bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Decreased COPD prevalence in Sweden after decades of decrease in smoking
Authors: Backman Helena , Vanfleteren Lowie , Lindberg Anne , Ekerljung Linda , Stridsman Caroline , Axelsson Malin , Nilsson Ulf , Nwaru Bright I. , Sawalha Sami , Eriksson Berne , Hedman Linnea , Rådinger Madeleine , Jansson Sven-Arne , Ullman Anders , Kankaanranta Hannu , Lötvall Jan , Rönmark Eva , Lundbäck Bo
Published: October 2020

Background

COPD has increased in prevalence worldwide over several decades until the first decade after the millennium shift. Evidence from a few recent population studies indicate that the prevalence may be levelling or even decreasing in some areas in Europe. Since the 1970s, a substantial and ongoing decrease in smoking prevalence has been observed in several European countries including Sweden. The aim of the current study was to estimate the prevalence, characteristics and risk factors for COPD in the Swedish general population. A further aim was to estimate the prevalence trend of COPD in Northern Sweden from 1994 to 2009.

Methods

Two large random population samples were invited to spirometry with bronchodilator testing and structured interviews in 2009–2012, one in south-western and one in northern Sweden, n = 1839 participants in total. The results from northern Sweden were compared to a study performed 15 years earlier in the same area and age-span. The diagnosis of COPD required both chronic airway obstruction (CAO) and the presence of respiratory symptoms, in line with the GOLD documents since 2017. CAO was defined as post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC < 0.70, with sensitivity analyses based on the FEV1/FVC < lower limit of normal (LLN) criterion.

Results

Based on the fixed ratio definition, the prevalence of COPD was 7.0% (men 8.3%; women 5.8%) in 2009–2012. The prevalence of moderate to severe (GOLD ≥ 2) COPD was 3.5%. The LLN based results were about 30% lower. Smoking, occupational exposures, and older age were risk factors for COPD, whereof smoking was the most dominating risk factor. In northern Sweden the prevalence of COPD, particularly moderate to severe COPD, decreased significantly from 1994 to 2009, and the decrease followed a decrease in smoking.

Conclusions

The prevalence of COPD has decreased in Sweden, and the prevalence of moderate to severe COPD was particularly low. The decrease follows a major decrease in smoking prevalence over several decades, but smoking remained the dominating risk factor for COPD.
Regional metastasis to anatomies beyond traditional neck dissection boundaries: a multi-institutional analysis focused on unconventional metastases in oral cancer patients
Authors: Gao Weijin , Tian Zhuowei , Fang Xiaodan , Xue Jincai , Li Zhixiang , Yang Cong , Ma Chunyue
Published: October 2020

Background

Regional metastasis sometimes occurs in anatomies that are not included in traditional neck dissections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the treatment outcomes of squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity (SCCOC) patients with unconventional metastatic lymph nodes (UMLNs) in sublingual, buccinator, and parotid anatomies.

Methods

This retrospective multi-institutional analysis of squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity patients with unconventional metastatic lymph nodes was performed from January 2008 to December 2015. All the included patients received surgical treatment for unconventional metastatic lymph nodes. The end point of the study was to determine the factors influencing these patients’ survival and the corresponding solutions to improve survival. Pathological grade, contralateral metastasis, extranodal extension, and other factors were collected and analyzed by logistic regression and the Cox model.

Results

A total of 89 patients were identified. Among these patients, 25 (28.1%) received primary treatment, 28 (31.5%) received staged (therapeutic) neck dissections, and 36 (40.4%) had recurrent or residual diseases. Altogether, 45 patients (51%) had buccinator node metastases, 31 (35%) had sublingual metastases, 12 (14%) had parotid metastases, and 1 had both buccinator and parotid metastases. Regarding regional metastases, 31 patients (34.8%) had isolated unconventional metastatic lymph nodes. Adjuvant therapies were administered to 72 (80.9%) patients, 25 (28.1%) of whom were treated with radio-chemotherapies. The overall survival rate was 38.2%. Multivariate analysis found that the subsites of unconventional metastatic lymph nodes (P = 0.029), extranodal extension in both unconventional metastatic lymph nodes (P = 0.025) and cervical lymph nodes (P = 0.015), sites of primary or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity (P = 0.035), and types of neck dissections (P = 0.025) were significantly associated with overall survival.

Conclusions

Unconventional metastatic lymph nodes are uncommon, yet awareness of potential unconventional metastatic lymph nodes should be heightened. Early surgical interventions are warranted in patients with sublingual or buccinator metastases, while caution should be given to those with parotid metastases. Aggressive en bloc (in-continuity) resections may be mandatory in advanced oral cancer cases for close anatomic locations with possible buccal or sublingual metastases.
Correction to: a narrative review of economic constructs in commonly used implementation and scale-up theories, frameworks and models
Authors: Brown Vicki , Tran Huong , Blake Miranda , Laws Rachel , Moodie Marj
Published: October 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.
Parachute tricuspid valve: a systematic review
Authors: Yuan Shi-Min
Published: October 2020

Background

A parachute tricuspid valve is a very rare congenital cardiac anomaly. Its morphological features and clinical implications have not been sufficiently described so far. The purpose of the present systematic review is to disclose the morphological and clinical characteristics of parachute tricuspid valve, and to discuss its diagnostic methods, treatments and patients’ outcomes.

Main body

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement guidelines were followed in this systematic review. Publications were systematically searched in the PubMed, Highwire Press, and the Cochrane Library databases. By comprehensive retrieval of the pertinent literature published between 1979 and 2019, 13 reports were collected with 14 patients recruited into this study. Their ages ranged from neonate to 52 years old with a median age of 23 years. Tricuspid valve regurgitation of a less-than-severe degree was seen in 6 (60%) patients, tricuspid valve stenosis was present in 3 (30%) patients and normally functioning tricuspid valve was noted in 1 (10%) patient. All patients had a single papillary muscle in the right ventricle. The chordae tendineae could be normal in length and thickness, or elongated, or shortened and thickened. Forty percent of the patients were asymptomatic or with only mild symptoms and did not need a surgical or interventional therapy, and 6 (60%) patients were indicated for a surgical/interventional treatment due to their severe presenting symptoms, associated congenital heart defects, and the resultant severe right ventricular inflow obstruction and (or) tricuspid stenosis. Patients’ outcomes varied depending on the substantial status of the patients with a survival rate of 70% and mortality rate of 30%.

Conclusion

A few patients with a parachute tricuspid valve are asymptomatic or only with mild symptoms and a surgical or interventional treatment is not required. The surgical/interventional indications for parachute tricuspid valve patients are their severe presenting symptoms, associated congenital heart defects, and the resultant severe right ventricular inflow obstruction and (or) tricuspid stenosis. The survival rate of this patient setting is satisfactory.
Addressing obstacles to the inclusion of palliative care in humanitarian health projects: a qualitative study of humanitarian health professionals’ and policy makers’ perceptions
Authors: Hunt Matthew , Nouvet Elysée , Chénier Ani , Krishnaraj Gautham , Bernard Carrie , Bezanson Kevin , de Laat Sonya , Schwartz Lisa
Published: October 2020

Background

Humanitarian non-governmental organizations provide assistance to communities affected by war, disaster and epidemic. A primary focus of healthcare provision by these organizations is saving lives; however, curative care will not be sufficient, appropriate, or available for some patients. In these instances, palliative care approaches to ease suffering and promote dignity are needed. Though several recent initiatives have increased the probability of palliative care being included in humanitarian healthcare response, palliative care remains minimally integrated in humanitarian health projects.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative study using interpretive description methodology to investigate humanitarian policy-makers’ and health care professionals’ experiences and perceptions of palliative care during humanitarian crises. In this article, we report on the analysis of in-depth interviews with 24 participants related to their perceptions of obstacles to providing palliative care in humanitarian crises, and opportunities for overcoming these obstacles. Among the participants, 23 had experience as humanitarian health professionals, and 12 had experience with policy development and organizational decision-making.

Results

Participants discussed various obstacles to the provision of palliative care in humanitarian crises. More prominent obstacles were linked to the life-saving ethos of humanitarian organizations, priority setting of scarce resources, institutional and donor funding, availability of guidance and expertise in palliative care, access to medication, and cultural specificity around death and dying. Less prominent obstacles related to continuity of care after project closure, equity, security concerns, and terminology.

Conclusion

Opportunities exist for overcoming the obstacles to providing palliative care in humanitarian crises. Doing so is necessary to ensure that humanitarian healthcare can fulfill its objectives not only of saving lives, but also of alleviating suffering and promoting dignity of individuals who are ill or injured during a humanitarian crises, including persons who are dying or likely to die.
Novel therapies are changing treatment paradigms in metastatic prostate cancer
Authors: Powers Eric , Karachaliou Georgia Sofia , Kao Chester , Harrison Michael R. , Hoimes Christopher J. , George Daniel J. , Armstrong Andrew J. , Zhang Tian
Published: October 2020

Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains a terminal diagnosis with an aggressive disease course despite currently approved therapeutics. The recent successful development of poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors for patients with mCRPC and mutations in DNA damage repair genes has added to the treatment armamentarium and improved personalized treatments for prostate cancer. Other promising therapeutic agents currently in clinical development include the radiotherapeutic 177-lutetium-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-617 targeting PSMA-expressing prostate cancer and combinations of immunotherapy with currently effective treatment options for prostate cancer. Herein, we have highlighted the progress in systemic treatments for mCRPC and the promising agents currently in ongoing clinical trials.
The Italian arm of the PREPARE study: an international project to evaluate and license a maternal vaccine against group B streptococcus
Authors:   the Prepare Network, Berardi Alberto , Cassetti Tiziana , Creti Roberta , Vocale Caterina , Ambretti Simone , Sarti Mario , Facchinetti Fabio , Cose Stephen , Heath Paul , Le Doare Kirsty
Published: October 2020

Background

Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis in infants, with long term neurodevelopmental sequelae. GBS may be associated with poor pregnancy outcomes, including spontaneous abortion, stillbirth and preterm birth. Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) is currently the only way to prevent early-onset disease (presenting at 0 to 6 days of life), although it has no impact on the disease presenting over 6 days of life and its implementation is challenging in resource poor countries. A maternal vaccine against GBS could reduce all GBS manifestations as well as improve pregnancy outcomes, even in low-income countries.

Main body

The term “PREPARE” designates an international project aimed at developing a maternal vaccination platform to test vaccines against neonatal GBS infections by maternal immunization. It is a non-profit, multi-center, interventional and experimental study (promoted by the St George University of London. [UK]) with the aim of developing a maternal vaccination platform, determining pregnancy outcomes, and defining the extent of GBS infections in children and mothers in Africa. PREPARE also aims to estimate the protective serocorrelates against the main GBS serotypes that cause diseases in Europe and Africa and to conduct two trials on candidate GBS vaccines.

PREPARE consists of 6 work packages. In four European countries (Italy, UK, Netherlands, France) the recruitment of cases and controls will start in 2020 and will end in 2022. The Italian PREPARE network includes 41 centers. The Italian network aims to collect: GBS isolates from infants with invasive disease, maternal and neonatal sera (cases); cord sera and GBS strains from colonized mothers whose infants do not develop GBS infection (controls).

Short conclusion

PREPARE will contribute information on protective serocorrelates against the main GBS serotypes that cause diseases in Europe and Africa. The vaccine that will be tested by the PREPARE study could be an effective strategy to prevent GBS disease.
The association of mental disorders with perceived social support, and the role of marital status: results from a national cross-sectional survey
Authors: Vaingankar Janhavi Ajit , Abdin Edimansyah , Chong Siow Ann , Shafie Saleha , Sambasivam Rajeswari , Zhang Yun Jue , Chang Sherilyn , Chua Boon Yiang , Shahwan Shazana , Jeyagurunathan Anitha , Kwok Kian Woon , Subramaniam Mythily
Published: October 2020

Background

This study investigated whether (i) mental disorders were associated with perceived social support and its subcomponents, (ii) current marital status was related to perceived social support, and (iii) ‘Married’ status influenced the relationship between mental state and perceived social support.

Methods

Data from a cross-sectional national survey comprising 6126 respondents were used. Lifetime diagnosis for five mental disorders was assessed with a structured questionnaire. Perceived social support was measured with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) that provides Global and subscale scores for Significant Other, Family and Friends. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to address the research questions with MSPSS score as the dependent variable. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to test mediation by marital status.

Results

All mental disorders included in the study, except alcohol use disorder (AUD), were significantly and negatively associated with Global MSPSS scores. After controlling for sociodemographic factors and chronic physical illness, major depressive disorder (β = - 0.299, 95% CI: -0.484 – -0.113,p = 002) and having any of the five mental disorders (β = - 0.133, 95% CI: -0.254 – -0.012,p = 032) were negatively associated with support from Significant Other, while support from Family and Friends was lower among all disorders, except AUD. Being married was positively associated with perceived social support in people with and without mental disorders. Results of the SEM partially support mediation by mental state - perceived social support relationship by ‘Married’ status.

Conclusion

Having mental disorders was associated with lower perceived social support. Being married has potential to influence this relationship.
Affine-transformation invariant clustering models
Authors: Huang Hsin-Hsiung , Yang Jie
Published: October 2020

We develop a cluster process which is invariant with respect to unknown affine transformations of the feature space without knowing the number of clusters in advance. Specifically, our proposed method can identify clusters invariant under (I) orthogonal transformations, (II) scaling-coordinate orthogonal transformations, and (III) arbitrary nonsingular linear transformations corresponding to models I, II, and III, respectively and represent clusters with the proposed heatmap of the similarity matrix. The proposed Metropolis-Hasting algorithm leads to an irreducible and aperiodic Markov chain, which is also efficient at identifying clusters reasonably well for various applications. Both the synthetic and real data examples show that the proposed method could be widely applied in many fields, especially for finding the number of clusters and identifying clusters of samples of interest in aerial photography and genomic data.
Oocyte cryopreservation in the setting of a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-producing paraneoplastic syndrome: a case report and review of literature
Authors: Spurlin Emily , Brady Paula
Published: October 2020

Background

Many reproductive aged women with new oncologic diagnoses choose to undergo emergency oocyte or embryo cryopreservation prior to initiating potentially gonadal toxic oncologic therapies. Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a potential complication of these treatments and can be particularly dangerous in these patients due to their underlying medical illness and by delaying lifesaving oncology treatment. This case report details a multipronged approach to OHSS prevention in a patient with a paraneoplastic syndrome defined by overproduction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is also primarily responsible for OHSS.

Case presentation

A 29 year old nulligravid woman was diagnosed with a rare multisystem paraneoplastic syndrome (Polyradiculoneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal plasma cell disorder and skin changes, known as POEMS) and presented for fertility preservation consultation prior to autologous stem cell transplant. She successfully underwent oocyte cryopreservation without complications due to aggressive OHSS prophylaxis with both a dopamine agonist and aromatase inhibitor during and after stimulation and a gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-A) for final oocyte maturation, without delay in her subsequent oncology treatment.

Conclusions

This is the first report of a patient with POEMS undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH). Oocyte cryopreservation was successful and without complications due to a combination of prophylactic measures against OHSS (cabergoline, letrozole and GnRH-A trigger) and close collaboration between reproductive endocrinology and oncology. This case demonstrates the use of combined measures in targeting VEGF overproduction and OHSS risk during COH.
Time-dependent electricity pricing using variable announcement horizons
Authors: Kienscherf Philipp Artur , Collins John , Joe-Wong Carlee , Ketter Wolfgang , Sen Soumya
Published: October 2020

In the battle against climate change, electrification plays an increasingly large role in our society. The growing use of electricity networks requires advanced coordination mechanisms to avoid the tragedy of the commons. In this paper, we explore the effects of optimum time-dependent pricing (TDP) on supplier surplus within electricity markets, using a parameterized optimization model. Varying not only the prices themselves, but also their announcement horizon, we show how the suppliers’ optimal decision depends on risk aversion, forecasting quality, and end-user flexibility. The inclusion of procurement risk in our model shows that TDP can be beneficial for suppliers when they want to actively manage risk, even if expected profits are lower. At the same time, the shifting of end-user demand to low-cost times reduces the overall system cost, and potentially carbon emissions.
A socio-psychological modal choice approach to modelling mobility and energy demand for electric vehicles
Authors: Nguyen Khoa , Schumann René
Published: October 2020

The development of efficient electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure requires modelling of consumer demand at an appropriate level of detail. Since only limited information about real customers is available, most simulations employ a stochastic approach by combining known or estimated business features (e.g. arrival and departure time, requested amount of energy) with random variations. However, these models in many cases do not include factors that deal with the social characteristics of EV users, while others do not emphasise on the economic elements. In this work, we introduced a more detailed demand model employing a modal choice simulation framework based on Triandis’ Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour, which can be calibrated by empirical data and is capable of combining a diverse number of determinants in human decision-making. By applying this model on Switzerland mobility domain, an analysis on three of the most popular EV incentives from both supply and demand sides is provided, which aims for a better understanding of electro-mobility systems by relating its causes and effects.
Redrawing the Division Lines?
Authors: Yi We Jung
Published: October 2020

This article examines Cold War icons transfigured in new media ecology by looking at the South Korean webtoon (web cartoon) Secretly, Greatly. In featuring the superfluous existence of kanch’ŏp (North Korean spies) dispatched to the South, the graphic narrative interweaves the legacy of national division with the sensibilities of the millennial generation. Feeling that their lives are rendered ingyŏ (surplus) under neoliberal governance, the precarious youth empathetically relate to the history-laden image of spies, whose belonging in society has been disavowed or forsaken. Appropriating earlier aesthetic conventions, Secretly, Greatly thus offers content and a channel through which the surplus generation can express and share their sense of misplacement in the present. In addressing such remediation of inherited memories, this study critically attends to the webtoon’s formal qualities that evoke affective engagement and connective practices in the digital space. By fostering multisensory interactions with the kanch’ŏp-ingyŏ personas on the screen, the graphic power of comics invites the viewer to participate in the characters’ boundary-crossing movements against the geopolitical backdrop of divided Korea. Nonetheless, the webtoon ultimately leaves the survival of North Korean others beyond the realm of the visible because their ordinary coexistence in the South is yet to be imagined.
When Anne Frank Met Astro Boy
Authors: Whaley Ben
Published: October 2020

This article examines the evolution and impact of Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl on postwar manga (print comics) and Japanese visual culture. The author argues that Anne’s enduring legacy in Japan, dating back to 1952, owes much to the ways in which the content of her Diary capitalizes on certain hallmarks of shōjo (girls’) manga culture, such as affective storytelling and character interiority. Moreover, as shown through a primary analysis of two emonogatari (illustrated story) versions of the Diary from 1964 and two manga versions from 1967, among others referenced, Anne Frank’s life and legacy inspires a hybridized narrative and visual style in manga that blends the emotionality and interiority of shōjo with the more graphic depictions of violence common to shōnen manga for young boys. In so doing, it encourages a reevaluation of the shōjo mode and its ability to bear witness to the physical violence and psychological trauma of the Holocaust.
Broken Narratives, Multiple Truths
Authors: Iwata-Weickgenannt Kristina
Published: October 2020

Against the background of the decades-long international relations dispute over Japan’s wartime military “comfort women” system, this article explores one of the scant literary representations of comfort women in Japanese literature. Through a close reading of Yū Miri’s Hachigatsu no hate (The End of August, 2004), a family saga written by a female author of Korean descent, the article explores how the novel emerged from, participates in, and critically positions itself with respect to the ongoing ideological battles over war histor(iograph)y. Set mostly in colonial Korea, The End of August presents a challenge to historical revisionism’s desire for a single, document-based narrative, for Yū incorporates a multitude of oral accounts of personally experienced history into a nonlinear, highly fragmented narration. Zooming in on an episode in which a young Korean girl is tricked into sexual slavery, The End of August is read against a number of discursive paradigms that govern the debate on comfort women both in Korea and Japan. The article argues that, by drawing on postcolonial ways of understanding history, memory, and trauma, The End of August gives voice to those whose stories previously went unheard, thus allowing for a reading as a statement against the shelving of inconvenient pasts.
Pauses, Cuts, and Static Interference
Authors: Ma Shaoling
Published: October 2020

The mergers and separations that shaped the decolonizing third world also made media history. Singapore’s separation from Malaysia on August 9, 1965, after two tumultuous years of union was no exception. Radio and television, which broadcasted the seminal moments, embodied the mergers and separations of media forms—this is a fact overlooked in both national histories and regional media scholarship. Reconfigured with the complex, shifting intersections of radio and television, the otherwise familiar account of merger and separation in the “Singapore Story” emerges anew with static noises, pauses, iterations, and interruptions. The technical effects of cuts and jumps in early radio and television editing undergird and thereby challenge the politics of representation in studies of decolonization. At the same time, technological transfer and adaptation in the former British colonies open the provincial confines of media theory to a more global, materialist trajectory. This article connects the televised broadcast of Singapore’s independence in 1965 to early enthusiasm for radio’s disembodied voice during the colonial, interwar period. The discussion then examines how Amir Muhammad’s 2007 independent documentary Village People Radio Show (Apa khabar orang kampung) recovers radio’s forgotten role in the Second Malayan Emergency, also known as the Communist Insurgency War (1967–89).
Photography and the Biopolitics of Fear
Authors: Rafael Vicente L.
Published: October 2020

President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war in the Philippines has exacted an enormous toll in human lives and suffering. This essay looks into one of the earliest and most graphic responses to this war: the work of photojournalists and the plurality of responses to their images. How does photojournalism become a kind of witnessing linked to the work of mourning? How are trauma and grieving braided together in the experience of photographers covering war? What is the role of the camera, and what are the ambivalent effects of the technical and aesthetic imaging of the dead and their survivors? How has the drug war, by instilling a biopolitics of fear, transformed the latter’s ways of seeing and being? What becomes of justice amid images of injustice? For example, how do returning spirits of the dead that appear in dreams of their families stimulate phantasms of revenge? How is revenge imagined as a form of justice that reinforces rather than detracts from the brutal logic of the drug war?
Caution warranted for low-dose radiation therapy for Covid-19
Authors: Das Indra J , Kalapurakal John A. , Mittal Bharat B.
Published: October 2020

Covid-19 is a morbid respiratory disease that has caused desperate times on a global scale due to the lack of any effective medical treatment. Some in the radiation community are actively proposing low-dose radiation therapy (LDRT) for managing the viral pneumonia associated with Covid-19. This commentary provides a rationale for exercising caution against such a decision as the efficacy of LDRT for viral diseases is unknown, while its long-term adverse risks are well known.
Death education for children and young people in public schools
Authors: Friesen Hannah , Harrison Jennifer , Peters Melissa , Epp Donna , McPherson Nancy
Published: October 2020

Background

Conversations about death are often associated with fear, anxiety, avoidance and misunderstandings. Many adults feel that these discussions are inappropriate and confusing for young people. In this project, two fourth-year nursing students partnered with a local palliative care team to examine death education for children. The nursing students focused on children's understandings of death and their coping abilities, the lack of appropriate discussions about death with children, and the implementation of death education in public schools. Three online death education resources were identified and evaluated for use in public schools. This project fueled preliminary local discussions and advocacy efforts in the provision of death education for children. In the future, death education will need to be incorporated into education plans at local schools, and could be done in collaboration with the local palliative care team.
Beyond the mask: a multidisciplinary reflection on palliating patients with COVID-19 receiving continuous positive airway pressure ventilation
Authors: Hough Amy , Dell Georgia Daisy , Blaber Michael , Kavanagh Diana , Lock Anna
Published: October 2020

This narrative describes the experiences of an inner city respiratory unit that was transformed to treat COVID-19 patients with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation who were not scheduled for any further escalation in treatment. The high mortality rate and unconventional way of dying led to the creation of local guidance for removing assisted ventilation when the treatment ceased to be effective. We reflect on the specific challenges that caring for these patients holistically has presented and how we have learnt to deliver good palliative care in a unique set of circumstances. We also consider the impact of the pandemic on our team and how the development of a multidisciplinary support system has improved team dynamics and ultimately patient care.
Three-dimensional deeply generated holography [Invited]
Authors: Horisaki Ryoichi , Nishizaki Yohei , Kitaguchi Katsuhisa , Saito Mamoru , Tanida Jun
Published: October 2020

In this paper, we present a noniterative method for 3D computer-generated holography based on deep learning. A convolutional neural network is adapted for directly generating a hologram to reproduce a 3D intensity pattern in a given class. We experimentally demonstrated the proposed method with optical reproductions of multiple layers based on phase-only Fourier holography. Our method is noniterative, but it achieves a reproduction quality comparable with that of iterative methods for a given class.
High-efficiency, tunable, fringe-field switching-mode beam steering based on a liquid crystal Pancharatnam phase
Authors: Yousefzadeh Comrun , Van Rynbach Andre , Bryant Doug , Bos Philip
Published: October 2020

We have fabricated, characterized, and analyzed a recently proposed non-mechanical beam steering device based on the Pancharatnam–Berry phase in a liquid crystal. The architecture of our proposed device employs a linear array of phase control elements (PCEs) to locally control the orientation of the liquid crystal director into a cycloidal pattern to deflect transmitted light. The PCEs are comprised of a fringe-field switching electrode structure that can provide a variable in-plane electric field. Detailed optimization of the director configuration is in a good agreement with experimental results showing that the half-wave retardation condition has been uniformly achieved across the aperture. Moreover, efficiency simulations using a finite-difference time-domain algorithm verify a high beam steering efficiency for the proposed device.
Wavelength selection approach for an incoherent optical detection sensor (LiDAR)
Authors: Mudge Jason
Published: October 2020

An energy or direct detection or time-of-flight sensor (a type of incoherent optical detection sensor) used for remote detection and ranging purposes is a useful measurement tool due to its simplicity and high performance in uncluttered environments. A sensor- or top-level design approach has been established [Appl. Opt. 59, 1939 (2020)APOPAI0003-693510.1364/AO.384135] due to the usefulness of these sensors, and with this, lower-level designs can be performed to optimize the sensor for particular applications. A critical design element of an incoherent optical detection sensor, or any active optical sensor for that matter, is the selection of a best or optimal central operational wavelength. First and foremost, a relevant metric is developed to provide an optimum wavelength. Then, a search for this wavelength is generated given a generic set of components where conditions are best suited for direct detection sensors, i.e., uncluttered environments or space-like, and finally, the search is again carried out for conditions within the Earth’s atmosphere where transmission plays a role.
Primera mención de Agathidium (Neoceble) ibericum Angelini & De Marzo, 1981 desde su descripción (Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Agathidiini)
Authors: Tamisier Jean-Philippe
Published: October 2020

Se relata la primera captura de Agathidium ibericum desde su descripción original y la manera de distinguirlo de la especie más cercana Agathidium convexum Sharp.
The Relations between the Texas Republic and Mexico
Authors: Kökény Andrea
Published: October 2020

The Texan Santa Fe Expedition was a commercial and military enterprise. It was unofficially initiated by Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, second President of the Republic of Texas, in the summer of 1841. His aim was to gain control over the lucrative Santa Fe Trail and to establish Texas jurisdiction over the area. The expedition included twenty-one wagons carrying merchandise and was accompanied by businessmen, Lamar’s commissioners, and a military escort of some three hundred volunteers. The members of the expedition expected a warm welcome by the citizens of New Mexico, but instead, were “welcomed” by a detachment of the Mexican Army. The Texans, reduced in number and broken in health and spirit, were forced to surrender, and then to march 1,600 miles from Santa Fe to Mexico City. They were held prisoners for almost a year and released only in the spring of 1842. In my paper I propose to discuss the organization, course, and consequences of the ill-fated expedition. My most important primary sources will be the official documents and the diplomatic correspondence of the Republic of Texas, the correspondence and addresses of President Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, and the accounts of the participants of the Santa Fe expedition.
Establecimiento de relaciones diplomáticas entre Nicaragua y Hungría
Authors: Szente-Varga Mónika
Published: October 2020

Este ensayo estudia los motivos y el contexto del establecimiento de los nexos diplomáticos húngaro-nicaragüenses y los primeros pasos de dichas relaciones en la primera mitad de la década de los 1980, en el período de la “pequeña guerra fría”, con un enfoque sobre la apertura de las respectivas embajadas, las visitas oficiales y el auxilio húngaro enviado a Nicaragua. La motivación húngara fue primordialmente político-ideológica, estimulada tanto por las propias convicciones socialistas y los ideales de la solidaridad, como por la necesidad de ajustarse dentro del campo socialista y apoyar la política exterior soviética. El objetivo nicaragüense para estrechar los lazos con Hungría fue más bien económico, empujado por la necesidad de asegurar la supervivencia del sistema y sacar al país adelante.
America Latina: conflito e integração regional
Authors: Miyamoto Shiguenoli
Published: October 2020

A integração sul-americana e latino-americana e a tentativa de formação de blocos tem flutuado ao longo dos anos. Quando se trata de unificar os países do subcontinente, não se tem encontrado nenhum eixo que satisfaça integralmente aos interesses das nações da região. Os processos de cooperação e integração tem avançado mais lentamente do que o desejado. Este texto discute, sob uma perspectiva histórica, as dificuldades e possibilidades de avanço de tais iniciativas em um mundo globalizado e competitivo. Destacamos o papel do Brasil nesses processos.
Contrapoder. Las mediaciones dialécticas como obras abiertas
Authors: Mora Martínez Roberto
Published: October 2020

En este trabajo se abordan las ideas de Arturo Andrés Roig, Joaquín Sánchez Macgrégor y Luis Villoro, filósofos quienes reflexionaron en torno al tema del contrapoder, el cual surge por la necesidad de poner límites al ejercicio despótico que se lleva a cabo en la práctica del poder político. Así, el epígrafe expresa la tendencia manifiesta en un número significativo de las personas que buscan los puestos de representatividad social, debido a que su objetivo de mantenerse en estos obedece a la pretensión de obtener beneficios personales y grupales. Con el propósito de ofrecer orientaciones sobre las propuestas del contrapoder o poder alternativo, se expone un análisis sobre sus características, así como de las propuestas de mediación dialéctica, debido a que en estas se exponen ideas en torno a cómo ir mejorando el malestar social.
Viviendas de palafitos en tiempos precoloniales en el continente americano
Authors: Guida Navarro Alexandre
Published: October 2020

Este artículo presenta los resultados preliminares de una investigación sobre los sitios arqueológicos conocidos en portugués como estearias, nombre que procede de los troncos de árboles colocados dentro de los ríos y usados para la construcción de aldeas en las tierras bajas de Sudamérica durante el periodo precolonial. Las estearias estudiadas están ubicadas en el sureste amazónico, en el actual Estado brasileño de Maranhão. A través del análisis de las fuentes coloniales y de los vestigios materiales, este artículo discute quiénes eran estos pueblos y por qué habitaban sobre el medio acuático.
Vaca Muerta y medio ambiente sano
Authors: Rinaldi Sandra Cristina
Published: October 2020

Esta propuesta pretende evaluar si la explotación de Vaca Muerta, uno de los yacimientos más grandes del mundo en petróleo y gas Shale, cumple con la obligación de protección del medio ambiente y la realización de los otros derechos humanos –dentro de la relación de interdependencia e indivisibilidad que existe entre ellos– en especial el derecho a la vida y a la integridad personal de las personas, respetando y garantizando las obligaciones postuladas por la Opinión consultiva OC-23/17 de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH).
El mito de Casandra en Sergio Blanco
Authors: Gini Eleni
Published: October 2020

La presente ponencia trata el monólogo teatral Kassandra del dramaturgo y director franco-uruguayo Sergio Blanco, a fin de poner de relieve cómo, a través del mito de la Guerra de Troya y especialmente, a través del personaje de la adivina Kassandra, se creó un palimpsesto en el que se reflejan los males de la guerra, del desarraigo y del exilio. Asimismo, en dicha obra se ponen de manifiesto los temas de la libertad sexual, de la dificultad que supone vivir en un mundo en el que ser diferente se considera una maldición. En la obra de Blanco, el personaje de Kassandra aparece como una chica de compañía que va –deliberadamente– hacia la muerte, se dirige a los espectadores de todo el mundo hablando en un inglés macarrónico y narra su historia con una sinceridad aplastante, que aunque antiquísima, sigue siendo relevante hoy en día. Al desplegarse la trama, la Kassandra de Blanco evoca a sus queridos Abba y Bugs Bunny, cuya máscara lleva cuando lee las letras de su monólogo euripidiano, acrecentando así la sensación de humor amargo y desasosiego.

Kassandra se ha representado al menos 14 veces en escenarios latinoamericanos y europeos y ha sido galardonada con premios de dirección y de interpretación. Su mirada subversiva le permite compartir afinidades con los monólogos inspirados en mitos antiguos del siglo XXI, tal como fueron concebidos y representados por diversos dramaturgos de renombre internacional.
Atavismos escénicos y construcciones laberínticas en el teatro hispanoamericano contemporáneo
Authors: Mavridis Spyridon
Published: October 2020

En una era ideológicamente compleja y solipsista el teatro hispanoamericano contemporáneo vuelve temáticamente a los mitos antiguos para bucear en lo más profundo del sujeto, estableciendo al mismo tiempo una dialéctica más amplia para con la cultura occidental. Entre los motivos heredados de la mitología griega que proponen la proyección simbólica del mundo interior, emerge por su dinámica narrativa la figura del Minotauro y de su laberinto. En el presente artículo se estudia la proyección escénica del arquetipo del toro cretense y de su hábitat oscuro como metáfora de los impulsos sempiternos del hombre en tres piezas representantivas de la dramaturgia hispanoamericana contemporánea: Teseo de Emilio Carballido, El último Minotauro de León Febres-Cordero y Minotauros de Carlos Rehermann.
Los cuerpos ante el poder
Authors: Serrano Navarro Bruno Renato
Published: October 2020

Resumen: El Golpe de Estado de 1973, supuso la instauración de un nuevo orden y proyecto refundacional de la nación. Instalación que fue ejercida mediante la disposición de una serie de dispositivos destinados a corroborar la capacidad del Régimen de administrar la vulneración de los cuerpos y los discursos. En este contexto de coerción comunicativa y totalización del terrorismo de Estado, los discursos poéticos, lejos de replegarse al autosilenciamiento y cristalizarse en los resabios de tradición interrumpida, expanden sus comprensiones respecto al acto escritural e inscripciones hacia el lugar político del extratexto, proveyendo una pluralidad inédita de discursos de impugnación y formas de aprehender para la representación el lugar de los cuerpos y la ciudad respecto a la violencia que los codifica como espacios de poder y resistencia.
Mariátegui y Chaplin, vanguardismo cinematográfico e industria cultural
Authors: Villarreal Jaime
Published: October 2020

Aunque el ensayista peruano José Carlos Mariátegui (1894-1930) es mejor conocido por ser el primero y más original pensador marxista latinoamericano, en este artículo me propongo explorar una de las facetas de su pensamiento como precursora de la línea que observó el carácter cultural del capitalismo y, por necesidad, conjuntó la indagación económica y sociológica con la crítica filosófica para entender la profundidad de los fenómenos de la cultura popular y masiva de la primera mitad del siglo XX. En especial me interesa destacar la compatibilidad y la discrepancia de ideas con el concepto de industria cultural, que sirvió a Theodor Adorno y Max Horkheimer para caracterizar la lógica mercantilista y reproductora del sistema capitalista representada en las producciones cinematográficas hollywoodenses. Con un breve repaso por las líneas principales del pensamiento estético de Mariátegui, indago aquí tanto en esa perspectiva precursora como en las razones por las cuales el Amauta consideró a Chaplin uno de los grandes artistas de su tiempo.
La extensión de la jornada escolar en México y sus efectos en los maestros de primaria
Authors: Garcia Adriana , Sánchez Cerón Manuel , Ávila Ayala Aide Teresita
Published: October 2020

En las últimas décadas las reformas educativas neoliberales han avanzado significativamente en América Latina. Los aspectos que han tocado son variados y van desde los que modifican el currículo hasta los que afectan las condiciones de trabajo de los maestros. Uno de estos cambios es la instauración de las escuelas de tiempo completo (ETC). En esta perspectiva, este artículo presenta un estudio exploratorio sobre los efectos que esta política ha tenido para los maestros de primaria en una entidad en México. El trabajo se basó en entrevistas focalizadas a cuatro profesores que trabajan en ETC. Sin embargo, como el fenómeno es muy complejo este trabajo solo considera tres niveles: a) los aspectos pedagógicos; b) el desgaste y el cansancio de los maestros; y, c) los efectos en los salarios.
Afirmación de subjetividades de los profesores de inglés en Colombia a partir de sus discursos de resistencia
Authors: Garzón Duarte Eliana
Published: October 2020

Este artículo tiene como objetivo presentar los resultados de una investigación llevada a cabo por un grupo de profesores de la Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, en Bogotá, Colombia. La investigación se centró en problematizar el significado de subjetividad construido por los profesores de inglés en el territorio colombiano, como respuesta al Plan Nacional de Bilingüismo —proyecto diseñado e implementado por el Ministerio de Educación Nacional desde el año 2004, en Colombia. El doble carácter de la sujeción/subjetivación, planteado por Foucault (1982), es utilizado en esta investigación para analizar el trabajo de los profesores de inglés en cuanto a las prácticas del sí y las de resistencia o contestatarias, no solo para afirmarse ellos mismos como investigadores y pensadores críticos, sino también para reclamar reconocimiento como educadores que producen un saber relevante y situado. El Análisis Histórico de Discurso, a través de procedimientos arqueológicos (Foucault, 1972), se utilizó para rastrear las prácticas discursivas y no-discursivas de los profesores de inglés. Esta metodología fue clave para develar la manera como los profesores de inglés se identifican a sí mismos, su oposición a las políticas públicas de lenguaje y cómo responden ellos a los discursos dominantes en relación a la enseñanza del inglés. Más de 100 publicaciones académicas de profesores de inglés fueron revisadas y confrontadas con discursos normalizados que circulan en los programas de gobierno, medios de prensa y documentos de expertos.  Los resultados de esta investigación contribuyen al entendimiento de los profesores de inglés en relación con sus propias luchas y el papel de sus prácticas de resistencia para afirmar sus subjetividades.
La mujer y el papel de la Universidad Colombiana hacia mediados del siglo XX
Authors: Parra Báez Lina Adriana
Published: October 2020

En Colombia, hacia mediados del siglo XX, la universidad tuvo una enorme responsabilidad frente a los diversos hechos y fenómenos sociales que se fueron presentando. Por ello, se esperó que contribuyera a la solución de los diferentes conflictos y problemas nacionales que amenazaban de diversa manera la estabilidad del Estado, a partir de situaciones de violencia política y crisis económica. Aquí se dirigía la postura: “ante este ciclón que amenaza, la universidad está llamada a rescatar a la nación de tan triste situación […] El analfabetismo crónico en Colombia ha permitido este desequilibrio, y si no existe preocupación alguna por semejante falla, el camino hacia el desorden es inmediato. Solo a través de la educación y de las energías y dineros que a ella -la educación- se consagren puede aliviarse tal estado de cosas” (“Educación de la Juventud”, 1954). En ese sentido, la mujer estuvo llamada a reconocer su papel a través de respuestas a los retos planteados, con miras a generar procesos de desarrollo para la generación de nuevos conocimientos.