bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects and Clinical Value of Peritoneal Dialysis on Water and Water Balance, Adverse Reactions, Quality of Life, and Clinical Prognosis in Patients with Decompensated Chronic Nephropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Wang Xichao , Zhang Miaomiao , Sun Na , Chang Wenxiu
Published: July 2022

Objective. To systematically evaluate the effects of peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis on renal function and quality of life in patients with end-stage renal disease. An evidence-based medical rationale would be provided for peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis treatment in patients with end-stage renal disease. Methods. The PubMed, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China VIP Database, Wanfang, and China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) online databases were searched. Comparisons on the effects of peritoneal dialysis on renal function and quality of life were taken between patients with end-stage renal disease (RD). The data were extracted independently by two researchers. The bias-risk-included literatures were assessed according to the Cochrane manual 5.1.0 standard. RevMan 5.4 statistical software was used to analyze the collected data via meta-analysis. Results. Seven RCT articles were finally included. A total of 745 samples were analyzed via meta-analysis. The obvious heterogeneities of serum creatinine (Scr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were discovered (

P
<
0.00001

) in the selective investigations. According to the results of this analysis, it was indicated that the renal function of patients with end-stage renal disease treated by peritoneal dialysis was significantly better than that of hemodialysis. According to the meta-analysis, there was obvious heterogeneity of life quality among the included research data. It was indicated that the score of quality of life of patients with end-stage renal disease treated by peritoneal dialysis was significantly better than that of hemodialysis. Conclusion. Compared with hemodialysis in the treatment of end-stage renal disease, the renal function and quality of life of patients with peritoneal dialysis are better than those of hemodialysis. More further studies and follow-up with higher methodological quality and longer intervention time are still needed for further verification.
Path Selection Strategy of Communication Network Based on Graph Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Zhang Xiaojun
Published: July 2022

In order to improve the efficiency of communication network path selection, this paper combines the graph convolutional neural network to formulate the communication network path selection strategy and selects the enhanced decoding algorithm as the fixed-point decoding algorithm. For the quantization scheme based on the enhanced decoding algorithm, the selection of the fixed-point integer bit width of each operation variable in the SISO decoder is analyzed and determined by the method of statistical characteristic analysis. Moreover, this paper calculates the normalized threshold value according to the proposed state metric normalization scheme. In addition, this paper constructs an intelligent communication path selection system. Through research, it can be seen that the communication network path selection system based on graph convolutional neural network proposed in this paper can effectively improve the effect of multicommunication path selection.
DPP4 Inhibitor-Induced Bullous Pemphigoid in Patients with Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease: Clinical Case Series
Authors: Charitaki Evangelia , Damianakis Nikolaos , Garbidaki Anna , Stamataki Elisavet , Liapis Konstantinos , Papadaki Antonia , Tzanakis Ioannis
Published: July 2022

Introduction: Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitors (gliptins) are commonly prescribed for glucose control in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) in whom other oral glucose-lowering agents are contraindicated. In the past few years, new reports of drug-induced bullous pemphigoid associated with DPP4 inhibitors have emerged. However, there is not enough information about the renal function of the patients with DPP4 inhibitor-induced bullous pemphigoid, and it remains unknown whether the risk of this complication is increased among patients with CKD. Case Reports: Five patients with stage 3b-5 CKD received a diagnosis of DPP4 inhibitor-associated bullous pemphigoid in our institution within a period of 17 months (between December 2018 and May 2020). All patients in the current series were male. Skin biopsies were performed in all patients. Three cases were secondary to vildagliptin, and 2 cases were attributed to linagliptin. In each of these patients, treatment consisted of permanent discontinuation of the DPP4 inhibitor and administration of corticosteroids. Conclusion: We report here the first single-center experience of DPP4 inhibitor-induced bullous pemphigoid in patients with CKD. Our case series highlights the importance of considering bullous pemphigoid in patients with CKD taking DPP4 inhibitors presenting with bullous or pruritic cutaneous lesions. By calling attention to this important complication, we hope to minimize the delay in diagnosing DPP4 inhibitor-induced bullous pemphigoid among patients with CKD.
ANCA-Associated Vasculitis following the First Dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine
Authors: El Hasbani Georges , Uthman Imad
Published: July 2022

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine can alter the body’s immunological balance leading to autoimmune disease in rare cases. Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis is one of the autoimmune diseases which have been rarely reported to appear post-COVID-19 vaccine. Herein, we report the case of a 47-year-old woman who developed acute renal failure few days after receiving the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Corticosteroids along with azathioprine were used for the management.
Variação das vogais pretônicas em assentos de casamentos da Freguesia de Santo Antônio do Urubu de Baixo do Rio São Francisco do século XVIII
Authors: Assis Lecio Barbosa de , Braga Emerson Viana , Pacheco Vera , Silva Jorge Augusto Alves da
Published: July 2022

O artigo apresenta, como objeto de estudo, a variação das vogais pretônicas em assentos de casamentos do século XVIII, com o objetivo de analisar a variação das vogais pretônicas através dos processos fonológicos (alçamento e abaixamento) e por variações ortográficas e etimológicas com o intuito de observar de qual maneira esses processos se desencadeavam nos livros de registros paroquiais da Freguesia de Santo Antônio do Urubu de baixo do sertão do São Francisco. Embasando-nos na Linguística Histórica – sob um viés filológico – em diálogo com a Fonologia, analisamos a relação existente entre a fonte documental e os manuais ortográficos dos períodos pretéritos. Considerando a hipótese inicial de que os scriptores seguiam a tradição documental para exarar os assentos de casamentos, embora fossem influenciados pela oralidade, reflexo do contexto sócio-histórico em que o manuscrito foi produzido, buscamos responder o seguinte questionamento: as variações gráficas das vogais pretônicas revelam indícios da oralidade, nos assentos de casamentos, refletindo o conflito entre os períodos ortográficos da língua portuguesa? Esperamos, com este trabalho, contribuir com os estudos linguísticos que remontam ao português brasileiro, sobretudo no sertão do Rio São Francisco.
Utilização de benzodiazepínicos em idosos brasileiros: um estudo de base populacional
Authors: Freire Marina de Borba Oliveira , Silva Bruna Gonçalves Cordeiro da , Bertoldi Andréa Dâmaso , Fontanella Andréia Turmina , Mengue Sotero Serrate , Ramos Luiz Roberto , Tavares Noemia Urruth Leão , Pizzol Tatiane da Silva Dal , Arrais Paulo Sérgio Dourado , Farias Mareni Rocha , Luiza Vera Lucia , Oliveira Maria Auxiliadora , Menezes Ana Maria Baptista
Published: July 2022

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a utilização de benzodiazepínicos (BZD) em idosos brasileiros, a partir de dados da Pesquisa Nacional de Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos (PNAUM). MÉTODOS: A PNAUM é um estudo transversal, conduzido entre 2013 e 2014, com representatividade da população urbana brasileira. No presente estudo, foram incluídos indivíduos com 60 anos ou mais (n = 9019). Foi calculada a prevalência de utilização de BZD nos 15 dias anteriores à coleta dos dados da pesquisa, geral e segundo as variáveis independentes, por meio de análise bruta e ajustada, utilizando modelo hierárquico de regressão de Poisson. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevista domiciliar. RESULTADOS: A prevalência de utilização de BZD em idosos foi de 9,3% (IC95%: 8,3–10,4). Após análise ajustada, foram associados à maior utilização de BZD: sexo feminino (RP = 1,88; IC95%: 1,52–2,32), depressão (RP = 5,31; IC95%: 4,41–6,38), multimorbidade (RP = 1,44; IC95%: 1,20–1,73), visita à emergência ou internação hospitalar nos últimos 12 meses (RP = 1,42; IC95%: 1,18–1,70), polifarmácia (RP = 1,26; IC95%: 1,01–1,57) e autopercepção de saúde ruim ou muito ruim (RP = 4,16; IC95%: 2,10–8,22). A utilização foi menor na região Norte (RP = 0,18; IC95%: 0,13–0,27) e em indivíduos que relataram consumo abusivo de álcool no último mês (RP = 0,42; IC95%: 0,19–0,94). CONCLUSÃO: Apesar das recomendações contrárias ao uso, os resultados demonstraram elevada prevalência de utilização de BZD em idosos, particularmente naqueles que apresentam depressão, além de amplas diferenças em relação às regiões do país e ao sexo do indivíduo.
Polygenic Risk Scores for Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
Authors: O’Sullivan Jack W. , Raghavan Sridharan , Marquez-Luna Carla , Luzum Jasmine A. , Damrauer Scott M. , Ashley Euan A. , O’Donnell Christopher J. , Willer Cristen J. , Natarajan Pradeep ,   on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Genomic and Precision Medicine; Council on Clinical Cardiology; Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology; Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention; Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health; and Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease
Published: July 2022

Cardiovascular disease is the leading contributor to years lost due to disability or premature death among adults. Current efforts focus on risk prediction and risk factor mitigation‚ which have been recognized for the past half-century. However, despite advances, risk prediction remains imprecise with persistently high rates of incident cardiovascular disease. Genetic characterization has been proposed as an approach to enable earlier and potentially tailored prevention. Rare mendelian pathogenic variants predisposing to cardiometabolic conditions have long been known to contribute to disease risk in some families. However, twin and familial aggregation studies imply that diverse cardiovascular conditions are heritable in the general population. Significant technological and methodological advances since the Human Genome Project are facilitating population-based comprehensive genetic profiling at decreasing costs. Genome-wide association studies from such endeavors continue to elucidate causal mechanisms for cardiovascular diseases. Systematic cataloging for cardiovascular risk alleles also enabled the development of polygenic risk scores. Genetic profiling is becoming widespread in large-scale research, including in health care–associated biobanks, randomized controlled trials, and direct-to-consumer profiling in tens of millions of people. Thus, individuals and their physicians are increasingly presented with polygenic risk scores for cardiovascular conditions in clinical encounters. In this scientific statement, we review the contemporary science, clinical considerations, and future challenges for polygenic risk scores for cardiovascular diseases. We selected 5 cardiometabolic diseases (coronary artery disease, hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes, atrial fibrillation, and venous thromboembolic disease) and response to drug therapy and offer provisional guidance to health care professionals, researchers, policymakers, and patients.
18. Drone-assisted Medicinal Maggot Distribution in Compromised Healthcare Settings
Authors: Stadler Frank , Tatham Peter
Published: July 2022

Timely delivery of medicinal maggots is challenging when logistics infrastructure is poor due to underinvestment or disaster-related destruction of roads, bridges and railway lines. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, commonly known as ‘drones’, are much cheaper to procure and operate than planes and helicopters and can overfly the areas where roads or railway lines are impassable. This chapter provides a brief profile of current drone technology, and explores drone service design considerations in relation to medicinal maggot distribution. It also presents case examples of drone technologies that could be used for medicinal maggot distribution, and provides guidance for the implementation of drone-assisted medicinal maggot distribution.
An Analog Comparison between Rapidly and Slowly Intensifying Tropical Cyclones
Authors: Richardson Jannetta C. , Torn Ryan D. , Tang Brian H.
Published: July 2022

To better understand the conditions that favor tropical cyclone (TC) rapid intensification (RI), this study assesses environmental and storm-scale characteristics that differentiate TCs that undergo RI from TCs that undergo slow intensification (SI). This comparison is performed between analog TC pairs that have similar initial intensity, vertical wind shear, and maximum potential intensity. Differences in the characteristics of RI and SI TCs in the North Atlantic and western North Pacific basins are evaluated by compositing and comparing data from the fifth-generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA5) and the Gridded Satellite (GridSat) dataset. In the period leading up to the start of RI, RI TCs tend to have a stronger and deeper vortex that is more vertically aligned than SI TCs. Additionally, surface latent heat fluxes are significantly larger in RI TCs prior to the intensity change period, compared to SI TCs. The largest surface latent heat flux differences are initially located to the left of shear; subsequently, upshear and right-of-shear differences amplify, resulting in a more symmetric distribution of surface latent heat fluxes in RI TCs. Increasing azimuthal symmetry of surface latent heat fluxes in RI TCs, together with an increasing azimuthal symmetry of horizontal moisture flux convergence, promote the upshear migration of convection in RI TCs. These differences, and their evolution before and during the intensity change period, are hypothesized to support the persistence and invigoration of upshear convection and, thus, a more symmetric latent heating pattern that favors RI.
Fragmentation of Political Authority and Bureaucratic Entrepreneurship: Explaining Instances of Minority Accommodation in Israel and Estonia
Authors: Talal Olga
Published: July 2022

Why do some ethnic nation-states committed to preferential treatment of the dominant nation choose to accommodate their ethnic minorities in some realms? I argue that power struggles between elected and non-elected officials account for the variation in the treatment of ethnic minorities. Fragmentation of authority creates opportunities for entrepreneurial bureaucrats to initiate policy changes and lead to unanticipated outcomes. Drawing on nationalism studies in comparative politics and principal-agent scholarship in public administration, this article outlines a theoretical framework focused on domestic factors accounting for variation in state policies toward minorities in a novel way. I apply this framework to education policy in Israel and Estonia vis-à-vis the Palestinian Arab and Russian-speaking minorities. This article illuminates an empirical puzzle of minority accommodation under nationalist governments and explains the conditions under which it occurs, offering generalizable theoretical expectations for similar contexts.
Female Seed as a Metaphor: Queer Kinship in Revelation 12, Ancient Medical and Literary Texts and the Septuagint
Authors: Breu Clarissa
Published: July 2022

New Testament texts frequently use the metaphor of family as a concept that structures a social and religious experience of kinship. They thus point to the socially constructed aspect of family ties and can be connected to current queer notions of kinship. Not only notions of families are construed, but already the seemingly natural process of procreation. The metaphor of female seed exemplifies this. Female seed in the sense of sperm and offspring appears in ancient medical and biblical texts. It shows how bodily processes and metaphorical concepts intermingle. Female seed links the surrogate mother Hagar to Protennoia, the voice of the Coptic hymn Three Forms of the First Thought, and the mother in Rev. 12; all of them deconstruct concepts of families based on blood ties and demonstrate metaphorical kinship constructions that nonetheless cannot be detached from female bodies. In this article, I establish a notion of imaginary seed, based on Judith Butler’s idea of the imaginary phallus, and thereby link New Testament texts to current debates about queer kinship.
The United Kingdom’s ‘going away to university’ migration and its changing impact on local populations in the twenty-first century
Authors: Champion Tony
Published: July 2022

Against the background of strong growth in tertiary education globally, this paper documents the continued expansion of the United Kingdom’s higher education sector in the twenty-first century and examines the impact which the British tradition of ‘going away to university’ has been having on both the receiving and sending ends of this process. For each of the UK’s 379 local and unitary authorities, it compares the numbers of modal undergraduate age (19–21 year olds) with the number that would have been living there if the late school-age population (16–18 year olds) had merely aged in place. This approach is applied initially to 2019, with the findings then being compared with those for 2001, revealing that this migration funnels school leavers into a relatively small number of university cities and towns containing up to four times as many 19–21s as 16–18s, while siphoning off over 30% of school leavers from some of the main recruiting grounds–a pattern that has intensified since 2001. This raises questions about the future scale and nature of this process and its implications for local economies, given the current questioning of role of higher education in the UK and developments such as Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Numerical visualization of wind turbine wakes using passive scalar advection–diffusion equation and its application for wake management
Authors: Uchida Takanori , Takakuwa Susumu , Watanabe Keiichiro , Hasegawa Seiya , Baba Yoshitaka , Murakami Reo , Yamasaki Masahide , Hidaka Kunihiko
Published: July 2022

To visualize and characterize the unsteady properties of the wake trailing behind a wind turbine, we propose a novel numerical methodology in this study. Through a wind-tunnel experiment using a smoke generator, we succeeded in visualizing a compact-type small-scale wind turbine wake using continuous scalar plumes from a single point source. Next, to simulate the above wind-tunnel experiment, we proposed a method using the passive scalar advection–diffusion equation based on a high-fidelity large-eddy simulation (LES). The actuator-line method (ALM) was adopted for the wind turbine model. We succeeded in qualitatively reproducing the wake visualization experiment in the wind tunnel described above and verified the effectiveness of the proposed numerical visualization method. To evaluate the characteristics of wakes generated by wind turbines in more detail, we conducted a quantitative comparison using a disk-shaped volume source with the same size as the swept area, set behind the wind turbine model. The results indicated that the non-dimensional time-averaged passive scalar profile in the near- and far-wake regions qualitatively matched the shape of the stream-wise velocity profile, despite having opposite signs. In other words, it was shown that if a disk-shaped volume source with the same size as the swept area is placed just behind the wind turbine, it is possible to accurately predict the behavior of the wind turbine wake. Finally, to validate the proposed method for wind farm wake management, we performed a visualization of wake flows in a virtual offshore wind farm consisting of 12 wind turbines with short separation distances. Through detailed comparison of two types of numerical results with different wind directions, we showed that the proposed method can effectively demonstrate the range of spatial influence of the wakes formed by the wind turbine with special attention.
Defining Minimal Clinically Important Difference and Patient Acceptable Symptom State After the Latarjet Procedure
Authors: Menendez Mariano E. , Sudah Suleiman Y. , Cohn Matthew R. , Narbona Pablo , Lädermann Alexandre , Barth Johannes , Denard Patrick J.
Published: July 2022

Background:

The Latarjet procedure is one of the most well-established treatment options for anterior shoulder instability. However, meaningful clinical outcomes after this surgery have not been defined.

Purpose:

This study aimed to establish the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) and Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS) for commonly used outcome measures in patients undergoing the Latarjet procedure and determine correlations between preoperative patient characteristics and achievement of MCID or PASS.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

A multicenter retrospective review at 4 institutions was performed to identify patients undergoing primary open Latarjet procedure with minimum 2-year follow-up. Data collected included patient characteristics (age, sex, sports participation), radiological parameters (glenoid bone loss, off-track Hill-Sachs lesion), and 4 patient-reported outcome measures (collected preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively): the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, the Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE), the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, and the Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (WOSI). The MCID and PASS for each outcome measure were calculated, and Pearson and Spearman coefficient analyses were used to identify correlations between MCID or PASS and preoperative variables (age, sex, sports participation, glenoid bone loss, off-track Hill-Sachs lesion).

Results:

A total of 156 patients were included in the study. The MCID values for ASES, SANE, VAS pain, and WOSI were calculated to be 9.6, 12.4, 1.7, and 254.9, respectively. The PASS values for ASES, SANE, VAS pain, and WOSI were 86.0, 82.5, 2.5, and 571.0, respectively. The rates of patients achieving MCID were 61.1% for VAS pain, 71.6% for ASES, 74.1% for SANE, and 84.2% for WOSI. The rates of achieving PASS ranged from 78.4% for WOSI to 84.0% for VAS pain. There was no correlation between any of the studied preoperative variables and the likelihood of achieving MCID or PASS.

Conclusion:

This study defined MCID and PASS values for 4 commonly used outcome measures in patients undergoing the Latarjet procedure. These findings are essential for incorporating patient perspectives into the clinical effectiveness of the Latarjet procedure and provide valuable parameters for the design and interpretation of future clinical trials.
The roles of family physicians during a pandemic
Authors: Mathews Maria , Meredith Leslie , Ryan Dana , Hedden Lindsay , Lukewich Julia , Marshall Emily G. , Buote Richard , Moritz Lauren , Spencer Sarah , Asghari Shabnam , Brown Judith B. , Freeman Thomas R. , Gill Paul S. , McCracken Rita K. , McKay Madeleine , Ryan Bridget , Sibbald Shannon L. , Wetmore Stephen , Wong Eric
Published: July 2022

Family physicians play important roles throughout all stages of a pandemic response; however, actionable descriptions outlining these roles are absent from current pandemic plans. Using a multiple case study design, we conducted a document analysis and interviewed 68 family physicians in four Canadian regions. We identified roles performed by family physicians in five distinct stages of pandemic response: pre-pandemic, phased closure and re-opening, acute care crisis, vaccination, and pandemic recovery. In addition to adopting public health guidance to ensure continued access to primary care services, family physicians were often expected to operationalize public health roles (eg, staffing assessment centres), modulate access to secondary/tertiary services, help provide surge capacity in acute care facilities, and enhance supports and outreach to vulnerable populations. Future pandemic plans should include family physicians in planning, explicitly incorporate family physician roles, and ensure needed resources are available to allow for an effective primary care response.
Fineman in Luxembourg: Empirical lessons in asylum seeker vulnerability from the CJEU
Authors: Küçüksu Aysel
Published: July 2022

This article marries empirical evidence from the CJEU's asylum practice with the main tenets of Martha Fineman's ‘vulnerability theory’. It uses observations from this union in support of a theoretical and an empirical argument. On the theoretical level, the discussion unfolds to show that the post-identity ‘contextual’ approach which Fineman fosters can supplement the identity-based ‘categorical’ approach that currently anchors various asylum-related procedures in the EU. On the empirical level, it argues that the CJEU's asylum jurisprudence can offer the blueprint for how the theoretical aspiration would play out in practice. Together, the two arguments establish that Fineman's work could help align asylum governance with the asylum seeker's ‘embodied and embedded’ reality in a time when mismatch between the two attracts growing critique. Overall, this work not only contributes to the debate on the theory of vulnerability, but it also expands the application of Fineman's theory as a method for understanding and framing existing case law of the CJEU.
Health system chief diversity officers: who are they and what do they do?
Authors: Hogan Tory H. , Stevens Lena , Hefner Jennifer L. , Lemak Christy Harris
Published: July 2022

The Chief Diversity Officer, or CDO, is an increasingly common leadership role within U.S. health care delivery systems. Very little is known about the CDO role across hospitals and health systems. To map the responsibilities and characteristics of how CDOs are positioned within health care, we first searched the web pages of health systems to identify which systems have CDOs, or what we call “CDO-equivalents.” Second, we expanded the search of public documents to new-hire announcements and the online social/professional media site, LinkedIn, to identify information regarding each identified leader’s roles and responsibilities. Finally, text from these documents describing the leader’s roles was uploaded to Atlas.ti, a qualitative analytic software, to identify common themes. There were 60 diversity leaders among 359 U.S. health care systems. Seven consistent roles and responsibilities were identified reflecting a very broad scope of work. Future research should focus on exploring the scope of this leadership role.
String exponential stability analysis and control of vehicular platoons with bounded unknown parameters and time delays
Authors: Sui Hao , Zhang Jiye
Published: July 2022

String stability is essential for platoons. In this article, sufficient conditions for the string exponential stability of a class of longitudinal following platoon systems with time delays are investigated. Based on the constant spacing policy, a sliding mode control strategy is proposed for the look-ahead platoon with bounded unknown parameters and time delays to ensure the string exponential stability of the platoon. Numerical simulation findings including position, speed, acceleration errors, and inter-space between adjacent vehicles can verify the efficiency and feasibility of the proposed control systems. In simulations, the platoon with certain parameters and no time delays should be compared with the case with bounded unknown parameters and time delays.
‘How dare she?!’: Parrhesiastic resistance and the logics of protection of/in international security
Authors: Châteauvert-Gagnon Béatrice
Published: July 2022

Malalai Joya, Greta Thunberg, Idle No More leaders – what do these figures have in common? They each decided to act/speak out against the failures, lacks, exclusions, violence and injustices in the words and deeds of different authorities claiming to act on behalf of (their) security and protection, and thus made visible, challenged and disrupted the dominant logics of protection on which such claim is based. More specifically, they each enacted this critique by performing a contemporary form of parrhesia – a practice in Ancient Greece that consisted in speaking truth frankly and courageously to power, taking risks in doing so out of a sense of duty to improve a situation for oneself and others. Yet none of these women stated anything radically new or shockingly unknown. So why, then, did speaking truths that were already known lead to such dire consequences and intense reactions? This article will argue that by mobilizing the frameworks of logics of protection and parrhesia together, we can have a fuller understanding of these figures’ dissident truth-speaking: it is precisely their positionings within logics of protection that made their truths so daring and, in turn, it is through parrhesia that Joya, Thunberg and Idle No More activists made logics of protection visible through their disruption, opening up potentialities for ‘doing’ and ‘being’ otherwise. The dual framework offered in this article thus offers interesting avenues through which to explore resistance, truth and protection in (feminist) security studies today.
Near infrared spectroscopy calibration strategies to predict multiple nutritional parameters of pasture species from different functional groups
Authors: Catunda Karen LM , Churchill Amber C , Power Sally A , Moore Ben D
Published: July 2022

Near infrared reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy has been used by the agricultural industry as a rapid and inexpensive technique to quantify nutritional chemistry in plants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of NIR calibrations in predicting the nutritional composition of ten pasture species that underpin livestock industries in many countries. The species comprised a range of functional diversity (C3 legumes; C3/C4 grasses; annuals/perennials) and origins (tropical/temperate; introduced/native) that grew under varied environmental conditions (control and experimentally induced warming and drought) over a period of more than two years ( n = 2622). A maximal calibration set including 391 samples was used to develop and evaluate calibrations for all ten pasture species (global calibrations), as well as for subsets comprised of the plant functional groups. This study found that the global calibrations were appropriate to predict the six key nutritional quality parameters for the studied pasture species, with the highest estimation quality found for ash (ASH), crude protein (CP), amylase-treated neutral detergent fibre (aNDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF), and the lowest for ether extract (EE) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) parameters. The plant functional group calibrations for C3 grasses performed better than the global calibrations for ASH, CP, ADF and EE parameters, whereas for C3 legumes and C4 grasses the functional group calibrations performed less well than the global calibrations for all nutritional parameters of these groups. Additionally, the calibrations were able to capture the range of variation in forage nutritional quality caused by future climate scenarios of warming and severe drought.
Online Food Delivery System in India: Profile of Restaurants and Nutritional Value of Food Items
Authors: Abdulkader Rizwan Suliankatchi , Jeyashree Kathiresan , Kumar Vivek , Kannan K. Senthamarai , Venugopal Deneshkumar
Published: July 2022

Online food delivery services (OFDs) have been growing steadily in India since the early 2000s, posing concerns about unhealthy eating behaviours and contributing to the rise of non-communicable diseases. Menu designing based on the principles of the ‘menu theory’ rarely emphasize the need to provide nutritional information or promote healthy eating behaviours. In this article, we characterized the restaurants and food items listed in a major Indian OFD service and describe the nutritional quality and price of different categories of food items. We conducted a cross-sectional study of all restaurants listed on the website of one of India’s largest OFD service during December 2020. A stratified random sample of 8,504 restaurants was obtained and the nutritional quality of all listed food items was extracted. We found that fast-food restaurants sold foods with the lowest price (Indian national rupee [INR]) [100 (IQR: 66, 150)] but with the highest calories (kilocalorie [kcal]) [194 (IQR: 130, 309)] and fat (g) [9 (IQR: 5, 16)]. Chinese cuisine restaurants sold more ‘soups and salads’ and served items with the second lowest calories per item served (kcal) [154 (IQR: 121, 230)], next only to Indian cuisine restaurants (kcal) [151 (IQR: 118, 210)]. Restaurants with high average cost (>400 INR for two) served items with lower calories (kcal) [155 (IQR: 113, 226)] and had a higher proportion of healthier items on their menu but restaurants with higher median calories per item and a higher median price per item had higher average customer ratings. In conclusion, it can be said that restaurants that served items with the highest calories and fat were also the cheapest. There is a need to increase the number of affordable and healthier options on the menu of OFD restaurants to improve dietary consumption of Indians.
Visual Supports to Increase Conversation Engagement for Preschoolers With Autism Spectrum Disorder During Mealtimes: An Initial Investigation
Authors: Bateman Katherine J. , Wilson Sarah Emily , Gauvreau Ariane , Matthews Katherine , Gucwa Maggie , Therrien William , Nevill Rose , Mazurek Micah
Published: July 2022

The diversity of children within the preschool classroom is dramatically changing as children with autism spectrum disorder are increasingly included within it. To engage in the benefits of inclusion, social skills are needed. Yet, children with autism commonly experience difficulties in this area. Extant literature indicates that social skills are more successfully acquired when taught through naturalistic and embedded instruction in established routines. A commonly occurring routine in most classroom, home, and community settings is mealtime. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Snack Talk, a visual communication support, for increasing the communication engagement of five preschool children with autism. A reversal design across participants was used to analyze the relation between Snack Talk and conversation engagement. Results from the maintenance probes show that conversation engagement increased across all participants when compared to baseline. Furthermore, a functional relation was established between the teaching phase (baseline and intervention data collection phases) and the maintenance phase. Limitations and directions for further research are also discussed.
Social Justice Based Teacher Practices: Leadership Roles, Problems, and Proposed Solutions
Authors: Vural Kübra , Konakli Tuğba
Published: July 2022

The purpose of this study is to examine teachers’ social justice-based practices, the outcomes of those practices, the leadership roles revealed in the process, and the problems experienced. The sample of the study consisted of 13 teachers who were reached through the snowball sampling method. 10 middle school and 3 primary school teachers working in three different provinces of Turkey were interviewed during the 2019-2020 school year. The data obtained were analysed through content analysis. According to the findings, social justice-based practices consisted of the stages: recognising the need, decision-making, examination of the examples, and support and evaluation. Teachers demonstrated leadership roles such as problem-solving, having a vision, developing empathy, and team building. These leadership roles enable the implementation process to begin. Issues such as bureaucratic procedures and the need for parent and teacher training were encountered during the practices. It was recommended that social justice-based training activities should be considered in teacher education and the collaboration with local authorities and relevant organisations in these practices should be supported.
COVID-19 and the Adaptive Role of Educators: The Impact of Digital Literacy and Psychological Well-Being on Education—A PLS-SEM Approach
Authors: Gunathilaka Chandana , Wickramasinghe Rasika S. , Jais Mohamad
Published: July 2022

Mobility restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic raised mental health consequences. This paper examines the triangulation of Digital Literacy (DL), psychological well-being, and effectiveness of remote teaching and learning during the pandemic. Survey responses collected from 518 schoolteachers in Sri Lanka are analyzed with Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method. Results indicate that Remote Education (RE) has twisted a stressful life for educators. DL negatively affects the psychological well-being of the teacher. The effectiveness of teaching and learning and teacher engagement depends upon their DL level. Educators’ stress and depression status mediate the outcome of remote teaching and learning mode. Moreover, digital skills count more than the accumulated teaching experience. We emphasize the adaptive role of the teacher for sustainable digital education. The results indicate that augmented education success could be obtained by investing in digital competence. It suggests that upgrading DL is an urgent role and alarms the policymakers and education managers to mitigate the potential mental health and social capital crisis.
Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT angiography) in anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION): A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Khalili Mohammad Reza , Bremner Fion , Tabrizi Reza , Bashi Ali
Published: July 2022

Purpose

To summarize the evidence available on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in patients with anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION).

Methods

Systematic searches were conducted on PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, and Google Scholar Databases. The quality assessment of the included studies was performed using Newcastle -Ottawa Scale. The data were extracted to an Excel sheet. Vessel density (VD) data were pooled by random effects model, presented as pooled percentage change (PPC), and weighted mean differences (WMD). Additional subgroup analysis was also conducted.

Results

In initial searches in online databases, we found 3535 citations, and after screening and checking the titles and abstracts, 26 articles were ultimately eligible for our meta-analysis. The overall PPC of Intra-optic-disc (IOD) VD (−10.73%; p = 0.017, I2 = 0.0%; p = 0.898) was lower than that of radial peripapillary (RP) VD (−17.57%; p < 0.001, I2 = 44.3%; p = 0.002). The overall PPC of peripapillary choroid VD (−6.99%; p < 0.001, I2 = 0.0%; p = 0.766) was significant, but noticeably lower than the pooled percentage change of RPVD and IOD VD. The WMD of RPVD was significant when non-affected fellow eyes were compared to the healthy subjects’ eyes (−36.26; p < 0.001, I2 = 0.0%; p = 0.706).

Conclusions

The central retinal artery and its branches might be the main vessels which are affected in AION. The superficial retina was more affected than choroid layer in AION. Also, radial peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer was more affected than the IOD area. OCTA might be a suitable tool for prediction of AION in susceptible eyes.
Mental representations of speech and musical pitch contours reveal a diversity of profiles in autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Wang Li , Ong Jia Hoong , Ponsot Emmanuel , Hou Qingqi , Jiang Cunmei , Liu Fang
Published: July 2022

As an information-bearing auditory attribute of sound, pitch plays a crucial role in the perception of speech and music. Studies examining pitch processing in autism spectrum disorder have produced equivocal results. To understand this discrepancy from a mechanistic perspective, we used a novel data-driven method, the reverse-correlation paradigm, to explore whether the equivocal findings in autism spectrum disorder have high-level origins in top–down comparisons of internal mental representations of pitch contours. Thirty-two Mandarin-speaking autistic individuals and 32 non-autistic individuals undertook three subtasks testing mental representations of pitch contours in speech, complex tone and melody, respectively. The results indicate that while the two groups exhibited similar representations of pitch contours across the three conditions, the autistic group showed a significantly higher intra-group variability than the non-autistic group. In addition, the two groups did not differ significantly in internal noise, a measure of the robustness of participant responses to external variability, suggesting that the present findings translate genuinely qualitative differences and similarities between groups in pitch processing. These findings uncover for the first time that pitch patterns in speech and music are mentally represented in a similar manner in autistic and non-autistic individuals, through domain-general top–down mechanisms.

Lay abstract

As a key auditory attribute of sounds, pitch is ubiquitous in our everyday listening experience involving language, music and environmental sounds. Given its critical role in auditory processing related to communication, numerous studies have investigated pitch processing in autism spectrum disorder. However, the findings have been mixed, reporting either enhanced, typical or impaired performance among autistic individuals. By investigating top–down comparisons of internal mental representations of pitch contours in speech and music, this study shows for the first time that, while autistic individuals exhibit diverse profiles of pitch processing compared to non-autistic individuals, their mental representations of pitch contours are typical across domains. These findings suggest that pitch-processing mechanisms are shared across domains in autism spectrum disorder and provide theoretical implications for using music to improve speech for those autistic individuals who have language problems.
Negotiating diasporic leisure among Zimbabwean migrants in Britain
Authors: Pasura Dominic
Published: July 2022

This article examines, from a theoretical and empirical perspective, the types of diasporic leisure experienced by the Zimbabwean diaspora in Britain through extensive fieldwork, including interviews and participant observation. It extends an emerging body of scholarship concerning the relationship between diaspora and leisure by discussing different conceptualisations of diasporic leisure as homeland-oriented, boundary-crossing, and technologically mediated. Specifically, this is done to highlight the role leisure practices play in the formation of diasporic consciousness and in negotiating and contesting transnational identities. The article develops a dialectic of diasporic leisure as a framework for understanding how leisure practices and activities reconnect the Zimbabwean diaspora in Britain, enabling them to construct transnational identities in a country that construes them as “other.” The paper’s central argument is that diasporic consciousness and identities are activated, materialised and mobilised in and through leisure practices.
Is it possible to achieve quality lighting without considering the photometry of the pavements?
Authors: Muzet V , Liandrat S , Bour V , Dehon J , Christory JP
Published: July 2022

In this study, the photometry of a wide range of conventional and innovative pavements used in urban and interurban areas was characterised with a laboratory gonioreflectometer, both in new condition and after 30 months of natural ageing. An extreme diversity of behaviour with respect to light reflection has been demonstrated, both over time and between pavements. Various lighting studies have been carried out for cases of renewal of lighting installation with the installation of LED luminaires on poles in place. The calculations have shown that the use of typical CIE r-tables almost systematically leads to non-compliance with the EN 13201 standard, particularly in terms of uniformity. On the other hand, taking into account in the calculations, the photometry of the pavement in its stabilised state makes it possible both to respect the challenges of lighting safety and to achieve significant energy savings. As measurements of pavement photometry are rarely carried out, an alternative is to set up a database of urban pavements, which is one of the achievements of this research.
Anarcha Lets Blood September 4, 1836
Authors: Judd Bettina
Published: July 2022

There are at least two Anarchas that appear in J. Marion Sims’s autobiography. One, is the famed Anarcha from the Wescott Plantation who endured numerous experiments at Sims’s hands, but there is also the Anarcha that appears earlier in Sims’s self-story described here. She was described as a mulatta who assisted in a bloodletting of Sims himself. These two Anarchas appear to Sims as turning points in his own thinking, experience, and practice of and with medicine. I imagine this Anarcha speaking here, toward his description of her and the practice of bloodletting in the larger scope of Sims’s infamous medical practices. To view the original version of this poem, see the supplemental material section of this article online.
Identifying and managing interstitial cystitis
Authors: Fish Joanna , Boodramsingh Marco , Wanis Michael , Sornalingam Sangeetha , Cooper Max
Published: July 2022

Urological presentations are common in general practice. Many are straightforward presentations such as lower urinary tract infections. Nevertheless, GPs must always consider more serious causes, not least renal disease and cancer. A further challenge lies in unexplained, persistent or treatment-resistant symptoms, which may be associated with chronic pain. A key urological presentation that captures all of these is interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome. This diagnosis of exclusion calls for thorough history taking, appropriate investigation, strategies to exclude sinister causes and management options for chronic symptoms.