bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of 17β-oestradiol (E2) and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone (OHP) on ovarian maturation in Penaeus semisulcatus De Haan, 1844 (Decapoda, Dendrobranchiata, Penaeidae) from the Mediterranean Sea off Alexandria, Egypt
Authors: Gaber Ibrahim , Latyshev Oleg
Published: September 2021

This study searches to provide appropriate conditions to trigger spawning in Penaeus semisulcatus in aquaculture. The aim was to test the effect of 17β-oestradiol and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone on ovarian maturation and to study the correlation between the different stages of ovarian maturation and hormonal levels in the ovaries, hepatopancreas, and haemolymph. Female shrimps were collected from Ras El-Tin beach and the fishing port to Abu Qir Bay of the Mediterranean Sea off Alexandria, Egypt from June 2018-August 2019. Shrimps were individually weighed and subsequently killed by thermal shock at a maximum temperature of 45°C. Gonadosomatic and hepatosomatic indices were calculated. The correlation between the gonadosomatic and hepatosomatic indices indicates the presence of endogenous and exogenous vitellogenesis. The haemolymph, hepatopancreas, and ovaries were studied by stereo- and electron microscopy. From 15 females in each season the mentioned tissues were isolated for the extraction and quantification of steroid hormones during the different stages of gonadal maturation using radioimmunoassay. An ecdysteroid- and steroid-extraction protocol was applied. Aliquots were collected from the haemolymph to identify 17β-oestradiol and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone by mass spectrometry. Five stages of gonadal maturation were observed. The hepatopancreas was formed by a set of tubules lined with pseudostratified epithelium composed of five cell types, cell E (undifferentiated), cell F (fibrillar), cell B (vesicular), R (reabsorbing), and M (basal) cells. Steroidogenic tissues were small in size and numerous. The ultrastructure of the ovary and hepatopancreas were studied during oocyte development. There was a high concentration of 17β-oestradiol and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone in stages I and II of ovarian maturation, coinciding with the preparation phase for vitellogenesis. A progressive decrease of these steroid hormones occurred during the course of gonadal maturation, and reached its lowest concentration in the spawning period. The ecdysone concentration did not fluctuate in ripe females. Its level increases from stages I-IV of vitellogenesis onward.
Comparative analysis of growth performance, feed utilization, and antioxidant capacity of juvenile mud crab, Scylla paramamosain, reared at two different conditions
Authors: Chen Cuiying , Nie Xiaofeng , Cheng Yu , Shen Jiajian , He Xianda , Wang Shuqi , You Cuihong , Li Yuanyou
Published: September 2021

This study was carried out to analyse the growth performance, feed utilization, and antioxidant capacity of juvenile mud crab (Scylla paramamosain) reared in two conditions. Here, a new indoor polypropylene tank culture system and a traditional outdoor pond cage facility were used to perform feeding experiments on juvenile crabs. After eight weeks, the survival rate, weight gain, moulting rate and feed efficiency of crabs cultured in polypropylene tanks were markedly higher than those cultured in pond cages. Moreover, the activities of serum acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and the antioxidant indices including glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), glutathione transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in hepatopancreas were higher in crabs cultured in the polypropylene tank system than those in pond cages. Based on these results, compared with the traditional pond cages, the polypropylene tank culture system is more suitable for the short-term culture of mud crabs.
Two Historicisms: Unpacking the Rules of Reproduction Debate
Authors: Moreno Zacarés Javier
Published: September 2021

Knafo and Teschke’s provocative essay ‘Political Marxism and the Rules of Reproduction of Capitalism’ has prompted considerable debate. From a position of critical support, the present article intervenes in this debate by making three interrelated points. First, the structuralist–historicist divide that Knafo and Teschke identify is misleading and should be reformulated. Though the duality is real, this divide is best understood as a continuum between two kinds of historicism: a structural and an institutional historicism. Second, the article contextualises Knafo and Teschke’s intervention against the backdrop of their own intellectual development. Rather than returning to the tradition’s historicist origins, they have in fact stretched Political Marxism’s institutional tendencies to new limits. Third, the article concludes with a revision of their critique of the concept of market dependence. It is argued that the concept can be salvaged for the purposes of institutional historicism provided that it is rearticulated.
The Pitfalls of the Italian Response to the International Obligations of Criminalisation of Gender Violence
Authors: Ippolito Francesca
Published: September 2021

Gender oriented international law has historically been at the basis of the development of international sources of coercive obligations for addressing gender violence at the national level. The nature of these obligations range from implicit and presupposed obligations stemming from a framing of intimate partner violence as a serious human rights violation by the international jurisprudence of the ad hoc criminal tribunals as well as by the cedaw Committee and the ECtHR case law, on one hand and, on the other hand, explicit sources of the enactment of national criminal legislation for sanctioning any form of gender violence codified in the Istanbul and Lanzarote Conventions. In the light of such international rationale behind the obligation of criminalisation of gender violence, Italy’s full national compliance proposed and the choice to ‘neutralize’ the symbolic function of criminalisation will be queried and possible remedies for missing profiles of implementation will be proposed.
Subjective Character as the Origo a Quo of Phenomenal Consciousness
Authors: Banick Kyle
Published: September 2021

This article contributes to the debate on self-consciousness, inner awareness, and subjective character. Philosophers puzzle over whether subjective character has a monadic or a relational form. But the present article deploys formal ontology to show that this is a false dichotomy. From this vantage, a common objection to non-relational views is deflated. The common objection is that one-level, non-relational views are either unexplanatory or smuggle in resources from higher-order and/or relational views. The author uses an argument from formal ontology to suggest that such objections stem from a category error. The result is that first-order non-relational views need not lapse into higher order or relational views – subjective character can be a structured and intrinsic feature involved in the ontological constitution of mental acts. Ultimately, the author emphasizes the need to conceive of subjective character as the source of intentionality, and not the result of a prior intentional relation.
Anthologizing Chinese Literature and Reinventing Literary Canons
Authors: Yu Shuang
Published: September 2021

In view of the importance of canon formation in the rewriting of Chinese literary history and the role of translation anthologies in constructing literary canons, this article examines the process of canonization represented in the anthologies of Renditions from 1973 to 2020. It observes the literary works that the Renditions’ anthologies attempt to build into canons and delves into the reasons behind the canon building. It concludes that the anthologies of Renditions challenge and subvert the literary canons established by the Chinese mainland, while trying to reconstruct and even popularize new canons from a Hong Kong perspective. Moreover, Renditions’ efforts to anthologize Chinese literature open up new possibilities for future canon formation and pave the way for a more comprehensive revision of Chinese literary history.
Ethical veganism as nonreligion in Mr J Casamitjana Costa v the League Against Cruel Sports
Authors: Strumos Lauren
Published: September 2021

In January 2020, an employment tribunal in the United Kingdom decided that ethical veganism qualified for protection from discrimination as a philosophical belief under the UK’s Equality Act 2010. This article explores the reasoning behind this judgement, as presented in the preliminary hearing decision for Mr J Casamitjana Costa v The League Against Cruel Sports, to argue that ethical veganism in this context can be conceptualized as a form of nonreligion. This article uses a relational theory of nonreligion to demonstrate how ethical veganism in this case is constructed to be distinct from religious belief while also being conceptually entangled with religion. It contributes to emergent scholarship on nonreligion, and veganism and (non)religion, by demonstrating how a relational framework allows connections among these phenomena to be articulated and explored with greater depth. In addition, this article considers the diversity of ethical veganism as an identity and practice in relation to its legal construction as a philosophical belief. Attention is paid to the ways in which veganism as lived can intersect with religion, nonreligion and areligion.
Introduction to a Special Issue on the New Labor Federalism
Authors: Fine Janice , Piore Michael ,   Guest Editors
Published: September 2021

The articles in this volume grew out of a 2018 conference organized by the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations and Cornell University’s ILR School to address questions regarding labor regulation at lower levels of government. During the extended period that federal reform has been blocked, enormous activity has taken place at the state and local levels in terms of both the passage of new employment laws and regulations as well as their administration and enforcement. Drawn from the larger set of papers presented at that conference, these articles focus on specific dimensions of the puzzle. This introduction paints the broader picture suggested by the conference and papers taken as a whole. The move toward federalism as a strategy, particularly as an alternative to organizing through the NLRA, while promising, is so far limited because it focuses on the substance of labor regulation exclusively, in isolation from the procedures through which work regulation is promulgated and enforced. The most likely place to look for reforms that will give the new labor federalism institutional support and stability comparable to that of the New Deal collective bargaining regime at its apogee is in their implementation and enforcement.
Southern middle powers and the liberal international order: The options for Brazil and South Africa
Authors: Efstathopoulos Charalampos
Published: September 2021

The current challenges facing the liberal international order suggest there is greater need for reassessing the roles that different categories of states may perform in support of this order. Middle powers appear as leading candidates for a supportive role to the liberal order due to their historical commitment to internationalism, coalition building with like-minded democracies and activism within multilateral institutions. Such orientation, however, is questionable for Southern middle powers that often appear ambivalent in their foreign policies, restricted in their collaboration with other democracies and selective in their multilateral initiatives. This article discusses the cases of Brazil and South Africa to examine the current options for Southern middle powers and concludes that despite certain limitations, South Africa is, overall, closer to assuming a supportive stance towards the liberal international order and its institutions.
Trends in U.S. Population Health: The Central Role of Policies, Politics, and Profits
Authors: Montez Jennifer Karas , Hayward Mark D. , Zajacova Anna
Published: September 2021

Recent trends in U.S. health have been mixed, with improvements among some groups and geographic areas alongside declines among others. Medical sociologists have contributed to the understanding of those disparate trends, although important questions remain. In this article, we review trends since the 1980s in key indicators of U.S. health and weigh evidence from the last decade on their causes. To better understand contemporary trends in health, we propose that commonly used conceptual frameworks, such as social determinants of health, should be strengthened by prominently incorporating commercial, political-economic, and legal determinants. We illustrate how these structural determinants can provide new insights into health trends, using disparate health trajectories across U.S. states as an example. We conclude with suggestions for future research: focusing on structural causes of health trends and inequalities, expanding interdisciplinary perspectives, and integrating methods better equipped to handle the complexity of causal processes driving health trends and inequalities.
The Resurgence of Medical Education in Sociology: A Return to Our Roots and an Agenda for the Future
Authors: Jenkins Tania M. , Underman Kelly , Vinson Alexandra H. , Olsen Lauren D. , E. Hirshfield Laura
Published: September 2021

From 1940 to 1980, studies of medical education were foundational to sociology, but attention shifted away from medical training in the late 1980s. Recently, there has been a marked return to this once pivotal topic, reflecting new questions and stakes. This article traces this resurgence by reviewing recent substantive research trends and setting the agenda for future research. We summarize four current research foci that reflect and critically map onto earlier projects in this subfield while driving theoretical development elsewhere in the larger discipline: (1) professional socialization, (2) knowledge regimes, (3) stratification within the profession, and (4) sociology of the field of medical education. We then offer six potential future directions where more research is needed: (1) inequalities in medical education, (2) socialization across the life course and new institutional forms of gatekeeping, (3) provider well-being, (4) globalization, (5) medical education as knowledge-based work, and (6) effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ephemeral Infrastructures of Drug Smuggling Mobilities
Authors: Guerrero C. Javier , Martin Craig
Published: September 2021

The study of drug smuggling has often taken an organizational perspective whereby the structures of how smuggling is constituted predominate. Building on a growing body of scholarship addressing the networked complexities of drug smuggling this article considers the importance of distinct infrastructural arrangements. Its primary focus is on the materiality of drug smuggling infrastructures, and how the social, spatial and temporal qualities of these configurations overlap with licit mobility infrastructures, including intersections of visibility/invisibility, stability, and permanence. The core conceptual premise, drawn from Science and Technology Studies, is that drug smuggling mobilities are formed of ephemeral infrastructures that exhibit temporary, short-lived stability and permanence through the subversion of licit infrastructural configurations. Drawing on material from El Dorado Airport, Colombia, the paper examines the everyday artefacts which constitute these ephemeral infrastructures.
Was it worth it? The impact of the German minimum wage on union membership of employees
Authors: Ress Simon , Spohr Florian
Published: September 2021

This contribution scrutinises how introducing a statutory minimum wage of EUR 8.50 per hour, in January 2015, impacted German employees’ decision with regard to union membership. Based on representative data from the Labour Market and Social Security panel, the study applies a logistic difference-in-differences propensity score matching approach on entries into and withdrawals from unions in the German Trade Union Confederation (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB). The results show no separate effect on withdrawals from or entries into unions after the minimum wage introduction for those employees who benefited financially from it, but a significant increase of entries overall. Thus, unions’ campaign for a minimum wage strengthened their position in total but did not reverse the segmentation of union membership patterns.
“Who shall be lord of the earth?” Nietzsche, Schmitt, and thinking “beyond the line”
Authors: Shapiro Gary
Published: September 2021

Carl Schmitt privately acknowledged that his late theory of Erd-Herrschaft (hegemony of the Earth) converged with some of Nietzsche’s thought, yet remained silent on this in his book The Nomos of the Earth. This essay reconstructs an implicit Nietzsche–Schmitt dialog, focusing on their related but distinct geopolitical and phenomenological concepts of Earth, the role of binary divisions in ethics and politics, and the nature of hegemony. Nietzsche and Schmitt both derive from a tradition of political theology that relies on the antitheses of state sovereignty and the Antichrist, but they draw opposed conclusions from this duality.
Doing Gender with Class: Gender Division of Unpaid Work in Russian Middle-Class Dual Earner Heterosexual Households
Authors: Ukhova Daria
Published: September 2021

This article is concerned with examining the relation between gender division of unpaid work and class. Drawing on in-depth interviews with middle-class dual earner heterosexual couples conducted in Russia, I show how the gender division of housework and care could be shaped by processes of accountability not only to sex category (“doing gender”) but also to class category (“doing class”). I discuss how my interviewees perceived various gender contracts that have evolved in post-socialist Russia as profoundly classed. I further show how their resulting understandings of middle-class (in)appropriate ways of doing masculinity and femininity influenced the division of work in their families. Men were not only accountable as breadwinners but also as carers; while women, in addition to their caring roles, were accountable for their career and sex appeal. In several couples, this double gender and class accountability underpinned their comparatively more equal—although not necessarily more egalitarian—gender division of housework and care.
Performance status and trial site-level factors are associated with missing data in palliative care trials: An individual participant-level data analysis of 10 phase 3 trials
Authors: Hussain Jamilla A , White Ian R , Johnson Miriam J , Bland Martin , Currow David C
Published: September 2021

Background:

Missing data compromise the internal and external validity of trial findings, however there is limited evidence on how best to reduce missing data in palliative care trials.

Aim:

To assess the association between participant and site level factors and missing data in palliative care trials.

Design and setting:

Individual participant-level data analysis of 10 phase 3 palliative care trials using multi-level cross-classified models.

Results:

Participants with missing data at the previous time-point and poorer performance status were more likely to have missing data for the primary outcome and quality of life outcomes, at the primary follow-up point and end of follow-up. At the end of follow-up, the number of site randomisations and number of study site personnel were significantly associated with missing data. Trial duration and the number of research personnel explained most of the variance at the trial and site-level respectively, except for the primary outcome where the amount of data requested was most important at the trial-level. Variance at the trial level was more substantial than at the site level across models and considerable variance remained unexplained for all models except quality of life at the end of follow-up.

Conclusion:

Participants with a poorer performance status are at higher risk of missing data in palliative care trials and require additional support to provide complete data. Performance status is a potential auxiliary variable for missing data imputation models. Reducing trial variability should be prioritised and further factors need to be identified and explored to explain the residual variance.
Two-stage approach for class II mandibular furcation defect with insufficient keratinized mucosa: a case report with 3 years’ follow-up
Authors: Saida Hiroyuki , Fukuba Shunsuke , Shiba Takahiko , Komatsu Keiji , Iwata Takanori , Nitta Hiroshi
Published: September 2021

Periodontal regenerative treatment is useful for intrabony defects and furcation involvement, but is difficult when there is insufficient keratinized mucosa to cover and maintain the regenerative material, particularly in the mandibular molar region. We report the case of a 27-year-old woman who underwent a two-stage surgical approach for a class II furcation defect with gingival recession and insufficient keratinized mucosal width (KMW) and vestibular depth at the mandibular left first molar. We first improved the KMW and keratinized mucosal thickness using an epithelial embossed connective tissue graft with enamel matrix derivative, and then focused on periodontal regeneration at the furcation defect using an enamel matrix derivative and a bovine-derived xenograft. Probing depth reduction, clinical attachment gain, horizontal probing depth reduction, KMW gain, and gingival recession reduction were observed 3 years postoperatively. This case report suggests that this novel staged approach may be effective for treating furcation defects with insufficient keratinized mucosa, thus providing useful insights into periodontal regeneration therapy.
Analysis of Retrofit and Scrappage Policies for the Indian Road Transport Sector in 2030
Authors: Singh Namita , Mishra Trupti , Banerjee Rangan
Published: September 2021

In India, the road transport sector contributed around 90% of total transport CO2 emissions in 2018. Air pollution from the road transport sector has detrimental effects on both air quality and human health. The policies implemented have a long-term impact on the amount of vehicle emissions and characteristics of fleet vehicles. The present study analyzes emissions from India’s road transport sector using the bottom-up activity approach model. Future vehicle stocks in India are projected up to 2030 using a hybrid growth model approach. Vehicle emissions of CO2, CO, particulate matter (PM), and NOx are analyzed for India's reference (2020) and projected years fleet (2030). The emissions from the projected fleet are subjected to different mitigation scenarios such as retrofit and scrappage policies to estimate the emission reduction potentials of these scenarios from the future fleet of India. The analysis of the study indicates that the retrofit policies are more effective in reducing vehicle emissions than the scrappage policies. Retrofit policies such as the advancement in emission norms (shift to Bharat Stage (BS)-VI from BS-IV), the increased share of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, and fuel efficiency (FE) improvements have reduced vehicle emissions significantly compared to the scrappage of old vehicles from the fleet. The low impact of scrappage policies is attributed to the projected fleet’s lower share of old vehicles (10–15%). While retrofit policies have a significant impact as they largely affect 85% to 90% of young vehicles (less than ten years of age) in 2030. A combination of both policies is suggested to control future fleet emissions. The study also conducts sensitivity analysis, which indicates a significant influence of the emission factors in the vehicle emission analysis and GDP growth rates in the vehicle fleet projection.
Improving Stratification Procedures and Accuracy of Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) Estimates for Non-Federal Aid-System (NFAS) Roads
Authors: Tsapakis Ioannis , Das Subasish , Anderson Paul , Jessberger Steven , Holik William
Published: September 2021

The 2016 safety Final Rule requires states to have access to annual average daily traffic (AADT) for all public paved roads, including non-Federal aid-system (NFAS) roads. The latter account approximately for 75% of the total roadway mileage in the country making it difficult for agencies to collect traffic data on these roads. Many agencies use stratified sampling procedures to develop default AADT estimates for uncounted segments; however, there is limited guidance and information about how to stratify the network effectively. The goal of this paper is to enhance transportation agencies’ ability to improve existing stratification schemes, design new schemes, and ultimately develop more accurate AADT estimates for NFAS roads. The paper presents the results from five pilot studies that validated and compared the performance of current, updated, and new (traditional and decision-tree-based) schemes using readily available data. According to the results, the median absolute percent error of existing AADT estimates, developed by state agencies, ranged between 71% and 120%. Updating these schemes using recent counts resulted in an AADT accuracy improvement of 25%. The best-performing schemes were developed using DTs that improved the AADT accuracy of existing schemes by 41%. Overall, having more strata and very homogenous strata is better than having fewer strata and more samples within each stratum. The analysis revealed that a key to selecting an effective scheme is to determine a critical point, beyond which creating more strata improves the AADT accuracy marginally but increases the required sample size exponentially.
Use of Ultrasonic Acoustic Technology for Temporary Deterrence of Bats from Bridges
Authors: Aldemir Bektas Basak , Blanchong Julie , Freeseman Katelyn , Albughdadi Ahmed
Published: September 2021

White-Nose Syndrome and increased disturbance of habitats used by bats for roosting and foraging has led to a growing concern about the bat population in the US in the last decade. Bridge repair and replacement projects are required to follow additional regulatory requirements to avoid and minimize impacts to bats when protected bat species are present on bridges. Some of these requirements (e.g., timing restrictions) are challenging to implement, given Minnesota’s short construction season. The objective of this project was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of deploying non-lethal ultrasonic acoustic devices in the field to temporarily deter bats from roosting on bridges ahead of construction or maintenance activities, while minimizing harm to bats and non-target species. The technology was evaluated at two test sites located in Minnesota, one short term and one long term, during the summer of 2019. The data from the field inspections indicate that acoustic deterrents appear to effectively work to temporarily deter bats from select abutments and present an option to temporarily deter bats at construction sites. This technology could be implemented by any transportation agency, but would require the development of an agency protocol, through collaboration of relevant offices.
Data mining and knowledge discovery in databases for urban solid waste management: A scientific literature review
Authors: Dias Janaína Lopes , Sott Michele Kremer , Ferrão Caroline Cipolatto , Furtado João Carlos , Moraes Jorge André Ribas
Published: September 2021

The processes related to solid waste management (SWM) are being revised as new technologies emerge and are applied in the area to achieve greater environmental, social and economic sustainability for society. To achieve our goal, two robust review protocols (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Context (PICOC) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)) were used to systematically analyze 62 documents extracted from the Web of Science database to identify the main techniques and tools for Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) and Data Mining (DM) as applied to SWM and explore the technological potential to optimize the stages of collecting and transporting waste. Moreover, it was possible to analyze the main challenges and opportunities of KDD and DM for SWM. The results show that the most used tools for SWM are MATLAB (29.7%) and GIS (13.5%), whereas the most used techniques are Artificial Neural Networks (35.8%), Linear Regression (16.0%) and Support Vector Machine (12.3%). In addition, 15.3% of the studies were conducted with data from China, 11.1% from India and 9.7% of the studies analyzed and compared data from several other countries. Furthermore, the research showed that the main challenges in the field of study are related to the collection and treatment of data, whereas the opportunities appear to be linked mainly to the impact on the pillars of sustainable development. Thus, this study portrays important issues associated with the use of KDD and DM for optimal SWM and has the potential to assist and direct researchers and field professionals in future studies.
Realization of historical Persian ornamental and geometric patterns as architectural components in innovative reciprocal frame barrel vaults
Authors: Asefi Maziar , Bahremandi Tolou Mahnaz
Published: September 2021

Barrel vaults are one of the most widely used forms in Persian architecture. While they are mainly built with heavy and compressive materials such as brick, today’s advances in construction techniques has led the architectural industry to utilize lightweight structural systems including reciprocal frame structures (RF). The purpose of this paper is to generate a barrel vault form using RFs through a revival of historical Persian ornamental and geometric patterns known as girih. This research was carried out in three phases. After extracting the essential criteria necessary to produce reciprocal configuration, four geometric girih that were compatible with those criteria were selected. The selected patterns were then modified to localize their reciprocal configurations following the Persian ornamental and geometric patterns. A structural analysis was performed using the Karamba Plugin in order to make a structural comparison between a barrel vault constructed with RFs and one made with bricks. The results showed that the use of RFs can significantly reduce the structural weight while using a minimum of material in covering the specified span. In addition, it was concluded that the vault with Hasht-e-moraba and Chahar-lenge ghenas patterns behaved in a more optimal way for the transmission of axial forces with less displacement and deformation.
Sensing Lab: Food Science and Technology Division, Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences – University of Milan
Authors: Grassi Silvia , Casiraghi Ernestina , Alamprese Cristina
Published: September 2021

This paper keeps on the series of articles aimed at presenting to the readers of NIR News the research groups active in the field of NIR spectroscopy in Italy. In detail, the activities of the Sensing Lab research group of the Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (University of Milan) are described.
Systemic lupus erythematosus children in Egypt: Homeland spectrum amid the global situation
Authors: Eesa Nahla N , Abdel Nabi Hend , Owaidy Rasha El , Khalifa Iman , Radwan Ahmed R , NourEl-Din Abeer M , Amer Marwa A , ElShereef Rawhya R , Hassan Eman , Ismail Faten , El-Gazzar Iman I , Khalil Noha M , Moshrif Abdel Hafeez , Abualfadl Esam , Tharwat Samar , Fathi Hanan M , Abd Elazeem Mervat I , El-Shebini Emad , Samy Nermeen , Noshy Nermeen , El-Bahnasawy Amany S , Abdalla Ahmed M , Abousehly Osama S , Mohamed Eman F , Nasef Samah I , Elsaman Ahmed M , ElKhalifa Marwa , Salem Mohamed N , Abaza Nouran M , Fathy Hanan M , Abdel Salam Nancy , El-Saadany Hanan M , El-Najjar Amany R , El-Hammady Dina H , Hammam Nevin , Mohammed Reem HA , Gheita Tamer A ,   on behalf of the Egyptian College of Rheumatology (ECR) SLE Study Group
Published: September 2021

Objectives

This study aims to present the manifestations of juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) across Egypt, to focus on age at onset and gender-driven influence on disease characteristics, and to compare findings to other countries.

Methods

The study included 404 Egyptian children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) presenting to one of the specialized rheumatology centers corresponding to 13 major governorates. Juvenile cases age was ≤ 16°years at the time of recruitment. The SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) and damage index (DI) were assessed.

Results

The mean age was 13.2 ± 2.4°years; 355 females and 49 males (7.2:1), and the disease duration was 2.3 ± 1.6 years, while age at disease onset was 11.1 ± 2.5°years. Their SLEDAI was 13.5 ± 12.3, and DI, 0.36 ± 0.78. The overall estimated prevalence of childhood-SLE patients in the recruited cohort in Egypt was 1/100,000 population (0.24/100000 males and 1.8/100000 females). 7.4% developed pre-pubertal SLE (≤ 7 years); 73.3%, peri-pubertal; and 19.3% during early adolescence. The differences according to age group were equal for gender and clinical manifestations except skin lesions present in 59.3% of pre-pubertal onset, 74.6% of peri-pubertal, and 84.2% of adolescents ( p = 0.029), and renal involvement in 73.8% of peripubertal, 62.1% of pre-pubertal and 58.9% of adolescents ( p = 0.03). Laboratory investigations, SLEDAI, and DI were similar among age categories. Lupus nephritis was more common in Egypt compared to JSLE from other countries.

Conclusion

Our large multicenter study identified that female gender influenced disease characteristics with more frequent skin involvement. Skin lesions were significantly higher in adolescents, while renal involvement in peri-pubertal children.
Preferable Transplant Site for Hepatocyte Transplantation in a Rat Model
Authors: Ogasawara Hiroyuki , Inagaki Akiko , Fathi Ibrahim , Imura Takehiro , Yamana Hiroki , Saitoh Yoshikatsu , Matsumura Muneyuki , Fukuoka Kengo , Miyagi Shigehito , Nakamura Yasuhiro , Ohashi Kazuo , Unno Michiaki , Kamei Takashi , Goto Masafumi
Published: September 2021

Intraportal injection is regarded as the current standard procedure of hepatocyte transplantation (HTx). In islet transplantation, which shares many aspects with HTx, recent studies have clarified that instant blood-mediated inflammatory reaction (IBMIR), characterized by strong innate immune responses, can cause poor engraftment, so other transplant sites to avoid such a reaction have been established. Although IBMIR was reported to occur in HTx, few reports have evaluated alternative transplant sites for HTx. In this study, we sought to determine the optimum transplant site for HTx. Rat hepatocytes (1.0 × 107) were transplanted at the 9 transplant sites (intraportal (IPO), intrasplenic (IS), liver parenchyma, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, renal subcapsular, muscle, inguinal subcutaneous white adipose tissue, and omentum) of analbuminemic rats. The serum albumin levels, immunohistochemical staining (albumin, TUNEL, and BrdU), and in vivo imaging of the grafts were evaluated. The serum albumin levels of the IPO group were significantly higher than those of the other groups ( p < .0001). The BrdU-positive hepatocyte ratio of liver in the IS group (0.9% ± 0.2%) was comparable to that of the IPO group (0.9% ± 0.3%) and tended to be higher than that of the spleen in the IS group (0.5% ± 0.1%, p = .16). Considering the in vivo imaging evaluation and the influence of splenectomy, the graft function in the IS group may be almost entirely achieved by hepatocytes that have migrated to the liver. The present study clearly showed that the intraportal injection procedure is more efficient than other procedures for performing HTx
COVID-19, Suffering and Palliative Care: A Review
Authors: Beng Tan Seng , Kim Carol Lai Cheng , Shee Chai Chee , Ching Diana Ng Leh , Liang Tan Jiunn , Kumar Mehul Kumar Narendra , Guan Ng Chong , Khuen Lim Poh , Loong Lam Chee , Chin Loh Ee , Zainuddin Sheriza Izwa , Capelle David Paul , Munn Ang Chui , Yen Lim Kah , Isahak Nik Nathasha Hani Nik
Published: September 2021

According to the WHO guideline, palliative care is an integral component of COVID-19 management. The relief of physical symptoms and the provision of psychosocial support should be practiced by all healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients. In this review, we aim to provide a simple outline on COVID-19, suffering in COVID-19, and the role of palliative care in COVID-19. We also introduce 3 principles of palliative care that can serve as a guide for all healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients, which are (1) good symptom control, (2) open and sensitive communication, and (3) caring for the whole team. The pandemic has brought immense suffering, fear and death to people everywhere. The knowledge, skills and experiences from palliative care could be used to relieve the suffering of COVID-19 patients.
Effects of Repeated Administration and Comparability of Alternate Forms for the Global Neuropsychological Assessment (GNA)
Authors: Smerbeck Alan , Olson Lauren T , Morra Lindsay F. , Raines Jeremy , Schretlen David J. , Benedict Ralph H. B.
Published: September 2021

The Global Neuropsychological Assessment (GNA) is an extremely brief battery of cognitive tasks assessing episodic memory, processing speed, working memory, verbal fluency, executive function, and mood. It can be given in under 15 minutes, has five alternate forms, and does not require an examinee to be literate. The purpose of this study was to quantify practice effects over repeated administrations and assess comparability of the GNA’s five alternate forms, preparing the battery for repeated administration in research and clinical settings. Forty participants each completed all five GNA forms at weekly intervals following a Latin square design (i.e., each form was administered at every position in the sequence an equal number of times). In a cognitively intact population, practice effects of 0.56 to 1.06 SD were observed across GNA measures when comparing the first and fifth administration. Most GNA tests showed nonsignificant interform differences with cross-form means differing by 0.35 SD or less, with the exception of modest but statistically significant interform differences for the GNA Story Memory subtest across all five forms. However, post hoc analysis identified clusters of two and three Story Memory alternate forms that were equivalent.
Subjective and objective clinical outcomes of a new trifocal toric intraocular lens and effect of femtosecond laser cataract surgery
Authors: Donmez Oya , Asena Bilgehan Sezgin , Aydin Akova Yonca
Published: September 2021

Purpose:

To evaluate the clinical outcomes and quality of life following implantation of PanOptix toric intraocular lens (IOL) and to compare the outcomes following femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) and standard cataract surgery (SCS).

Methods:

This comparative retrospective study included 79 eyes of 55 patients underwent cataract or refractive lens exchange surgery between April 2017 and January 2020 in Bayindir Hospital and Kaskaloglu Eye Hospital. Corneal (CA) and refractive astigmatism (RA), uncorrected visual acuities for distant, intermediate, and near (UDVA, UIVA, and UNVA), low contrast distance visual acuity, rotational stability, defocus curves, photopic and mesopic contrast sensitivity (CS), visual function-14 (VF-14) test, presence of dysphotopsia, and need for spectacles were evaluated at postoperative third month. Outcomes were compared between FLACS and SCS group.

Results:

The mean UDVA, UIVA, and UNVA were 0.05 ± 0.07, 0.08 ± 0.08, and 0.06 ± 0.07 logMAR, respectively. All patients achieved ⩾0.3 logMAR uncorrected visual acuity for all distances. UDVA was found significantly better in FLACS group ( p = 0.03). All eyes had ⩽1 D of subjective postoperative RA. Defocus curve had two peaks at 0 and −1.50 D. Spectacle independence was achieved in 88.7% of patients. Photopic and mesopic CS was within normal range in all patients. The mean VF-14 score was 98 ± 2. The mean IOL axis rotation was 2.1° ± 2.3°. Only one patient reported seeing disturbing halos.

Conclusions:

This trifocal toric IOL effectively reduced refractive astigmatism and provided excellent visual outcomes with high spectacle independence, patients’ satisfaction, and good rotational stability. FLACS might have an impact on optimal postoperative results.
Nomination trade-offs: How context affects political parties’ strategies to nominate immigrant-origin candidates
Authors: Nadler Anna-Lena
Published: September 2021

Political parties in Western democracies with large immigrant populations have become increasingly interested in nominating immigrant-origin candidates. This paper investigates how contextual factors explain parties’ effort of immigrant representation. I argue that nominations of immigrant-origin candidates are shaped by parties’ strategic calculations weighing out potential vote gains among immigrant-origin voters compared to a potential native backlash. I contend that alien enfranchisement and liberal naturalization policies provide decisive incentives to nominate immigrant-origin candidates. In contrast, economic insecurity implies potential material threat perceptions generating a native backlash against immigrants, reducing the nomination of immigrant-origin candidates. Using a novel dataset on candidates in Switzerland, the analysis reveals that the political and economic contexts indeed determine the number of immigrant-origin candidates and their ballot position, particularly those of non-Western origin. These findings have significant implications for our understanding of strategic behaviors of political parties and the promotion of immigrant representation.
Ever more parents in polyamorous families: A new materialist typology of parenting practices and division of work
Authors: Schadler Cornelia
Published: September 2021

An analysis of parents that are a part of polyamorous networks—networks of three, four, or even more residential or highly available parents—shows three types of parenting practices: poly-nuclear, hierarchical, and egalitarian parenting. Especially, the hierarchical and egalitarian parenting practices show novel divisions of care work and a transgression of gender norms. However, in-depth new materialist analysis of qualitative interviews also shows how parents are, in specific situations, pushed toward standard family models and thus unintentionally maintain traditional family structures and gender roles.
Expertise as a domain of epistemics in intensive care shift-handovers
Authors: Harms Paulien , Koole Tom , Stukker Ninke , Tulleken Jaap
Published: September 2021

This paper examines how expertise is treated as a separable domain of epistemics by looking at simulated intensive care shift-handovers between resident physicians. In these handovers, medical information about a patient is transferred from an outgoing physician (OP) to an incoming physician (IP). These handovers contain different interactional activities, such as discussing the patient identifiers, giving a clinical impression, and discussing tasks and focus points. We found that with respect to (factual) knowledge about the patient, the OPs display an orientation to a knowledge imbalance, but with respect to (clinical) procedures, reasoning, and activities, they display an orientation to a knowledge balance. We use ‘expertise’ to refer to this latter type of knowledge. ‘Expertise’ differs from, and adds to, how knowledge is often treated in epistemics in that it is concerned with professional competence or ‘knowing how’. In terms of epistemics, the participants in the handovers orient to a steep epistemic or knowledge gradient when it concerns the patient, while simultaneously displaying an orientation to a horizontal expertise gradient.
Flexible and innovative learning spaces: An exploration of parental perspectives on change, consultation and participation
Authors: Benade Leon
Published: September 2021

The role played by innovative educational environments to support learning for the 21st century has attracted the interest of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development at the global governance level and at the national policy level internationally. This article draws on global, European and Australasian research and data from a qualitative study of consultation and participation in the development of innovative and flexible learning spaces in the New Zealand context. It focuses specifically on the role of parents, drawing data from relevant policies and documents, a parent questionnaire and interviews of parents, architects and Ministry of Education Delivery Managers, responsible for delivering large capital works projects. While the architect participants believe their bold designs are inspirational and promote new pedagogical styles, and positive relationships, some parents view these open-plan learning areas (and associated pedagogies) as needlessly experimental, placing the needs and education of their children at risk. Delivery Managers are focussed on seeing the projects to conclusion, on time and on budget. The critical analysis considers the findings in relation to the research question and reflects on the dual themes of innovation and risk. Further questions for research are suggested.
A tale of two Dickenses: Or, learning as fact, fiction and play
Authors: Rudrum David
Published: September 2021

Over the years, a small industry has sprung up dedicated to preserving writers’ homes and birthplaces, offering the chance to see first-hand the circumstances under which their key texts were written. Experiencing an insight into, say, Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage, or Hardy’s Wessex cottage, or the Bronte parsonage in Haworth, is widely held to be an educational experience, enhancing our appreciation of the link between the life and work of the author in question. Axiomatically – and simplistically – literary heritage sites like these might seem to offer the “truth” behind the “fiction”, by showing the visitor the “real” world behind the “imaginative” writing. Thus, the educational experience they offer is often said to consist in providing an insight into context (historical/biographical, landscape and setting, etc.). This study sets out to challenge this assumption. As case studies, it will discuss two very (very!) different literary heritage sites: the Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum in Portsmouth and the now-defunct literary theme park Dickens World, which finally closed its doors in 2016. The former offers a biographical and historical interpretation of Dickens, ostensibly grounded in reality and truth – although the truth claims made for the museum are shown to be somewhat contestable. The latter appealed far more to the imagination, and to ‘free play’ with the text, than it did to truth. Obviously, these sites involve two completely different conceptions of what it is to provide an experience of literary education. The two are compared and contrasted, with passing reference to thinkers such as Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Kendall Walton and Mikhail Bakhtin, with a view to challenging and dismantling the commonsensical view that the educational value of literary heritage sites consists in revealing the truth behind the fiction.