bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Abstract PR15: Acting at a distance: Medulloblastoma-secreted ligands disrupt normal neural stem cell function
Authors: Gont Alexander , Simonetta Jaclin V. , Park Jenna , Shan Alice R. , Borrett Michael J. , Taylor Michael D. , Miller Freda D. , Kaplan David R.
Published: August 2020

Long-term cognitive impairments are common in pediatric brain cancer survivors. While these impairments are thought to arise following radiation treatment, recent reports suggest a link to tumor-specific mechanisms. We therefore hypothesized that pediatric brain tumors, more specifically medulloblastoma (MB), can directly affect neural stem and precursor cell function in the forebrain stem cell niche—the subventricular zone (V-SVZ) —by secreting bioactive factors. Mice harboring subcutaneous flank MB tumors had fewer proliferating neural precursor cells in the V-SVZ than controls as well as decreased olfactory bulb neurogenesis and white matter oligodendrogenesis. To assess the effects of the MB secretome in the brain, concentrated conditioned media from MB cell lines (MB-CM) was injected intracerebroventricular (ICV) into mouse pups. ICV injection of MB-CM decreased neural precursor cell proliferation as well as decreased numbers of V-SVZ neurospheres in culture. MB-CM from multiple cell lines decreased V-SVZ neurosphere number and promoted astrocyte differentiation in culture. To identify the ligands contributing to the phenotype, an interaction model was developed extracting ligands from MB microarray data, networking them to receptors on NSCs. Of the predicted ligands, IL6-family cytokine expression and secretion was validated in MB cells. When added in culture, recombinant IL6, IL11, and CT1 decreased neurosphere number and ICV injection of IL11 into mouse pups decreased V-SVZ neural precursor cell proliferation. Overall, this work demonstrates that medulloblastoma secretes bioactive compounds that perturb neural stem cell function and the circuity involved in normal cognitive function.

This abstract is also being presented as Poster B64.

Citation Format: Alexander Gont, Jaclin V. Simonetta, Jenna Park, Alice R. Shan, Michael J. Borrett, Michael D. Taylor, Freda D. Miller, David R. Kaplan. Acting at a distance: Medulloblastoma-secreted ligands disrupt normal neural stem cell function [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on the Advances in Pediatric Cancer Research; 2019 Sep 17-20; Montreal, QC, Canada. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(14 Suppl):Abstract nr PR15.
Supplementation with Tetrahydrocurcumin Enhances the Therapeutic Effects of Dexamethasone in a Murine Model of Allergic Asthma
Authors: Wu Yin Fan , Chen Yan Qiu , Li Qin , Ye Xiao Yan , Zuo Xiao , Shi Yi Lin , Guo Xing Yue , Xu Lin , Sun Lin , Li Chun Wei , Yang Yan
Published: August 2020

Background: Tetrahydrocurcumin (THC) is the major active metabolite of curcumin, which is a dietary factor derived from Curcuma species. Our previous study demonstrated a significant beneficial effect of THC in mice with allergic asthma. Glucocorticosteroids (GCs) are commonly used drugs in asthma. Whether THC supplementation could promote the beneficial effects of GC therapy on asthma has not yet been reported. The current study aimed to investigate the combined efficacy of GC and THC treatment in a mouse model of allergic asthma. Methods: BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 5 groups: the control group, ovalbumin (OVA)-induced group, and OVA-induced mice treated with dietary THC only, intraperitoneal injection of dexamethasone (DEX) only, or THC combined with DEX. The nasal symptoms, histopathological alterations of lung tissues, lung cytokine production, and Th cell subsets were assessed. Results: THC or DEX had beneficial effects on nasal symptoms and pathological lung changes, and the therapeutic effects between THC and DEX treatment were comparable. Importantly, compared to the monotherapy groups (THC or DEX only), the combination of THC and DEX showed a significantly reduced nasal rubbing frequency, lower mucus hyperproduction, lower Th2 and Th17 cell numbers as well as lower related cytokine levels (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-17A). Conclusions: Supplementation with THC can enhance the therapeutic effects of DEX to alleviate airway symptoms, lung inflammation, and the Th2 response. Our findings suggest that dietary administration of THC could act as an add-on therapy for asthma treated with GCs.
Magnetism for Librarians. Leone Allacci’s De Magnete (1625) and its Relation to Giulio Cesare LaGalla’s Disputatio de Sympathia et Antipathia (1623)
Authors: Sander Christoph
Published: August 2020

The investigation of magnetic phenomena played a crucial role for the emergence of an experimental approach to natural philosophy in the early modern period. William Gilbert’s De magnete, in particular, and Leonardo Garzoni’s Due trattati, are taken to herald this development. This article brings to light a contrasting approach to magnetism, by analyzing an extensive and hitherto unknown study on the magnet by the Vatican librarian Leone Allacci, and its relation to Giulio Cesare LaGalla’s Disputatio de sympathia et antipathia (1623). Allacci’s De magnete (1625) which survives in a single manuscript, offers a comprehensive literature review on early modern knowledge about the magnet in a variety of disciplines, including natural history, natural philosophy, navigational science, natural magic, and medicine. Allacci incorporates Greek Byzantine authors as well into his doxographical anthology, and he commends the Paracelsian ‘weapon salve,’ which was condemned by most Catholics at his time.
Defining Hellenistic Jews in Nineteenth-Century Germany: The Case of Jacob Bernays and Jacob Freudenthal
Authors: Kurtz Paul Michael
Published: August 2020

Hellenic language and culture occupy a deeply ambivalent place in the mapping of Jewish history. If the entanglement of the Jewish and the Greek became especially conflicted for modern Jews in philhellenic Europe, nowhere was it more vexed than in the German-speaking lands of the long nineteenth century. Amidst the modern redefinition of what it meant to be Jewish as well as doubts about the genuine Jewishness of Hellenistic Judaism, how did scholars identify Jewish authorship behind ambiguous, fragmented, and interpolated texts – all the more with much of the Hebraic allegedly deprived by the Hellenic? This article not only argues for the contingency of diagnostic features deployed to define the Jewish amidst the Greek but also maintains the embeddedness of those features in nineteenth-century Germany. It scrutinizes the criteria deployed to establish Jewish texts and authors of the Hellenistic period: the claims and qualities assumedly suggestive of Judaism. First, the inquiry investigates which characteristics German Jewish scholars expected to see in Greek-speaking Jewish writers of antiquity, interrogating their procedures and their verdicts. Second, it examines how these expectations of antiquity corresponded to those scholars’ own modern world. The analysis centers on Jacob Bernays (1824–1881) and Jacob Freudenthal (1839–1907), two savants who helped establish the modern study of Hellenistic Judaism. Each overturned centuries of learned consensus by establishing an ancient author – Pseudo-Phocylides and Eupolemus, respectively – as Jewish, rather than Christian or pagan. This article ultimately reveals the subtle entanglements as well as the mutually conditioning forces not only of antiquity and modernity but also of the personal and academic, manifest both in the philological analysis of ancient texts and in the larger historiography of antique Judaism in the Graecophone world.
Impacts of MJO on the Intraseasonal Temperature Variation in East Asia
Authors: Kim Sunyong , Kug Jong-Seong , Seo Kyong-Hwan
Published: August 2020

The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is closely related to the intraseasonal variability of surface temperature in East Asia. It has been shown that significant cold surface temperature anomalies are observed in East Asia during MJO phase 3. However, the cooling tendency develops prior to phase 3, suggesting that the cold surface anomalies in East Asia are a delayed and accumulated response to the MJO forcings prior to phase 3. Here, using a thermodynamic equation, it is shown that both meridional advection and adiabatic cooling terms associated with the MJO flow are the dominant contributors to the cooling tendency. The meridional cold advection initially manifests in East Asia in the form of northerly wind anomalies in the eastern part of anticyclonic circulation anomalies that are centered over eastern Europe and develop before the establishment of the cold anomalies. It is suggested that the enhanced convection in the western North Pacific Ocean is responsible for the anomalous anticyclonic flow over eastern Europe with about a 10-day lag via a meridionally propagating Rossby wave train. Further, cooling by the vertical wind component in East Asia is a result of adiabatic cooling interpreted as a reversed local overturning circulation, with downward motion in the tropics and upward motion in the subtropics. This anomalous meridional overturning circulation process initiated from suppressed convection spanning the tropical Indian Ocean to East Asia also takes about 10 days. Therefore, both the Rossby wave propagation and a local overturning circulation induced by the tropical convections play an important role in driving the lagged response of cold surface anomalies in East Asia. Interestingly, these tropical convection forcings are similar to the typical dipole pattern in convection during MJO phase 7, with suppressed Indian Ocean convection and enhanced western North Pacific convection. This implies that the dipole convective forcing during MJO phase 7 possibly leads to the cold anomalies in East Asia following phase 3.
Evaluation of IMERG-E Precipitation Estimates for Fire Weather Applications in Alaska
Authors: Gowan Taylor A. , Horel John D.
Published: August 2020

Large wildfire outbreaks in Alaska are common from June to August. The Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS) is used operationally by Alaskan fire managers to produce statewide fire weather outlooks and forecast guidance near active wildfires. The CFFDRS estimates of fire potential and behavior rely heavily on meteorological observations (precipitation, temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity) from the relatively small number of in situ stations across Alaska with precipitation being the most critical parameter. To improve the spatial coverage of precipitation estimates across Alaska for fire weather applications, a multisatellite precipitation algorithm was evaluated during six fire seasons (1 June–31 August 2014–19). Near-real-time daily precipitation estimates from the Integrated Multisatellite Retrievals for the Global Precipitation Mission (IMERG) algorithm were verified using 322 in situ stations across four Alaskan regions. For each region, empirical cumulative distributions of daily precipitation were obtained from station observations during each summer, and compared to corresponding distributions of interpolated values from IMERG grid points (0.1° × 0.1° grid). The cumulative distributions obtained from IMERG exhibited wet biases relative to the observed distributions for all regions, precipitation amount ranges, and summers. A bias correction approach using regional quantile mapping was developed to mitigate for the IMERG wet bias. The bias-adjusted IMERG daily precipitation estimates were then evaluated and found to produce improved gridded IMERG precipitation estimates. This approach may help to improve situational awareness of wildfire potential across Alaska and be appropriate for other high-latitude regions where there are sufficient in situ precipitation observations to help correct the IMERG precipitation estimates.
The Impact of Weather Forecast Inconsistency on User Trust
Authors: Burgeno Jessica N. , Joslyn Susan L.
Published: August 2020

For high-impact weather events, forecasts often start days in advance. Forecasters believe that consistency among subsequent forecasts is important to user trust and can be reluctant to make changes when newer, potentially more accurate information becomes available. However, to date, there is little empirical evidence for an effect of inconsistency among weather forecasts on user trust, although the reduction in trust due to inaccuracy is well documented. The experimental studies reported here compared the effects of forecast inconsistency and inaccuracy on user trust. Participants made several school closure decisions based on snow accumulation forecasts for one and two days prior to the target event. Consistency and accuracy were varied systematically. Although inconsistency reduced user trust, the effect of the reduction due to inaccuracy was greater in most cases suggesting that it is inadvisable for forecasters to sacrifice accuracy in favor of consistency.
Searching for Grouped Patterns of Heterogeneity in the Climate–Migration Link
Authors: Martínez-Zarzoso I.
Published: August 2020

This paper investigates the extent to which international migration can be explained by climate change and whether this relationship varies systematically between groups of countries. The primary focus is to further investigate the heterogeneous effect found for countries with different income levels using a yearly migration dataset and allowing the country grouping to be data driven. For this purpose, a recently proposed statistical technique is used, the grouped fixed-effects (GFE) estimator, which groups the countries of origin according to the data generating process. The results indicate that, on average, increasing population-weighted temperatures are associated with an increase in emigration rates but that the pattern differs between groups. The relationship is driven by a group of countries mainly located in Africa and central Asia. No statistically robust association is found between population-weighted precipitation and emigration.
Effect of plain strain deformation on grain strengthening mechanism of Fe-Al2O3 metal matrix nanocomposites
Authors: Gupta Vinod Kumar , Harshit Kumar , Jha Arun Kant , Kumar Devendra , Sadasivuni Kishor Kumar , Gupta Pallav
Published: August 2020

The present paper reports the effect of plain strain deformation on grain strengthening mechanism of iron (Fe) - alumina (Al2O3) Metal Matrix Nanocomposites (MMNCs) fabricated through powder metallurgical (P/M) processing. Specimens for the present study were weighed in required amount, ball milled, compacted at a load of 5, 6 and 7 tons followed by sintering in an atmospheric controlled furnace at 1100 °C for 1 hour. Plain strain deformation of samples was carried out at a load of 5 tons under different interfacial condition i.e. dry, solid lubricant and liquid lubricant. XRD studies reveal the formation of iron, alumina and nano iron-aluminate (FeAl2O4) phases respectively. Maximum average sintered density investigated for the specimen is found to be 4.6179 gm/cc compacted under 7 tons of load and minimum sintered density is found to be 4.4572 gm/cc for specimen compacted under 5 tons of load. Overall, fabricated Fe-Al2O3 metal matrix nanocomposites with powder metallurgy route when characterized for plain strain deformation shows strengthening between grain and grain boundary which can be a good candidate material for application in railways especially while designing railway structures and tracks.
Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives? An Analysis of the Impact of COVID-19 on the Ability of Victims of Gender-based Violence to Access Justice
Authors: Speed Ana , Thomson Callum , Richardson Kayliegh
Published: August 2020

On 23 March 2020, the United Kingdom (UK) government introduced new measures aimed at reducing the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19). These measures directed the closure of non-essential businesses and venues, prohibited all public gatherings of more than two people and required everyone to stay at home except for very limited purposes. The rationale behind the measures was clear: Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives. Within days of the lockdown coming into force, reports emerged within the media that services supporting victims of gender-based violence (GBV) were facing an unprecedented increase in demand for assistance, indicating that cases of abuse were on the rise. Although GBV is not caused by lockdown measures, evidence indicates that they may increase the incidence rate and/or the severity of GBV in households where it is already being perpetrated. These findings are in line with existing research which demonstrates that natural disasters, disease and other forms of conflict leave citizens (particularly women and girls) vulnerable to GBV. Preventing and responding to GBV in times of humanitarian crises is a vital but challenging endeavour. Whilst support services struggle to secure adequate resources and capacity, restrictions on leaving the house mean that victims face barriers to reporting abuse and seeking help. Within this context, this article will analyse the impact of Covid-19 on the ability of victims of GBV to access justice. The first part of this article will explore the role of GBV organisations in the UK, the impact of humanitarian crises on reported rates of GBV, and how GBV can be mitigated during the Covid-19 outbreak. The second part of the article examines the effectiveness of the response to the crisis from government and public sector agencies including Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the police. The third and final part of the article presents the findings of a UK wide study conducted by the authors into the impact of Covid-19 on GBV organisations and victims. Throughout the article, recommendations are made as to the ways in which GBV organisations could be more effectively supported to ensure justice for victims at this critical time.
Geopolitical Implications and Challenges of the Coronavirus Crisis for Ukraine
Authors: Klimkin Pavlo , Umland Andreas
Published: August 2020

Among various geopolitical repercussions of the COVID‐19 pandemic are redefinitions of the short‐term priorities of many international organizations. Among others, the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are becoming absorbed by new internal challenges, and are thus even less interested in further enlargement than before. Against this background, Kyiv, Tbilisi, and Chisinau, as well as their Western friends, need to seek new paths to increase the three countries’ security, resilience, and growth before their accession to the West's major organizations. Above all, an alternative way to decrease Ukraine's current institutional isolation is to develop more intense bilateral relations with friendly states across the globe, including Germany and the United States. In Eastern Europe, moreover, Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova should attempt to create new multilateral networks with post‐communist member countries of NATO as well as the EU, and try to become part of such structures as the Three Seas Initiative or Bucharest Nine group.
An Epochal Moment? The COVID‐19 Pandemic and China's International Order Building
Authors: Smith Nicholas Ross , Fallon Tracey
Published: August 2020

This article considers the potential for the COVID‐19 pandemic to represent an epochal moment in international politics, one which China can use as a window to maximize its international order‐building efforts. It is argued that China's putative international order‐building efforts to date have faltered, in part, due to an inability to create meaningful friendships with prominent international powers. However, the COVID‐19 pandemic allows China to play a key humanitarian role in heavily afflicted countries and, through this, perhaps an opportunity to forge more meaningful friendships. It is argued that China is trying to attach its concept of friendship to its humanitarian assistance while also stepping into the clear international leadership void that exists at the moment. This is not without faults or missteps, but the lasting impact could be significant for international politics and the global order.
Are Birds of a Feather Praying Together? Assessing Friends’ Influence on Muslim Youths’ Religiosity in Germany
Authors: Leszczensky Lars , Pink Sebastian
Published: August 2020

Muslim religiosity is often portrayed as a barrier to integration into secular societies, especially in Europe. Scholars suggest that religiously segregated networks reinforce Muslims’ religiosity and religious identification, but solid evidence is scarce. Based on longitudinal German data, we examined whether friendship networks influence Muslim youths’ religiosity. Using stochastic actor-oriented models, we also assessed whether religiosity in turn relates to friendship choices. We found that higher shares of Muslim friends neither increase Muslim youths’ religious identification nor their frequency of prayer, but they are associated with more frequent mosque attendance. Furthermore, Muslim youths assimilated their Muslim friends’ mosque attendance and frequency of prayer. Friends’ actual religious practices, rather than shared group membership, thus seems to shape individual religiosity. Finally, religiosity does not hamper interreligious friendships; it was unrelated to friendship choices. Results are similar for Christian youths, suggesting that these patterns are not unique to Muslims.
Gender as a Moderator of the Effect of Education and Acculturation on Cognitive Function: A Study of Older Korean Immigrants
Authors: Choi Eun Young , Jang Yuri , Chiriboga David A.
Published: August 2020

Objectives: This study examined gender variations in the effect of education and acculturation on cognitive function in a group of older immigrants. Methods: Data were from the Study of Older Korean Americans, a multistate survey of Korean Americans aged 60 years and older ( N = 2061). Multivariate linear regression models of cognitive function, measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination, were tested to examine the independent and interactive effects of education, acculturation, and gender. We hypothesized that gender would be a moderator in the relationships of education and acculturation with cognitive function. Results: Supporting the hypothesis, the positive effect of both education and acculturation was greater among women than men. Furthermore, the positive association of education with cognitive function was pronounced among women with low acculturation. Discussion: Our findings suggest that gender plays a critical role in determining the cognitive health benefit arising from education and acculturation singularly and in concert.
Trauma and healing at Western Australia’s former native missions
Authors: Tiwari Reena , Stephens John Richard
Published: August 2020

In Western Australia, the removal of mixed-descent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island children from parents into church-run institutions has caused ongoing damage to the social and emotional wellbeing of survivors and their descendants. Curtin University and Aboriginal organisations are attempting to utilise a number of defunct mission sites as Healing Centres for Stolen Generation survivors. But the rapid deterioration of missions and restricted access constrain use of the sites. Virtual reality offers a safe and accessible alternative to physical access. Layering this digital environment with knowledge and the lived experience of survivors and interweaving past and present experiences has the potential to provide a powerful platform for healing survivors and their families. A key aspect of this project was to ensure that a strength-based approach is used where Aboriginal people power share and collaborate in the projects ensuring that they have tangible control over their story and heritage.
The late success of Soviet language policy: The integration of Russian verbs in languages of the former Soviet Union
Authors: Forker Diana
Published: August 2020

Purpose:

This study examines the integration of Russian verbs into 50 languages from 12 different language families predominantly spoken in the former Soviet Union with respect to insertion strategies and input forms of Russian verbs. The aim is to test if there are statistically significant distributions between particular insertion strategies and grammatical, areal and sociolinguistic properties of the recipient languages.

Methodology:

This study applies the typological categories developed by Wohlgemuth for the classification of verbal borrowings by distinguishing three major insertion strategies. The donor language is kept constant (Russian). For every recipient language information on all instances of inserted verbs and data on word order, morphological type, language family and relevant social parameters have been gathered.

Data and analysis:

The linguistic data largely come from published sources. Frequency data on the distribution of the insertion strategies are quantitatively analyzed and tested for statistically significant correlations with sociolinguistic and typological parameters and areal location. The distributions are visualized by maps.

Findings:

There are no correlations between insertion strategies and extralinguistic parameters such as the general contact intensity. The two typological features (word order; morphological type) showed some correlations, and areality also plays a certain role. The main factor is the existence of productive insertion strategies within particular families or subbranches. Furthermore, the strategies show different degrees of flexibility with respect to the morphological form of the input and can be ordered along a hierarchy from more flexible (direct insertion) to not flexible at all (paradigm insertion).

Originality:

This is the first attempt to systematically compare the impact of Russian on languages with different genealogical affiliations, typological profiles and sociolinguistic conditions. Russian is an understudied donor language with a complex verbal morphology. This study is meant to undertake the first step towards a comprehensive study of Slavicization.
Do Term Limits “Limit” the Speaker? Examining the Effects of Legislative Term Limits on State Speaker Power
Authors: Shay Laine P.
Published: August 2020

What is the role of legislative term limits in the structure of legislative institutions? Using Mooney’s collective action problem theoretical framework on legislative leadership power, I claim that legislative term limits should be a key determinant in a state Speaker’s power via the delegation of institutional tools that control the lawmaking process. Speakers can use these tools to influence policy outcomes and their colleagues. I test this expectation in an analysis of lower chamber rules in nearly all states between 1981 and 2015. The results indicate that states with implemented term limits are associated with a more powerful Speaker. These findings suggest that a more nuanced relationship between legislative term limits and leadership power exist than previously thought.
Retrospective Study of the Epidemiology, Pathology, and Therapeutic Management in Patients With Mucinous Ovarian Tumors
Authors: Zhang Yuanyuan , Li Chunmei , Luo Suiyu , Su Ying , Gang Xiaoqing , Chu Peiyuan , Zhang JuXin , Wu Henghui , Liu Guangzhi
Published: August 2020

Aim:

We sought to determine the epidemiology of mucinous ovarian tumors, the correlation between serum biomarkers and tumor status, and the outcomes of the management in different subtypes of mucinous ovarian tumors in a Chinese surgical cohort.

Methods:

A total of 513 patients were enrolled from January 2009 to May 2017. The number of patients who had benign mucinous ovarian tumor, borderline mucinous ovarian tumor, or malignant mucinous ovarian tumor was pathologically quantified. All patients underwent surgery with or without postoperative adjuvant therapy. Prognosis was analyzed based on clinicopathological characteristics and the type of treatment received. Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy efficacy and adverse effects in patients were also explored.

Results:

In all, 383 (75%) patients were diagnosed as having benign mucinous ovarian tumor, 76 (14%) patients with borderline mucinous ovarian tumor, and 54 (5%) patients with malignant mucinous ovarian tumor. Levels of serum biomarkers increased as the tumors became more malignant. Patients with stage IA and IC (unilateral) malignant mucinous ovarian tumor who underwent fertility conserving surgery did not experience poorer prognoses when compared to those who received non-fertility conserving surgery. Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy followed by chemotherapy significantly influenced survival rates in patients with a ruptured malignant mucinous ovarian tumor.

Conclusions:

Levels of serum tumor markers, carbohydrate antigen 125, carbohydrate antigen 199, carbohydrate antigen 242, and carcinoembryonic antigen may be useful in monitoring for malignant transformation. Fertility conserving surgery might be a preferable surgical procedure for patients with malignant mucinous ovarian tumor at early stage (IA and IC [unilateral]). Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy appears to be a well-tolerated and promising postoperative adjuvant.
The COVID-19 Mental Health Content Moderation Conundrum
Authors: Gerrard Ysabel
Published: August 2020

At the time of writing (mid-May 2020), mental health charities around the world have experienced an unprecedented surge in demand. At the same time, record-high numbers of people are turning to social media to maintain personal connections due to restrictions on physical movement. But organizations like the mental health charity Mind and even the UK Government have expressed concerns about the possible strain on mental health that may come from spending more time online during COVID-19. These concerns are unsurprising, as debates about the link between heavy social media use and mental illness raged long before the pandemic. But our newly heightened reliance on platforms to replace face-to-face communication has created even more pressure for social media companies to heighten their safety measures and protect their most vulnerable users. To develop and enact these changes, social media companies are reliant on their content moderation workforces, but the COVID-19 pandemic has presented them with two related conundrums: (1) recent changes to content moderation workforces means platforms are likely to be less safe than they were before the pandemic and (2) some of the policies designed to make social media platforms safer for people’s mental health are no longer possible to enforce. This Social Media + Society: 2K essay will address these two challenges in depth.
Tweeting in the Time of Coronavirus: How Social Media Use and Academic Research Evolve during Times of Global Uncertainty
Authors: Kligler-Vilenchik Neta , Stoltenberg Daniela , de Vries Kedem Maya , Gur-Ze’ev Hadas , Waldherr Annie , Pfetsch Barbara
Published: August 2020

Our international research team was in the midst of a comparative study about the day-to-day experience of Twitter users in Berlin and Jerusalem through a series of daily short surveys, when our Jerusalem data were becoming increasingly “compromised” by the growing public concern, and tightening government measures, around the spread of the Coronavirus in Israel. During the two waves of our 10-day survey of salient Twitter users in Jerusalem (March 9–March 19, N = 34; March 23–April 2, N = 25), Israel shifted from 50 confirmed Coronavirus cases to over 6,800 and from relative routine to almost full stay-at-home orders. This essay presents two intersecting narratives. First, we consider the methodological challenges of adapting ongoing academic survey studies to changing conditions. We then offer a mixed-methods analysis of the experiences of our Twitter users and how they saw the Coronavirus crisis shaping their use of Twitter. The essay thus offers a unique methodological and empirical vantage point on how social media use—and academic research—evolve during times of global uncertainty.
The pains of release: Federally-sentenced women’s experiences on parole
Authors: McKendy Laura , Ricciardelli Rosemary
Published: August 2020

Contributing to the international literature on reintegration and parole governance, we examine the release experiences of women ( n=43) who served time in federal Canadian prison through a qualitative content analysis of casework documents. We show that the multiple stressors of release, combined with layers of social marginality, may render the “pains of release” as equally compromising to (albeit distinct from) those associated with imprisonment. Findings reveal several key pains of re-entry for formerly incarcerated women experience: Over stimulation, social disorientation and social precarity; missing “hooks” for new identities; parental and custodial struggles; extensive parole obligations; and living conditions. Implications for policy and case management practices are presented.
Latent Structure of Executive Functioning/Learning Tasks in the CogState Computerized Battery
Authors: Nordenswan Elisabeth , Kataja Eeva-Leena , Deater-Deckard Kirby , Korja Riikka , Karrasch Mira , Laine Matti , Karlsson Linnea , Karlsson Hasse
Published: August 2020

This study tested whether executive functioning (EF)/learning tasks from the CogState computerized test battery show a unitary latent structure. This information is important for the construction of composite measures on these tasks for applied research purposes. Based on earlier factor analytic research, we identified five CogState tasks that have been labeled as EF/learning tasks and examined their intercorrelations in a new sample of Finnish birth cohort mothers ( N = 233). Using confirmatory factor analyses, we compared two single-factor EF/learning models. The first model included the recommended summative scores for each task. The second model exchanged summative scores for first test round results for the three tasks providing these data, as initial task performance is expected to load more heavily on EF. A single-factor solution provided a good fit for the present five EF/learning tasks. The second model, which was hypothesized to tap more onto EF, had slightly better fit indices, χ2(5) = 1.37, p = .93, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = .02, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .00, 90% CI = [.00–.03], comparative fit index (CFI) = 1.00, and more even factor loadings (.30–.56) than the first model, χ2(5) = 4.56, p = .47, SRMR = .03, RMSEA = .00, 90% CI = [.00–.09], CFI = 1.00, factor loadings (.20–.74), which was hypothesized to tap more onto learning. We conclude that the present CogState sum scores can be used for studying EF/learning in healthy adult samples, but call for further research to validate these sum scores against other EF tests.
A cross-genus comparison of grazing pressure by two native marine herbivores on native, non-native naturalized, and non-native invasive Sargassum macroalgae
Authors: Kaplanis Nikolas J. , Harris Jill L. , Smith Jennifer E.
Published: August 2020

In marine systems, algal abundance and community composition is often heavily influenced by top-down control by herbivores. As a result, examining the extent to which native herbivores exert grazing pressure on non-native marine algae can provide valuable insight into mechanisms controlling invasion success. The purpose of this study was to examine the grazing preferences of two common intertidal and subtidal herbivores on three congeneric species of marine algae with unique colonization histories in San Diego, California, USA, to determine if grazing pressure, or lack thereof, may help explain invasion success. We provide evidence that neither nativeSargassum agardhianum,nor non-nativeSargassum horneri,are particularly palatable to purple urchins or black turban snails, but that non-nativeSargassum muticumis consumed by both native herbivores. We also provide evidence that when given a choice of all three species neither herbivore exhibits a significant grazing preference for any algal species. We suggest that other mechanisms may determine the invasion success of the two non-native algal species and the overall distribution and abundance patterns of these species, and we discuss potential directions for future work.
Evaluation of comprehensive geriatric assessment in older patients undergoing pacemaker implantation
Authors: Schoenenberger Andreas W. , Russi Ian , Berte Benjamin , Weberndörfer Vanessa , Schoenenberger-Berzins Renate , Chodup Piotr , Beeler Remo , Cuculi Florim , Toggweiler Stefan , Kobza Richard
Published: August 2020

Background

This study evaluated the use of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in older patients undergoing pacemaker implantation.

Methods

In this prospective cohort, CGA was performed in 197 patients ≥75 years at pacemaker implantation and yearly thereafter. CGA embraced the following domains: cognition, mobility, nutrition, activities of daily living (ADLs), and falls (with or without loss of consciousness). Based on comorbidities, the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was calculated. For predictive analysis, logistic regression was used.

Results

During a mean follow-up duration of 2.4 years, the incidence rates of syncope decreased from 0.46 to 0.04 events per year (p < 0.001), and that of falls without loss of consciousness from 0.27 to 0.15 (p < 0.001) before vs. after implantation. Sixty-three patients (32.0%) died. Impaired mobility (OR 2.60, 95%CI 1.22–5.54,p = 0.013), malnutrition (OR 3.26, 95%CI 1.52–7.01,p = 0.002), and a higher CCI (OR per point increase 1.25, 95%CI 1.04–1.50,p = 0.019) at baseline were significant predictors of mortality. Among 169 patients who survived for more than 1 year and thus underwent follow-up CGA, CGA domains did not deteriorate during follow-up, except for ADLs. This decline in ADLs during follow-up was the strongest predictor of later nursing home admission (OR 9.29, 95%CI 1.82–47.49,p = 0.007). Higher baseline age (OR per year increase 1.10, 95%CI 1.02–1.20,p = 0.018) and a higher baseline CCI (OR per point increase 1.32, 95%CI 1.05–1.65,p = 0.017) were associated with a decline in ADLs during follow-up.

Conclusions

CGA is useful to detect functional deficits, which are associated with mortality or nursing home admission after pacemaker implantation. The present study seems to support the use of CGA in older patients undergoing pacemaker implantation as functional deficits and falls are amenable to geriatric interventions.
A short cultural history of the UK Renal Registry 1995–2020
Authors: Will Eric John
Published: August 2020

The Renal Association UK Renal Registry (UKRR), established in 1995, has reflected the development of Nephrology within the NHS over 25 years. It has been gradually enlarged to provide a formal agency for a range of consensus initiatives. It remains the source of the national epidemiology of renal replacement, feeding NHS infrastructures and Health Services Research. An extension into acute and chronic kidney disorders is in hand. As a template for medical audit it has contributed to a quality improvement ethos derived from several methodologies. It now offers a multifaceted virtual platform for special interest groups and patient-centricity. Its transformation demonstrates one of the compromises that have permitted specialty development within the inconstant envelope of the NHS.

If not always a bellwether, the clarity, form and scale of kidney disease provision still qualifies the UKRR as a demonstrator of healthcare possibilities to Medicine, Clinical Informatics and the NHS.
Central nervous system Cryptococcoma mimicking demyelinating disease: a case report
Authors: Wei Jie , Li Xiang-Yu , Zhang Yue
Published: August 2020

Background

Cerebral cryptococcomas is a rare form of central nervous system cryptococcosis. Most previous cases were mistaken for neoplasm before surgery. We present a case of cerebral cryptococcomas whose radiological profiles resembled demyelinating disease, especially tumefactive demyelinating lesion.

Case presentation

A 40-year-old male was admitted for 1-week-long unconsciousness. Brain MRI revealed a rim-enhanced mass within the corpus callosum body. Central nervous system demyelinating disease was suspected. Empirical corticosteroid treatment led to some improvement, but his condition deteriorated 2 months later. Brain MRI revealed punctate new foci. Cryptococcus neoformans was detected in cerebrospinal fluid. Cryptococcus antigen test was positive in his current and previous cerebrospinal fluid samples. The patient died despite standard antifungal treatment.

Conclusion

Diagnosis of cerebral cryptococcomas is challenging. It may mimic demyelinating diseases.
Prevalence of hookworm infection and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at governmental health centers in DEMBECHA district, north West Ethiopia, 2017
Authors: Misikir Sewnet Wongiel , Wobie Moges , Tariku Mengistie Kassahun , Bante Simachew Animen
Published: August 2020

Background

Hookworm infection is a major public health problem in developing countries. The main way people become infected with hookworm’s larva is through direct skin contact with contaminated soil when walking on barefoot. It is one of a major cause of anemia in pregnant women. The objective was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of hookworm infection among pregnant women who attended antenatal care at governmental health centers in Dembecha district, Ethiopia, 2017.

Methods

Institutional based cross sectional study was conducted on 306 pregnant women. Study participants were selected by systematic random sampling technique from February 1 to March 30, 2017. Data collectors and supervisors were trained. Semi-structured Amharic version questionnaire was used to collect data using face to face interview technique and stool sample was examined. Collected data were entered by using Epi data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS. The exported data was analyzed and presented by using descriptive summary statistics and tables. After bivariate logistic regression analysis, all variables with ap-value < 0.25 were entered into multivariate logistic regression andpvalue < 0.05 considered as significantly associated with the outcome variable.

Results

Prevalence of hookworm infection was 32.0%. There was a positive association of hookworm infection with living in single room [AOR =2.8; 95% CI; 1.32–5.81], living with domestic animals [AOR = 3.4; 95% CI; 1.35–8.76], monthly income ≤1500 Ethiopian birr [AOR = 3.7; 95% CI; 1.76–7.64], unavailability of latrine [AOR = 2.2; 95% CI; 1.03–4.55], habit of walking on barefoot [AOR = 4.3; 95% CI; 2.17–8.48] and not habit of hand washing before meal [AOR = 3.4; 95 CI; 1.14–10.12].

Conclusion

This study showed high prevalence of hookworm infection among pregnant women in the study area. Living in single room, living with domestic animals, monthly income ≤1500 Ethiopian birr, unavailability of latrine, habit of walking on barefoot and not habit of hand washing before meal had positive association with hookworm infection. Public health measure should focus on availability latrine and separation of humans and domestic animals room to decrease prevalence of hookworm infection among pregnant women.
Decreased biventricular myocardial deformation in fetuses with lower urinary tract obstruction
Authors: Xu Ran , Zhou Jiawei , Zhou Qichang , Zeng Shi
Published: August 2020

Background

To observe myocardial deformations in fetuses with isolated lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO) and identify the correlation between myocardial deformation and the severity of obstruction.

Methods

The strain (S), strain rate in systole (SRs) and strain rate in diastole (SRd) of the left and right ventricles at the first examination were prospectively analyzed and compared between fetuses with isolated LUTO and gestational age (GA)-matched normal control fetuses. Multiple regression analyses were used to assess the obstructive factors for impaired strain and strain rate, and the independent variables included bladder volume, sum of the bilateral pelvic diameters, sum of the bilateral ureteral diameters, mean bilateral renal artery pulsatility index, and amniotic fluid index.

Results

Thirty-six fetuses with isolated LUTO and 36 normal controls were enrolled. Overall, decreased S, SRs and SRd of both ventricles were noted in fetuses with LUTO (p < 0.001). Moreover, S and SR were significantly negatively related to distended bladder volume (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Fetuses with LUTO demonstrated decreased left and right myocardial deformation, and this impaired cardiac dysfunction was correlated with the urinary bladder volume. Evaluating the myocardial deformation in fetal LUTO could provide information to aid in parental counselling and intervention monitoring.
An examination of the socio-demographic correlates of patient adherence to self-management behaviors and the mediating roles of health attitudes and self-efficacy among patients with coexisting type 2 diabetes and hypertension
Authors: Xie Zhenzhen , Liu Kaifeng , Or Calvin , Chen Jiayin , Yan Mian , Wang Hailiang
Published: August 2020

Background

Patients with coexisting type 2 diabetes and hypertension generally exhibit poor adherence to self-management, which adversely affects their disease control. Therefore, identification of the factors related to patient adherence is warranted. In this study, we aimed to examine (i) the socio-demographic correlates of patient adherence to a set of self-management behaviors relevant to type 2 diabetes and hypertension, namely, medication therapy, diet therapy, exercise, tobacco and alcohol avoidance, stress reduction, and self-monitoring/self-care, and (ii) whether health attitudes and self-efficacy in performing self-management mediated the associations between socio-demographic characteristics and adherence.

Methods

We performed a secondary analysis of data collected in a randomized controlled trial. The sample comprised 148 patients with coexisting type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Data were collected by a questionnaire and analyzed using logistic regression.

Results

Female patients were found to be less likely to exercise regularly (odds ratio [OR] = 0.49,P = 0.03) and more likely to avoid tobacco and alcohol (OR = 9.87,P < 0.001) than male patients. Older patients were found to be more likely to adhere to diet therapy (OR = 2.21,P = 0.01) and self-monitoring/self-care (OR = 2.17,P = 0.02). Patients living with family or others (e.g., caregivers) were found to be more likely to exercise regularly (OR = 3.44,P = 0.02) and less likely to avoid tobacco and alcohol (OR = 0.10,P = 0.04) than those living alone. Patients with better perceived health status were found to be more likely to adhere to medication therapy (OR = 2.02,P = 0.03). Patients with longer diabetes duration (OR = 2.33,P = 0.01) were found to be more likely to adhere to self-monitoring/self-care. Self-efficacy was found to mediate the association between older age and better adherence to diet therapy, while no significant mediating effects were found for health attitudes.

Conclusions

Adherence to self-management was found to be associated with socio-demographic characteristics (sex, age, living status, perceived health status, and diabetes duration). Self-efficacy was an important mediator in some of these associations, suggesting that patient adherence may be improved by increasing patients’ self-management efficacy, such as by patient empowerment, collaborative care, or enhanced patient–physician interactions.