Rafael
Published: December 2020

This article is a follow-up to an article published in the American Behavioral Scientist in 2017, titled “Shaping public opinion for confrontation: Catalan independence claims as represented in Spanish, Catalan, Valencian, and Basque Editorials.” At that time, our study was based on opinions expressed in mainstream newspaper editorials during two significant events in Catalonia’s recent history: the demonstration against the Spanish Constitutional Court ruling on the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of July 10, 2010, and the mass pro-independence demonstration held on September 11, 2012. The research sought to compare the press reports published in Catalonia, Valencia, and the Basque Country with those from the rest of Spain (primarily Madrid).

This study applies the same methodology to analyze editorial pieces published during the campaign prior to the Catalan parliamentary elections on December 21, 2017. This date was historically significant for Catalonia because for the first time since the restoration of democracy following the Franco regime, the Spanish state had intervened in Catalonia’s self-rule by using Article 155 of the Spanish constitution to call snap elections. At the time, the lead candidates for the pro-independence parties were Oriol Junqueras (Republican Left of Catalonia) and Carles Puigdemont (Together for Catalonia), the former in prison and the latter abroad (or in “exile,” according to secessionists). In light of the opposing opinions and perspectives, we believe it is worth analyzing and comparing mainstream editorials from Catalonia (Barcelona) and Spain (Madrid) once again, to ascertain the dominant narratives used in both to explain the Catalan and Spanish position and frame of reference. We have extended the scope to include mainstream online as well as printed media with a view to achieving a better understanding and providing a wider overview of the public agenda and debate at that time.
Advancing the Study of Police Innovation: Toward an Empirical Definition and Classification of Contemporary Police Innovations
Authors: Matusiak Matthew C. , King William R.
Published: December 2020

Police innovation is frequently referenced in the policing literature, but it is less frequently defined, applied, or operationalized by scholars. This situation has led to definitional ambiguity and variation, which limits the development of innovation as a scientific construct. We present a conceptualization of innovation and classification of innovations through exploratory factor analysis with data collected from chiefs of police. Our findings suggest that chiefs weigh newness or novelty only partially when judging innovativeness. Chiefs also appear to classify innovativeness in terms of the utility that innovations provide to organizational operations. Our findings suggest a disconnect between prior literature and practitioners in how innovation is viewed, which hampers its conceptual development in the literature.
Regulators, Pivotal Clinical Trials, and Drug Regulation in the Age of COVID-19
Authors: Lexchin Joel , Graham Janice , Herder Matthew , Jefferson Tom , Lemmens Trudo
Published: December 2020

Medicine regulators rely on pivotal clinical trials to make decisions about approving a new drug, but little is known about how they judge whether pivotal trials justify the approval of new drugs. We explore this issue by looking at the positions of 3 major regulators: the European Medicines Agency, Food and Drug Administration, and Health Canada. Here we report their views and the implications of those views for the approval process. On various points, the 3 regulators are ambiguous, consistent, and demonstrate flexibility. The range of views may well reflect different regulatory cultures. Although clinical trial information from pivotal trials is becoming more available, regulators are still reluctant to provide detailed information about how that information is interpreted. As medicines and vaccines come up for approval for treatment of COVID-19, transparency in how pivotal trials are interpreted will be critical in determining how these treatments should be used.
Neighbourhood effects on psychotic and depressive symptoms in the context of religious sectarianism in Northern Ireland: A data linkage study
Authors: Bosqui Tania , Shannon Ciaran , Anderson Richard , Turkington Aidan , Barrett Suzanne , McCaul Rosalind , Cooper Stephen , O’Donnell Donna , Rushe Teresa , Mulholland Ciaran
Published: December 2020

Background:

The incidence of psychotic disorders is higher in ethnic minorities groups. The ‘ethnic density effect’, in which living in a neighbourhood with a low own-group proportion increases the risk of psychosis, is one explanatory factor. The density effect in the ethno-religious and sectarian context of Northern Ireland has been found to be reversed, particularly for Catholics, in which there is harmful effect of high own-group density areas. This is partly explained by high urbanicity, deprivation and unemployment, but is otherwise not well understood.

Aims:

This study aimed to examine the density effect at the level of symptomology (positive and negative psychosis symptoms and depressive symptoms) in a representative sample of people with a first episode of psychosis in Northern Ireland.

Method:

Data linkage methodology was used drawing on data from the Northern Ireland First Episode Psychosis Study (NIFEPS) and the 2001 Census of Northern Ireland.

Results:

In total, 223 people between the ages of 18 to 64 were included in the study. A significant density effect was found for Catholics for total psychosis scores, but not for positive, negative and depressive symptoms, nor for general psychopathology, after adjusting for individual and area characteristics. The model accounted for just over 12% of the variance. No effect was found for Protestants.

Conclusion:

The findings suggest that the density effect for Catholics is unrelated to the core features of psychosis (hallucinations, delusions and anhedonia) but rather to broader cognitive and emotional disturbances and area deprivation. Explanations of exposure to social adversity and inequality are proposed, with implications for public mental health and social policy.
Two cosine wave elastic-plastic contact model
Authors: Guo Tieneng , Hua Xu , Meng Lingjun , Yan Zhijie , Peng Liwei
Published: December 2020

Based on Hertz elastic contact theory, the contact mechanics model of two cosine wave is established. The mechanical characteristics of the model in the elastic, elastic-plastic, and plastic stages were studied. The influence of load on contact deformation and other characteristics is considered. The finite element method is used to analyze the deformation process of the model, and the results are compared with those of the mechanical model. The effects of amplitude and wavelength of cosine wave on its mechanical characteristics are discussed. The results show that the model reflects the relationship between the load and the mechanical characteristics of the model, and the difference of amplitude and wavelength will affect this characteristic.
Optimal design of blade in pump as turbine based on multidisciplinary feasible method
Authors: Sen-chun Miao , Hong-biao Zhang , Ting-ting Wang , Xiao-hui Wang , Feng-xia Shi
Published: December 2020

In order to make the pump as turbine (PAT) run efficiently and safely, a multidisciplinary optimization design method for PAT blade, which gives consideration to both the hydraulic and intensity performances, is proposed based on multidisciplinary feasibility (MDF) optimization strategy. This method includes blade parametric design, Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) experimental design, CFD technology, FEA technology, GA-BP neural network and NSGA-II algorithm. Specifically, a parameterized PAT blade with cubic non-uniform B-spline curve is adopted, and the control point of blade geometry is taken as the design variable. The LHS experimental design method obtains the sample points of training GA-BP neural network in the design space of variables. The hydraulic performance of each sample point (including the hydraulic pressure load on the blade surface) and the strength performance analysis of blades are completed by CFD and FEA technology respectively. In order to save calculation time of the whole optimization design, the multi-disciplinary performance analysis of each sample in the optimization process is completed by single-coupling method. Then, GA-BP neural network is trained. Finally, the multi-disciplinary optimization design problem of PAT blade is solved by the optimization technology combining GA-BP neural network and NSGA-II algorithm. Based on this optimization method, the PAT blade is optimized and improved. The efficiency of the optimized PAT is improved by 1.71% and the maximum static stress on the blade is reduced by 7.98%, which shows that this method is feasible.
Digital Technology and Older People: Towards a Sociological Approach to Technology Adoption in Later Life
Authors: Neves Barbara Barbosa , Mead Geoffrey
Published: December 2020

Despite increasing social pressure to use new digital technologies, older people’s adoption of them remains below other age groups. This article contributes a sociological dimension to exploring what facilitates learning and using digital technology in later life. We focus on the understudied group of older people who are frail, living in care homes and most likely to be digitally excluded or restricted. Drawing on data from a longitudinal mixed methods study of a co-designed communication app for older people, we explore how attempts to bridge the ‘digital divide’ unfold in time. Using the concept of affordances, we show how adoption of a new communication technology is shaped by its design, learning contexts and surrounding social actors. With this work we contribute to novel sociological understandings of technology adoption that are critical for digital inequality research.
Condom Use and HIV/AIDS Among Young People in Edo State, Nigeria
Authors: Tenkorang Eric Y.
Published: December 2020

This study used the Information Motivation Behavioral (IMB) skills model to examine condom use among rural youth in Edo State, Nigeria. Data were collected from 4,801 youth aged 11 to 17 years attending Junior Secondary Schools. Analysis focused on 1,749 (Male = 1,134, Female = 615) sexually active youth. Random-effects ordinal logit models were used to examine the effects of the various components of the IMB framework on frequency of condom use. Gender-specific models were estimated. Results provided qualified support for the IMB. Specifically, youth who communicated with teachers and peers about condoms and HIV had higher odds of saying they used condoms always than sometimes or never. Compared to males who did not think they could get HIV, those who thought they probably could get infected were less likely to use condoms frequently. Similarly, compared to those who didn’t, females who knew others infected with HIV were less likely to use condoms frequently.
Idiopathic systemic capillary leak syndrome – An often missed diagnosis
Authors: Rajan Remya , Kapoor Nitin , Asha Hesarghatta S , Paul Thomas V , Thomas Nihal
Published: December 2020

Idiopathic systemic capillary leak syndrome (ISCLS) is a potentially fatal disorder characterised by ‘attacks’ of varying intensity of hypovolemic shock in association with haemoconcentration and hypoalbuminaemia. It is a disease of exclusion, and the severity of attacks may mimic sepsis at presentation. We report a case of a lady with recurrent attacks of ISCLS with at least two life-threatening episodes, having been treated elsewhere as a case of steroid insufficiency. The diagnosis is often challenging, and treatment of an acute episode involves the judicious use of fluids and vasopressors, as required. Prophylaxis to prevent further attacks is of varied success.
Tangled compositions: Botany, agency, and authorship aboard HMS Endeavour
Authors: Bil Geoff
Published: December 2020

By all accounts, James Cook’s HMS Endeavour sojourn in Tahiti was a pivotal moment in Enlightenment engagements between Indigenous and European cultures. Among the voyage records that survive, the Endeavour draftsman Sydney Parkinson’s Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas (1773) is widely viewed as anomalous for the depth and breadth of its interests in Indigenous Tahitian culture and plant knowledge. This essay complicates that view, with emphasis on the contingencies peculiar to the Journal’s publication and to Parkinson’s own authorial biography. Drawing on Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s concept of the rhizome, I analyze Parkinson’s account alongside the botanist Daniel Solander’s historiographically underutilized “Plantae Otaheitenses” manuscript. In so doing, I offer an alternative reading of the Journal as archetypal rather than exceptional in its attention to Indigenous cultures and knowledges. At stake, I suggest, is an enhanced appreciation for Indigenous–European botanical engagements and for Enlightenment print culture more broadly, as well as for the nebulously adisciplinary and collaborative nature of Enlightenment natural history field practices.
Using community information for natural disaster alerts
Authors: Chen Chun Chieh , Wang Hei-Chia
Published: December 2020

Recently, the ceaseless rise in the global average temperature has led to extreme climates in which natural disasters, such as droughts, hurricanes, earthquakes and floods, are becoming increasingly serious. Recent research has found that social media typically reflects disasters earlier than official communication channels. In this study, the idea of collecting information on flood disasters caused during the periods of typhoons and heavy rains for a city from the plain text messages released by social media by means of a term frequency (TF) and sliding window approach is proposed. The dataset analysed here contains a total of 292 articles and 12,484 tweets. This research determines how to establish a warning mechanism, with an added notification time for flooding disasters, and it shows how to provide relevant disaster relief personnel with references. This article contributes by combining social media data with emergency management information cloud (EMIC) data, especially in the context of having a mechanism for warning about flooding disasters. According to the experimental results, a sliding window of 90 min and a sliding gap of 10 min obtained the best F-measure value ( F = 0.315). The event studied was Typhoon Megi (September 2016), which caused major flooding in Tainan. For the Typhoon Megi event, the flood disaster location database had 161 streets available for matching. Based on the experimental results, it is possible to obtain a high-precision (90% or higher) accuracy rate from real-time tweet data by exploiting a social media dataset.
Shortcuts?
Authors: Rasmussen David M.
Published: December 2020

Democracy without Shortcuts is a book written in the shadow of the work of the later Rawls while within the framework of the later Habermas to whom the book is dedicated. The ultimate contention of Cristina Lafont is that her orientation to participatory deliberative democracy is ‘without shortcuts’, while the other orientations to deliberative democracy take shortcuts. I have a suspicion that this claim is somewhat ironic, an issue that I will take up after reviewing the argument of the book.
Book review: Vasudha Dalmia, Fiction as History: The Novel and the City in Modern North India
Authors: Orsini Francesca
Published: December 2020

Vasudha Dalmia, Fiction as History: The Novel and the City in Modern North India, Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2017, 428 pp., ₹995.
Food order and glucose excursion in Indian adults with normal and overweight/obese Body Mass Index: A randomised crossover pilot trial
Authors: Lee Ching Li , Shyam Sangeetha , Lee Zi Yi , Tan Jie Lene
Published: December 2020

Background:

Postprandial glycaemia has an impact on health but there is limited data about the effect of food order on postprandial glycaemia by body weight status.

Aim:

To investigate the effects of food order on postprandial glucose (PPG) excursion, in Indian adults with normal (NL) and overweight/obese (OW) Body Mass Index.

Methods:

This randomised crossover study was conducted at a Malaysian university among Indian adults without diabetes. The participants consumed isocaloric test meals at three study visits based on randomised food orders: carbohydrate first/protein last (CF); protein first/carbohydrate last (CL); and a composite meal containing carbohydrate and protein (CM). Capillary blood glucose was measured at baseline, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after starting the meal.

Results:

The CL food order had a blunting effect on PPG excursion at 30 and 60 minutes ( p < 0.01). The CL food order resulted in lower glucose peak when compared with the CF and CM food order ( p < 0.001). The CL food order resulted in lower incremental glucose peak (mmol/L) (NL: CF 3.9 ± 0.3, CM 3.0 ± 0.3, CL 2.0 ± 0.2; OW: CF 2.9 ± 0.3, CM 2.5 ± 0.3, CL 1.8 ± 0.2) and iAUC 0–120 min (mmol/Lxmin) (NL: CF 272.4 ± 26.7, CM 206.2 ± 30.3, CL 122.0 ± 14.8; OW: CF 193.2 ± 23.1, CM 160.1 ± 21.7, CL 113.6 ± 15.3) when compared with the CF food order ( p < 0.001). The effect of food order on postprandial excursion did not differ between the NL ( n = 14) and the OW ( n = 17) groups.

Conclusion:

In participants with normal and overweight/obese BMI, consuming food in the protein first/carbohydrate last order had the biggest effect in reducing PPG excursion.
Expression of recombinant Schistosoma japonicum protein rSjE16 and its effects on LX-2 cells in vitro
Authors: Gao Wenxi , Peng Wenxia , Ji Xingpei , Zhu Dandan , Chen Jinling , Feng Jinrong , Yu Yang , Duan Lian , Duan Yinong
Published: December 2020

Objective

The activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is a key event in schistosome-induced liver fibrosis. Previous studies have shown that soluble egg antigens and the recombinant P40 protein from Schistosoma japonicum eggs inhibit HSC activation. In the present study, we observed the direct effect of the S. japonicum recombinant (r)SjE16 protein on HSCs.

Methods

The sequence of SjE16 was analyzed by bioinformatics. Then western blotting, quantitative PCR, and MTT assays were performed to observe the effects of rSjE16 on HSCs.

Results

The SjE16 protein has no signal peptide or transmembrane region. rSjE16 significantly inhibited expression levels of α-smooth muscle actin and collagen I protein in LX-2 cells. rSjE16 also significantly increased the expression levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, and enhanced the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ in LX-2 cells. LX-2 cell viability was not inhibited by rSjE16.

Conclusion

rSjE16 may be involved in the progression of HSC activation via a complex molecular mechanism, which requires further study to fully understand.
Acute myocardial infarction as the first sign of infective endocarditis: a case report
Authors: Zhao Jian , Yang Jing , Chen Wei , Yang Xiaomin , Liu Yaoting , Cong Xiaoliang , Huang Zhigang , Li Na
Published: December 2020

Infective endocarditis is a bacterial or fungal infection of the heart valves or endocardial surface, and it frequently forms vegetation and can lead to systemic embolism. Dislodged vegetation rarely results in coronary artery embolism (CAE) and subsequent acute myocardial infarction. A 43-year-old male patient was emergently brought to our hospital for suspected acute myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography was performed and it showed embolism in the left circumflex artery. Thrombus aspiration was performed during coronary angiography. Echocardiography showed formation of vegetation in the posterior leaflet of the mitral valve and multiple blood cultures showed Listeria monocytogenes. Infective endocarditis was diagnosed. Three weeks later, debridement of subacute bacterial endocarditis, mitral valve replacement, and tricuspid valvuloplasty were successfully conducted. Our findings suggest that CAE should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. Aspiration of coronary embolus during coronary angiography followed by surgical intervention of diseased heart valves is a plausible strategy for managing CAE in infective endocarditis.
Contrast Negation Impairs Sorting Unfamiliar Faces by Identity: A Comparison With Original (Contrast-Positive) and Stretched Images
Authors: Sandford Adam , Pec Dominica , Hatfield Angelisa N.
Published: December 2020

Recognition of unfamiliar faces is difficult in part due to variations in expressions, angles, and image quality. Studies suggest shape and surface properties play varied roles in face learning, and identification of unfamiliar faces uses diagnostic pigmentation/surface reflectance relative to shape information. Here, participants sorted photo-cards of unfamiliar faces by identity, which were shown in their original, stretched, and contrast-negated forms, to examine the utility of diagnostic shape and surface properties in sorting unfamiliar faces by identity. In four experiments, we varied the presentation order of conditions ( contrast-negated first or original first with stretched second across experiments) and whether the same or different photo-cards were seen across conditions. Stretching the images did not impair performance in any measures relative to other conditions. Contrast negation generally exacerbated poor sorting by identity compared with the other conditions. However, seeing the contrast-negated photo-cards last mitigated some of the effects of contrast negation. Together, results suggest an important role for surface properties such as pigmentation and reflectance for sorting by identity and add to literatures on informational content and appearance variability in discrimination of facial identity.
Addressing Nursing Scholarship: A Framework for Currency and Number of References
Authors: Owens Jacqueline K. , Nicoll Leslie H. , Carter Templeton Heather , Chinn Peggy , Oermann Marilyn H. , Edie Alison H. , De Gagne Jennie C.
Published: December 2020

Background

Timeliness and number of references in written work is often a topic of controversy. Decisions about choice of references become complex when there is little recent published information or a great deal of important historical work on a topic.

Purpose

The study aim was to develop a framework to guide authors to determine the number and currency of references to support their writing.

Methods

This study used a descriptive design with three steps: review of journal author information for guidance about reference currency (n = 247); correspondence with journal editors (n = 27); and a survey of nurse educators (n = 44) regarding currency and number of references in written assignments.

Results

Findings affirmed that recent literature is vital for nursing scholarship. Numerical guidelines offered were not based on identifiable consensus or rationale. Historical perspectives published over 5 or 10 years earlier are valued, even sometimes required. For a clinical paper, citation of the most current literature is viewed by editors and educators as essential, and may suffice.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of this study and our search of the literature, we developed three decision making algorithms for searching the literature and selecting references by currency and number.
The Experience of Violence Against Women Who Use Injection Drugs: An Exploratory Qualitative Study
Authors: Kitson Cynthia , O’Byrne Patrick
Published: December 2020

Background

While literature exists about persons who use injection drugs, few studies explore the experience of women who use these substances. Furthermore, even less research specifically focuses on the lives and experiences of homeless women who use injection drugs. What literature does exist, moreover, is often dated and primarily addresses concerns about infectious disease transmission among these women; and some highlight that these women have lives fraught with violence.

Purpose

To update this knowledge and better understand the lives of women who use injection drugs in the Canadian context.

Methods

We undertook an exploratory qualitative study and we engaged in semi-structured interviews with 31 homeless women who use injection drugs in downtown Ottawa, Canada. We analyzed the data using the principles of applied thematic analysis.

Results

Our data identified that violence pervaded the lives of our participants and that these experiences of violence could be categorized into three main areas: early and lifelong experiences of violence; violence with authority figures (e.g., police, healthcare); and societal violence toward women who use injection drugs.

Conclusions

We take these findings to mean that, violence toward women is rampant in Canada (not just internationally) and that healthcare workers play a role in propagating and addressing this violence.
Echocardiographic Features of Cardiac Injury Related to COVID-19 and Their Prognostic Value: A Systematic Review
Authors: Shafiabadi Hassani Neda , Shojaee Abbas , Khodaprast Zeynab , Sepahvandi Roya , Shahrestanaki Ehsan , Rastad Hadith
Published: December 2020

Background:

The available information on the echocardiographic features of cardiac injury related to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and their prognostic value are scattered in the different literature. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the echocardiographic features of cardiac injury related to COVID-19 and their prognostic value.

Methods:

Published studies were identified through searching PubMed, Embase (Elsevier), and Google scholar databases. The search was performed using the different combinations of the keywords “echocard*,” “cardiac ultrasound,” “TTE,” “TEE,” “transtho*,” or “transeso*” with “COVID-19,” “sars-COV-2,” “novel corona, or “2019-nCOV.” Two researchers independently screened the titles and abstracts and full texts of articles to identify studies that evaluated the echocardiographic features of cardiac injury related to COVID-19 and/or their prognostic values.

Results:

Of 783 articles retrieved from the initial search, 11 (8 cohort and 3 cross-sectional studies) met our eligibility criteria. Rates of echocardiographic abnormalities in COVID-19 patients varied across different studies as follow: RV dilatation from 15.0% to 48.9%; RV dysfunction from 3.6% to 40%; and LV dysfunction 5.4% to 40.0%. Overall, the RV abnormalities were more common than LV abnormalities. The majority of the studies showed that there was a significant association between RV abnormalities and the severe forms and death of COVID-19.

Conclusion:

The available evidence suggests that RV dilatation and dysfunction may be the most prominent echocardiographic abnormality in symptomatic patients with COVID-19, especially in those with more severe or deteriorating forms of the disease. Also, RV dysfunction should be considered as a poor prognostic factor in COVID-19 patients.
Ethical Significance of Being Present With Others During the Pandemic Era
Authors: Milton Constance L.
Published: December 2020

Human presence with others is vital in the healthcare experience for those who are giving and receiving services, especially during the upheaval unfolding concurrently with a pandemic. The author wishes to explore the notion of telepresence, uniquely defined as a potential living quality priority for those experiencing hospitalization and/or isolation from others. The ethical implications will be undergirded utilizing the humanbecoming enduring truths of reverence, betrayal, awe, and shame.
Thoughts About Power
Authors: Fawcett Jacqueline , Zhang Yao
Published: December 2020

The purpose of this essay is to present a discussion of various perspectives of power. The essay includes dictionary definitions of power and descriptions of power within the context of a nursing conceptual model, nursing theories of power, and medicalization of patient care. Noteworthy is that some perspectives highlight the contrast between a negative, control-based approach and a positive approach that rejects control of or over anyone.
Humanbecoming Hermeneutic Sciencing: A Global Perspective on Presence in “In Harm’s Way”
Authors: Baumann Steven L. , Sepulveda-Pacsi Alsacia L.
Published: December 2020

The purpose of this article is to report the details of the humanbecoming hermeneutic sciencing of presence in In Harm’s Way. Humanbecoming hermeneutic sciencing is dialoguing with an artform by discoursing with penetrating engaging, interpreting with quiescent beholding, and understanding with inspiring envisaging. The artform explored in this article is the comments and images of 60 nurses from around the world included in The New York Times story titled “In Harm’s Way.” The report is on the meaning of presence as lived and talked about by nurses on the front lines at the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Job Strain and Late-Life Cognition: Findings From the Puerto Rican Elderly Health Conditions Study
Authors: Vigoureux Taylor F. D. , Nelson Monica E. , Andel Ross , Small Brent J. , Dávila-Roman Ana Luisa , Crowe Michael
Published: December 2020

Objectives: We examined associations between job strain and cognitive aging in a sample of older Puerto Ricans. Methods: Members of the Puerto Rican Elderly: Health Conditions study, aged 60–100 years at baseline, participated. Job strain indicators were quantified from O*NET ( n = 1632) and a matrix of Job Content Questionnaire scores (JCQ; n = 1467). Global cognition was assessed twice across 4 years. Results: Controlling for age, sex, depressive symptoms, financial problems, hypertension, diabetes, childhood economic hardship, low job control and high job strain were consistently associated with greater cognitive decline. Adding education attenuated these associations. High education strengthened the JCQ job control-cognitive change link. Discussion: Low job control and high job strain may accelerate cognitive aging in this population. However, it may be more difficult to disentangle the intersecting roles of education and job strain in cognitive aging among older Puerto Ricans relative to older adults from contiguous United States or Europe.
Inferring median survival differences in general factorial designs via permutation tests
Authors: Ditzhaus Marc , Dobler Dennis , Pauly Markus
Published: December 2020

Factorial survival designs with right-censored observations are commonly inferred by Cox regression and explained by means of hazard ratios. However, in case of non-proportional hazards, their interpretation can become cumbersome; especially for clinicians. We therefore offer an alternative: median survival times are used to estimate treatment and interaction effects and null hypotheses are formulated in contrasts of their population versions. Permutation-based tests and confidence regions are proposed and shown to be asymptotically valid. Their type-1 error control and power behavior are investigated in extensive simulations, showing the new methods’ wide applicability. The latter is complemented by an illustrative data analysis.
Intravenously Injected Pluripotent Stem Cell–derived Cells Form Fetomaternal Vasculature and Prevent Miscarriage in Mouse
Authors: Daimon Atsushi , Morihara Hirofumi , Tomoda Kiichiro , Morita Natsuko , Koishi Yoshinori , Kanki Kazuyoshi , Ohmichi Masahide , Asahi Michio
Published: December 2020

Miscarriage is the most common complication of pregnancy, and about 1% of pregnant women suffer a recurrence. Using a widely used mouse miscarriage model, we previously showed that intravenous injection of bone marrow (BM)-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) may prevent miscarriage. However, preparing enough BM-derived EPCs to treat a patient might be problematic. Here, we demonstrated the generation of mouse pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), propagation of sufficient PSC-derived cells with endothelial potential (PSC-EPs), and intravenous injection of the PSC-EPs into the mouse miscarriage model. We found that the injection prevented miscarriage. Three-dimensional reconstruction images of the decidua after tissue cleaning revealed robust fetomaternal neovascularization induced by the PSC-EP injection. Additionally, the injected PSC-EPs directly formed spiral arteries. These findings suggest that intravenous injection of PSC-EPs could become a promising remedy for recurrent miscarriage.
Factors Affecting High Caries Risk in Children With and Without Cleft Lip and/or Palate: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Chaudhari Prabhat Kumar , Kharbanda Om P. , Chaudhry Rama , Pandey Ravindra Mohan , Chauhan Shashank , Bansal Kalpana , Sokhi Ramandeep Kaur
Published: December 2020

Objective:

The aim of the study was to analyze the caries protective factors, salivary parameters, and microbial counts in high caries risk children with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P).

Design:

This was a cross-sectional study.

Setting:

This study was conducted in a tertiary health care teaching hospital in New Delhi, India.

Participants:

The study was conducted in 40 children, 20 with CL/P and 20 without aged between 5 and 12 years.

Methods:

Children with 2 or more caries lesions in both groups were included in this study. Demographic details, dental caries of affected teeth (World Health Organization criteria for Decayed Missing Filled Teeth [WHO-DMFT] and International Caries Detection and Assessment System [ICDAS II]), caries protective factors, salivary parameters, and microbial counts were recorded by one calibrated investigator.

Main Outcome Measures:

Caries protective factors, salivary parameters, and microbial profile.

Results:

The Chi-square (χ2) test and Pearson correlation were used for statistical analysis. All the children participating in the study brushed their teeth only once in a day and consumed sweets more than twice a day. None of the children had ever received fluoride varnish. Resting saliva had a low buffering capacity in 80% of children with CL/P and 95% of children without CL/P. Microbial assessment of stimulated saliva showed that with the increases in the numbers (DMFT scores ≥4) and severity (ICDAS codes from 1-2 to 5-6) of caries lesions, both Streptococci and Lactobacilli counts were ≥105 colony-forming units/mL of saliva in the both groups.

Conclusions:

Children with CL/P showed limited access to caries protective measures and low buffering capacity in resting saliva, along with elevated levels of salivary Streptococci and Lactobacilli in stimulated saliva.