bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimal microbiological sampling for the diagnosis of osteoarticular infection
Authors: Sousa Ricardo , Carvalho André , Santos Ana Cláudia , Abreu Miguel Araújo
Published: June 2021

Infection is a dire complication afflicting every field of orthopaedics and traumatology. If specific clinical, laboratory and imaging parameters are present, infection is often assumed even in the absence of microbiological confirmation. However, apart from confirming infection, knowing the exact infecting pathogen(s) and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns is paramount to help guide treatment. Every effort should therefore be undertaken with that goal in mind. Not all microbiological findings carry the same relevance, and knowing exactly how and where a sample was collected is key. Several different sampling techniques are available, and one must be aware of both advantages and limitations. Microbiological sampling alternatives in some of the most common clinical scenarios such as native and prosthetic joint infections, osteomyelitis and fracture-related infections, spinal and diabetic foot infections will be discussed. Orthopaedic surgeons should also be aware of basic laboratory sample processing techniques as they have a direct impact on the way specimens should be dealt with and transported to the laboratory. Only by knowing these basic principles will surgeons be able to participate in the multidisciplinary discussion and decision making around how to interpret microbiological findings in each specific patient.

Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2021;6:390-398. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.6.210011
The use of ‘blocking’ screws for the ‘closed’ reduction of difficult proximal and distal femoral fractures
Authors: Garnavos Christos
Published: June 2021

Most meta-diaphyseal femoral fractures that are treated with intramedullary nailing can be reduced satisfactorily by skeletal traction without ‘opening’ the fracture site and therefore, complications such as nonunion, infection and wound healing problems are reduced. In cases where adequate fracture reduction cannot be achieved by skeletal traction, ‘reduction aids’ have been used during the operative procedure in order to avoid the exposure of the fracture site. The ‘blocking’ screw, as a reduction tool, was proposed initially for the ‘difficult’ metaphyseal fractures of the tibia. Subsequently, surgeons have tried to implement the ‘blocking’ screw technique in ‘difficult’ distal femoral fractures. This article presents the ‘blocking’ screw technique as an adjunctive process in the management of fractures of the proximal and distal femur which are found to be non-reducible by skeletal traction alone. The minimal invasiveness of the technique contributes greatly to the preservation of both the soft tissue integrity and the fracture haematoma and thus reduces the major complications that can occur by exposing the fracture site.

Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2021;6:451-458. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.6.210024
PointCartesian-Net: enhancing 3D coordinates for semantic segmentation of large-scale point clouds
Authors: Zhou Yuan , Sun Qi , Meng Jin , Hu Qinglong , Lyu Jiahang , Wang Zhiwei , Wang Shifeng
Published: June 2021

Collecting accurate outdoor point cloud data depends on complex algorithms and expensive experimental equipment. The requirement of data collecting and the characteristics of point clouds limit the development of semantic segmentation technology in point clouds. Therefore, this paper proposes a neural network model named PointCartesian-Net that uses only 3D coordinates of point cloud data for semantic segmentation. First, to increase the feature information and reduce the loss of geometric information, the 3D coordinates are encoded to establish a connection between neighboring points. Second, a dense connect and residual connect are employed to progressively increase the receptive field for each 3D point, and aggregated multi-level and multi-scale semantic features obtain rich contextual information. Third, inspired by the success of the SENet model in 2D images, a 3D SENet that learns the relation between the characteristic channels is proposed. It allows the PointCartesian-Net to weight the informative features while suppressing less useful ones. The experimental results produce 60.2% Mean Intersection-over-Union and 89.1% overall accuracy on the large-scale benchmark Semantic3D dataset, which shows the feasibility and applicability of the network.
Ultrahigh-order harmonic generation in the subnanometer wavelength range: the role of finite atomic size
Authors: Khairulin I. R. , Emelin M. Yu. , Ryabikin M. Yu.
Published: June 2021

As shown by recent theoretical studies, intense ultrafast laser sources of long-wave infrared range are capable, in principle, of generating ultrahigh-order harmonics in the wavelength range of the atomic or even subatomic scale. Under these conditions the atom as an elementary emitter can no longer be considered within the framework of the point dipole model generally accepted in the theory of high-order harmonic generation. It can be expected that the non-pointness of an atomic dipole will lead to a change in both the power of the radiation emitted by it and its directivity pattern. In this paper, we study these effects in detail using the example of the hydrogen atom. The analysis was carried out within the widely used recollision model, according to which the high-frequency dipole moment responsible for the generation of high harmonics by an atomic system is induced as a result of the interference of the de Broglie wave of the recolliding electron with the wave function of the atomic bound state. Taking into account the non-pointness of the induced dipole, the dependences of the power and directivity pattern of its radiation on the wavelength of the emitted photon are found. In particular, a universal atomic dipole non-pointness factor is obtained in an explicit form, which depends on the wavelength and emission angle of the harmonic photon and makes it possible to calculate the frequency and angular characteristics of the emitted harmonics based on the results obtained in the point dipole approximation.
Laboratory X-ray interferometry imaging with a fan-shaped source grating
Authors: Shi Zhitian , Jefimovs Konstantins , Romano Lucia , Vila-Comamala Joan , Stampanoni Marco
Published: June 2021

The orientation mismatch between the cone beam of an X-ray tube and the grating lines in a flat substrate remains a big challenge for laboratory grating-based X-ray interferometry, since it severely limits the imaging field of view. Here, we fabricated fan-shaped

G

0

source gratings by modulating the electric field during the deep reactive ion etching of silicon. The gold electroplated fan-shaped

G

0

grating (3.0 µm pitch) in a 20 keV interferometer improves the uniformity of the field of view with an increase of average visibility from 16.2% to 18.5% and a better angular sensitivity (by a factor 5.8) at the edges.
Magnetically induced linear,nonreciprocal, and tunable transparency
Authors: Gevorgyan A. H.
Published: June 2021

We report the theoretical discovery of a new effect, namely, the effect
of magnetically induced transparency. The effect is observed in a
magnetically active helically structured periodical medium. Changing
the external magnetic field and absorption, one can tune the frequency
and the linewidth of the transparency band.
Locally excited surface plasmon resonance for refractive index sensing with high sensitivity and high resolution
Authors: Wang Xue , Wang Chang , Sun Xiaojuan , Li Xin , Liu Hongyao , Sun Xuqing , Wang Fei , Lu Xinchao , Huang Chengjun
Published: June 2021

An angle-interrogated surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on a prism-coupled configuration has been extensively applied in biomedicine, environment monitoring, and food safety. Yet, the low sensitivity and low spatial resolution impede its further development. In this Letter, we investigated objective-coupled locally excited SPR for refractive index (RI) sensing with high sensitivity and high resolution. Through theoretical analysis, the SPR angle was retrieved from back focal plane imaging, which was highly correlated to the RI of the surrounding medium. Experimentally, a RI sensitivity of 77.41° refractive index unit

(

R
I
U

)

−
1

was achieved with a detection range of 0.068 RIU when using glucose solutions for the demonstration. Furthermore, we acquired the spatial resolution of the configuration being 290 nm, and the RI measurement to a polydimethylsiloxane droplet with high spatial resolution was implemented. As a result, compared with the classical prism-coupled configuration, the locally excited SPR provides a method to achieve RI sensing with high sensitivity and high resolution.
Mode-locked all-PM Nd-doped fiber laser near 910  nm
Authors: Le Corre Kilian , Robin Thierry , Cadier Benoit , Becheker Rezki , Godin Thomas , Hideur Ammar , Gilles Hervé , Girard Sylvain , Laroche Mathieu
Published: June 2021

We present a compact passively mode-locked fiber laser emitting near 910 nm with an all-polarization-maintaining fiber laser architecture. The ring-cavity laser configuration includes a core-pumped neodymium-doped fiber as a gain medium and a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror as a passive mode-locking element. A bandpass filter is used to suppress parasitic emission near 1.06 µm and allows wavelength tuning between 903 and 912 nm. The laser operates in a highly stable and self-starting all-normal-dispersion regime with a minimum pulse duration of 8 ps at 28.2 MHz pulse repetition rate and 0.2 nJ maximum pulse energy. A single-pass amplifier stage increases the pulse energy up to 1.5 nJ, and pulse compression with a pair of gratings is demonstrated with nearly Fourier transform limited pulses.
Dietary vitamin E reaches the mitochondria in the flight muscle of zebra finches but only if they exercise
Authors: Cooper-Mullin Clara , Carter Wales A. , Amato Ronald S. , Podlesak David , McWilliams Scott R.
Published: June 2021

Whether dietary antioxidants are effective for alleviating oxidative costs associated with energy-demanding life events first requires they are successfully absorbed in the digestive tract and transported to sites associated with reactive species production (e.g. the mitochondria). Flying birds are under high energy and oxidative demands, and although birds commonly ingest dietary antioxidants in the wild, the bioavailability of these consumed antioxidants is poorly understood. We show for the first time that an ingested lipophilic antioxidant, α-tocopherol, reached the mitochondria in the flight muscles of a songbird but only if they regularly exercise (60 min of perch-to-perch flights two times in a day or 8.5 km day-1). Deuterated α-tocopherol was found in the blood of exercise-trained zebra finches within 6.5 hrs and in isolated mitochondria from pectoral muscle within 22.5 hrs, but never reached the mitochondria in caged sedentary control birds. This rapid pace (within a day) and extent of metabolic routing of a dietary antioxidant to muscle mitochondria means that daily consumption of such dietary sources can help to pay the inevitable oxidative costs of flight muscle metabolism, but only when combined with regular exercise.
Bartlett-corrected tests for varying precision beta regressions with application to environmental biometrics
Authors: Guedes Ana C. , Cribari-Neto Francisco , Espinheira Patrícia L.
Published: June 2021

Beta regressions are commonly used with responses that assume values in the standard unit interval, such as rates, proportions and concentration indices. Hypothesis testing inferences on the model parameters are typically performed using the likelihood ratio test. It delivers accurate inferences when the sample size is large, but can otherwise lead to unreliable conclusions. It is thus important to develop alternative tests with superior finite sample behavior. We derive the Bartlett correction to the likelihood ratio test under the more general formulation of the beta regression model, i.e. under varying precision. The model contains two submodels, one for the mean response and a separate one for the precision parameter. Our interest lies in performing testing inferences on the parameters that index both submodels. We use three Bartlett-corrected likelihood ratio test statistics that are expected to yield superior performance when the sample size is small. We present Monte Carlo simulation evidence on the finite sample behavior of the Bartlett-corrected tests relative to the standard likelihood ratio test and to two improved tests that are based on an alternative approach. The numerical evidence shows that one of the Bartlett-corrected typically delivers accurate inferences even when the sample is quite small. An empirical application related to behavioral biometrics is presented and discussed.
The diagnostic value of skin biopsies in Sneddon syndrome
Authors: Starmans N. L. P. , Zoetemeyer S. , van Dijk M. R. , Kappelle L. J. , Frijns C. J. M.
Published: June 2021

Background

Sneddon syndrome (SS) is defined by widespread livedo reticularis (LR) and stroke. There is no single diagnostic test for SS and diagnosis can be solely based on clinical features. This cross-sectional case-control study aimed to determine the diagnostic value of skin biopsies in SS patients.

Materials and methods

We studied skin biopsies from patients with a clinical diagnosis of SS or isolated LR. We also studied controls with vitiligo or normal skin. Biopsies were considered standardized if 3 biopsies were taken from the white centre of the livedo and reached until the dermis-subcutis border. Biopsies were scored for features of an occlusive microangiopathy without knowledge of the clinical features. Sensitivity and specificity of the biopsy findings were calculated with the clinical criteria as the reference standard.

Results

We included 34 SS patients, 14 isolated LR patients and 41 control patients. Biopsies of 17 patients with SS (50%), 4 with isolated LR (31%) and 10 control patients (24%) showed at least one artery in the deep dermis with a thickened vessel wall combined with recanalization or neovascularization (sensitivity 50% and specificity 69% with LR as reference). Standardized biopsies increased the sensitivity to 70%. In a post hoc analysis the combination of an occlusive microangiopathy and the presence of a livedo pattern in the superficial dermis increased the specificity to 92%.

Conclusions

Standardized skin biopsies can support the clinical diagnosis of SS. An occlusive microangiopathy as the only positive criterion for the diagnosis of SS had insufficient specificity for a definite diagnosis.
Infection rate models for COVID-19: Model risk and public health news sentiment exposure adjustments
Authors: Chalkiadakis Ioannis , Yan Hongxuan , Peters Gareth W. , Shevchenko Pavel V.
Published: June 2021

During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments globally had to impose severe contact restriction measures and social mobility limitations in order to limit the exposure of the population to COVID-19. These public health policy decisions were informed by statistical models for infection rates in national populations. In this work, we are interested in modelling the temporal evolution of national-level infection counts for the United Kingdom (UK—Wales, England, Scotland), Germany (GM), Italy (IT), Spain (SP), Japan (JP), Australia (AU) and the United States (US). We model the national-level infection counts for the period January 2020 to January 2021, thus covering both the pre- and post-vaccine roll-out periods, in order to better understand the most reliable model structure for the COVID-19 epidemic growth curve. We achieve this by exploring a variety of stochastic population growth models and comparing their calibration, with respect to in-sample fitting and out-of-sample forecasting, both with and without exposure adjustment, to the most widely used and reported growth model, the Gompertz population model, often referred to in the public health policy discourse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Model risk as we explore it in this work manifests in the inability to adequately capture the behaviour of the disease progression growth rate curve. Therefore, our concept of model risk is formed relative to the standard reference Gompertz model used by decision-makers, and then we can characterise model risk mathematically as having two components: the dispersion of the observation distribution, and the structure of the intensity function over time for cumulative counts of new infections daily (i.e. the force of infection) attributed directly to the COVID-19 pandemic. We also explore how to incorporate in these population models the effect that governmental interventions have had on the number of infected cases. This is achieved through the development of an exposure adjustment to the force of infection comprised of a purpose-built sentiment index, which we construct from various authoritative public health news reporting. The news reporting media we employed were the New York Times, the Guardian, the Telegraph, Reuters global blog, as well as national and international health authorities: the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organisation. We find that exposure adjustments that incorporate sentiment are better able to calibrate to early stages of infection spread in all countries under study.
Resection of isolated brain metastases in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients – evaluation of outcome and prognostic factors: A retrospective multicenter study
Authors: Fuchs Julia , Früh Martin , Papachristofilou Alexandros , Bubendorf Lukas , Häuptle Pirmin , Jost Lorenz , Zippelius Alfred , Rothschild Sacha I.
Published: June 2021

Background and objectives

Brain metastases occur in about 30% of all patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In selected patients, long-term survival can be achieved by resection of brain metastases. In this retrospective study, we investigate the prognosis of NSCLC patients with resected brain metastases and possible prognostic factors.

Methods

In 119 patients with NSCLC and resected brain metastases, we report the following parameters: extent of resection, resection status, postoperative complications and overall survival (OS). We used the log-rank test to compare unadjusted survival probabilities and multivariable Cox regression to investigate potential prognostic factors with respect to OS.

Results

A total of 146 brain metastases were resected in 119 patients. The median survival was 18.0 months. Postoperative cerebral radiotherapy was performed in 86% of patients. Patients with postoperative radiotherapy had significantly longer survival (median OS 20.2 vs. 9.0 months, p = 0.002). The presence of multiple brain metastases was a negative prognostic factor (median OS 13.5 vs. 19.5 months, p = 0.006). Survival of patients with extracerebral metastases of NSCLC was significantly shorter than in patients who had exclusively brain metastases (median OS 14.0 vs. 23.1 months, p = 0.005). Both of the latter factors were independent prognostic factors for worse outcome in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions

Based on these data, resection of solitary brain metastases in patients with NSCLC and controlled extracerebral tumor disease is safe and leads to an overall favorable outcome. Postoperative radiotherapy is recommended to improve prognosis.
Opportunities and limitations: A comparative analysis of citizen science and expert recordings for bioacoustic research
Authors: Jäckel Denise , Mortega Kim G. , Sturm Ulrike , Brockmeyer Ulrich , Khorramshahi Omid , Voigt-Heucke Silke L.
Published: June 2021

Citizen science is an approach that has become increasingly popular in recent years. Despite this growing popularity, there still is widespread scepticism in the academic world about the validity and quality of data from citizen science projects. And although there might be great potential, citizen science is a rarely used approach in the field of bioacoustics. To better understand the possibilities, but also the limitations, we here evaluated data generated in a citizen science project on nightingale song as a case study. We analysed the quantity and quality of song recordings made in a non-standardized way with a smartphone app by citizen scientists and the standardized recordings made with professional equipment by academic researchers. We made comparisons between the recordings of the two approaches and among the user types of the app to gain insights into the temporal recording patterns, the quantity and quality of the data. To compare the deviation of the acoustic parameters in the recordings with smartphones and professional devices from the original song recordings, we conducted a playback test. Our results showed that depending on the user group, citizen scientists produced many to a lot of recordings of valid quality for further bioacoustic research. Differences between the recordings provided by the citizen and the expert group were mainly caused by the technical quality of the devices used—and to a lesser extent by the citizen scientists themselves. Especially when differences in spectral parameters are to be investigated, our results demonstrate that the use of the same high-quality recording devices and calibrated external microphones would most likely improve data quality. We conclude that many bioacoustic research questions may be carried out with the recordings of citizen scientists. We want to encourage academic researchers to get more involved in participatory projects to harness the potential of citizen science—and to share scientific curiosity and discoveries more directly with society.
The Iraqi spectres of Marx
Authors: Al-Musawi Muhsin J.
Published: June 2021

This reading attempts to trace the awareness and mention of Marx in Iraqi writing, focusing on some signposts that also shed light on the intellectual history of Iraq since 1914. It argues its case through an exploration of texts and recollections to present another side of this history as a controversial narrative of multiple positions and contentions. If the spectre of Marx shocked conservatives and was widely manipulated in Cold War politics, its theoretical permeation of an Iraqi discourse of social justice cannot be ignored. Almost every Iraqi narrative, poem, or essay speaks of the need for equitable balance of power, social justice, and social and political emancipation. To have these concerns materialize, there has been a need for some organized forum, a party, society, or a forum. British intelligence service began to trace the specters of Marx early on, and held all, even nationalists, suspect. The trepidations of the Empire were well conveyed in the reports of its agents in Iraq.
The neighbourhood of Al-Mutanabbi Street, Baghdad: A personal narrative and recollections of a childhood in Baghdad in the 1940s
Authors: Karim Ghazi A.
Published: June 2021

These notes are a continuation of the recollections of the author’s personal experiences growing up in 1940s Baghdad while actively engaged in the family business of book selling in the old Suq Al-Saray which was located in the centre of what is now identified as ‘old’ Baghdad City. Reflecting the experience of being born and raised within a block of the now world famous Al-Mutanaby Street, aspects of these recollections were recently published in the form of two articles published in the International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies (9:3, pp. 165–90) and Journal of Contemporary Iraq & the Arab World (13:2, pp. 217–25). The present contribution represents a continuation of these personal recollections together with some associated historical commentary that terminates in October 1951 on the author’s departure from Baghdad to study engineering in England.
TOURISM AREA LIFE CYCLE: Historiographic interpretation of Reguliersdwarsstraat as LGBT tourist territory in Amsterdam
Authors: Neves Christopher Smith Bignardi
Published: June 2021

Urban destinations concentrate on the largest amount of entertainment for LGBT Tourism (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender). Amsterdam (Netherlands) has several images and stereotypes that project it as a recognized gay-friendly tourist destination, motivated by the attributes associated with freedom, nightlife, parties, and the traditional LGBT Pride Parade in boats (Canal Parade). This study presents the historical evolution of Reguliersdwarsstraat, known as Amsterdam's gay street from the perspective of LGBT tourist territory, with analyses for the model proposed by Butler (1980), Life Cycle of the Tourist Area. The netnographic study describes the path that culminates in a successful case, starting in the 1960s, declining in 2010, and rejuvenating soon thereafter. The considerations point out that the existence of LGBT territories, such as Reguliersdwarsstraat, broadens the diversity of attractions for the tourist, a factor that contributes to the development of this niche.
Lyukas piramis – A versenyrendszer hatása a magyar kosárlabdázás eredményességére
Authors: Sterbenz Tamás , Gulyás Erika
Published: June 2021

A kosárlabdázás hazánkban is meghatározó szerepet tölt be a sportágak között, de nemzetközi eredményessége messze elmarad attól, amit a sportág szereplői és a sportszerető laikusok várnának. Ez az elemzés arra tesz kísérletet, hogy ennek okait, törvényszerűségeit felvázolja, és azonosítsa azokat a lehetőségeket, melyek felismerésével a magyar kosárlabdázás is a nemzetközi trendek, követelmények szerint fejlődhetne. Az elemzés alapvetően közgazdasági szemléletű, és ennek megfelelően feltételezi, hogy a szereplők szándékaik szerint racionálisak, de limitált kognitív képességeik és a környezet komplex mivolta miatt korlátozottan racionálisak, illetve önérdekkövető döntéseket hoznak. Ezen döntések megértésével és vizsgálatával az 1990-es rendszerváltás óta kialakult sportági modell intézményi kereteit tartja kiemelt fontosságúnak.
FRAILTY, FOOD INSECURITY, AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV
Authors: SMIT E. , WANKE C. , DONG K. , GROTHEER A. , HANSEN S. , SKINNER S. , TANG A.M.
Published: June 2021

Background: Nutritional status and food insecurity are associated with frailty in the general U.S. population, yet little is known about this in the aging population of people living with HIV (PLWH). Objectives: Given the potential importance of nutrition and the amenability to intervention, we examined the association between nutritional status, food insecurity, and frailty in PLWH. Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Participants: 50 PLWH, age ≥45 years, recruited from a cohort study examining risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Measurements: Frailty, duration of HIV, use of antiretroviral therapy, disease history, food insecurity, physical function, and physical activity were assessed by questionnaire. Dietary intake was assessed using 3-day food records. Blood was drawn for CD4+ cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and lipid levels. Physical measurements included height, weight, and skinfold thickness. Results: The prevalence of frailty was 16% (n=8), 44% were pre-frail (n=22) and 40% were not frail (n=20). The number of reported difficulties with 20 activities of daily living was highest in frail (mean 10.4±3.9 SD), followed by pre-frail (6.5±4.6), and lowest in not frail participants (2.0±2.3). Seven (88%) of the frail PLWH lost weight with an average weight loss of 22.9 pounds; 6 (75%) reported unintentional weight loss, and all 6 of these met the frailty criteria for weight loss of 10 or more pounds. Nine (45%) of the not frail PLWH reported losing weight with an average weight loss of 6.2 pounds; 5 (23%) reported unintentional weight loss of <10 pounds. Frail PLWH were more likely to report being food insecure than not frail PLWH (63% vs. 10%, p=0.02), and tended to have lower energy intake than not frail PLWH. Conclusion: Research is needed on targeted interventions to improve food security and activities of daily living in PLWH for both the prevention and improvement of frailty.
THE GREEN TEA POLYPHENOL EPIGALLOCATECHIN-3-GALLATE (EGCG) ATTENUATES SKELETAL MUSCLE ATROPHY IN A RAT MODEL OF SARCOPENIA
Authors: MEADOR B.M. , MIRZA K.A. , TIAN M. , SKELDING M.B. , REAVES L.A. , EDENS N.K. , TISDALE M.J. , PEREIRA S.L.
Published: June 2021

Objective: Sarcopenia—the loss of muscle mass and functionality occurring with age—is a pervasive problem with few effective treatments beyond exercise. We examined the ability of the green tea catechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCg), to impact muscle mass and the molecular pathway involved in muscle atrophy in a rat model of sarcopenia. Methods: 20-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats were treated for 8 weeks with control diet or control plus 200mg/kg body weight of EGCg diet. Results: EGCg-supplemented animals had significantly greater gastrocnemius muscle mass than the aged controls, and showed a trend for increased muscle fiber cross-sectional areas (CSA) (p=0.06). These changes were associated with significantly lower protein expressions of the intramuscular 19S and 20S proteasome subunits and the MuRF1 and MAFbx ubiquitin ligases in the EGCg-treated animals. Proteasome activity as determined by ‘Chymotrypsin-like’ enzyme activity was also significantly reduced by EGCg. Muscle mRNA expression of IL-15 and IGF-1 were significantly increased in the EGCg group vs. the aged controls. In comparison to younger adult animals (6 month), the protein expression of 19S, 20S, MuRF1, MAFbx, and myostatin were increased between approximately 4- and 12-fold in the aged controls, but only up to ~2-fold in the aged EGCg animals. Conclusions: EGCg supplementation was able to preserve muscle in sarcopenic rats, partly through attenuating protein degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, together with increased expression of anabolic factors.
THE COMPARATIVE FRAME OF REFERENCE IN SELF-RATED HEALTH QUESTIONS MATTERS WHEN PREDICTING DIFFICULTY WITH ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING
Authors: SIORDIA C. , NGUYEN H.T.
Published: June 2021

Background: Within the assessment of frailty, self-rated health (SRH) questions remain frequently used in survey research attempting to quantify a subjective and global measure of health. Studies have largely ignored the fact that SRH questions may differ in their ability to predict level of difficulty with performing activities of daily living (ADLs)—a variance partially influenced by whether a comparative frame of reference in used in the SRH question. Specific Aim: Investigate if a Comparative-SRH (C-SRH) question with response options ranging on an adjectival scale ranging from 0 to 3; and a Non-Comparative-SRH (NC-SRH) question with an adjectival response scale from range 0 to 5; differ in their ability to predict level of difficulty in performing ADLs after accounting for demographic, psychosocial, and related health factors. Setting & Design: Cross-sectional study of community-dwelling adults (n=275; x age=68; female=54%; x BMI=31) from North Carolina participating in the Hispanic Aging Survey (HAS) were used in multivariable linear regressions to predict a granular measure of level of difficulty performing ADLs. Results: Only C-SRH has a statistically significant relationship with ADLs—where each increase in C-SRH (i.e., more positively self-rated health) is associated with a decrease in ADL level of difficult. Conclusions: Using a comparative frame of reference in SRH questions may have important implications when attempting to understand the statistical relationship between self-rated global health and physical function in the assessment of frailty in older adults.
UPDATE ON DEFINITIONS OF SARCOPENIA
Authors: STUDENSKI S.
Published: June 2021

Although the age-related loss of muscle mass has been widely recognized as a significant public health problem throughout the world, the absence of a consensus definition has limited diagnosis and treatment of the condition and slowed the development of new and effective interventions. Many definitions and diagnostic criteria have been proposed, reflecting similar key concepts although differing in details (1-4). A gold standard, evidence-based definition of clinically important weakness and low muscle mass is clearly needed both for clinical use and to advance clinical research.
INNOVATIVE MEDICINES INITIATIVE: THE SPRINTT PROJECT
Authors: MARZETTI E. , CALVANI R. , LANDI F. , HOOGENDIJK E. , FOUGÈRE B. , VELLAS B. , PAHOR M. , BERNABEI R. , CESARI M.
Published: June 2021

The current healthcare systems are built around the traditional paradigm of patients suffering from a single acute illness. They are therefore largely unprepared to face the increasing demands for health services arising from the expansion of an older population with specific medical needs related to multiple chronic disorders. As a consequence, the medical conditions of a large and growing segment of the older European population are not efficiently managed by the available healthcare services (1). Among these conditions, the geriatric syndrome of frailty has emerged as a significant public health priority. I
ASSOCIATION OF GRIP AND KNEE EXTENSION STRENGTH WITH WALKING SPEED OF OLDER WOMEN RECEIVING HOME-CARE PHYSICAL THERAPY
Authors: BOHANNON R.W.
Published: June 2021

Background: Decreased muscle strength and limited physical performance are key elements of frailty and sarcopenia. The relative value of grip and knee extension strength for explaining walking performance has not been clearly established. Objectives: Compare the ability of grip and knee extension strength to explain gait speed. Design: Retrospective use of cross-sectionally obtained data. Setting: Patients’ homes. Participants:Forty-four ambulatory women patients at least 65 years of age. Measurements: Grip and knee extension forces obtained bilaterally with dynamometers and comfortable gait speed. Results: Knee extension forces were, but grip strength forces were not, correlated significantly with gait speed. Knee extension forces were able, but grip strength forces were not able, to satisfactorily identify patients with gait speeds < .40 m/sec. Conclusions:For women receiving therapy in a home-care setting, physical performance as reflected by gait speed is better explained by knee extension strength than by grip strength.
Sobre as relações dialéticas entre história e literatura
Authors: Duarte Adriano , Botelho Denilson
Published: June 2021

Os textos que o leitor tem em mãos neste dossiê partem de um pressuposto comum: a literatura é um documento do seu tempo e do seu lugar. Soa tautológico quando historiadores sugerem que um documento histórico deve ser compreendido como parte inseparável do seu contexto, como resultado dos embates sociais, políticos, culturais e econômicos do seu tempo, do seu lugar; e, simultaneamente, produto e produtor desse contexto. Mas é preciso dizê-lo novamente, e provavelmente ainda será necessário dizê-lo outras vezes, porque tomar a literatura como produto do seu tempo e lugar, como documento histórico, tem sido um pressuposto que tem afastado, de modo inconciliável, os historiadores dos críticos literários. Não de todos os críticos literários, por óbvio, mas sobretudo daqueles que insistem em atribuir à literatura um lugar especial, reservando a ela o lugar mais elevado da imaginação, da criação, da fantasia, da liberdade. Nos artigos reunidos nesta coletânea, ao contrário, a literatura é um produto material, tão material quanto pregos e parafusos, exatamente por isso, um produto do mundo, do contexto, dos conflitos que o formam e informam.
Literatura, política e história na obra de E. P. Thompson
Authors: Duarte Adriano
Published: June 2021

O objetivo deste estudo é investigar os modos como o historiador marxista britânico E. P. Thompson se apropria da literatura em suas obras historiográficas. Isso implica refletir sobre como ele pensa a relação entre história como disciplina e literatura. Como não poderia deixar de ser, e mesmo que ele não o mencione explicitamente, fica clara sua vinculação à tradição materialista e dialética dos estudos de arte e literatura. Portanto, “forma” e “conte- údo” compõem uma relação unitária de interdeterminação mútua, não podendo, de maneira alguma, ser compreendidas separadamente. Procuramos também destacar quais seriam seus interlocutores e suas fontes de inspiração na relação nem sempre tranquila entre as duas áreas. Por fim, ressalta-se como a literatura é percebida como modo específico de conhecer o mundo.
Altos e baixos da crítica literária dialética
Authors: Cordeiro Rogério
Published: June 2021

O objetivo deste artigo é sistematizar e divulgar ideias-chave da crítica literá- ria de esquerda, notadamente de extração marxista, chamando atenção para conceitos e modos de reflexão. A questão central recai sobre o problema do método de abordagem histórica da literatura, colocando em resumo e em perspectiva a contribuição de Marx, Engels, Lukács, Bakhtin, Adorno, Benjamin e os nossos Antonio Candido e Roberto Schwarz. Estes autores partiram da condição prévia para elaborarem de maneira particular um ângulo de visão que revelasse a forma de representação artística como uma espé- cie de depoimento crítico e armado da sociedade correspondente. Por isso a diversidade de tendências analíticas dentro da mesma tradição.
Publicidade, televisão e festivais de super-8 na Curitiba dos anos 1970
Authors: Kaminski Rosane
Published: June 2021

No Brasil do começo da década de 1970, sob o governo de Emílio Garrastazu Médici, consolidava-se o processo de modernização conservadora, dentro do qual a produção cultural de esquerda ficou marcada pela ambiguidade. A atuação dos artistas era tensionada, simultaneamente, pela repressão política (incluindo a censura) e pela expansão da indústria cultural que, segundo Marcelo Ridenti, “deu emprego e bons contratos aos artistas, inclusive aos de esquerda, com o próprio Estado atuando como financiador de produ- ções artísticas e criador de leis protecionistas aos empreendimentos culturais nacionais”.2 A relação entre cineastas de esquerda e a televisão é um capítulo interessante dessa história, sobretudo no caso das produções de documentá- rios para a TV Globo, rede hegemônica no país. Sua expansão nos primeiros anos da década de 1970 constituiu um ponto importante de discussão no meio cinematográfico.3 A empresa vivia uma escalada nos índices de audiência e faturamento, indicando que a televisão brasileira caminhava para uma afirmação econômica plena, tornando-se “vetor fundamental no avanço para integrar o país como mercado”.4 Se as relações entre cinema e televisão vinham sendo discutidas desde o final dos anos 1950, como diz Arthur Autran, foi somente na década de 1970 que as negociações entre esses âmbitos audiovisuais tomaram corpo.
Akbar, My Heart: Caregiving for a Dog During Covid-19
Authors: Isfahani-Hammond Alexandra
Published: June 2021

Covid-19 originates with humans’ instrumentalization of other animals, an “inconvenient truth” elided by scientists procuring a vaccine while refusing to contend with the captivity, slaughter and encroachment on wild animals’ habitats that brought the fatal disease upon us. The interlocking of homo sapiens’ and other species’ suffering is, of course, glaringly evidenced by disproportionate Black and brown death due to Covid-19 worldwide, itself intensifying the foundational pandemic of anti-Black violence. “Akbar, My Heart” contemplates transpecies loss in a relational frame, attending to the entanglement of white supremacy with anthropocentrism at the same time that I reflect on caregiving for my canine companion, Akbar, during his decline from neurological disease. My elderly friend’s worsening symptoms coincided with the pandemic’s spread, the Summer’s uproar against anti-Black violence and California’s wildfires. The vortex of these events is a point of departure for meditating about carceral logic, animalization and the seeming “end of days” together with another kind of ending, one centered on providing comfort and an honorable death. Mourning for Akbar through the preparation of this piece, I have called upon the wisdom of critical animal studies scholars as well as Sufi poets and even the texts of my dreams. Deciphering this bewildering time of transformation has been an invitation to imagine another world while abiding with Akbar in the threshold, attempting to see through the smoke, so to speak, to the other side of this scorched earth.
Zoognosis: When Animal Knowledges Go Viral. Laura Jean Mackay’s The Animals in That Country, Contagion, Becoming-Animal, and the Politics of Predation.
Authors: Laird Tessa
Published: June 2021

This paper proposes a creative neologism: zoognosis, with an added g, to indicate that knowledges can be transmitted virally from animals to humans. If so, what are the animals trying to tell us? Laura Jean Mackay’s The Animals in That Country (2020) provides an opportunity to find out. Mackay’s prescient novel was written before, but published during, the COVID-19 pandemic, and is about a ‘zooflu’ that enables the infected to understand animals. The author has forged a poetic language based on animal sensory perceptions, what ethologist Jakob von Uexküll termed Umwelten. In doing so Mackay effects a ‘becoming-animal’ of the text, reintroducing readers to their own animality. Mackay’s ‘perspectivism’ enables us to see from the point-of-view of non-human animals, forcing a reckoning with animal abuse and extractive lifeways. While her speculative fiction is bleak, it offers tools for attunement and thinking-with non-human others.
The Contagion of Slow Violence: The Slaughterhouse and COVID-19
Authors: Struthers Montford Kelly , Wotherspoon Tessa
Published: June 2021

COVID-19 has brought to the fore the violence faced by slaughterhouse workers and those they are charged with slaughtering. This article argues that COVID-19 has wrought an acceleration of the slow violence of state organized race crime (Nixon, Ward), in spreading rapidly through the slaughterhouse and to surrounding racialized communities. We show that zoonotic pandemics are the result of state organized race crime, and that abattoirs are locations of inseparable animal and racial violence. We then analyse how the law and state institutions have positioned slaughterhouse work as essential, contra workers’ claims and general knowledge that meat is an inessential ‘item’. We argue that this demonstrates the mechanics of state organized race crime and accelerates the speed of slow violence, while maintaining its insidious and routine nature. We then consider the #Boycottmeat movement which includes slaughterhouse workers, whom despite having a vested interest in this industry, have advocated for meat boycotts and a transition to plant-based diets as a matter of personal and collective safety.
Políticas públicas educativas durante la pandemia: Estudio comparativo México y Ecuador
Authors: Torres-Toukoumidis Angel , González-Moreno Sonia Esther , Pesántez-Avilés Fernando , Cárdenas-Tapia Juan , Valles-Baca Herik Germán
Published: June 2021

La situación atípica producida por la pandemia de Covid-19 ha llevado a los gobiernos a tomar decisiones en el sector educativo para solventar con inmediatez las contingencias producidas por la crisis sanitaria. Este estudio realiza una sistematización comparativa-descriptiva entre dos países, Ecuador y México, analizando 60 documentos oficiales con base en 4 unidades de análisis conectadas a las políticas públicas educativas: competencia social, diagnóstico, programa y acciones propuestas. Los resultados vislumbran que, si bien existen acciones comunes como la suspensión de clases y teletrabajo, programas de aprendizaje virtual - “Aprende en Casa” México y “Educación en Casa” Ecuador-, también existen acciones contrastables en ambos países, entre ellas se evidencia que la toma de decisiones sobre políticas educativas en Ecuador se encuentra más descentralizada que en México, y que las competencias sociales en Ecuador se orientan a personal administrativo, estudiantes, familias y docentes, mientras que en México, además de las mencionadas, incluye a los Medios de Comunicación y empleados gubernamentales de la Secretaría de Educación Pública. Estos hallazgos confirman que la operacionalización del marco legislativo expedido durante esta emergencia en el ámbito educativo servirá como recopilatorio de mejores lecciones para el regreso a las actividades pospandemia.
Spokojenost v dlouhodobých partnerských vztazích: kvalitativní studie českých heterosexuálních párů
Authors: Kalousová Zuzana , Štětovská Iva
Published: June 2021

This article presents the results of the qualitative research, which pursued the topic of satisfaction in relationships in Czech couples. The results are compared with the outcomes of several studies from abroad. The first part of the paper consists of a brief introduction to the topic and present the results of studies with a similar design. The second part describes the research, which was part of Zuzana Kalousovaʼs thesis in 2017. It is a qualitative research conducted via half-structured interviews with 22 respondents who have been in a satisfactory relationship for over ten years. To analyze the data, we used grounded theory. The results were ten categories that contributed to satisfaction in relationships: overcoming of differences and obstacles, doing things together, communication, endurance, not trying to solve everything, harmony, safety, good choice of spouse, stable financial situation, family.
Pricing Dynamics and Solvency in Insurance: Capital Allocation, Surplus and Insurance Cycle
Authors: Sanou Adama , Soumaré Issouf
Published: June 2021

This paper proposes a stochastic multi-period pricing model based on the default option value with insurance cycle to examine the interactions among pricing, surplus allocation and solvency for a multiline insurer. The proposed innovative model captures the dynamic aspects of capitalization and the impact of dynamic premium setting on the insurer’s solvency and risk management. We derived the equilibrium premium for different insurance contract designs. Our results show that the allocation of surplus per line affects the default of the other lines and depends on the correlation between the solvency ratio and the loss ratio of the line. The presence of the insurance cycle can boost solvency provided that the insurer adopts the right underwriting strategy. Based on the correlation between the solvency ratio and the loss ratio of the line, the insurer can make strategic decision about fair pricing. This makes it possible to reconcile the objectives of pricing with the insurer’s solvency and its strategic decision-making in a long-term perspective.
Some References to Visualization Practices in Early Chán Buddhism with an Emphasis on guān 觀 and kàn 看
Authors: Anderl Christoph
Published: June 2021

In the analysis of processes of sensory perception in the framework of Buddhist contemplation practices, the visual sense faculty has played a crucial role. In this paper, references to Chinese Buddhist terminology referring to visual processes will be analyzed in their historical context, with a focus on the interpretations of guān 觀 and kàn 看 by proponents of the early Chán School. Crucial questions include the notions of the “agent” (i.e., the entity engaging in the process of visualization or viewing), as well as the ontological status of the “object” to be viewed, in addition to the nature of the process of viewing and the bodily preconditions for engaging in visualization practices. The creative reinterpretations of terms such as guānxīn 觀心 “contemplate the mind” and kànxīn 看心 “view the mind” were also important devices to create a distinctive identity for this newly emerging Chinese Buddhist school. As will be shown, despite the fierce attacks on “gradualist” meditation practices by proponents of the “Southern School” of Chán during the 8th century, the concepts of guānxīn and kànxīn by no means disappeared from the discourse on meditation but continued to play an important role at least until the 10th century and beyond.