bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Facility-Level Characteristics Associated with Family Planning and Child Immunization Services Integration in Urban Areas of Nigeria: A Longitudinal Analysis
Authors: Sheahan Kate , Speizer Ilene , Orgill-Meyer Jennifer , Curtis Sian , Weinberger Morris , Paul John , Bennett Antonia V.
Published: January 2021

Background: Unmet need for postpartum contraception is high. Integration of family planning with routine child immunization services may help to satisfy unmet need. However, evidence about the effects of integration has been inconsistent, and more evidence is required to determine whether and how to invest in integration. This study applies continuous facility-level family planning and child immunization integration index scores to: (1) determine whether integration changes over time, (2) assess the impact of the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) on integration, and (3) identify facility-level characteristics associated with integration across facilities in urban areas of Nigeria. Methods: Longitudinal data from health facilities in six urban areas of Nigeria are available from 400 facilities at baseline (2011) and 385 facilities at endline (2014). Difference-in-differences models estimate the impact of NURHI on Provider and Facility Integration Index scores and determine associations between facility-level characteristics and integration. The two outcome measures, Provider and Facility Integration Index scores, reflect attributes that support integrated service delivery. These indexes, which range from 0 (low) to 10 (high), were constructed using principal component analysis. Scores were calculated for each facility. Independent variables are (1) time period, (2) whether the facility received the NURHI intervention, and (3) facility-level characteristics. Results: Within intervention facilities, mean Provider Integration Index scores were 6.46 at baseline and 6.79 at endline; mean Facility Integration Index scores were 7.16 (baseline) and 7.36 (endline). Within non-intervention facilities, mean Provider Integration Index scores were 5.01 at baseline and 6.25 at endline; mean Facility Integration Index scores were 5.83 (baseline) and 6.12 (endline). Provider Integration Index scores increased significantly (p = 0.00) among non-intervention facilities. Facility Integration Index scores did not increase significantly in either group. NURHI did not have a significant effect on integration index scores. Results identify facility-level characteristics associated with integration: location, family planning client load, years of provider experience, provider training, and public facility ownership. Conclusion: Programs aiming to increase integration of family planning and immunization services should monitor and provide targeted support for the implementation of a well-defined integration strategy that considers the influence of facility characteristics and concurrent initiatives.
Effects of effort-reward imbalance, job satisfaction, and work engagement on self-rated health among healthcare workers
Authors: Ge Jingjing , He Jing , Liu Yan , Zhang Juying , Pan Jingping , Zhang Xueli , Liu Danping
Published: January 2021

Background: Healthcare workers, who protect and improve the health of individuals, are critical to the success of health systems and achieving national and global health goals. To respond effectively to the healthcare needs of populations, healthcare workers themselves must be in a good state of health. However, healthcare workers face various psychosocial pressures, including having to work night shifts, long working hours, demands of patient care, medical disputes, workplace violence, and emotional distress due to poor interactions with patients and colleagues, and poor promotion prospects. Constant exposure to these psychosocial hazards adversely impacts healthcare workers’ health. Consequently, this study aimed to examine the influence of effort-reward imbalance, job satisfaction, and work engagement on self-rated health of healthcare workers. The results would be conducive to providing policy guidance to improve the health of healthcare workers.Methods: We analysed the data of 1327 participants from The Chinese Sixth National Health and Services Survey in Sichuan Province that was conducted from August 2018 to October 2018. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesized relationships among the variables. Results: Only 40.1% of healthcare workers rated their health as ‘relatively good’ or ‘good’. Effort-reward imbalance had a significant negative correlation with self-rated health (β = -0.053, 95% CI [-0.163, -0.001]). The associations of effort-reward imbalance and work engagement with self-rated health were both mediated by job satisfaction (95% CI [-0.150, -0.050] and [0.011, 0.022]), and work engagement mediated the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and self-rated health (95% CI [-0.064, -0.008]). Conclusion: In order to improve the health of healthcare workers, administrators should balance effort and reward and provide opportunities for career development and training. In addition, health managers should help healthcare workers realize the significance and value of their work and keep them actively devoted to their work through incentive mechanisms.
Mining influential genes based on deep learning
Authors: Kong Lingpeng , Chen Yuanyuan , Xu Fengjiao , Xu Mingmin , Li Zutan , Fang Jingya , Zhang Liangyun , Pian Cong
Published: January 2021

Background: Currently, large-scale gene expression profiling has been successfully applied to the discovery of functional connections among diseases, genetic perturbation, and drug action. To address the cost of an ever-expanding gene expression profile, a new, low-cost, high-throughput reduced representation expression profiling method called L1000 was proposed, with which one million profiles were produced. Although a set of ~1,000 carefully chosen landmark genes that can capture ~80% of information from the whole genome has been identified for use in L1000, the robustness of using these landmark genes to infer target genes is not satisfactory. Therefore, more efficient computational methods are still needed to deep mine the influential genes in the genome. Results: Here, we propose a computational framework based on deep learning to mine a subset of genes that can cover more genomic information. Specifically, an AutoEncoder framework is first constructed to learn the non-linear relationship between genes, and then DeepLIFT is applied to calculate gene importance scores. Using this data-driven approach, we have re-obtained a landmark gene set. The result shows that our landmark genes can predict target genes more accurately and robustly than that of L1000 based on two metrics (mean absolute error (MAE) and Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC)). This reveals that the landmark genes detected by our method contain more genomic information.Conclusions: We believe that our proposed framework is very suitable for the analysis of biological big data to reveal the mysteries of life. Furthermore, the landmark genes inferred from this study can be used for the explosive amplification of gene expression profiles to facilitate research into functional connections.
Peer victimisation during adolescence and its impact on wellbeing in adulthood: A prospective cohort study.
Authors: Armitage Jessica M , Wang R. Adele H , Davis Oliver S. P. , Bowes Lucy , Haworth Claire M. A.
Published: January 2021

Background: Peer victimisation is a common occurrence and has well-established links with a range of psychiatric problems in adulthood. Significantly less is known however, about how victimisation influences positive aspects of mental health such as wellbeing. The purpose of this study was therefore to assess for the first time, whether peer victimisation in adolescence is associated with adult wellbeing. We aimed to understand whether individuals who avoid a diagnosis of depression after victimisation, maintain good wellbeing in later life, and therefore display resilience.Methods: Longitudinal data was taken from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a prospective cohort study based in the UK. Peer victimisation was assessed at 13 years using a modified version of the bullying and friendship interview schedule, and wellbeing at age 23 using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale. The presence or absence of depression was diagnosed using the Clinical Interview Schedule–Revised at 18 years. A series of logistic and linear regression analyses were used to explore relationships between peer victimisation, depression, and wellbeing, adjusting for potentially confounding individual and family factors. Results: Just over 15% of victims of frequent bullying had a diagnosis of depression at age 18. Victimisation also had a significant impact on wellbeing, with a one-point increase in frequent victimisation associated with a 2.71-point (SE=0.46, p<0.001) decrease in wellbeing scores aged 23. This finding remained after adjustment for the mediating and moderating effects of depression, suggesting that the burden of victimisation extends beyond depression to impact wellbeing. Results therefore show that individuals who remain partially resilient by avoiding a diagnosis of depression after victimisation have significantly poorer wellbeing than their non-victimised counterparts.Conclusion: Overall, our study demonstrates for the first time that victimisation during adolescence is a significant risk factor for not only the onset of depression, but also poor wellbeing in adulthood. Such findings highlight the importance of investigating both dimensions of mental health to understand the true burden of victimisation and subsequent resilience. In addition to the need for interventions that reduce the likelihood of depression following adolescent victimisation, efforts should also be made to promote good wellbeing.
Clinical Outcomes of Extensive Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Treated With Thoracic Radiotherapy at different timing and fractionation
Authors: Han Jinmin , Fu Chengrui , Li Baosheng
Published: January 2021

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess whether combined thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) on the basis of chemotherapy (CHT) showed promising anti-tumor activity in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), then to explore practice patterns for radiation time and dose/ fractionation and to identify prognostic factors for patients who would benefit from CHT/TRT.Methods: A total of 492 ES-SCLC patients were included from January 2010 to March 2019, of which 244 patients experienced CHT/TRT. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to minimize bias between the CHT/TRT and CHT-alone groups. Patients in CHT/TRT group were categorized into four groups based on the number of induction CHT cycles. For effective dose fractionation calculation, we introduced the time-adjusted biological effective dose(tBED). Categorical variables were analyzed with Chi-square tests and Fisher’s exact tests. Kaplan-Meier curves were performed to estimate survival rates using R-project. Multivariate prognostic analysis was performed with Cox proportional hazard models. Results: Patients who received CHT/TRT were associated with improved OS (18.2 vs 10.8 months), PFS (9.0 vs 6.0 months) and LRFS (12.0 vs 6.0 months) before matching, with similar results after matching. In the CHT/TRT group, the median LRFS times for groups based on radiation time were 12.7, 12.0, 12.7, and 9.0 months, respectively. Earlier TRT had a tendency to prolong PFS (median 10.6 vs 9.8 vs 9.1 vs 7.7 months, respectively, p =0.109), as was not seen in OS (median 17.6 vs 19.5 vs 17.2 vs 19.1 months, respectively, p = 0.722). To note, patients performed TRT within 6 cycles CHT had better LRFS (p<0.001). For radiation dose, patients in the high-dose group (tBED>50Gy) had relatively shorter OS (median 25.9 vs 22.9, p = 0.048) and PFS (median 12.1 vs 11.2, p=0.004) in patients with complete response and partial response (CR and PR) to systemic therapy, but the above-mentioned results were not drawn after the exclusion of patients receiving hyperfractionated radiotherapy (all p>0.05).Conclusion: CHT/TRT could improve survival for ES-SCLC patients. TRT performed within 6 cycles CHT and receiving hyperfractionated 45Gy in 30 fractions may be a feasible treatment scheme for ES-SCLC patients.
International Educational Justice: Educational Resources for Students Living Abroad
Authors: Schwartz Lindsey
Published: January 2021

As a result of globalization, the number of people living outside of their countries of origin is on the rise. Among them are children of primary and secondary school age of varying socio-economic backgrounds. This article addresses the education-related challenges that children in such circumstances face. I first identify two principles – an educational adequacy principle and a presumption of responsibility on the part of a host country for meeting children’s educationalneeds – which are widely employed to guide national policy decisions on educational content and the distribution of educational resources. I then discuss a number of problems that students living abroad face which, I argue, policies devised on the basis of these principles either systematically overlook or, in some cases, exacerbate. Finally, I offer two alternative principles – a cosmopolitan revision of the first and a replacement for the second with a focus on collective responsibility – designed to promote education policies better suited to a globalized world which might help to alleviate the barriers to success commonly encountered by children learning abroad.
Special Issue on Global Justice and Education
Authors: Culp Julian
Published: January 2021

N/A
Failing Solidarity: Justified or Excused?
Authors: Milazzo Eleonora
Published: January 2021

The concept of solidarity has been receiving growing attention from scholars in a wide range of disciplines. While this trend coincides with widespread unsuccessful attempts to achieve solidarity in the real world, the failure of solidarity as such remains a relatively unexplored topic. In the case of the so-called European Union (EU) refugee crisis, the fact that EU member states failed to fulfil their commitment to solidarity is now regarded as established wisdom. But as we try to come to terms with failing solidarity in the EU we are faced with a number of important questions: are all instances of failing solidarity equally morally reprehensible? Are some motivations for resorting to unsolidaristic measures more valid than others? What claims have an effective countervailing force against the commitment to act in solidarity?
Theorizing Fairtrade From a Justice-Related Standpoint
Authors: Beck Valentin
Published: January 2021

This paper argues that the Fairtrade certification system represents an illuminating example of the challenge of systematically determining consumer and entrepreneurial responsibilities in our global age. In taking up the central question of what, if anything, may be called ‘just’ or ‘fair’ in Fairtrade, I more precisely argue for a two-fold thesis: that (1) a meaningful evaluation of Fairtrade must consider both an interactional and an (arguably prior) institutional understanding of global responsibilities to promote justice and that (2) Fairtrade can be better defended against several popular objections from the perspective of a theory that adequately differentiates between interactional responsibilities and institutional responsibilities of promoting justice under unjust circumstances.
TTIP, ‘Truth’ and the Future of Global Trade
Authors: Janzwood Amy
Published: January 2021

Review: Ferdi De Ville and Gabriel Siles-Brügge, TTIP: The Truth about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (Cambridge; Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2016).
The Third Wave of Theorizing Global Justice. A Review Essay
Authors: Wollner Gabriel
Published: January 2021

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Rethinking the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Eight Ways to End Poverty Now
Authors: Pogge Thomas , Sengupta Mitu
Published: January 2021

The debate about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) when they expire in 2015, is moving very quickly. Weighing in on this debate, we argue that if the SDGs are to be as effective as they can realistically be, concrete responsibilities must be assigned to specific competent actors, measurement methods involved in development targets must not be allowed to be changed midway, and the tracking of progress must be left to independent experts. New development goals should aim for inequality reduction, a more comprehensive view of poverty, and, most importantly, systemic reforms of global institutions. The world will not make decent progress against poverty until the most powerful agents accept real action commitments, not only in the marginal area of development assistance, but in all their policy and institutional design decisions, at both the domestic and especially the supranational level. We end with eight examples of institutional reform goals – ranging from deterring trade barriers to mitigating the effects of lost corporate tax revenues on poor populations – that should be included in the new list.
Justice, Not Development: Sen and the Hegemonic Framework For Ameliorating Global Inequality
Authors: Ziai Aram
Published: January 2021

Starting from the merits of Sen’s Development as Freedom, the article also explores its shortcomings. It argues that they are related to an uncritical adoption of the discourse of ‘development’, which is the hegemonic framework for ameliorating global inequality today. This discourse implies certain limitations of thought and action, and the article points out three areas where urgent questions of global justice have been largely ignored by development theory and policy as a consequence. Struggles for justice on a global scale, this is the conclusion, should not take the detour of ‘development’.
Climate Justice
Authors: Culp Julian , Jugov Tamara , Ronzoni Miriam , Valentini Laura
Published: January 2021

No abstract.
Interrogating the Migration Industry
Authors: Sager Alex
Published: January 2021

No abstract.
Corruption: History and Future in the Spotlight
Authors: Sanudo Martha
Published: January 2021

No abstract
Pre- and Postzygotic Barriers Associated with Intergeneric Hybridization between Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliott x Pyrus communis L. and ×Sorbaronia dippelii (Zabel) CK Schneid. x Pyrus communis
Authors: Mahoney Jonathan D. , Brand Mark H.
Published: January 2021

Intergeneric hybridization between Aronia and Pyrus may provide a pathway for developing novel fruit types with larger, sweeter fruits, while maintaining the high levels of biologically health-promoting compounds present in Aronia fruits. Here we describe a deleterious genetic incompatibility, known as hybrid necrosis or hybrid lethality, that occurs in intergeneric F1 hybrids of Aronia melanocarpa x Pyrus communis and ×Sorbaronia dippelii x Pyrus communis. Pollination experiments revealed that maternal A. melanocarpa and ×S. dippelii pistils are compatible with pollen from P. communis. Controlled pollinations using different mating combinations resulted in varying levels of fruit and seed set. Because every combination produced at least some viable seeds, prezygotic incompatibility does not appear to be present. We attempted to recover putative intergeneric progeny via either in vitro germination or in vitro shoot organogenesis from cotyledons. Progeny of putative hybrids from A. melanocarpa x P. communis only survived for a maximum of 14 days before succumbing to hybrid lethality. Regeneration of ×S. dippelii x P. communis was successful for two seedlings that have been maintained for an extended time in tissue culture. These two seedlings have leaf morphologies intermediate between the two parental genotypes. We also confirmed their hybrid status by using AFLPs and flow cytometry. Putative intergeneric hybrids were grown out ex vitro before showing symptoms of hybrid necrosis and dying after 3 months. Eventually micrografts failed, ultimately showing the same symptoms of hybrid necrosis. These results show that intergeneric hybridization is possible between Aronia and related genera in the Rosaceae, but there are postzygotic barriers to hybridity that can prevent the normal growth and development of the progeny.
Hydrothermal upgrading as an important tool for the REE mineralization in the Miaoya carbonatite-syenite complex, Central China
Authors: Ma Rong-Lin , Chen Wei Terry , Zhang Wei , Chen You-Wei
Published: January 2021

Secondary hydrothermal reworking of REEs has been widely documented in carbonatites/alkaline rocks, but its potential role in the REE mineralization associated with these rocks is currently poorly understood. This study conducted a combined textural and in situ chemical investigation on the REE mineralization in the ~430 Ma Miaoya carbonatite-syenite complex, central China. Our study shows that the REE mineralization, dated at ~220 Ma, is characterized by a close association of REE minerals (monazite and/or bastnäsite) with pervasive carbonatization overprinting the carbonatites and syenites. In these carbonatites and syenites, both the apatite and calcite, which are the dominant magmatic REE-bearing minerals, exhibit complicated internal textures that are generally composed of BSE-bright and BSE-dark domains. Under BSE imaging, the former domains are homogeneous and free of pores or mineral inclusions, whereas the latter have a high porosity and inclusions of monazite and/or bastnäsite. In situ chemical analyses show that the BSE-dark domains of the apatite and calcite have light REE concentrations and (La/Yb)N values much lower than the BSE-bright areas. These features are similar to those observed in metasomatized apatite from mineral-fluid reaction experiments, thus indicating that the BSE-dark domains formed from primary precursors (i.e., represented by the BSE-bright domains) through a fluid-aided, dissolution-reprecipitation process during which the primary light REEs are hydrothermally remobilized. New, in situ Sr-Nd isotopic results of apatite and various REE minerals, in combination with mass balance calculations, strongly suggest that the remobilized REEs are responsible for the subsequent hydrothermal REE mineralization in the Miaoya complex. Investigations of fluid inclusions show that the fluids responsible for the REE mobilization and mineralization are CO2-rich, with medium temperatures (227–340 °C) and low salinities (1.42–8.82 wt‰). Such a feature, in combination with C-O isotopic data, indicates that the causative fluids are likely co-genetic with fluids from coeval orogenic Au-Ag deposits (220–200 Ma) in the same tectonic unit. Our new findings provide strong evidence that the late hydrothermal upgrading of early cumulated REEs under certain conditions could also be an important tool for REE mineralization in carbonatites, particularly for those present in convergent belts where faults (facilitating fluid migration) and hydrothermal fluids are extensively developed.
Genetic diversity and population structure of elite drought tolerant bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes
Authors: Mdluli Sibusiswangaye Y , Shimelis Hussein , Amelework Assefa B.
Published: January 2021

The objective of this study was to assess genetic diversity and population structure of 47 bread wheat genotypes obtained from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) using 10 polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Data was subjected to analysis for generating a dissimilarity matrix by the Jaccard index for clustering by the Neighbour-joining algorithm on DARwin 6.5 software. GenAlex Software was used to analyse the number of detected alleles (Na), number of effective alleles (Ne), observed heterozygosity (Ho), expected heterozygosity (He), genetic distance (GD), genetic identity (GI), gene flow (Nm), fixation index (F), Shannon’s Information Index (I), Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and polymorphic information content (PIC). Results revealed that, at the locus level, marker Xgwm 132 had the highest Na (21), Ne (14.5), Ho (1.0) and He (0.94), while at the population level, Population III had the highest Na (21), Ne (5.59), He (0.83), and I (1.78). The mean PIC recorded was 0.80, and ranged from 0.63 (Wmc 78) to 0.93 (Xgwm 132). AMOVA revealed significant differences in genetic variation allocated within individuals (60%), across different individuals (37%) and across populations (3%) (P < 0.001). Four populations were distinguished based on pedigrees with GD ranging from 0.01 (Populations III and IV) to 0.31 (Populations II and III), while GI ranged from 0.74 (Populations II and III) to 0.99 (Populations III and IV). The selected markers successfully distinguished test genotypes with the most informative marker being Xgwm 132. Populations II and III were most distinct, thus suitable for parental selection and further drought tolerance breeding.
Different Degradation Patterns of Chiral Contaminant Enantiomers: Paclobutrazol as a Case Study
Authors: Guo Hao-Ming , Zhao Yue , Ouyang Mei-Nan , Yang Zhong-Hua
Published: January 2021

Studies often neglect the different trends between enantiomers in soil chiral contaminants. In the present study, paclobutrazol was chosen as the target analyte and the selective degradation patterns of this chiral pesticide were investigated in soils. After 14 days of culture, the degradation kinetics results demonstrated the degradation process of the two enantiomers conforms to first‑order degradation kinetics equation, and the degradation rates were significantly different (paired t-test, P < 0.05). The degradation rate of (2S,3S)-paclobutrazol (S-paclobutrazol) was higher than that of (2R,3R)-paclobutrazol (R-paclobutrazol), with the concentration decrease of 42.6 and 28.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, the enantiomer fraction (EF) was 0.43 at final sampling point, and the half-life (t1/2) of S-paclobutrazol and R-paclobutrazol were 17.3 and 28.9 days,which demonstrated significant enantioselective degradation. Results from this study served to enhance our understanding about the enantioselective degradation behaviors of chiral pesticides, which provided some scientific basis for the potential risk assessment of chiral pesticides in the environment.
Relationship Between Body Mass Index-BMI and Vitamin D Concentrations in Women with Postmenopausal Osteoporosis
Authors: Głogowska-Szeląg Joanna , Bełz Aleksandra , Kajdaniuk Dariusz , Kos-Kudła Beata , Marek Bogdan , Nowak Mariusz , Siemińska Lucyna
Published: January 2021

Introduction:

Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disease. Vitamin D
deficiency, often associated with osteoporosis and other bone tissue disorders, is spread worldwide.
Among other factors, obesity seems to be a major cause of the growing hypovitaminosis D. The aim
of the study was to assess the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and vitamin D
concentrations in postmenopausal women diagnosed with osteoporosis.

Materials and Methods:

Sixty-nine women with postmenopausal osteoporosis were included in the
study. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and vitamin D measures were performed in all patients.
Three groups, BMI- dependent, were distinguished: normal weight, overweight and obesity group.

Results:

Vitamin D deficiency was found in all women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. There
was no correlation between BMI and vitamin D level.

Conclusions:

Vitamin D deficiency is frequent in the population of patients diagnosed with postmenopausal
osteoporosis, regardless of their BMI.
Exploring Modifications in Fetal Telomere Programming in Mothers Exposed to Multiple Risk Factors
Authors: Farrukh Sadia , Baig Saeeda , Sani Aliya Irshad
Published: January 2021

Background:

Genetic stability of the chromosome is preserved by telomeres, which act
as biological markers of ageing. The Relative Telomere Length (RTL) of a fetus has been found
highly variable at birth under the influence of multiple risk factors.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to find an association between maternal factors like obesity and low hemoglobin
with cord blood RTL.

Methods:

This study used a Quantitative Real-time Polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to measure
RTL in blood samples of 250 mother-newborn dyads. Participants having the age of 18-35 years
and gestational age 37 weeks or above were divided into three BMI groups, normal (18.5-24.5
kg/m2), overweight (25-29.9 kg/m2), and obese (>30kg/m2). Association among maternal parameters
and cord RTL was analyzed by spearmen correlation, Kruskal Wallis, and Man Whitney U test.

Results:

Overall newborn cord blood RTL in base pair (bp) (mean ± SD) was longer (6915±1425,
6469+1077,6485±1015) compared to mother blood (bp) (6471±1144, 6322+838, 6401 ±993)
(p<0.05) in all three groups of BMI, whereas shortest cord RTL (6485bp±1015) was observed in the
newborns of obese females (p<0.597). A positive correlation (R=0.806) was between the low hemoglobin
and cord blood RTL (p=<0.05); however, a significant decrease in cord RTL
(7685bp±321) was observed with an increase in BMI (p<0.05). In the newborn gender, boys
showed longer RTL (7509bp ±830) and had mothers with overweight, 82(55%), whereas the majority
of girls, 20(57%), were born to females with normal BMI (p=0.06).

Conclusion:

Low hemoglobin was found a significant risk factor for the modification of telomeres
in the newborns of Pakistani females. In females having overweight and obesity, shorter cord RTL
was observed.
Impact of Covid-19 on Mental Health: An Overview
Authors: Kshirsagar Minal M. , Dodamani Arun S. , Dodamani Girija A. , Khobragade Vrushali R. , Deokar Rahul N.
Published: January 2021

Background:

The COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) pandemic is a major threat to public health
worldwide; it has been identified as originating in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. It has spread
across the globe, causing an outbreak of acute infectious pneumonia. Such a global outbreak is associated
with adverse effects on mental health. Fear, stress and anxiety seem more definitely an outcome
of mass quarantine.

Methods:

Keeping this pandemic situation in mind, existing literature on the COVID-19 crisis relevant
to mental health was redeemed via a literature search from the PubMed database. Collected
published articles were summarized according to their overall themes.

Results:

Preliminary evidence suggests that symptoms of self-reported stress, anxiety and depression
have a common psychological impact due to the pandemic, and may be associated with disrupted
sleep. Regional, state and National-international borders have almost been shut down,
economies crashed, and billions of people quarantined or isolated at their own homes and quarantine
centers. In this situational frame of covid-19, patients, frontline health-care professionals anf
geriatric population with existing psychiatric conditions may be encountering further suffering.

Conclusion:

COVID-19 will continue to affect mental health, which plays an important role in
battling the epidemic. With the scare of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rise, it is time that psychiatrists
should try to integrate the health-care services keeping mental health at prime.
Embracing Creative Transience: From Political Remix Video to Digital Collage
Authors: Lyons Diran
Published: January 2021

In this essay, I explore my latest series of digital collages titled Notes and Narratives. These works utilize additive, subtractive, and substitutive remix strategies to integrate Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque paintings with visages of Donald Trump and his associates. The series appropriates historical masterworks to interrelate the theologico-political foundations of the original paintings with the political turbulence experienced under the Trump administration. 
Notes and Narratives foregrounds remix as a powerful and potent tool for disruption, change, and communication in the continuum of pedagogic praxes and remix studies. My previous artistic work was dedicated to creating political remix videos, and this body of work represents a fork in my creative practice. The immediacy of the collages draws upon intertextuality and remix strategies to reveal passionate polemical positions, positing contentious criticisms of the political leadership in the United States.
Acknowlegement to Reviewers of OBM Transplantation in 2020
Authors:   LIDSEN Publishing Inc., 2000 Auburn Drive, One Chagrin Highlands, Suite 200, Beachwood, OH, USA, LIDSEN Publishing Inc. OBM Transplantation Editorial Office
Published: January 2021

The editors of OBM Transplantation would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2020. We greatly appreciate the contribution of expert reviewers, which is crucial to the journal's editorial process. We aim to recognize reviewer contributions through several mechanisms, of which the annual publication of reviewer names is one. Reviewers receive a voucher entitling them to a discount on their next LIDSEN publication and can download a certificate of recognition directly from our submission system. Additionally, reviewers can sign up to the service Publons (https://publons.com) to receive recognition. Of course, in these initiatives we are careful not to compromise reviewer confidentiality. Many reviewers see their work as a voluntary and often unseen part of their role as researchers. We are grateful to the time reviewers donate to our journals and the contribution they make.
Understanding Technology Preferences and Requirements for Health Information Technologies Designed to Improve and Maintain the Mental Health and Well-Being of Older Adults: Participatory Design Study
Authors: LaMonica Haley M , Davenport Tracey A , Roberts Anna E , Hickie Ian B
Published: January 2021

Background

Worldwide, the population is aging rapidly; therefore, there is a growing interest in strategies to support and maintain health and well-being in later life. Although familiarity with technology and digital literacy are increasing among this group, some older adults still lack confidence in their ability to use web-based technologies. In addition, age-related changes in cognition, vision, hearing, and perception may be barriers to adoption and highlight the need for digital tools developed specifically to meet the unique needs of older adults.

Objective

The aim of this study is to understand the use of technology by older adults in general and identify the potential barriers to and facilitators of the adoption of health information technologies (HITs) to support the health and well-being of older adults to facilitate implementation and promote user uptake. In addition, this study aims to co-design and configure the InnoWell Platform, a digital tool designed to facilitate better outcomes for people seeking mental health services, to meet the needs of adults 50 years and older and their supportive others (eg, family members, caregivers) to ensure the accessibility, engagement, and appropriateness of the technology.

Methods

Participants were adults 50 years and older and those who self-identified as a supportive other (eg, family member, caregiver). Participants were invited to participate in a 3-hour participatory design workshop using a variety of methods, including prompted discussion, creation of descriptive artifacts, and group-based development of user journeys.

Results

Four participatory design workshops were conducted, including a total of 21 participants, each attending a single workshop. Technology use was prevalent, with a preference indicated for smartphones and computers. Factors facilitating the adoption of HITs included personalization of content and functionality to meet and be responsive to a consumer’s needs, access to up-to-date information from reputable sources, and integration with standard care practices to support the relationship with health professionals. Concerns regarding data privacy and security were the primary barriers to the use of technology to support mental health and well-being.

Conclusions

Although HITs have the potential to improve access to cost-effective and low-intensity interventions at scale for improving and maintaining mental health and well-being, several strategies may improve the uptake and efficacy of technologies by the older adult community, including the use of co-design methodologies to ensure usability, acceptability, and appropriateness of the technology; support in using and understanding the clinical applications of the technology by a digital navigator; and ready availability of education and training materials.
Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of Postdischarge Patients With COVID-19 in Tehran, Iran: Protocol for a Prospective Cohort Study (Tele-COVID-19 Study)
Authors: Jalilian Khave Laya , Vahidi Mohammad , Shirini Dorsa , Sanadgol Ghazal , Ashrafi Farzad , Arab-Ahmadi Mehran , Fatemi Alireza , Shabani Barzegar Minoosh , Hassanzadeh Taha , Rezaei Behandokht , Zali Alireza , Ommi Davood , Nohesara Shabnam , Jalili Khoshnood Reza , Abdi Saeed , Pirsalehi Ali , Masarat Ehsan , Shokoohi Mostafa , Karamouzian Mohammad
Published: January 2021

Background

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Given that the severe shortage of hospital beds has led to early discharge and insufficient patient education on home care routines and isolation protocols, the close follow-up of patients and their immediate relatives is an integral part of transitioning from hospital care to home care for patients with COVID-19.

Objective

We designed the Tele-COVID-19 prospective cohort to follow-up with COVID-19 patients in Tehran, Iran, and improve health care delivery and the recording of postdischarge patients’ clinical profiles.

Methods

All adult patients who were admitted to the COVID-19 wards of teaching hospitals in Tehran, Iran were eligible to participate in this cohort study. At baseline, patients were recruited from 4 major hospitals from March 9, 2020 to May 20, 2020. Telephone follow-ups, which were led by volunteer medical students, were conducted on postdischarge days 1-3, 5, 7, 10, and 14. We collected data on a range of sociodemographic, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics by using a standard questionnaire.

Results

Of the 950 patients with confirmed COVID-19 who were approached, 823 (response rate: 86.6%) consented and were enrolled into the cohort. Of the 823 participants, 449 (54.5%) were male. The mean age of participants was 50.1 years (SD 12.6 years). During the initial data collection phase, more than 5000 phone calls were made and over 577 reports of critical patients who were in need of urgent medical attention were recorded.

Conclusions

The Tele-COVID-19 cohort will provide patients with sufficient education on home care and isolation, and medical advice on care and the proper use of drugs. In addition, by preventing unnecessary hospital returns and providing information on household SARS-CoV-2 transmission as early as possible, this cohort will help with effective disease management in resource-limited settings.

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/23316
It Is Time to REACT: Opportunities for Digital Mental Health Apps to Reduce Mental Health Disparities in Racially and Ethnically Minoritized Groups
Authors: Friis-Healy Elsa A , Nagy Gabriela A , Kollins Scott H
Published: January 2021

The behavioral health toll of the COVID-19 pandemic and systemic racism has directed increased attention to the potential of digital health as a way of improving access to and quality of behavioral health care. However, as the pandemic continues to widen health disparities in racially and ethnically minoritized groups, concerns arise around an increased reliance on digital health technologies exacerbating the digital divide and reinforcing rather than mitigating systemic health inequities in communities of color. As funding for digital mental health continues to surge, we offer five key recommendations on how the field can “REACT” to ensure the development of approaches that increase health equity by increasing real-world evidence, educating consumers and providers, utilizing adaptive interventions to optimize care, creating for diverse populations, and building trust. Recommendations highlight the need to take a strengths-based view when designing for racially and ethnically diverse populations and embracing the potential of digital approaches to address complex challenges.
Nowcasting for Real-Time COVID-19 Tracking in New York City: An Evaluation Using Reportable Disease Data From Early in the Pandemic
Authors: Greene Sharon K , McGough Sarah F , Culp Gretchen M , Graf Laura E , Lipsitch Marc , Menzies Nicolas A , Kahn Rebecca
Published: January 2021

Background

Nowcasting approaches enhance the utility of reportable disease data for trend monitoring by correcting for delays, but implementation details affect accuracy.

Objective

To support real-time COVID-19 situational awareness, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene used nowcasting to account for testing and reporting delays. We conducted an evaluation to determine which implementation details would yield the most accurate estimated case counts.

Methods

A time-correlated Bayesian approach called Nowcasting by Bayesian Smoothing (NobBS) was applied in real time to line lists of reportable disease surveillance data, accounting for the delay from diagnosis to reporting and the shape of the epidemic curve. We retrospectively evaluated nowcasting performance for confirmed case counts among residents diagnosed during the period from March to May 2020, a period when the median reporting delay was 2 days.

Results

Nowcasts with a 2-week moving window and a negative binomial distribution had lower mean absolute error, lower relative root mean square error, and higher 95% prediction interval coverage than nowcasts conducted with a 3-week moving window or with a Poisson distribution. Nowcasts conducted toward the end of the week outperformed nowcasts performed earlier in the week, given fewer patients diagnosed on weekends and lack of day-of-week adjustments. When estimating case counts for weekdays only, metrics were similar across days when the nowcasts were conducted, with Mondays having the lowest mean absolute error of 183 cases in the context of an average daily weekday case count of 2914.

Conclusions

Nowcasting using NobBS can effectively support COVID-19 trend monitoring. Accounting for overdispersion, shortening the moving window, and suppressing diagnoses on weekends—when fewer patients submitted specimens for testing—improved the accuracy of estimated case counts. Nowcasting ensured that recent decreases in observed case counts were not overinterpreted as true declines and supported officials in anticipating the magnitude and timing of hospitalizations and deaths and allocating resources geographically.
Inclusive Practices and the Achievement Gap between Students with and without an Individualized Education Plan
Authors: Lindberg Evalynne W. , Bosch Chancey T. , Livingston-Galloway Marcia P.
Published: January 2021

Philosophy, ethics, legal mandates, educational theory, classroom application, and research has neither concluded nor reached scholarly saturation on the successful implementation of inclusion. This study examines inclusive practices for students with special needs by focusing on one innovative approach to narrowing the achievement gap between students on an Individual Education Plans (IEP) and students not on IEP. The innovative approach examined combined three research-based practices to create one school-wide pedagogy. The public middle school in this study integrated three educational approaches known as “Tribes,” “Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI)”, and “MicroSocieties”. An 11-year study revealed statistically significant relationship between the innovative approach and the achievement gap between students on IEPs and students not on IEPs. Descriptive statistics and parametric testing, a linear regression, were used to make inferences in the relationship. Implications of the study continue to support existing research on individual inclusive practices, but more importantly the innovative integration of inclusive practices.
Современное монголоведение: от «культурного поворота» к новой картине мира
Authors:   Kalmyk State University named after B.B. Gorodovikov, Badmaev Valeriy N.
Published: January 2021

The article foregrounds the theme of the socio-cultural, civilizational context and worldview status of the contemporary Mongolian Studies and the prospects of its inclusion into the wide perspective of the world scientific research. The processes like globalization and informatization of the science and education, the expansion of the international and interdisciplinary research collaboration, the activation of the science diplomacy lead to “cultural turns”, the emergence of new perspectives in science, the understanding of the scientific and humanistic unity of the East and West, Europe and Asia, the whole world. All these raise the issues of the methodological self-renovation and cultural and civilizational selfawareness for the contemporary Mongolian Studies. The article points out the importance of the refusal of the Eurocentrism rigorism, the need for understanding of equivalence, equal status, equal significance of the west and east intellectual and scientific traditions, their equal importance for each other. The inclusion of the contemporary Mongolian studies into the wider context of the world research will enable to perceive the true meaning of the phenomena “world history”, “world philosophy”, define the new scientific world view of the XXI century.
«Курица не птица, Монголия не заграница»: советские мемуары о жизни в позднесоциалистической Монголии
Authors:   Indiana University, Ermakov Anton D.
Published: January 2021

As the Mongolian People’s Republic became increasingly important to the Soviet Union’s foreign policy goals in the second half of the twentieth century, many Soviet specialists found themselves living and working in Mongolia for considerable amounts of time. Though this was technically a foreign posting, those specialists often did not consider it as such. As a then-popular saying put it, “a chicken is not a bird, Mongolia is not abroad” (kuritsa ne ptitsa, Mongolia ne zagranitsa). In this paper, I will use Soviet accounts of life in late socialist Mongolia to interrogate Soviet ideas of “the abroad”, placing Mongolia in a broader imagined geography of the socialist world and beyond. After surveying the meanings that the idea of “the abroad” (zagranitsa) held for Soviet citizens, I will show that Mongolia was simultaneously too familiar and too foreign in all the wrong ways to be classified as true zagranitsa. Drawing from the memoirs of Soviet expatriates living in a country that was separated from the USSR by an international border yet hauntingly familiar, I will explore the ways in which Soviet citizens’ imaginations of foreignness and distance diverged from those imposed by officially designated borders.
Народное прикладное искусство в экспозиции Музея традиционной культуры имени Зая-пандиты Калмыцкого научного центра РАН
Authors:   Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS, Batyreva Svetlana G.
Published: January 2021

The museum collections contain the material evidence of the past represented in the objects of traditional nomad culture. The documentary significance of the archive materials that represent nomad way of living allows us to give characteristics of the existence and content of the artistic craftwork of the Mongol-origin nations. Nowadays, when most of the traditional Kalmyk handicrafts have been lost due to the transition from the nomad way of living to sedentary life, it is relevant to use the museum exhibits for their reconstruction. This will allow to fill the gaps in the Kalmyk Folk Decorative Arts research the sample of which include the household items made in the traditional techniques of artistic processing of textile, felt and leather, wood and metal. The experience of collecting, research and reconstruction of the nation’s cultural heritage is represented in the permanent exhibit of the Zaya-Pandita Museum of Kalmyk Traditional Culture of the Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS.