bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Development of a clinical questionnaire to support contraception decisions in an adolescent reproductive health clinic in Colorado
Authors: Hoopes Andrea J. , Akers Aletha Y. , Jimenez‐Zambrano Andrea , Cain Sarah , Maslowsky Julie , Sheeder Jeanelle
Published: August 2023

Context

Adolescents need support to make informed decisions about contraception. Few clinical questionnaires exist to help adolescents and their healthcare providers align contraception decisions with patient needs and preferences.

Methods

Our mixed‐methods study involved a convenience sample of English‐speaking, female patients aged 13–19 seeking contraception services at an adolescent reproductive health clinic in Colorado, USA. Qualitative interviews informed development of clinical questionnaire items. The questionnaire elicited demographic characteristics, pregnancy and contraception use history, preferred contraception attributes, peer and family involvement, healthcare information and support needs, motivations for contraceptive use, and barriers to contraceptive services. We identified key decision‐making factors and reduced the number of questionnaire items through principal components analysis. Using multivariable analyses, we examined the correlation between questionnaire responses and current contraceptive method.

Results

Twenty individuals participated in interviews and 373 individuals completed the preliminary questionnaire with 63 candidate items. We identified five contraceptive decision‐making factors: side‐effect avoidance (eight items, Cronbach's alpha = 0.84), preferred method attributes (six items, Cronbach's alpha = 0.67), parental involvement (three items, Cronbach's alpha = 0.67), life goals prior to parenting (four items, Cronbach's alpha = 0.88), and access to a contraceptive provider (two items, Cronbach's alpha = 0.92) and nine stand‐alone items. In multivariable analyses, we found that questionnaire responses for decision‐making factors varied among participants using different contraceptive methods.

Conclusions

Multiple priorities may influence adolescent contraceptive decisions. This clinical questionnaire can elicit these priorities before or during a healthcare encounter. Future studies should assess generalizability of the questionnaire and examine impact on method choice, continuation, satisfaction, and reproductive health outcomes.
Temperature-dependent determination of NO2 dimerization reaction based on dual-comb spectroscopy
Authors: Zhang Menglin , Tang Lulu , Zuo Zhong , Peng Daowang , Di Yuanfeng , Luo Daping , Gu Chenglin , Li Wenxue
Published: August 2023

Dimerization reactions play a critical role in various fields of research, including cell biology, biomedicine, and chemistry. In particular, the dimerization reaction of 2NO2⇌N2O4 has been extensively applied in pollution control and raw material preparation. Spectroscopy, as a powerful tool for investigating molecular structures and reaction kinetics, has been increasingly employed to study dimerization reactions in recent years. In this study, we successfully demonstrated the application of dual-comb spectroscopy (DCS) to analyze NO2 dimerization reactions, making the first report on the application of this technique in this context. Parallel measurements of NO2 and N2O4 fingerprints spectra with high resolution at 3000 cm-1 was performed, benefiting from the unprecedented broadband and high-precision capability of DCS. The absorption cross-sections of N2O4 from 296 to 343 K was obtained from the measured spectra, which contributes to further research on the molecular spectrum of N2O4. These results demonstrate the potential of DCS for studying the dimerization reaction mechanism.
High-temperature wave thermalization spoils beam self-cleaning in nonlinear multimode GRIN fibers
Authors: Mangini Fabio , Ferraro Mario , Tonello Alessandro , Couderc Vincent , Wabnitz Stefan
Published: August 2023

In our experiments, we reveal a so-far unnoticed power limitation of beam self-cleaning in graded-index nonlinear multimode optical fibers. As the optical pulse power is progressively increased, we observed that the initial Kerr-induced improvement of the spatial beam quality is eventually lost. Based on a holographic mode decomposition of the output field, we show that beam spoiling is associated with high-temperature wave thermalization, which depletes the fundamental mode in favor of a highly multimode power distribution.
Equalization in dispersion-managed systems using learned digital back-propagation
Authors: Abu-romoh Mohannad , Costa Nelson , Jaouën Yves , Napoli Antonio , Pedro João , Spinnler Bernhard , Yousefi Mansoor
Published: August 2023

In this paper, we investigate the use of the learned digital back-propagation (LDBP) for equalizing dual-polarization fiber-optic transmission in dispersion-managed (DM) links. LDBP is a deep neural network that optimizes the parameters of DBP using the stochastic gradient descent. We evaluate DBP and LDBP in a simulated WDM dual-polarization fiber transmission system operating at 32 Gbaud/s per channel, with a dispersion map designed for a 28 × 72 km link with 15% residual dispersion. Our results show that in single-channel transmission, LDBP achieves an effective signal-to-noise ratio improvement of 6.3 dB and 2.5 dB using DP-16-QAM format, respectively, over linear equalization and DBP. In WDM transmission, the corresponding Q-factor gains are 1.1 dB and 0.4 dB, respectively. Additionally, we conduct a complexity analysis, which reveals that a frequency-domain implementation of LDBP and DBP is more favorable in terms of complexity than the time-domain implementation. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of LDBP in mitigating the nonlinear effects in DM fiber-optic transmission systems.
Enhanced Evanescent Field via Integration of Graphene Oxide/PMMA Hybrid Film on Coreless D-shaped Fibers
Authors: Sun Bing , Wan Kai , Zhou Kaiming , Huang Zhendong , Zhang Zuxing
Published: August 2023

We present the first-ever demonstration of an evanescent field-based sensing structure utilizing a graphene oxide (GO)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) hybrid film integrated on coreless D-shaped fibers (cDsFs). Theoretical and experimental analyses were conducted to elucidate the internal working mechanism of the hybrid film-coated cDsF (GoP-cDsF). Additionally, the performance of the cDsF with the PMMA film alone was employed as a reference for comparison. Our findings underscore the significant role played by the GO in enhancing the evanescent field, leading to a synergistic effect that contributes to the overall enhancement of the device's evanescent field. Consequently, the as-fabricated GoP-cDsF sensor demonstrates a remarkable sensitivity of -4.936 nm/°C, making it highly suitable for high-sensitivity temperature sensing applications. Furthermore, these attributes position the GoP-cDsF as a promising candidate for measuring both magnetic and electric fields, thereby offering a viable strategy for multifunctional sensing applications.
Visitation to national parks in California shows annual and seasonal change during extreme drought and wet years
Authors: Jenkins Jeffrey S. , Abatzoglou John T. , Wilkins Emily J. , Perry Elizabeth E.
Published: August 2023

This study examines the influence of drought indicators on recreational visitation patterns to National Park Service units in California (USA) from 1980 to 2019. We considered mountain, arid, and coastal park types across a climate gradient where seasonal recreational opportunities are directly or indirectly dependent on water resources. Significant departures from the normal hydroclimate, reflected by drought or unusually wet conditions, can lead visitors to change their behavior, including recreating at a different time or place. Drought conditions can facilitate earlier seasonal access at higher elevation parks, but displace visitors in other seasons and parks. Wetter-than-average conditions can displace visitors due to snowpack or flooding, but also facilitate other activities. We found a decrease in annual visitation at popular mountain parks including Yosemite (-8.6%) and Sequoia and Kings Canyon (-8.2%) during extreme drought years due to lower-than-average attendance in peak summer and fall months. Extreme wet years also had significantly reduced annual visitation in Sequoia and Kings (-8.5%) and Lassen Volcanic (-13.9%) due to declines in spring and summer use as snowpack restricts road access. For arid parks, drought status did not have a statistically significant effect on annual visitation, although extreme drought led to less use during the hottest months of summer at Death Valley, and extreme wet conditions at Pinnacles led to less visitation throughout the year (-16.6%), possibly from impacts to infrastructure associated with flooding. For coastal park units, extreme drought led to year-round higher levels of use at Redwood (+27.7%), which is typically wet, and less year-round use at Channel Islands (-23.6%), which is relatively dry, while extreme wet years led to higher levels of annual use at Channel Islands (+29.4%). Collectively, these results indicate the effect of extreme drought or wet years on park visitation varies by park depending on geography and recreational activities offered.
Prevalence, drivers and surveillance of antibiotic resistance and antibiotic use in rural China: Interdisciplinary study
Authors: Lambert H. , Shen X. , Chai J. , Cheng J. , Feng R. , Chen M. , Cabral C. , Oliver I. , Shen J. , MacGowan A. , Bowker K. , Hickman M. , Kadetz P. , Zhao L. , Pan Y. , Kwiatkowska R. , Hu X. , Wang D.
Published: August 2023

This study aimed to characterise antibiotic prescribing and dispensing patterns in rural health facilities in China and determine the community prevalence of antibiotic resistance. We investigated patterns and drivers of antibiotic use for common respiratory and urinary tract infections (RTI/UTI) in community settings, examined relationships between presenting symptoms, clinical diagnosis and microbiological results in rural outpatient clinics, and assessed potential for using patient records to monitor antibiotic use. This interdisciplinary mixed methods study included: (i) Observations and exit interviews in eight village clinics and township health centres and 15 retail pharmacies; (ii) Urine, throat swab and sputum samples from patients to identify potential pathogens and test susceptibility; (iii) 103 semi-structured interviews with doctors, patients, pharmacy workers and antibiotic-purchasing customers; (iv) Assessment of completeness and accuracy of electronic patient records through comparison with observational data. 87.9% of 1123 recruited clinic patients were prescribed antibiotics (of which 35.5% contained antibiotic combinations and >40% were for intravenous administration), most of whom had RTIs. Antibiotic prescribing for RTIs was not associated with presence of bacterial pathogens but was correlated with longer duration of infection (OR = 3.33) and presence of sore throat (OR = 1.64). Fever strongly predicted prescription of intravenous antibiotics (OR = 2.87). Resistance rates in bacterial pathogens isolated were low compared with national data. 25.8% of patients reported antibiotics use prior to their clinic visit, but only 56.2% of clinic patients and 53% of pharmacy customers could confirm their prescription or purchase included antibiotics. Diagnostic uncertainty, financial incentives, understanding of antibiotics as anti-inflammatory and limited doctor-patient communication were identified as key drivers of antibiotic use. Completion and accuracy of electronic patient records were highly variable. Prevalence of antibiotic resistance in this rural population is relatively low despite high levels of antibiotic prescribing and self-medication. More systematic use of e-records and in-service training could improve antibiotic surveillance and stewardship in rural facilities. Combining qualitative and observational anthropological methods and concepts with microbiological and epidemiological investigation of antibiotic resistance at both research design and analytic synthesis stages substantially increases the validity of research findings and their utility in informing future intervention development.
Pathways to scale up early childhood programs: A scoping review of Reach Up and Care for Child Development
Authors: Buccini Gabriela , Kofke Lily , Case Haley , Katague Marina , Pacheco Maria Fernanda , Pérez-Escamilla Rafael
Published: August 2023

Evidence-based early childhood development (ECD) programs that strengthen nurturing parenting skills and promote early stimulation, such as Reach Up (RU) and Care for Child Development (CCD), are critical investments for interrupting cycles of intergenerational poverty; however, the implementation impact of these programs varies greatly globally. Analyzing systematically the evidence on the implementation pathways based on contexts (i.e., external and internal influences on intervention implementation), implementation strategies (i.e., mechanisms used to promote program initiation, design, and delivery with existing systems), and implementation outcomes (i.e., related to the implementation goals) can increase the likelihood of implementation success. Our scoping review aimed to identify implementation pathways of RU and CCD programs in low- and middle-income countries. A search in English, Spanish, and Portuguese of grey literature and five databases of peer reviewed literature; from inception through July 16, 2022, yielded 2,267 publications. Using predetermined eligibility criteria, 75 records yielded implementation details for 33 programs across 23 low- and middle-income countries. Two reviewers independently extracted program data on context, implementation strategies, and implementation outcomes following a program theory. A thematic analysis identified 37 implementation strategies across six “building blocks of implementation”: program emergence, intersectoriality, intervention characteristics, workforce, training, and monitoring systems. Implementation pathways across building blocks are highly influenced by contextual factors, such as infrastructure, social norms, and the target population’s demand and interest, which may shape different implementation outcomes. Six ‘building blocks’ shaping implementation pathways of CCD and RU in LMICs were identified. The careful consideration of context and use of intentional evidence-based planning can enable the successful implementation of ECD nurturing care interventions. We recommend the use of the ECD Implementation Checklist for Enabling Program Scale Up to guide decision-making regarding context and implementation strategies to support implementation outcomes and subsequent ECD program success.
Governing therapeutic pluralism: An environmental scan of the statutory regulation and government reimbursement of traditional and complementary medicine practitioners in the United States
Authors: Ijaz Nadine , Carrie Heather
Published: August 2023

The World Health Organization has called on nation-states to statutorily govern, and integrate into state-funded healthcare systems, practitioners of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) (whose therapeutic approaches that fall outside the boundaries of conventional biomedicine). To date, however, there exist few rigorous reports of the degree to which individual nations have responded to this call. This study, an environmental scan, comprehensively documents the statutory governance and government reimbursement of T&CM practitioners in the United States (US). Across the US, where health practitioner governance falls within state and territorial (rather than federal) jurisdiction, over 300 laws have been enacted to statutorily regulate a wide range of T&CM practitioners. Nurse-midwives and chiropractors are universally licensed across all 56 US regulatory jurisdictions (50 states, 5 territories and the District of Columbia); other major T&CM practitioner groups are regulated in fewer jurisdictions (acupuncturists, n = 52; massage therapists, n = 50; direct-entry [non-nurse] midwives, n = 36; naturopaths, n = 24). Additional statutory stipulations exist to govern chiropractic assistants (n = 30), auricular (ear) acupuncture practitioners (n = 24), homeopathic practitioners (n = 3), and psychedelic facilitators (n = 1), as well as biomedical professionals who practice acupuncture and related techniques, e.g., ‘dry needling’ (n = 44). While professional entry requirements for licensed T&CM practitioners are substantially harmonized across jurisdictions, restricted titles and statutory scopes of practice vary. Ten states have furthermore implemented ‘safe harbor’ (‘negative licensing’) exemption laws enabling otherwise-unregulated T&CM practitioners to legally practice. Limited government reimbursement for T&CM care is available across several federal and state programs, including Medicare, Tricare, Veterans Health Authority, and Medicaid. Nurse-midwifery and chiropractic care is most frequently reimbursed; acupuncturists, naturopaths and massage therapists are eligible for much more limited coverage. Medicaid programs for low-income people in ten states furthermore cover the services of (unlicensed but statutorily-recognized) birth doulas. Additional research is needed to assess the impact of these regulations on US health care.
Deep serological profiling of the Trypanosoma cruzi TSSA antigen reveals different epitopes and modes of recognition by Chagas disease patients
Authors: Romer Guadalupe , Bracco Leonel A. , Ricci Alejandro D. , Balouz Virginia , Berná Luisa , Villar Juan C. , Ramsey Janine M. , Nolan Melissa S. , Torrico Faustino , Kesper Norival , Altcheh Jaime , Robello Carlos , Buscaglia Carlos A. , Agüero Fernán
Published: August 2023

Background

Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas disease, displays a highly structured population, with multiple strains that can be grouped into 6–7 evolutionary lineages showing variable eco-epidemiological traits and likely also distinct disease-associated features. Previous works have shown that antibody responses to ‘isoforms’ of the polymorphic parasite antigen TSSA enable robust and sensitive identification of the infecting strain with near lineage-level resolution. To optimize the serotyping performance of this molecule, we herein used a combination of immunosignaturing approaches based on peptide microarrays and serum samples from Chagas disease patients to establish a deep linear B-cell epitope profiling of TSSA.

Methods/Principle findings

Our assays revealed variations in the seroprevalence of TSSA isoforms among Chagas disease populations from different settings, hence strongly supporting the differential distribution of parasite lineages in domestic cycles across the Americas. Alanine scanning mutagenesis and the use of peptides of different lengths allowed us to identify key residues involved in antibody pairing and the presence of three discrete B-cell linear epitopes in TSSAII, the isoform with highest seroprevalence in human infections. Comprehensive screening of parasite genomic repositories led to the discovery of 9 novel T. cruzi TSSA variants and one TSSA sequence from the phylogenetically related bat parasite T. cruzi marinkellei. Further residue permutation analyses enabled the identification of diagnostically relevant or non-relevant substitutions among TSSA natural polymorphisms. Interestingly, T. cruzi marinkellei TSSA displayed specific serorecognition by one chronic Chagas disease patient from Colombia, which warrant further investigations on the diagnostic impact of such atypical TSSA.

Conclusions/Significance

Overall, our findings shed new light into TSSA evolution, epitope landscape and modes of recognition by Chagas disease patients; and have practical implications for the design and/or evaluation of T. cruzi serotyping strategies.
First discovery of parasite eggs in a vertebrate coprolite of the Late Triassic in Thailand
Authors: Nonsrirach Thanit , Morand Serge , Ribas Alexis , Manitkoon Sita , Lauprasert Komsorn , Claude Julien
Published: August 2023

A paleoparasitological investigation of a vertebrate coprolite from the Huai Hin Lat Formation (Upper Triassic) was carried out. Five morphotypes of potential parasite eggs or sporocysts were identified in the coprolite by microscopic analysis using thin section technique. The rounded or oval shape and thick shell of one of the five morphotypes suggests that it belongs to nematode of the order Ascaridida. Systematic assignment of other morphotypes cannot be done in detail but suggests that the host was parasitized by different species of parasites. This is the first record of parasites in terrestrial vertebrate hosts from the Late Triassic in Asia and it provides new information on parasite-host interactions during the Mesozoic era.
Attention-grabbing news coverage: Violent images of the Black Lives Matter movement and how they attract user attention on Reddit
Authors: Henn Theresa , Posegga Oliver
Published: August 2023

Portrayals of violence are common in contemporary media reporting; they attract public attention and influence the reader’s opinion. In the particular context of a social movement such as Black Lives Matter (BLM), the portrayal of violence in news coverage attracts public attention and can affect the movement’s development, support, and public perception. Research on the relationship between digital news content featuring violence and user attention on social media has been scarce. This paper analyzes the relationship between violence in online reporting on BLM and its effect on user attention on the social media platform Reddit. The analysis focuses on the portrayal of violence in images used in BLM-related digital news coverage shared on Reddit. The dataset is comprised of 5,873 news articles with images. The classification of violent images is based on a VGG19 convolutional neural network (CNN) trained on a comprehensive dataset. The results suggest that what significantly affects user attention in digital news content is not the display of violence in images; rather, it is negative article titles, the news outlet’s political leanings and level of factual reporting, and platform affordances that significantly affect user attention. Thus, this paper adds to the understanding of user attention distributions online and paves the way for future research in this field.
Clinical and allelic heterogeneity in dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa- lessons from an Indian cohort
Authors: Gupta Divya , Jayashankar Charitha , Srinivas Manoj , Baraka Vishwanathan Gurudatta , Reddy Kristipati Raghavendra , Kubba Asha , Batrani Meenakshi , Hiremagalore Ravi
Published: August 2023

Background

Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) is due to variation in theCOL7A1gene. The clinical phenotype and severity depends on the type of variation and domain of the affected protein.

Objectives

To characterize the spectrum ofCOL7A1variations in a cohort of DEB patients from India, to correlate these findings with clinical phenotypes and to establish a genotype-phenotype correlation.

Methods

This was a retrospective, observational study involving patients with DEB diagnosed on the basis of clinical manifestations, Immuno-fluorescence antigen mapping (IFM) and genetic analysis. A genotype-phenotype correlation was attempted and observations were further explained using IFM on skin biopsies and molecular dynamic simulations. Descriptive statistics were performed using SPSS version 20.0 with P values of <0.05 considered significant.

Results

We report 68 unrelated Indian DEB patients classified as RDEB-Intermediate (RDEB-I), RDEB-Severe (RDEB-S) or DDEB based on the EB diagnostic matrix, immunofluorescence antigen mapping and genetic data. Of 68 DEB patients, 59 (86.76%) were inherited in a recessive pattern (RDEB) and 9 (13.24%) in a dominant pattern (DDEB). Limbal stem cell deficiency was seen in four cases of RDEB-S very early in the course of the disease. A total of 88 variants were detected of which 66 were novel. There were no hotspots and recurrent variations were seen in a very small group of patients. We found a high frequency of compound heterozygotes (CH) in RDEB patients born out of non-consanguineous marriage. RDEB patients older than two years who had oral mucosal involvement, and/or deformities, were more likely to have esophageal involvement. Genotype phenotype correlation showed a higher frequency of extracutaneous manifestations and deformities in patients with Premature Termination Codons (PTCs) than in patients with other variations. Molecular simulation studies in patients with missense mutations showed severe phenotype when they were localized in interrupted regions of GLY-X-Y repeats.

Conclusion

This large study of DEB patients in South Asia adds to the continually expanding genetic database of this condition. This study has direct implications on management as this group of patients can be screened early and managed appropriately.
Analytical sameness methodology for the evaluation of structural, physicochemical, and biological characteristics of Armlupeg: A pegfilgrastim biosimilar case study
Authors: Deshmukh Arati , Goyal Rishank , Sundaram Kalyana , Dange Kaustubh , Lakhote Tejshri , Niranjan Sanjay , Bharucha Jennifer , Mishra Ashok , Vats Bhavesh , Tiwari Sanjay
Published: August 2023

Pegfilgrastim is administered as an adjunct to chemotherapy to reduce the incidence of febrile neutropenia and associated infectious complications. Lupin’s Pegfilgrastim is a proposed biosimilar to the U.S.-referenced Neulasta®. Demonstration of biosimilarity requires extensive physicochemical and functional characterization of the biosimilar, and demonstration of analytical similarity to the reference product, in addition to clinical studies. This work is a case study for demonstrating the analytical similarity of Armlupeg (Lupin’s Pegfilgrastim) to Neulasta® with respect to structural and physicochemical attributes using several robust, orthogonal, and state-of-the-art techniques including high-end liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and spectroscopy techniques; circular dichroism; differential scanning calorimetry; nuclear magnetic resonance; analytical ultracentrifugation; and micro-flow imaging. Functional similarity was demonstrated using an in vitro cell proliferation assay to measure relative potency and surface plasmon resonance to measure receptor binding kinetics. Furthermore, comparative forced-degradation studies were performed to study the degradation of the products under stress conditions. The product attributes were ranked based on a critical quality attributes risk score according to their potential clinical impact. Based on criticality, all analyses were statistically evaluated to conclude analytical similarity. Lupin’s Pegfilgrastim was comparable to Neulasta® as demonstrated via structural, functional, and purity analyses. Lupin’s Pegfilgrastim complied with the quality and statistical ranges established using Neulasta®. Both products follow the same degradation pathways under stress conditions as observed in the forced-degradation studies. No new impurity or degradation product was observed in Lupin’s Pegfilgrastim. These data conclusively demonstrate the analytical similarity of Lupin’s Pegfilgrastim and Neulasta®.
The impact of prescription drug insurance on cost related non-adherence to medications in Canada: A Heckman sample selection approach
Authors: Zhang Qi , Laporte Audrey
Published: August 2023

Unlike some other high-income counties, Canada does not provide universal prescription drug coverage. The various extent of coverage may left some Canadians vulnerable to cost-related non-adherence (CRNA) to medications. Using data from the 2015 national cycle of the Canadian Community Health Survey, we examine the impact of having private and public drug coverage on mitigating the risk of CRNA with a logit model and a Heckman selection model. CRNA was only observed in respondents who had prescriptions to fill, and respondents did not randomly make decisions on whether to get a prescription. This results in a classic sample selection problem. We found a higher estimated probability of reporting CRNA for uninsured respondents from the Heckman selection model than from the logit model. Respondents with government coverage only had a slightly higher probability of reporting CRNA relative to respondents with private coverage. These findings suggest that, without accounting for sample selection, the risk of not having drug insurance coverage is likely to be underestimated. Moreover, despite covering a less healthy cohort of respondents, the government insurance plans reduce risk of CRNA to a comparable level with private insurance.
Relationship between aging population, birth rate and disposable income per capita in the context of COVID-19
Authors: Yang Guangli , Zhang Liangchen
Published: August 2023

The outbreak of the COVID-19 in early 2020 and the recurring epidemic in later years have disturbed China’s economy. Moreover, China’s demographic dividend has been disappearing due to its fastest aging population and declining birth rate. The birth rates in eastern provinces of China are much lower than those of the western provinces. Considering the impacts of the COVID-19 and aging population, this paper focused on the relationship between birth rate and the disposable income and tried to find effective measures to raise China’s birth rate. We discovered through regression analysis that the link between per capita disposable income and birth rate is initially "reverse J" and later "inverted J", indicating that per capita disposable income will influence the birth rate. Women’s employment rate and educational level are negatively correlated with the birth rate. To raise the fertility rate in China, it is necessary to increase the marriage rate and the willingness to have children by raising the per capita disposable income and introducing effective tax relief policies.
Combination therapy with budesonide and acetylcysteine alleviates LPS-induced acute lung injury via the miR-381/NLRP3 molecular axis
Authors: Yu Huimin , Lv Meifen , Zhang Shiying , Zou Kaiwen , Qian Yan , Lv Shaokun
Published: August 2023

Background

Acute lung injury (ALI) usually has a high morbidity and mortality rate, but the current treatment is relatively scarce. Both budesonide (Bud) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) exhibit protective effects in ALI, so we further investigated whether they have a synergistic effect on ALI when used together.

Methods

Establishment of a rat model of ALI with Lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Bud and NAC were administered by nebulized inhalation alone or in combination. Subsequently, HE staining was performed to observe the pathological changes in lungs of rat. Evans blue staining was implemented to assess alveolar permeability, and the pulmonary edema was assessed by measuring the ratio of wet to dry weight of the lung. Moreover, a TUNEL kit was served to test apoptosis in lung tissues. Western blot and immunohistochemistry were analyzed for expression of scorch-related proteins and NLRP3 in lung tissue, respectively. ELISA was implemented to detect inflammatory factor levels in BALF. and RT–qPCR was utilized to assess the expression level of miR-381. After stable transfection of miR-381 inhibitor or OE-NLRP3 in BEAS-2B treated with LPS, Bud and NAC, miR-381 expression was assessed by RT–qPCR, scorch death-related protein expression was measured by western blot, cell proliferation/viability was assayed by CCK-8, apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry, and ELISA was implemented to assess inflammatory factor levels. Furthermore, the Dual-luciferase assay was used to verify the targeting relationship.

Results

Bud and NAC treatment alone or in combination with nebulized inhalation attenuated the increased alveolar permeability, pulmonary edema, inflammatory response and scorching in LPS-induced ALI rats, and combined treatment with Bud and NAC was the most effective. In addition, combined treatment with Bud and NAC upregulated miR-381 expression and inhibited NLRP3 expression in cellular models and LPS-induced ALI rats. Transfection of the miR-381 inhibitor and OE-NLRP3 partially reversed the protective effects of Bud and NAC combination treatment on BEAS-2B cell proliferation inhibition, apoptosis, focal death and the inflammatory response.

Conclusion

Combined Bud and NAC nebulization therapy alleviates LPS-induced ALI by modulating the miR-381/NLRP3 molecular axis.
Integrated bioinformatics analyses identifying potential biomarkers for type 2 diabetes mellitus and breast cancer: In SIK1-ness and health
Authors: Durrani Ilhaam Ayaz , Bhatti Attya , John Peter
Published: August 2023

The bidirectional causal relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and breast cancer (BC) has been established by numerous epidemiological studies. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Identification of hub genes implicated in T2DM-BC molecular crosstalk may help elucidate on the causative mechanisms. For this, expression series GSE29231 (T2DM-adipose tissue), GSE70905 (BC- breast adenocarcinoma biopsies) and GSE150586 (diabetes and BC breast biopsies) were extracted from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and analyzed to obtain differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The overlapping DEGs were determined using FunRich. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Transcription Factor (TF) analyses were performed on EnrichR software and a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using STRING software. The network was analyzed on Cytoscape to determine hub genes and Kaplan-Meier plots were obtained. A total of 94 overlapping DEGs were identified between T2DM and BC samples. These DEGs were mainly enriched for GO terms RNA polymerase II core promoter proximal region sequence and its DNA binding, and cAMP response element binding protein, and KEGG pathways including bladder cancer, thyroid cancer and PI3K-AKT signaling. Eight hub genes were identified: interleukin 6 (IL6), tumor protein 53 (TP53), interleukin 8 (CXCL8), MYC, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), beta-catenin 1 (CTNNB1), nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3) and interleukin 1 beta (IL1β). MMP9 and MYC associated unfavorably with overall survival (OS) in breast cancer patients, IL6, TP53, IL1β and CTNNB1 associated favorably, whereas NOS3 did not show any correlation with OS. Salt inducible kinase 1 (SIK1) was identified as a significant key DEG for comorbid samples when compared with BC, also dysregulated in T2DM and BC samples (adjusted p <0.05). Furthermore, four of the significant hub genes identified, including IL6, CXCL8, IL1B and MYC were also differentially expressed for comorbid samples, however at p < 0.05. Our study identifies key genes including SIK1, for comorbid state and 8 hub genes that may be implicated in T2DM-BC crosstalk. However, limitations associated with the insilico nature of this study necessitates for subsequent validation in wet lab. Hence, further investigation is crucial to study the molecular mechanisms of action underlying these genes to fully explore their potential as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for T2DM-BC association.
Water funds within village savings and loans associations: A promising solution to improve water user fee collection in rural Uganda
Authors: Marshall Katherine , Setty Karen , Mutegeki Allan , Peletz Rachel , Khush Ranjiv , Delaire Caroline
Published: August 2023

Without a functional revenue collection mechanism, rural communities in low-income countries cannot maintain or repair broken water supply infrastructure, such as groundwater wells equipped with handpumps. One approach to promote regular water user payments shifts responsibilities for fee collection from volunteer committees to village savings and loans associations (VSLAs; self-governed investment groups that follow strong accountability practices). We piloted this approach among 10 communities in Kabarole district, Uganda, and evaluated financial outcomes over two years. Qualitative interviews with 249 respondents helped identify drivers of performance and challenges. VSLAs contributed 47–221 USD annually (first-year median: 134 USD, second-year median: 112 USD) for water point upkeep (achieving 45–117% of target amounts). This revenue represented a considerable improvement over the prior scenario where communities had no reserve funds for water point maintenance. Financial transparency and increased social capital appeared to enhance collective efficacy and increase user fee collection. We identified two main threats to VSLA sustainability: perceived unfairness stemming from some water point users not joining the VSLA and the risk of water funds being loaned out if they remained unspent for too long. Coupling the VSLA model with professional handpump maintenance services could help ensure improved long-term water point functionality.
Costume design in film: Telling the story and creating Malcolm X’s character in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X (1992)
Authors: Torregrosa Marta , Noguera María , Luque-Zequeira Natalia
Published: August 2023

Costume designers collaborate with film directors to bring the characters in the script to life. Film costumes are a visual tool of a narrative nature with which costume designers meet the diegetic needs of each story. Through clothing, they make internal aspects of the characters visible, such as their transformations, their nature and styles, their passions, aspirations and suffering, as well as aspects of the spatial, temporal and social context in which the stories take place. This study explores costume design by Ruth E. Carter as a dramatic tool in the biopic Malcolm X (1992), directed by Spike Lee. To that end, the function of film costumes is assessed both as a visual and narrative tool that exceeds the aesthetic dimension and is essential to give meaning to any film production.
MENCIPTAKAN MASA LALU DI KALANGAN ORANG ASMAT, PAPUA BARAT DAYA (MAKINGS OF THE PAST AMONG ASMAT, SOUTHWEST PAPUA)
Authors: Timmer Jaap
Published: August 2023

Dalam artikel ini saya mengeksplorasi mobilisasi waktu transendental oleh orang Asmat dengan mempertimbangkan pengalaman mereka dalam konversi agama dan ide tentang perkembangan yang diperkenalkan oleh misionaris Katolik, pemerintah kolonial Belanda, pemerintah Indonesia, dan, yang terbaru, para pendakwah Islam. Saya akan membahas bagaimana waktu transendental yang diajarkan oleh gereja dan negara dimobilisasi oleh Asmat dalam menanggapi harapan masa depan yang menuntut sebuah masa lalu. Dari perspektif beberapa orang Asmat yang baru saja masuk Islam, saya akan menunjukkan bagaimana bagi umat Katolik masa lalu mengungkapkan keajaiban identitas yang kontras dengan bagaimana negara dan gereja menggambarkan masa lalu Asmat sebagai abstraksi yang dapat dibuang.
NARASI DIALOG DAMAI PAPUA-JAKARTA DALAM BINGKAI KETAHANAN NASIONAL DAN IMPLEMENTASINYA
Authors: Sihaloho Rezya Agnesica Helena
Published: August 2023

Ketahanan nasional menjadi bentuk upaya suatu negara untuk mengatasi ancaman, hambatan serta tantangan dalam memperjuangkan kepentingan nasional. Hal itu sejalan dengan bagaimana upaya Indonesia dalam menghadapi isu Papua. Keamanan menjadi bagian yang tidak terpisahkan dari ketahanan nasional suatu bangsa begitupun persoalan mengenai Papua yang juga turut memberikan pengaruh dalam ketahanan nasional. Meskipun di setiap pemerintahan telah merespons hal tersebut dengan berbagai cara seperti kebijakan pemerintah yang menyasar militerisasi, ekonomi, dan pembangunan. Namun, hanya di pemerintahan Gusdur yang menunjukkan kebijakan pemerintah dapat menurunkan eskalasi konflik yang masih berlangsung hingga saat ini. Sehingga muncul narasi dialog damai papua di era pemerintahan Presiden Jokowi untuk secara langsung berinteraksi dengan Orang Asli Papua (OAP). Melalui artikel ini penulis akan mengkaji narasi dialog damai Papua-Jakarta dalam Bingkai Ketahanan Nasional dengan menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif dengan teknik studi pustaka dan tinjauan historis untuk mengkaji Narasi dialog damai dan implementasinya. Temuan dari tulisan ini melihat bahwa narasi dialog hanya sebatas wacana dan belum dapat direalisasikan karena konsep dialog belum jelas terlihat.
PERFORMATIVE POLITICS AND DIGITAL POPULISM IN INDONESIA
Authors: Nadzir Ibnu
Published: August 2023

Dalam beberapa tahun terakhir, gerakan-gerakan populis telah menjadi salah satu kekuatan berpengaruh dalam politik Indonesia. Kemunculan cepat gerakan-gerakan ini tidak dapat dilepaskan dari integrasi media digital ke dalam politik, khususnya untuk memobilisasi dan menyebarkan gagasan – gagasan politik mereka. Meskipun demikian, kajian yang berupaya memahami hubungan antara populisme dan media digital masih relatif sedikit. Dalam konteks tersebut, artikel ini mengkaji pertautan antara teknologi dan perkembangan populisme di Indonesia. Berangkat dari perspektif populisme sebagai langgam politik, artikel ini berargumen bahwa media digital terpadu dalam terbentuknya gerakan-gerakan populis di Indonesia. Fitur-fitur spesifik dari media digital menyediakan ruang yang ideal bagi politik performatif yang menjadi landasan penting bagi populisme. Untuk mengelaborasikan proposisi tersebut, artikel ini membandingkan dua gerakan populis di Indonesia: gerakan nasionalis dan Islamis. Kedua gerakan tersebut menggunakan media digital untuk memeperluas pengaruh mereka dalam politik Indonesia. Meskipun demikian, pengaruh tersebut tetap dibatasi pada kemampuan mereka untuk mengontrol institusi politik yang telah mapan. Dalam konteks tersebut,  populisme sulit untuk dapat dipisahkan dari institusi-institusi politik formal yang kemudian berpengaruh pada pelemahan demokrasi di Indonesia.  Kata Kunci: digital, populisme, demokrasi, Indonesia, politik performatif
STRATEGI KEPEMIMPINAN KRISIS INDONESIA DALAM MENGHADAPI TANTANGAN GLOBAL UNTUK PEMULIHAN EKONOMI
Authors: Said Moch. Fauzie
Published: August 2023

Ketidakpasitian kondisi global saat ini dirasakan oleh setiap negara di dunia. Kondisi yang berubah-ubah dipicu oleh beberapa tantangan yang sedang terjadi saat ini dan membawa pengaruh besar bagi sikap pemimpin sebuah negara. Dengan melalukan analisis pemberitaan online, artikel ini ingin mengetahui bagaimana kepemimpinan krisis di Indonesia digunakan untuk menghadapi tantangan global dalam pemulihan ekonomi. Artikel ini melakukan telaah teks media online yang terkait dengan fenomena yang diteliti, serta melakukan komparasi antara gaya kepemimpinan transaksional dan tranformasional yang dikaji dari beberapa literatur online (melalui pemberitaan media online). Kajian ini menemukan bahwa, Presiden Jokowi menggunakan dua gaya kepemimpinan dalam menghadapi tantangan global pemulihan ekonomi, yaitu gaya kepemimpinan transaksional pada aspek (1) reaksi pemimpin; (2) pemberdayaan budaya dan (3) kinerja manajemen, sedangkan pada aspek lainnya, yaitu: (1) dorongan motivasi kepada pengikut dan (2) mekanisme pemecahan masalah, Presiden Jokowi lebih menggunakan gaya trasnformasional. Dari hasil kajian ini disimpulkan bahwa gaya kepemimpinan Presiden Jokowi bersifat adaptif terhadap perubahan yang terjadi. Kata Kunci: kepemimpinan krisis, Presiden Jokowi, pemulihan ekonomi, tantangan global
REVIEW BUKU KONSERVATISME ISLAM: POLITIK IDENTITAS DAN KELOMPOK ISLAMIS DI INDONESIA
Authors: Zulfadli Zulfadli
Published: August 2023

Setelah jatuhnya rezim Orde Baru telah terjadi pergeseran dinamika Islam dalam masyarakat muslim di Indonesia. Salah satu fenomena yang muncul sejak dua dasawarsa terakhir adalah menguatnya konservatisme Islam dalam berbagai dimensi kehidupan masyarakat baik secara teologis, sosiologis-politik. Konservatisme Islam tidak hanya menunjukkan pengaruh yang cukup kuat dalam kehidupan masyarakat akan tetapi juga merupakan tantangan serius terhadap Islam arus utama Indonesia yang mengedepankan karakteristik moderatisme Islam. Pergeseran ini, sangat berbeda dengan persepsi Islam Indonesia yang dikenal selama ini sebagai salah satu entitas Islam yang distingtif, ramah,  karakteristik moderat, inklusif, toleran, pluralistik menunjukkan wajah yang senyum mengalami perubahan menuju arus konservatisme agama. Buku ini merupakan studi terbaru daam menggambarkan bagaimana dinamika Islam Indonesia mengalami penguatan ke arah konservatisme agama. Kehadiran kelompok keagamaan konservatif secara aktif merespon isu-isu sosial politik dan keagamaan dan mempromosikan sikap dan pemahaman konservatisme agama.  Aktivitas kelompok konservatisme Islam telah mengubah wajah Islam Indonesia dari yang bercorak inklusif-moderat ke arah orientasi ekslusif-literal. Buku ini diakhiri dengan prediksi bahwa Islamisme konservatif masih menjadi pengaruh signifikan bagi perkembangan politik dan sosial-ekonomi di Indonesia untuk masa depan. Kata Kunci: Konservatisme Islam, Kelompok Keagamaan, Politik Identitas, Demokrasi
CHAIRMANSHIP IN ASEAN: LESSON LEARNED FOR INDONESIA
Authors: Farhana Faudzan
Published: August 2023

Indonesia akan memegang Keketuaan ASEAN pada tahun 2023. Jika dibandingkan dengan situasi pada saat Indonesia terakhir kali memegang posisi ini, Indonesia akan menghadapi dinamika dan prioritas agenda yang jauh berbeda. Meski demikian, kepentingan Indonesia di ASEAN masih tetap sama. Sebagai fondasi kebijakan luar negerinya, Indonesia harus memanfaatkan posisi keketuannya untuk mengeaskan kepentingan nasionalnya di dalam rencana kawasan. Makalah ini menganalisa tren dan dinamika Keketuaan ASEAN selama sepuluh tahun kebelakang (2011 hingga 2021). Tujuannya untuk menemukan isu-isu yang penting untuk menjadi fokus keketuaan Indonesia di ASEAN. Hasilnya, ada lima permasalahan yang penting untuk menjadi perhatian Indonesia, yakni: (1) situasi Laut China Selatan, (2) persaingan antara Amerika Serikat dan Tiongkok, (3) situasi di Myanmar, (4) pengimplementasian AOIP, dan (5) pemulihan kawasan pascapandemi. Selain itu, Indonesia juga dapat memanfaatkan momentum keketuaannya di ASEAN untuk meningkatkan kesadaran masyarakat umum di Indonesia tentang ASEAN dengan melibatkan generasi muda dan komunitas akar rumput dalam penyelenggaraan berbagai forum dan meningkatkan pemberitaan tentang ASEAN termasuk melalui penggunaan media sosial.Kata Kunci: ASEAN, Keketuaan ASEAN, Indonesia, pandemi Covid-19, Indo-Pacific.
A Summary of the Life of "The Father of Optometry," Charles Prentice
Authors: Amos John F.
Published: August 2023

Charles F. Prentice published a book entitled, Legalized Optometry and the Memoirs of its Founder in 1926. Only 200 copies were published. This 416-page book was divided into two parts. The first part describes the events that transpired leading to the attempt to pass the first optometry practice act in the state of New York. The latter part describes Prentice’s life. While every optometrist has heard of Prentice, many are not familiar with his contributions to the profession of optometry. This summary offers an opportunity to read about the achievements of the man who has been called the “Father of Optometry.”
"Just Right and Getting Better" - The Legacy of Dr. C. Clayton Powell Sr.
Authors: Marshall Edwin C.
Published: August 2023

This paper presents a profile of visionary optometric and civic leader, Dr. C. Clayton Powell (1927-2020). After graduating from Morehouse College and Chicago College of Optometry, he entered optometry practice in Atlanta, Georgia, and embarked on a lifetime of service on both local and national stages. He is best known in optometric circles as co-founder and first president of the National Optometric Association.
Learning Practices in a Museum Art Studio: Designing a Learning Framework for an Arts-Based Learning Team
Authors: Wardrip Peter Samuelson , White Annie , Brahms Lisa , White Annie
Published: August 2023

This design case explores the design of a learning framework at a museum. Specifically, the case explores the development of learning practices (LPs) for an arts-based learning space and uses these practices to explain and design for learning and deepening engagement. These LPs represent a means for developing a common language across studio educators for the kinds of learning and engagement they sought to support in the museum Art Studio. This framework aligns with the mission and vision of the museum, and the development process helped form the team’s common language. In all, this work contributes to research on educator professional teams as well as works attempting to articulate what it means to engage in arts-based learning within a museum setting.