bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dose-response associations of triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and triglyceride–glucose index with arterial stiffness risk
Authors: Zhang Wenkai , Huo Weifeng , Hu Huifang , Li Tianze , Yuan Lijun , Zhang Jinli , Feng Yifei , Wu Yuying , Fu Xueru , Ke Yamin , Wang Mengmeng , Wang Longkang , Chen Yaobing , Gao Yajuan , Li Xi , Sun Liang , Pang Jinyuan , Zheng Zeqiang , Hu Fulan , Zhang Ming , Liu Yu , Hu Dongsheng , Zhao Yang
Published: April 2024

Background

The triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio and triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index are novel indexes for insulin resistance (IR). We aimed to evaluate associations of TG/HDL-C and TyG with arterial stiffness risk.

Methods

We enrolled 1979 participants from the Rural Chinese Cohort Study, examining arterial stiffness by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Logistic and linear regression models were employed to calculate effect estimates. For meta-analysis, we searched relevant articles from PubMed, Embase and Web of Science up to August 26, 2023. The fixed-effects or random-effects models were used to calculate the pooled estimates. We evaluated dose-response associations using restricted cubic splines.

Results

For cross-sectional studies, the adjusted ORs (95%CIs) for arterial stiffness were 1.12 (1.01–1.23) and 1.78 (1.38–2.30) for per 1 unit increment in TG/HDL-C and TyG. In the meta-analysis, the pooled ORs (95% CIs) were 1.26 (1.14–1.39) and 1.57 (1.36–1.82) for per 1 unit increment of TG/HDL-C and TyG. Additionally, both TG/HDL-C and TyG were positively related to PWV, with β of 0.09 (95% CI 0.04–0.14) and 0.57 (95% CI 0.35–0.78) m/s. We also found linear associations of TG/HDL-C and TyG with arterial stiffness risk.

Conclusions

High TG/HDL-C and TyG were related to increased arterial stiffness risk, indicating TG/HDL-C and TyG may be convincing predictors of arterial stiffness.
L-shaped association between lean body mass to visceral fat mass ratio with hyperuricemia: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Li Longti , Shao Ya , Zhong Huiqin , Wang Yu , Zhang Rong , Gong Boxiong , Yin Xiaoxv
Published: April 2024

Background

Insufficient attention has been given to examining the correlation between body composition and hyperuricemia, leading to inconsistent findings. The primary objective of this research is to explore the association between lean body mass index (LMI), visceral fat mass index (VFMI), and hyperuricemia. A specific emphasis will be placed on assessing the link between the ratio of lean body mass to visceral fat mass (LMI/VFMI) and hyperuricemia.

Methods

The present study employed a cross-sectional design and involved a total of 9,646 individuals who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). To explore the associations among the variables, logistic and linear regressions were employed. Additionally, subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were conducted based on various characteristics.

Results

The results showed that LMI was positively associated with hyperuricemia (for Per-SD: OR = 1.88, 95%CI: 1.75, 2.01; for quartiles [Q4:Q1]: OR = 5.37, 95%CI: 4.31, 6.69). Meanwhile, VFMI showed a positive association with hyperuricemia (for Per-SD: OR = 2.02, 95%CI: 1.88, 2.16; for quartiles [Q4:Q1]: OR =8.37, 95%CI: 6.70, 10.47). When considering the effects of In LMI/VFMI, an L-shaped negative association with hyperuricemia was observed (for Per-SD: OR = 0.45, 95%CI: 0.42, 0.49; for quartiles [Q4:Q1]: OR = 0.16, 95%CI: 0.13, 0.20). Subgroup and sensitivity analyses demonstrated the robustness of this association across different subgroups. Additionally, the segmented regression analysis indicated a saturation effect of 5.64 for the In LMI/VFMI with hyperuricemia (OR = 0.20, 95%CI: 0.17, 0.24). For every 2.72-fold increase of In LMI/VFMI, the risk of hyperuricemia was reduced by 80%.

Conclusion

The LMI/VFMI ratio is non-linearly associated with serum uric acid. Whether this association is causal needs to be confirmed in further longitudinal studies or Mendelian randomization.
The redox-active defensive Selenoprotein T as a novel stress sensor protein playing a key role in the pathophysiology of heart failure
Authors: De Bartolo Anna , Pasqua Teresa , Romeo Naomi , Rago Vittoria , Perrotta Ida , Giordano Francesca , Granieri Maria Concetta , Marrone Alessandro , Mazza Rosa , Cerra Maria Carmela , Lefranc Benjamin , Leprince Jérôme , Anouar Youssef , Angelone Tommaso , Rocca Carmine
Published: April 2024

Maladaptive cardiac hypertrophy contributes to the development of heart failure (HF). The oxidoreductase Selenoprotein T (SELENOT) emerged as a key regulator during rat cardiogenesis and acute cardiac protection. However, its action in chronic settings of cardiac dysfunction is not understood. Here, we investigated the role of SELENOT in the pathophysiology of HF: (i) by designing a small peptide (PSELT), recapitulating SELENOT activity via the redox site, and assessed its beneficial action in a preclinical model of HF [aged spontaneously hypertensive heart failure (SHHF) rats] and against isoproterenol (ISO)-induced hypertrophy in rat ventricular H9c2 and adult human AC16 cardiomyocytes; (ii) by evaluating the SELENOT intra-cardiomyocyte production and secretion under hypertrophied stimulation. Results showed that PSELT attenuated systemic inflammation, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophage M1 polarization, myocardial injury, and the severe ultrastructural alterations, while counteracting key mediators of cardiac fibrosis, aging, and DNA damage and restoring desmin downregulation and SELENOT upregulation in the failing hearts. In the hemodynamic assessment, PSELT improved the contractile impairment at baseline and following ischemia/reperfusion injury, and reduced infarct size in normal and failing hearts. At cellular level, PSELT counteracted ISO-mediated hypertrophy and ultrastructural alterations through its redox motif, while mitigating ISO-triggered SELENOT intracellular production and secretion, a phenomenon that presumably reflects the extent of cell damage. Altogether, these results indicate that SELENOT could represent a novel sensor of hypertrophied cardiomyocytes and a potential PSELT-based new therapeutic approach in myocardial hypertrophy and HF.

Graphical Abstract
HERV-W upregulation expression in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia: unraveling potential links to systemic immune/inflammation status
Authors: Rangel Sara Coelho , da Silva Michelly Damasceno , Natrielli Filho Décio Gilberto , Santos Samuel Nascimento , do Amaral Jonatas Bussador , Victor Jefferson Russo , Silva Kevin Cezar Nascimento , Tuleta Izabela Dorota , França Carolina Nunes , Shio Marina Tiemi , Neves Lucas Melo , Bachi André Luis Lacerda , da Silva Nali Luiz Henrique
Published: April 2024

Background

Bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SZ) are the two main mental disorders with unknown etiology that significantly impact individuals’ quality of life. The potential pro-inflammatory role in their pathogenesis is postulated and Human Endogenous Retrovirus W (HERV-W) is an emerging candidate to modulate this pathogenic finding. HERVs, ancient retroviruses in the human genome, may play roles in inflammation and disease pathogenesis. Despite HERVs’ involvement in autoimmune diseases, their influence on mental disorders remains underexplored. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the level of HERV-W-env expression and the systemic inflammatory profile through the concentration of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α and INF-γ cytokines in BD and SZ patients.

Results

All participants showed HERV-W-env expression, but its expression was higher in mental disorder patients (p < 0.01) than in control. When separated, SZ individuals exhibited higher HERV-W expression than the control group (p < 0.01). Higher serum levels of TNF-α and IL-10 were found in BD (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.001, respectively) and SZ (p = 0.01) and p = 0.01, respectively) than in the control group, while SZ showed decreased levels IFN-γ and IL-2 as compared to controls (p = 0.05) and BD patients (p = 0.05), respectively. Higher TNF-α/IL-4 and TNF-α/IL-10 ratios, and lower IFN-γ/IL-10 were observed in BD and SZ patients than controls. Significant negative correlation between HERV-W-env expression and IL-10 (r=-0.47 p < 0.05), as well as positive correlations between HERV-W-env expression and TNF-α/IL-10 or IFN-γ/IL-10 ratios (r = 0.48 p < 0.05 and r = 0.46 p < 0.05, respectively) were found in BD patients.

Conclusion

These findings suggest not only a potential link between HERV-W-env expression both in BD and SZ, but also a possible involvement of systemic inflammatory status in BD patients.
Metabolic and inflammatory perturbation of diabetes associated gut dysbiosis in people living with and without HIV infection
Authors: Luo Kai , Peters Brandilyn A. , Moon Jee-Young , Xue Xiaonan , Wang Zheng , Usyk Mykhaylo , Hanna David B. , Landay Alan L. , Schneider Michael F. , Gustafson Deborah , Weber Kathleen M. , French Audrey , Sharma Anjali , Anastos Kathryn , Wang Tao , Brown Todd , Clish Clary B. , Kaplan Robert C. , Knight Rob , Burk Robert D. , Qi Qibin
Published: April 2024

Background

Gut dysbiosis has been linked with both HIV infection and diabetes, but its interplay with metabolic and inflammatory responses in diabetes, particularly in the context of HIV infection, remains unclear.

Methods

We first conducted a cross-sectional association analysis to characterize the gut microbial, circulating metabolite, and immune/inflammatory protein features associated with diabetes in up to 493 women (~ 146 with prevalent diabetes with 69.9% HIV +) of the Women’s Interagency HIV Study. Prospective analyses were then conducted to determine associations of identified metabolites with incident diabetes over 12 years of follow-up in 694 participants (391 women from WIHS and 303 men from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study; 166 incident cases were recorded) with and without HIV infection. Mediation analyses were conducted to explore whether gut bacteria–diabetes associations are explained by altered metabolites and proteins.

Results

Seven gut bacterial genera were identified to be associated with diabetes (FDR-q <  0.1), with positive associations for Shigella, Escherichia, Megasphaera, and Lactobacillus, and inverse associations for Adlercreutzia, Ruminococcus, and Intestinibacter. Importantly, the associations of most species, especially Adlercreutzia and Ruminococcus, were largely independent of antidiabetic medications use. Meanwhile, 18 proteins and 76 metabolites, including 3 microbially derived metabolites (trimethylamine N-oxide, phenylacetylglutamine (PAGln), imidazolepropionic acid (IMP)), 50 lipids (e.g., diradylglycerols (DGs) and triradylglycerols (TGs)) and 23 non-lipid metabolites, were associated with diabetes (FDR-q <  0.1), with the majority showing positive associations and more than half of them (59/76) associated with incident diabetes. In mediation analyses, several proteins, especially interleukin-18 receptor 1 and osteoprotegerin, IMP and PAGln partially mediate the observed bacterial genera–diabetes associations, particularly for those of Adlercreutzia and Escherichia. Many diabetes-associated metabolites and proteins were altered in HIV, but no effect modification on their associations with diabetes was observed by HIV.

Conclusion

Among individuals with and without HIV, multiple gut bacterial genera, blood metabolites, and proinflammatory proteins were associated with diabetes. The observed mediated effects by metabolites and proteins in genera–diabetes associations highlighted the potential involvement of inflammatory and metabolic perturbations in the link between gut dysbiosis and diabetes in the context of HIV infection.
Self-management including exercise, education and activity modification compared to usual care for adolescents with Osgood-Schlatter (the SOGOOD trial): protocol of a randomized controlled superiority trial
Authors: Krommes Kasper , Thorborg Kristian , Clausen Mikkel Bek , Rathleff Michael Skovdal , Olesen Jens Lykkegaard , Kallemose Thomas , Hölmich Per
Published: April 2024

Background

Osgood-Schlatter is the most frequent growth-related injury affecting about 10% of physically active adolescents. It can cause long-term pain and limitations in sports and physical activity, with potential sequela well into adulthood. The management of Osgood-Schlatter is very heterogeneous. Recent systematic reviews have found low level evidence for surgical intervention and injection therapies, and an absence of studies on conservative management. Recently, a novel self-management approach with exercise, education, and activity modification, demonstrated favorable outcomes for adolescents with patellofemoral pain and Osgood-Schlatter in prospective cohort studies.

Aim

The aim of this trial is to assess the effectiveness of the novel self-management approach compared to usual care in improving self-reported knee-related function in sport (measured using the KOOS-child ‘Sport/play’ subscale) after a 5-month period.

Methods

This trial is a pragmatic, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial with a two-group parallel arm design, including participants aged 10–16 years diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter. Participants will receive 3 months of treatment, consisting of either usual care or the self-management approach including exercise, education, and activity modification, followed by 2 months of self-management. Primary endpoint is the KOOS-child ‘Sport/play’ score at 5 months. This protocol details the planned methods and procedures.

Discussion

The novel approach has already shown promise in previous cohort studies. This trial will potentially provide much-needed level 1 evidence for the effectiveness of the self-management approach, representing a crucial step towards addressing the long-term pain and limitations associated with Osgood-Schlatter.

Trial registration

Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05174182. Prospectively registered December 30th 2021. Date of first recruitment: January 3rd 2022. Target sample size: 130 participants.
Peripartal management of dichorial twin pregnancy in a bicornuate bicollis uterus: a case report and review of the literature
Authors: Schubert Melanie , Tihon Anastasia , Andresen Kristin , Ruchay Zino , Farrokh André , Maass Nicolai , Elischer Philipp , Longardt Ann Carolin , Tesch Karolin , Lebenatus Annett , Krüger Magret , Alkatout Ibrahim
Published: April 2024

Introduction

The management of a pregnancy in a bicornuate uterus is particularly challenging. A bicornuate uterus is a rare occurrence and a twin pregnancy in a bicornuate uterus even more rare. These pregnancies call for intensive diagnostic investigation and interdisciplinary care.

Case presentation

We report on a 27-year-old European woman patient (gravida I, para 0) with a simultaneous pregnancy in each cavity of a bicornuate bicollis uterus after embryo transfer. The condition was confirmed by hysteroscopy and laparoscopy. Several unsuccessful in vitro fertilization (IVF) attempts had been performed earlier before embryo transfer in each cornus. After a physiological course of pregnancy with differential screening at 12 + 6 weeks and 22 + 0 weeks of gestation, the patient presented with therapy-resistant contractions at 27 + 2 weeks. This culminated in the uncomplicated spontaneous delivery of the leading fetus and delayed spontaneous delivery of the second fetus.

Discussion

Only 16 cases of twin pregnancy in a bicornuate unicollis uterus have been reported worldwide and only 6 in a bicornuate bicollis uterus. The principal risks in such pregnancies are preterm labor, intrauterine growth restriction, malpresentation and preeclampsia. These typical risk factors of a twin pregnancy are greatly potentiated in the above mentioned setting.

Conclusion

A twin pregnancy in the presence of a uterine malformation is rare and difficult to manage. These rare cases must be collected and reported in order to work out algorithms of monitoring and therapy as well as issue appropriate recommendations for their management.
A cloud-edge collaborative computing framework using potential games for space-air-ground integrated IoT
Authors: Peng Yuhuai , Guang Xiaoliang , Zhang Xinyu , Liu Lei , Wu Cemulige , Huang Lei
Published: April 2024

As a critical component of space-air-ground integrated IoT, the aerial network provides highly reliable, low-latency and ubiquitous information services to ground users by virtue of their high mobility, easy deployment and low cost. However, the current computation and resource management model of air-ground integrated networks are insufficient to meet the latency demanding of emerging intelligent services such as autonomous systems, extended reality and haptic feedback. To tackle these challenges, we propose a computation offloading and optimization method based on potential game. First, we construct an cloud-edge collaborative computing model. Secondly, we construct Offloading Decision Objective Functions (ODOF) with the objective of minimum task processing latency and energy consumption. ODOF is proved to be a Mixed Inferior Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) problem, which is hard to solve. ODOF is converted to be a full potential game, and the Nash equilibrium solution exists. Then, a computational resource allocation algorithm based on Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) conditions is proposed to solve resource allocation problem. On this basis, a distributed game-based computational offloading algorithm is proposed to minimize the offloading cost. Extensive simulation results demonstrate that the convergence performance of the proposed algorithm is reduced by 50%, the convergence time is reduced by 13.3% and the average task processing delay is reduced by 10%.
Frequent burning and limited stand-replacing fire supports Mexican spotted owl pair occupancy
Authors: Jones Gavin M. , Clément Marion A. , Latimer Christopher E. , Wright Marilyn E. , Sanderlin Jamie S. , Hedwall Shaula J. , Kirby Rebecca
Published: April 2024

Changing fire regimes have the potential to threaten wildlife populations and communities. Understanding species’ responses to novel fire regimes is critical to formulating effective management and conservation strategies in an era of rapid change. Here, we examined the empirical effects of recent and historical wildfire activity on Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) populations in the southwestern United States. Using region-wide, standardized detection/non-detection data of Mexican spotted owl breeding pairs collected from 2015 to 2022, we found (i) higher rates of pair occupancy at sites that experienced more frequent fires in the three decades prior to the initiation of our study, and (ii) lower rates of local persistence at sites that experienced more extensive high-severity fire during the study. Historical fire regimes throughout much of our study area were characterized by high fire frequencies and limited high-severity components, indicating that Mexican spotted owls responded to wildfire in a manner consistent with their evolutionary environment. Management activities such as prescribed burning and mechanical thinning that aim to reduce stand-replacing fire risk and re-introduce the potential for frequent-fire regimes will likely benefit Mexican spotted owl conservation objectives, as well as promote more resilient forest landscapes.
Sports and Exercise Therapy in Holistic Strategy for Treating Chronic Diseases – literature review
Authors: Bieńko Mateusz , Rutkowska Marta , Król Tomasz , Toborek Michalina , Marchaj Magdalena , Korta Karolina , Putra Anna , Niedziela Natalia , Margas Mikołaj
Published: April 2024

Introduction

The convergence of sports and health is a developing area, focusing on the therapeutic potential of physical activities in numerous chronic disease management strategies as a necessary part of a holistic strategy. Acknowledging sports as a therapeutic tool emphasizes the necessity for a comprehensive understanding of how sports engagement contributes to innovative healthcare interventions.

 

Purpose

This research aims to investigate the therapeutic potential of prescribing sports and physical exercise in treating primary chronic diseases, exploring its integration into healthcare practices with a focus on efficacy and implications for disease management.

 

State of Knowledge

Physical activity is recommended for treating diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis. It reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and death, lowers blood pressure, ads prevents and manages atherosclerosis and osteoporosis. Non-physical sports like chess and board games also promise protection against dementia, depression, and Alzheimer's.

 

Conclusions

Incorporating sports into healthcare policies and prescribing personalized exercise are essential components of holistic chronic disease management and show widespread benefits. Professional guidance and clear recommendations, aligned with disease-specific guidelines, play a crucial role in ensuring safe and effective physical activity for patients. Potential risks in specific populations, particularly injury risks, can be minimized through proper preventive measures, adjusting the character of exercises, and heightened patient awareness. To ensure good compliance, exercise prescriptions should offer clear and precise guidelines.
Turkish Language Teachers' Perspectives on Listening Skills Education in Turkey and Northern Cyprus
Authors: Korkmaz Selma , Güneyli Ahmet
Published: April 2024

Listening is a language skill that is acquired in childhood but can be improved throughout the educational process. It is of great importance in both educational and everyday life. The objective of this study is to identify the importance given to listening training by students, assess their listening skills, and determine what can be done to improve their listening skills to top levels. The study group consists of 50 Turkish language teachers from various primary and secondary schools in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. A 9-question interview form was used to collect data. The data obtained were analyzed using content analysis, frequencies, and percentages. Based on the results, most Turkish language teachers revealed that their students do not listen sufficiently to their teachers, and the reasons for this could be related to the school, teachers, curriculum, or the students themselves. Additionally, the teachers stated that it is essential to emphasize the importance of listening to students in the first place, and it could be beneficial to increase the number of listening activities in the course books and assess and evaluate listening skills more frequently.
AN EXTENSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE HURDLES IN EMBRACING AI AMONG PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS USING AHP
Authors: Mahendher Dr. Sheetal , Bharadwaj Dr. Sippee
Published: April 2024

This study aims to uncover the challenges to the mainstream adoption of AI (artificial intelligence) among people with special needs in India. AI has been widely used in real-time healthcare, education, and transportation situations; however, there is a digital divide in the ability to reap the benefits of AI applications for those with special needs due to various socioeconomic factors. The proposed work also intends to examine and undertake in-depth research using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to discover, analyze, and offer an accessible overview of the issues surrounding the numerous socioeconomic and technical factors involved with the use of AI. This research will contribute significantly to addressing the ongoing challenges of the special need’s population in their use of AI in various real-time applications by addressing technical infrastructure limitations, cultural differences, and other economic concerns. It will also help to bridge the gap between AI and the special needs population by addressing these limitations. By giving attention to this unexplored field, this piece of research will provide a better foundation for how to take preventive measures and overcome the digital gap of AI among special needs from several perspectives.
Between art and activism: political masculinities in Caribbean narratives of revolution
Authors: Gerlsbeck Silvia
Published: April 2024

This article enquires into imaginations of ‘political masculinity’ in a Caribbean-British context and the engagement of artists with the ideologies of the political sphere and their co-construction of it. The article focuses on gendered strategies of political self-fashioning in George Lamming’s Water With Berries and Orlando Patterson’s An Absence of Ruins, which emerge from the tension between political engagement and artistic detachment that structures the work and public image of Caribbean artists and their political interpellation into the public sphere. I propose that artists manoeuvre in a political field of tension as regards citizenship, nation building and cultural authority – themselves inherently gendered concepts – by problematising the basis of black revolutionary politics as tied to essentialised codes of masculinity that in turn rest on specific ideals of cultural authority, such as the (Victorian) ‘man of letters’, the ‘peasant’ or ‘folk hero’, or a more radical political masculine blackness associated with Black Power.
The politics of joy under semi-authoritarianism: the trajectory of joyous struggles in a protest cycle in Hong Kong
Authors: Tang Thomas Yun-tong
Published: April 2024

Previous studies have examined what emotions do when they are mobilised in social movements. However, they have treated the strategic mobilisation of emotions as a movement-centric, linear and one-off process and have not sufficiently explored how emotion management is shaped by forces beyond a single movement and how it is contested. This article studies the strategic mobilisation of joy in three social movements in a protest cycle in Hong Kong and analyses how activists’ competition over feeling rules influences what emotions can be mobilised and how emotions are used under shifting political, organisational and cultural contexts. I find that before 2012 displaying joy was a way of hiding anger and framing social movements in a cultural context that discouraged radicalism and an organisational context that animated tactical diffusion. Yet after 2012 when the regime turned more authoritarian and competition among movement organisations intensified, the expression of anger was prioritised over that of joy by protesters, with certain aspects of joy being regarded as an improper feeling. This led to a divergent use of joy: whereas the expression of everyday joy has been marginalised since 2012, joy used to mock or confront opponents has persisted in the protest field.
Behaving as a person: professionals’ arts of doing when dealing with dementia in nursing homes
Authors: Malbois Fabienne , Tremblay Benjamin , Lambelet Alexandre
Published: April 2024

Dementia affects memory, language and motor functions, engenders behavioural and psychological disorders, and progressively weakens the ability of older people to communicate and interact. Simultaneously, maintaining residents in social exchanges and enabling them to behave as a ‘person’, a status to be understood in moral terms, is a main objective of care work in nursing homes. Based on an ethnographic study conducted in a long-term Swiss care facility and by focusing on professionals’ inquiries, this article uncovers two ‘arts of doing’ used by professionals to make contact with residents and maintain them in the fabric of relationships. First, ‘sensitive arts of doing’ are in play when professionals seek to interpret a situation from a resident’s gestures and emotions in order to (re)establish the fine-tuning necessary for continued interaction. Second, ‘hermeneutic arts of doing’ are employed when professionals try to determine how residents perceive their environment and elucidate how to make sense of what they are doing together. Highlighting these two ‘arts of doing’ gives depth and substance to the relational activities undertaken by professionals and proposes concrete methods that can support care, interaction and value-based practice with older people with dementia.
Introduction
Authors: Jancovich Mark
Published: April 2024

This introduction to Horror Studies 15.1 considers the relative absence of work on the horror theatre in the twentieth century, when compared with research on film and television, despite its huge impact on cinema. It also offers a brief introduction to the articles that follow.
Robert Eggers’s The Lighthouse: Art horror, alienated labour and capitalist routinization
Authors: Booker M. Keith
Published: April 2024

Horror films often feature lone individuals stranded in strange, remote locations, threatened both by mysterious, unknown forces and by the reactions of their own minds. On the other hand, Robert Eggers’s The Lighthouse (2019) suggests that it might be even more terrifying to be stranded with someone else, who might be a source, less of companionship and support, than of additional threat. Moreover, The Lighthouse is a horror film in which the principal danger might not come from spectacular, supernatural monsters so much as from sheer, mind-numbing tedium, exacerbated by growing tensions between the two central characters. While this film might (or might not) involve such things as mermaids or animals inhabited by the spirits of dead sailors, it is probably ultimately best read as a film about the horror of gruelling, repetitive, menial labour performed without any hope of genuine accomplishment, reward or appreciation.
Acid flashbacks: The psychedelic horror film post-1979
Authors: McCarty-Simas Payton
Published: April 2024

While the term ‘psychedelic horror film’ may seem simple on its surface, the category it describes has never been thoroughly examined and defined. This article, using Harry M. Benshoff’s ‘The short-lived life of the Hollywood LSD film’, as an entry point, will analyse recurrent examples of psychedelic horror film, focusing on the nature of their recurring appeal. Given the lack of scholarship on this category, this analysis aims to begin filling in a notable gap in the history of the horror film. I also hope to provide insight into the histories of countercultural and conspiratorial movements past and present, using these films as a sociohistorical bellwether for the national mood. While many of the films in this category may appear reactionary, even their most genuinely conservative, paranoiac iterations also seem to function as a form of anti-establishment lament for the failure of countercultural movements to effectively cause social change.
Interview with Anna-Marie Jansen van Vuuren on her experience as an organizer of the Tshwane University of Technology (Tigritudes) Film Festival
Authors: Tomaselli Keyan G. , Mututa Addamms
Published: April 2024

Journal of African Cinemas interviewed Professor Anna-Marie Jansen van Vuuren about her experience of organizing the Tigritudes and TUT Film Festival that took place as part of the 2023 Tshwane University of Technology’s Annual Arts Festival.
Nommer 37: Power and the gaze in South African cinema
Authors: Smith Tina-Louise , Smit Alexia
Published: April 2024

A wealth of scholarship exists around looking relations in cinema, but there is a paucity of research into looking relations in South African cinema. With this article we show that the examination of looking relations in South African cinema offers valuable insights and suggest that similar analyses of other South African films can only be fruitful. Through a close textual analysis of Nosipho Dumisa’s Nommer 37 (2018), we interrogate the nature of the gaze directed at Pam, the woman protagonist. The works of María Lugones, Elaine Salo, Azille Coetzee and Louise Du Toit, and Pumla Dineo Gqola allow us to interpret and apply Laura Mulvey’s male gaze within the raced and gendered South African context shaped by colonialism. We show that even though Dumisa displays an awareness of the power relations in looking, and even though she problematizes male looking, the way she uses the camera to frame the look continues to centre the gaze of the men in the film.
Reductionism and post-apartheid culture: A critique of building hijacking in Gangsters Paradise: Jerusalema
Authors: Mututa Addamms Songe
Published: April 2024

Incidences of residential building hijacking which characterize post-apartheid Johannesburg have drawn debates from diverse fields of scholarship: anthropological, legal, social, literary and even cinema. Do they instantiate outright criminality, incomplete adjustment into the city, strategies for socio-economic restitution or acts of inverse racism? This article, an interdisciplinary probe into the representation of building hijacking in Ralph Ziman’s Gangsters Paradise: Jerusalema (2008), uses reductionism philosophy to theorize the practice as an actuation of eccentric post-apartheid culture. Three arguments follow. First, that culture after apartheid has shifted from collective to individual agency. Second, that building hijacking, a dimension of post-apartheid materiality, is a reliable metric of this cultural shift and a component of post-apartheid cultural semiology. And third, that a theory of this emergent post-apartheid culture can benefit from a reductive dialectic. The article concludes that reductionism is a usable critical frame to intercept contemporary nuances of individuated post-apartheid culture to which building hijacking is indexical.
The African medical intermediary figure in two narrative films depicting the colonial medical encounter
Authors: Kaplan Kenneth
Published: April 2024

Scholarly work on medical-themed screen narratives has hitherto favoured film emanating from the Global North. By considering two feature films by filmmakers from Africa, this article seeks partially to redress this imbalance. Applying postcolonial theory from influential African scholars, the article redirects attention from the dramatized persona of Dr Albert Schweitzer, the protagonist in the selected films, to the narrative construction of the African medical intermediary. The comparative analysis considers this figure in a new light and attempts to understand its importance within the cinematic imagining of African colonial and postcolonial encounters. The article delineates and discusses a unique and significant set of characteristics that configure the medical intermediary at critical junctures in both film narratives.
Marina Abramović, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 23 September 2023–1 January 2024
Authors: Carolin Clare
Published: April 2024

Review of: Marina Abramović, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 23 September 2023–1 January 2024
Disputed Lands and the Seeds of Utopia: Rethinking Development in the Context of Climate Change
Authors: Aspe Chantal , Jacqué Marie
Published: April 2024

Since the end of the 2010s, there have erupted throughout France and elsewhere in Europe local conflicts based on a common cause, the defense of farmlands. Local populations, farmers, citizen collectives and associations of activists have mobilized against projects involving urban development, infrastructure and trading or business areas, and taken issue with the political choices regarding the redevelopment of the territory in the name of the preservation of biodiversity and adaptation to climate change. In this article, we present the results of a qualitative sociological survey focused on the conflicts over the defense of farmlands in the southeast of France. We show how are constructed, at local scale and following a militant territory-based dynamic, citizen collectives and environmentalist associations which are vectors of social transformation. This mobilization is not only related to the defense of farming but embodies alternative development projects that involve the occupation of lands, such as the Zones à Défendre (ZAD) movement. Through the current defense of farmlands, one of the key components of the renewal of environmental protests is at issue and is expressed, by which the deployment of alternative local experimentation is a vector of a transformative utopia.
Effect of Low-Intensity Interval Training on Physical Performance and Blood Parameters Among Junior Handball Players
Authors: Marai Rasmi , Triki Raoua , Bougrine Houda , Hammami Amri , Khalfoun Jihen , Baaziz Mohamed , Abderrahman Abderraouf Ben
Published: April 2024

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of low-intensity interval training program (LIIT) on physical fitness and blood parameters among junior handball players. Thirty young players participated in this study and were divided into two groups: an experimental group (n=15) which underwent a low-intensity interval training program, and a control group (n=15) which underwent a traditional training program. Blood parameters (hemoglobin (g/dl), mean corpuscular hemoglobin MCH (pg), and hematocrit (%)) and physical capacities (flexibility, speed, endurance, agility, upper body muscle strength, and power) were evaluated before and after eight weeks of training in the two groups. At the beginning and end of the eight-week program, significant differences between the groups were observed. The experimental group exhibited better development compared to the control group in the following parameters: endurance (2.77%, p=0.03), speed (6.8%, p=0.001), power (17.09%, p=0.02), agility (4.22%, p=0.01), flexibility (29.25%, p=0.01), and upper body strength capacity (8.82%, p=0.02). The MCH was significantly higher in the experimental group (p=0.01). However, no significant differences were observed for hemoglobin and hematocrit (p>0.05). Our findings demonstrate that the low-intensity interval training intervention was more effective than the traditional program in improving physical parameters and mean corpuscular hemoglobin. The suggested low-intensity interval training program could serve as a viable fitness strategy for aerobic sports.
Dynamic diffusion in softwood and hardwood cell walls using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching
Authors: Donaldson Lloyd , Pearson Hamish
Published: April 2024

The porosity of cell walls, as indicated by diffusion of rhodamine B dye, in the wood of Douglas fir, radiata pine, New Zealand red beech and Shining gum was compared under dynamic conditions using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. The comparative diffusion rate was estimated using the half-life of fluorescence recovery under water-saturated conditions performed on transverse sections. All four wood species showed similar diffusion behaviour in tracheid or fibre cell walls with slower diffusion in the middle lamella layer compared to the secondary cell wall. Within the S2 layer of the secondary wall two regions were observed, an outer region with a slow diffusion rate and an inner region with a higher diffusion rate. Vessel cell walls showed slightly slower diffusion rates. Diffusion of rhodamine B dye appears to occur primarily along the fibre axis and is probably somewhat different to water in its behaviour. This suggests that pores are aligned with cellulose microfibrils. The dye diffusion rate was estimated to be in the range of 50–100 nm2 s−1. This has implications for understanding wood drying behaviour and chemical modification of wood by infiltration with small molecules as well as water storage in living trees.
Performance analysis of 4QAM-OFDM-FSO link under rain weather conditions
Authors: Attri Saruchi , Madhu Charu , Kaur Daljeet
Published: April 2024

Free space optical communication (FSO) is a technique based on transmission of data by propagating the light in free space. FSO is inexpensive, providing high data rates, high capacity, high security, and low power and uses the license free frequency spectrum. Nevertheless, FSO is still facing many problems such as bad weather conditions, atmospheric turbulence, and multipath fading. In this research work, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) FSO system is analyzed for low to heavy rain fall intensities. Different rain rates have been considered for low, moderate, heavy, very heavy, and torrential rains. For all the rain rates, a direct detection OFDM–FSO system and a coherent detection system have been simulated and results are compared. Analysis has been done on the basis of SNR, received power, and constellation diagrams. According to these parameters, link length of both the systems for different rain rates was found. Coherent detection is applied to improve the system sensitivity compared to conventional direct detection. In tropical regions where heavy rainfall is the main reason for the degradation of the system, the OFDM system with coherent detection can perform better with high data rates. Second, over a 11 km FSO, a 4-QAM wireless signal is successfully transmitted under very heavy rainfall conditions. The distance achieved by moderate and heavy rains is 25 km and 15.5 km with an acceptable SNR of 25 dB and a system sensitivity (received power) of −65.1 dBm.
Educational Interventions to Improve Breastfeeding Self-efficacy: A Systematic Review
Authors: Seddighi Aazam , Bostani Khalesi Zahra , Majidi Soheila
Published: April 2024

Objectives: Breastfeeding self-efficacy (BFSE) is considered one of the critical components of a successful breastfeeding experience. The purpose of this study was to review the educational interventions to improve BFSE. Materials and Methods: The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Source, PubMed, EMBASE, Social Science Research Network, SCOPUS, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, PsycINFO, Mosby’s Nursing Skills, SID, Magiran, Google Scholar, Iran Medex, and Iran Doc databases were searched. Eligible articles were published from January 2000 until December 2019. Two independent reviewers conducted data extraction and relevance screening. Results: Out of 287 studies, 25 of them were eligible for review. Modalities of interventions were summarized into three types: Visual aids (e.g., booklets, pamphlets, handouts, posters, and movies), verbal education (e.g., instruction by health providers, peer educators, group educational sessions, or small group and face-to-face education), and telephone support. Conclusions: Interventions included procedures specifically had offered for increasing maternal BFSE. The findings demonstrate the importance of designing educational programs to improve mothers’ BFSE.
Menopausal Symptoms Management Decision Aid Trails: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Mortazavi Ghehi Leyla , Asghari Jafarabadi Mohammad , Hakimi Sevil , Nourizadeh Roghaiyeh , Mehrabi Esmat , Ebrahimpour Mehdi
Published: April 2024

Objectives: The present study systematically reviewed the literature on the effects of menopausal symptom management aids on knowledge, decision conflict, and satisfaction about menopause-related symptom management. Methods: All clinical trial and quasi-experimental studies published in English-language from 1990 to 2021 were searched in CINAHL, PROQUEST, Web of Sciences, Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus databases. In addition, we used the Ovid search interface for MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, and Cochrane Library. The effect of interventions on continuous outcomes, including knowledge, decisional conflict, and decisional satisfaction, with a standardized mean difference (SMD), was reported in the present study. The included studies were assessed for statistical heterogeneity by using the I2 test and examining the P value. Results: The results indicated the limited effect of the decision aid-based intervention on the decisional conflict, satisfaction with the decision, and knowledge. However, it is worth mentioning that the findings indicated high heterogeneity among the studies reviewed in the present study. Conclusions: In the previous studies, the decision aid booklets used mostly provided limited and incomplete information on the available strategies to alleviate the symptoms perceived in menopause, so design and conduct a study with a strong, robust methodology and a comprehensive decision aid tool to alleviate the symptoms of menopause and study of its impact on postmenopausal women’s decision making is necessary
Impact of Surgical Experience on Hysterectomy Outcomes; A Venture to Improve the Linear Curve, Surgical Outcome, and Cost-Effectiveness: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Fram Kamil , Fram Farah , Fram Rand , Sadaqa Eman , Eid Mahmoud , Sunna Zaid , Haddad Rana
Published: April 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to highlight the influence of surgical experience in performing the abdominal hysterectomy and improving the linear curve of skills. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 245 women who underwent hysterectomy at Jordan University Hospital, Amman, Jordan, from January 2017 to 2019. The gravidity, parity, age, body mass index, the cause and type of the hysterectomy, duration of surgery, need to blood transfusion, estimated blood loss, time of hospital stay, intraoperative and postoperative complications, and the histopathology results were extracted from records of the participants and analyzed. Results: This study showed that the leading cause of hysterectomy in participants was abnormal vaginal bleeding. The most common type of hysterectomy was simple abdominal hysterectomy with a mean operation time of 1 hour 12 minutes. In total, 25.6% of women received packaged red blood cells, the main cause of which was preoperative anemia (17.5%). These results reflect an improvement in the linear curve of learning surgical skills. Conclusions: Our results portrayed the improvement of the surgical technique gained through performing abdominal hysterectomy expressively leading to a lessening in operative time compared with time while using a traditional technique, a decline in the total cost of surgery, and a decreased number in the surgical threads used in each operation. Surgical expertise can be appraised via many clinical parameters; mean operative time, complication rates, and other outcome measures. The expansion of surgical skills and the steadfastness of the medical team were a direct cause of these results.
The Importance of HE4 and CA 125 in Overall Survival and Recurrence-free Survival of Endometrial Cancer
Authors: Modares Gilani Mitra , Ghasemian Dizaj Mehr Sedigheh , Mousavi Azamsadat , Akhavan Setare , Sheikhhasani Sharzad , Zamani Narges , Sahebi Leyla
Published: April 2024

Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the significance of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) and cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) in the overall survival (OS) and the recurrence survival of endometrial cancer. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 99 patients with a mean age of 53±64. The patients were all cases with a definitive diagnosis of endometrial cancer. With regard to the histology and the surface measurement, the HE4 and CA 125 were both confirmed within 1 to 2 week(s) prior to hysterectomy by implementing the standard-procedure treatment of extra facial total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with selective pelvic and para-aortic node dissection. Then, risk-assessment for possible recurrence (Mayo criteria) was carried out as well. Patients with the variables of HE4 and CA 125 in the upper third (66th) percentiles were grouped as high-risk. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPPS 23, and P <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean (SE) of OS among patients with the serum CA 125 of ≤22 kU/L and higher 22 kU/L was 47.97 (±2.58) and 41.78 (3.75) months (P=0.466). In addition, the mean (SE) of OS in patients with the serum HE4 level of ≤ 98 ρmol/L and >98 ρmol/L was 50.14 (2.06) and 38.54 (3.74), respectively. The log-rank test revealed a substantial difference between low- and high-risk groups by HE4 (χ2 =4.98, P=0.025). Accordingly, there is no significant difference between recurrence-free survival (RFS) with CA 125 (P=0.264) and HE4 (P=0.114), respectively. Conclusions: In general, the serum HE4 level is a significant independent prognostic factor for OS in endometrial cancer and is useful in survival studies.