bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Investigation of the impact of paediatric hospices on the quality of care of paediatric nurses
Authors: Haylı Çiğdem Müge , Kösem Dilek Demir , Bor Neşe Ataman
Published: February 2024

Background:

The establishment of paediatric hospices improves the quality of care of paediatric nurses.

Aim:

To examine the effect of establishing paediatric hospices on the quality of care of paediatric nurses.

Methods:

Data was collected between 22 October 2022 and 25 February 2023. An online survey method was used to collect sociodemographic data and paediatric hospice data for paediatric nurses and a scale was used to determine the opinions of nurses working in the field of paediatrics. A total of 300 paediatric nurses who voluntarily participated in the collection of the research data were selected with the convenience sampling method, with written consent. SPSS 26.0 data analysis programme was used in the statistical analysis of the data obtained in the study, and Independent Sample t-test and ANOVA analysis were used in the analysis of the data.

Findings:

Of the participating paediatric nurses, 60.9% were women, 39.1% were men, 41.1% were married, 65.9% were between the ages of 22–33, and 71.6% worked at a paediatric hospice. There was no significant difference in paediatric hospice scale scores according to sociodemographic variables such as gender, age, marital status, education level and the health institution worked by paediatric nurses (p>.05). There was a significant difference in paediatric hospice scale scores according to hospice information. It was determined that the establishment of paediatric hospices had an effect on the quality of care (p<.01).

Conclusion:

Paediatric nurses felt that the establishment of paediatric hospices would improve the quality of care of children at the end of life. It is recommended that applications and studies on the establishment and structuring of paediatric hospices should be carried out by expanding the samples, not only in the field of paediatric nursing, but also in all nursing fields.
Evaluating the effectiveness of a clinical nurse specialist triage role in a specialist palliative care community service
Authors: Hough Emer , Reed Jacqueline , O'Reilly Martina , Lucey Michael
Published: February 2024

Background:

In 2017, a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) triaging role was created within a specialist palliative care community service (SPCCS) in Ireland to enhance the triage process. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the role regarding data collection and reporting. Structured feedback from healthcare professionals (HCPs) was obtained on the effects, challenges and sustainability of this role.

Methods:

This study used a mixed-methods approach. A quantitative analysis of referrals triaged by the SPCCS CNS over 2 years (2018–2019) was performed. Two focus groups with HCP's within the same service were completed in January 2020 and one-to-one interviews were conducted. The quantitative and qualitative results were merged using a triangulation protocol.

Results:

In 2017, new health service executive (HSE) standards to categorise the urgency of patient assessment were introduced. Quantitatively, an improvement within the triage process was seen, with an increase in compliance with national access standards. In 2018, compliance was 89.1%. In 2019, this was 96.8%, an improvement of 7.7%. A data discrepancy of 9.5% of referrals was noted over the first 9 months of 2018. After this, data documentation and congruency were seen to improve for the final 3 months of 2018 to 100% and remained at 100%. Qualitative data highlighted the benefits and challenges of the Triage CNS role. Mixed-methods correlation revealed corroboration between both using a triangulation protocol.

Conclusion:

The triage CNS role was pivotal as an initial point of referral contact. Increased compliance with national access standards occurred resulting in improvements in case and case-load management, information gathering, documentation, data collection and analysis.
Bibliometric analysis on palliative care in Morocco
Authors: Elamri Nabila , Atif Ibtissam , Lyazidi Aissam , Rattal Mourad , Gantare Abdellah
Published: February 2024

Background:

No specific evaluation of palliative care (PC) has been carried out to date despite its effective integration into Moroccan healthcare strategy.

Aims:

To analyse the evolution of PC-related research in Morocco over the last two decades.

Methods:

In this study, articles indexed in Web Of Science and PubMED that include the words Morocco and palliative, in their content, in French and English, with at least one author affiliated to a Moroccan institution and published between 2000 and 2020, were evaluated with bibliometrics methods to determine a timeline, a mapping of publications and collaborations, and the main journals, types and topics of publications.

Findings:

A total of 87.1% of articles have been published since 2011. Some 82.1% concern oncology. A total of 48.5% were produced within the same institution and international collaboration represents only 9.9% of the articles.

Conclusion:

The number of PC related articles have increased since 2011, especially in regions with a greater supply of oncology care.
Prediction of potential climate change impacts on the geographic distribution shift of Casuarina junghuhniana and C. equisetifolia in Southeast Asia
Authors: KHAIRUNNISA HASNA , DEWI MINI AMBARWATI KUSUMA , FAQIIH MUHAMMAD AMJAD HAMY , PUTRAYUDA MUHAMMAD REYNALDY , NUGROHO GILANG DWI , INDRAWAN MUHAMMAD , SUTARNO SUTARNO , SUGIYARTO SUGIYARTO , SUNARTO SUNARTO , SUPRIATNA JATNA , NURSAMSI ILYAS , GUNAWAN GUNAWAN , PRADHAN PRAKASH , SETYAWAN AHMAD DWI
Published: February 2024

Abstract. Khairunnisa H, Dewi MAK, Faqiih MAH, Putrayuda MR, Nugroho GD, Indrawan M, Sutarno, Sugiyarto, Supriatna J, Nursamsi I, Pradhan P, Setyawan AD. 2024. Prediction of potential climate change impacts on the geographic distribution shift of Casuarina junghuhniana and C. equisetifolia in Southeast Asia. Biodiversitas 23: 6360-6371. Global warming, driven by various anthropogenic activities, leads to an increase in earth’s surface temperatures, exerting a profound influence on global climate patterns. This phenomenon significantly impacts the growth patterns of various plant species, including Casuarina equisetifolia L., commonly known as sea cypress, and Casuarina junghuhniana Miq., referred to as mountain cypress. The primary objective of this study is to assess the potential repercussions of climate change on the distribution of these two species within Southeast Asia. To achieve this goal, the study utilized the MaxEnt modeling approach, incorporating key factors such as bioclimatic conditions, soil characteristics (edaphic factors), and UV radiation levels. Present study considered three distinct time intervals (2030, 2050, and 2080) while exploring four diverse climate change scenarios (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0, and RCP 8.5). The findings of this investigation reveal that both C. equisetifolia and C. junghuhniana are susceptible to alterations in the extent of suitable habitat distribution, which result in shifts in their geographic ranges due to evolving climatic conditions. Initially, the habitat distribution encompassed an area of only 652,819 km2, accounting for 15.65% of the suitable habitat for C. equisetifolia, and 30,132 km2, representing 0.7% of the suitable habitat for C. junghuhniana. However, by the year 2080, the habitat range for C. equisetifolia is projected to expand significantly to cover 755,082 km2 (18%) under the RCP 4.5 scenario. In contrast, C. junghuhniana is expected to experience a notable reduction, with its suitable habitat shrinking to 25,332 km2 (0.6%) under the influence of RCP 8.5. Notably, these shifts are characterized by a southeastward migration of C. equisetifolia towards Indonesian Borneo from Malaysian-Indonesian border and an eastward shift of C. junghuhniana towards the east of Sulawesi from the Gulf of Bone. These findings highlight the dynamic nature of species distributions in response to changing climatic conditions, emphasizing the need for proactive conservation efforts and adaptive management strategies to mitigate potential ecological impacts.
A Surprise Breakthrough in Guatemala
Authors: Font Juan Luis
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACT: When Guatemalans voted in general elections last summer, those with democratic inclinations had few reasons for hope. The electoral authority had disqualified three presidential candidates for various reasons, which ultimately came down to one: the government wanted to prevent them from winning. T he pro–status quo parties, associated with corruption and impunity, had an abundance of campaign funds. The ruling party managed to recruit nearly 150 of Guatemala’s 340 incumbent mayors to support its reelection. Candidates critical of the government and its allies were labeled as leftists with no chance of winning.
The Darkened Light of Faith: Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African American Political Thought by Melvin L. Rogers, and: King: A Life by Jonathan Eig (review)
Authors: Jones William P.
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACT: In recent years, the United States has seen the entrenchment of an insurgent and overtly racist hard right, a retreat from fleeting but once seemingly sincere commitments to addressing the injus tices of police brutality and mass incarceration, and a growing backlash against voting rights, affirmative action, and other gains of the civil rights movement. How should we relate to history in a time like ours? Journalists Ta-Nehisi Coates and Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Afropessimists Frank Wilderson and Jared Sexton, have exhorted us to face the facts that the United States was founded by slaveholders who defined democracy in opposition to Black people, and that hoping to change that reality is at best naïve and at worst a distraction from the more urgent project of learning to live and thrive in a white supremacist nation. Meanwhile, many conservatives and progressives remind us that, from the founding, Black and white Americans have challenged the racial limits of democracy. For liberals, this means we should retain hope, as Martin Luther King Jr. declared, “that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” For the right, that day has already come.
Terror and the Ethics of Resistance
Authors: Morton Brian
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACT: After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, it took the United States almost two years to forfeit the sympathy of the world. After the terror attacks of October 7 of last year, Israel, a more nimble superpower, accomplished the same feat in just a few days. Because the atrocities committed by Hamas have been eclipsed by the horrors that Israel has brought down on the people of Gaza, a consideration of the way the U.S. left responded to Hamas’s attacks might seem to be of nothing more than historical interest. But some of the questions raised by our responses should still be of concern to those who want to build a better left.
A Left That Can Do Both
Authors: Shenk Timothy
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACT: The most important point to make at the start of a feature on the global left is that there is no such thing as “the global left”—but we should still talk about it anyway. Workers of the world have not united, and neither has anyone else, which means that the global left remains an abstraction. But it’s a useful abstraction to keep in mind. A global campaign for equality, freedom, and dignity is an ideal worth striving for, and a yardstick to measure ourselves against. Asking how movements within a particular nation—which, for most of the people reading this, means the American left—fit into a global narrative is also one of the best ways to think through questions of strategy. Which problems are unique to one country? Which are part of international trends? What are the limits constricting our room for maneuver? And where are the opportunities to push for more?
The French Left’s Delicate Unity
Authors: Stangler Cole
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACT: In many respects, the French left is one of the strongest in Europe. Its loose coalition of parties—the New Ecological and Social Popular Union (NUPES)—makes up the biggest opposition bloc in the National Assembly, counting dozens more seats than the far-right National Rally.
People’s Houses in Eretz Yisrael and Israel and the Memory of the Holocaust
Authors: Grabiner Esther
Published: February 2024

Abstract: The People’s House is a building and institution born of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, offering a sociocultural alternative to both the church and the alehouse. In the first decades of the twentieth century, the People’s House became a model of progress for a better society. The activists of socialist Zionism, who aspired to forge a new Jewish person along sociocultural lines, saw the People’s House as a crucible for Jewish communities who came to Eretz Yisrael from different countries. Indeed, beginning in the early twentieth century, People’s Houses were built in all manner of Jewish settlements in Eretz Yisrael, as centers for both creating and promulgating a new Hebrew culture. This article uncovers the historical link between the memory of the Holocaust and the conception and building of People’s Houses in Eretz Yisrael and Israel, through a discussion of the houses’ building initiatives, funding, ideological dependencies, naming, programs, and architectural and functional aspects. The essay’s conclusions are that: (1) The living memory of the Holocaust, both personal and communal, was a driving force in the conception and building of People’s Houses; (2) The built, functioning result proclaimed the lessons of Holocaust memory, reflecting an inversion of the scars left by the trauma; (3) The People’s House, designed as a workshop and a crucible for new Hebrew culture, was seen as a Holocaust-proof space, immune from the Holocaust’s painful memories.
You Cannot Feel a Mother’s Heart: The Centrality of Women in the Hasidic Music of Yom Tov Ehrlich
Authors: Weinberg Tzipora
Published: February 2024

Abstract: Recent scholarship on the history of Hasidism suggests that the role of women within Hasidic communities before World War II was minimal, and that Hasidism eliminated women from its social structure by establishing a religious praxis that was exclusively male. Studies of postwar Hasidic life similarly minimize the presence of women and suggest that they remained an ancillary and silent population within the life of the movement, in large part because scholars have relied on written and experiential Hasidic modalities to gauge female involvement. Analysis of the music of Yom Tov Ehrlich as an untapped source demonstrates that women appear to be seen, heard, and reckoned with in Hasidic life before and after the war. In Yom Tov Ehrlich’s musical texts, women are valued as religious and Hasidic actors, and serve a vital, if not precisely equal, role to that of their male counterparts, providing spiritual guidance, motivation, and agency. A significant proportion of the 317 songs released publicly by Ehrlich feature women. Physical descriptions, both of women’s dress as well as their demeanor, proliferate within the song lyrics, and women and young girls are often described as beautiful. While Ehrlich’s representation cannot be construed as historical fact, female predominance within the songs, and the widespread acceptance and encouragement of this music even within the most stringent Hasidic groups, attests to a vocal and vibrant presence of women within the panoply of religious and Hasidic experience in prewar Europe and postwar America.
“A Blessing for a Proud Home”: When the Anthropologist of Religion Was Tasked with Composing a Prayer
Authors: Ben-Lulu Elazar
Published: February 2024

Abstract: “A Blessing for Home” is a liturgical prayer text seeking protection against sorrow, troubles, disputes, and disasters within the home. Traditionally, this blessing was often displayed on the wall near the front door or inscribed on decorative items and Judaica. It’s worth noting that this prayer lacks a specific source or a singular version—something that invites creative versions of this prayer. This essay introduces the “Blessing for a Proud Home” and is accompanied by a reflective discussion outlining my rationale as an ethnographer for composing such a prayer. In this discussion, I engage with sociocultural arguments regarding the essence of the prayer and shed light on the process of its creation, drawing from my sources of inspiration and the challenges faced during its composition.
High heels as mobile media: (Im)mobilities and feminist ecologies
Authors: Hildebrand Julia M.
Published: February 2024

This article critically explores the high heel as a mobile medium by discussing the contentious footwear through the lens of media ecology and mobilities research. Employing the McLuhans’ ‘laws of media’ or ‘tetrad’, I highlight what the high heel enhances, obsolesces, retrieves from the past and flips into when pushed to an extreme. This tetradic reading also draws on contemporary feminist media studies and a gender and media ecology subfield. Ultimately, the article shows to what extent the high heel is an ambiguous and divisive medium that extends the female and male body; shapes and is shaped by past and present cultural, social and political environments; and affords a range of physical, corporeal, social, imaginative and affective (im)mobilities.
Smartphone distraction en masse in Mass
Authors: Grafton Lane J.
Published: February 2024

In light of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2021 decision to approve the use of a smartphone missal app, this article considers the effects of this new medium on Catholic worship. Relative to its long-standing predecessor – the paper-based missal – the new medium deserves analysis. As a faithful Catholic and media scholar, Marshall McLuhan is a fitting guide. McLuhan’s transformation theory reveals the fullness of communication by attending to the medium of communication and its transformation of persons and culture. McLuhan’s ideas on perception and media affirm current brain research on the effect of the smartphone – distraction. In contrast, research shows that a print-based medium fosters the opposite cognitive state – attentiveness. In the final analysis, this article reveals the essence of a distractive versus attentive medium in the context of Catholic worship.
Synchronous online meets Hollywood Squares
Authors: Peterson Valerie
Published: February 2024

This article explains a pedagogical approach designed for synchronous online classes. It is designed to encourage online presence and participation. Students are put into smaller non-interactive groups which take turns rotating into encouraged or required visibility (turning on their cameras), and higher expectations of participation. This rotation of ‘Hollywood Square celebrities’ for the day raises the level of discussion, clarifies when students are and are not ‘on the spot’, helps teachers gauge their own effectiveness by providing faces they can see, and adds interest and humanity to the online classroom.
Propaganda 2.1, Peter K. Fallon (2022)
Authors: Thaler Paul
Published: February 2024

Review of: Propaganda 2.1, Peter K. Fallon (2022)

Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 186 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-66672-374-8, h/bk, $41.00

ISBN 978-1-66673-134-7, p/bk, $26.00

ISBN 166673134X, e-book, $9.99
Introduction
Authors: Martín Annabel
Published: February 2024

Armed political conflict is no stranger to contemporary Europe. Radicalized nationalist ideologies, state-sanctioned ethnic and religious violence, revolutionary separatist organizations, state-supported armies and police forces turning against civilian populations, insurgents and counterinsurgents, a long list of actors embodying the dance of death in recent times. This Special Issue of the International Journal of Iberian Studies (IJIS), ‘Unspeakable Truths’, will focus on the aftermath and the road to recovery after Basque ETA armed conflict in Spain–France (1959–2011) through the lens of affect, restorative justice, memory, peace-making efforts, and the arts (literature and film) thanks to contributions by academics, ETA and GAL victims, filmmakers, restorative justice practitioners and mediators of the Nanclares process, and peace activists.
What the fog hid(es)
Authors: Ariznabarreta Larraitz
Published: February 2024

Through the analysis of several cultural metaphors, this article reflects on the fractures, both social and personal, brought about by politics and violence in the Basque Country. The author suggests that – regardless of the optimistic public transcript concerning the new ‘democratic scenario’ opening after the end of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) in 2018 – a thick ideological fog has still not burned off. In a landscape that has been profoundly impacted by violence, only the shadows and silhouettes goaded by the fog have been transformed.
Spanish state terrorism: Writing the story of its violence
Authors: Aguado Txetxu
Published: February 2024

Basque society has been exposed to the terrorist violence of the Spanish state during and after the dictatorship and to that of ETA until its definitive cessation of violence on 21 October 2011. The search for the truth demands revealing the existence of state terrorism, regardless of how some historians attempt to diminish its gravity. In this article, the focus will be on cultural productions that make the writing of the history of terrorism in Spain more nuanced. The cultural texts studied include Pablo Malo’s film, Lasa eta Zabala (‘Lasa and Zabala’) (2014), Ion Arretxe’s novel Intxaurrondo: La sombra del nogal (‘Intxaurrondo: The shade of the walnut tree’) (2015), Miguel Ángel Llamas and Amaia Merino’s documentary, Non dago Mikel? (‘Where is Mikel?’) (2020) and the Centro Memorial de las Víctimas del Terrorismo (‘Memorial Center for the Victims of Terrorism’), which opened its doors in 2021.
Ethical instances of doubt: The case of Yoyes on the screen – An interview with Helena Taberna and Lur Olaizola Lizarralde
Authors: Aguado Txetxu , Martín Annabel
Published: February 2024

‘Ethical instances of doubt: The case of Yoyes on the screen’ is an in-depth interview with filmmakers Helena Taberna and Lur Olaizabal who both focused on the figure of ETA leader Dolores González Katarain, Yoyes, as they each began their film careers despite belonging to different generations of filmmakers. The interview explores gender and necropolitical power as well as feminism and its incompatibility with violence, among other topics. Both filmmakers are interested in Yoyes’s role as a female terrorist and ETA leader, her fight against social injustice, and the path that led her to depart from violence at a time when her generation considered that political activism meant fighting the abuses of the Spanish state with fire.
A gesture that made silence ring
Authors: Urkijo Txema
Published: February 2024

Amidst a suffocating climate, given the violence and its supporters, small numbers of Basque citizens decided not to look the other way when the ‘other’ was killed because of following a different ideology. These dissenters took to the streets to confront the violence, radically placing a bet on dialogue and human rights. And this was done through silence. Their irrefutable ethical stance gradually made an impact on Basque society and, step by step, their work steadily contributed to making peace a viable option in the Basque Country. As it looks back over the years of their struggle, this article wishes to bear witness to the work of those anonymous individuals who belonged to the ‘Gesto por la Paz’ peace organization, a piece written by someone who had the good fortune of maturing alongside them in an ethical and humanitarian way.
The Fabric of Fear: Building Franco’s New Society in Spain, 1936–1950, Jorge Marco and Gutmaro Gómez Bravo (2023)
Authors: Loscos Carmen Gustrán
Published: February 2024

Review of: The Fabric of Fear: Building Franco’s New Society in Spain, 1936–1950, Jorge Marco and Gutmaro Gómez Bravo (2023)

Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 270 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-78976-106-1, h/bk, £76

ISBN 978-1-83764-523-7, e-book, £76
Scripting the silhouette: Writing around the participant in interactive virtual reality experiences
Authors: Morrison Katy
Published: February 2024

This article explores the challenges and emerging understandings around crafting the narrative position of the participant in real-time virtual reality (VR). Drawing on interviews with contemporary VR creators working in the United Kingdom, America, Canada and Australia, the article explores the ways in which creators conceptualize the narrative space occupied by an interactive VR participant. It argues that contemporary creators are utilizing the narrative capacity of the participant in ways that challenge traditional notions of characterization and protagonist. Instead, creators engage methods and ideas that are more aligned with the notion of ‘postdramatic’ theatre. I propose that the concept of negative space can be used to explain the relationship between the active participant and authored VR work. Conceiving the space occupied by the embodied participant in terms of ‘negative space’ within the authored environment can allow screenwriters and VR creators to ‘write around’ this absent (but present) participant during the development process.
Do the Right Thing: Storytelling Secrets of Five Screenplays That Embrace Diversity, Karla Fuller (2023)
Authors: Villela-Dean Noemi
Published: February 2024

Review of: Do the Right Thing: Storytelling Secrets of Five Screenplays That Embrace Diversity, Karla Fuller (2023)

Studio City, CA: Michael Weise Productions, 112 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-61593-340-2, p/bk, USD 26.95
Listening to audiences to remain relevant: Audience research as a new production method for Scandinavian screen cultures in transition
Authors: Freudendal Jakob
Published: February 2024

This article explores the new production strategies for reaching audiences currently being put into practice in the Danish screen industry. Building on studies and theories of the changed audience–industry relation following the breakthrough of streaming, this qualitative case study investigates how audience research was implemented in the production framework behind the Danish youth film Smuk (Pretty Young Thing) () to increase the film’s relevance with young audiences. The analysis highlights the differences between traditional story research and audience research as well as the challenges and opportunities of involving audience feedback in the early stages of the creative process. Finally, I discuss the implications of this new approach for classical European film industries that consider film a cultural good rather than a strictly commercial product.
Special Issue: ‘Contemporary Scandinavian Art Cinema and Screen Cultures in Transition’
Authors: Frykholm Joel , Mrozewicz Anna Estera
Published: February 2024

The editorial outlines our main reasons for bringing scholarly attention to the theme of Scandinavian art cinema and screen cultures in transition at this moment. It provides brief summaries of the issue’s five feature articles and presents some suggestions for further research on the topic. We stress the importance of taking gender into account in future studies and call for a closer dialogue and more mutual engagement between scholars of art cinema and scholars of digital media.
Exploring Russian Literature's Spiritual Labor: A Review of Wonder Confronts Certainty
Authors: Singh Suvanshkriti
Published: February 2024

Review of the book Wonder Confronts Certainty by Gary Saul Morson, eminent literary critic and Slavist. The book is a recent (2023) release, and uses Russian literature from the mid-19th century as a means of reading Russian society and politics. It delves into the profound intersection of Russian literature and philosophy, addressing the 'accursed questions' on life's meaning, morality, and truth. Morson stages a Dialogue of the Dead with eminent Russian thinkers, navigating the great realist novelists and the unique intelligentsia. Divided into three sections, the book explores the intricacies of Russian intellectual life, categorizing the intelligentsia into distinct sub-types. While the final section engages timeless questions, the book's strength lies in Morson's nuanced understanding of opposing perspectives. Interwoven with intertextuality, it skillfully examines Russian history and politics, though at times leaning towards anti-Soviet sentiments and displaying a slight masculine bias. Overall, it offers a lucid primer on Russian literature and politics.
Biomedical Risk Factors for COVID-19 among People Living with HIV during the First Wave of the Pandemic
Authors: Folayan Morenike , Zuniga Roberto , Aly Nourhan , Yousaf Muhammad , Ellakany Passent , Idigbe Ifeoma , Lawal Folake , Lusher Joanne , Virtanen Jorma , El Tantawi Maha
Published: February 2024

Objective: We assessed the associations between testing positive for COVID-19 and HIV viral load, and access to and adherence to antiretroviral therapy during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data, where we extracted complete information for 904 participants self-identifying as HIV positive. The dataset encompassed the dependent variable (testing positive for COVID-19), independent variables (HIV viral load, access to a 90-day supply of antiretroviral drugs, adherence to antiretroviral therapy), and confounding variables (age, sex assigned at birth, living with HIV co-morbidities, and self-reported depression). Results: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (AOR: 0.364; 95% CI: 0.231-0.574; p < .001) was significantly association with decreased odds of testing positive for COVID-19. We found no statistically significant associations between HIV viral load or access to a 90-day supply of antiretroviral drugs and testing positive for COVID-19. Conclusion: The results underscore the necessity for ongoing HIV treatment adherence counseling for individuals with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further research is warranted to elucidate the paradox wherein adherence to antiretroviral therapy was associated with testing positive for COVID-19, but HIV viral load was not.
Endurance exercise upregulates mtp expression in aged Drosophila to ameliorate age‐related diastolic dysfunction and extend lifespan
Authors: Peng Tianhang , Ding Meng , Yan Hanhui , Zhang Ping , Tian Rui , Guo Yin , Zheng Lan
Published: February 2024

Diastolic dysfunction is a major cardiac dysfunction, and an important predisposing factor is age. Although exercise training is often used for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease nowadays, little is currently known about whether exercise interventions associated with the slowing of cardiac aging are related to mtp‐related pathways. In the present study, the UAS/Tub‐Gal4 system was used to knockdown whole‐body mtp expression levels in Drosophila, which underwent 2 weeks of endurance training. By conducting different assays and quantifying different indicators, we sought to investigate the relationship between mtp, exercise, and age‐related diastolic dysfunction. We found that (1) Drosophila in the mtpRNAi youth group exhibited age‐related diastolic dysfunction and had a significantly shorter mean lifespan. (2) Endurance exercise could improve diastolic dysfunction and prolong lifespan in aged Drosophila. (3) Endurance exercise could increase the expression levels of apolpp and Acox3, and decrease the levels of TC, LDL‐C, and TG in the aged group. In summary, aging causes age‐associated diastolic dysfunction in Drosophila, and systemic knockdown of mtp causes premature age‐associated diastolic dysfunction in young Drosophila. Besides, endurance exercise improves age‐related diastolic dysfunction and prolongs lifespan.
Functionalized gold nanoparticles coated with bacterial alginate and their antibacterial and anticancer activities
Authors: Sindi Hebah A. , Hamouda Ragaa A. , Alhazmi Nuha M. , Abdel-Hamid Marwa S.
Published: February 2024

Gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) have several uses for nanobiotechnologists because of their beneficial biomedical properties. Alginates have various biomedical and industrial applications. The aim of this study is to extract alginate from Azotobacter chroococcum, synthesize chemical Au-NPs (Ch/Au-NPs), and load the NPs with the extracted alginate to form Azotobacter alginate gold nanocomposites (Azto/Alg-Au-NCMs). The Ch/Au-NPs and Azto/Alg-Au-NCMs were characterized by UV-spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), zeta potential, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The anticancer activities were determined using the breast cancer cell line MCF-7, human lung cancer cell line H1299, and Vero cell line. The results obtained by UV-spectroscopy exhibited a surface plasmon resonance that was clearly noticeable at 530 nm, and the EDS analysis proved that gold was present in percentages of 50.11 and 28.08 in the Ch/Au-NPs and Azto/Alg-Au-NCMs, respectively. There were several similarities between the alginic acid and the alginate extracted from A. chroococcum, and small modifications were proved by FT-IR spectroscopy. Negative charges were shown by the zeta potential. Crystalline and cubic NPs were shown by XRD analysis and TEM. TGA demonstrated the purity of the Ch/Au-NPs and the existence of organic compounds in the Azto/Alg-Au-NCMs. Both the Ch/Au-NPs and Azto/Alg-Au-NCMs had antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter sp., and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and possessed anticancer activities against MCF-7 and H1299.
Implementation and mixed-methods evaluation of “Walk with a Doc” program at Stony Brook
Authors: Landman Ursula N. , Naeem Zaina , Chen Ingrid L. , Naeem Areeg , Jaber Raja
Published: February 2024

Context

Walking groups run by trained individuals, lasting under an hour in a natural environment, may be a cost-effective way by which to encourage sustainable changes in physical activity as well as foster companionship and a shared experience of wellness among participants. Walk with a Doc (WWaD) is a national program that provides a platform for medical professionals, including physicians and medical students, to deliver a short talk on a health topic prior to walking side by side with patients and community members.

Objectives

To evaluate the WWaD Chapter at Stony Brook following implementation, a questionnaire was designed utilizing a mixed-methods approach (i.e., containing qualitative and quantitative items) and administered to all attendees monthly prior to the health discussion. The aim of the questionnaire was fourfold: first, to obtain participant demographics; second, to obtain information on attendees’ own perceptions of their health status and the role exercise plays in their health; third, to gain data on physical activity levels, including lengths of exercise sessions and types of activities performed; and fourth, to learn more about attendees’ motivations and goals for participating in the walks.

Methods

We received an IRB exemption. Physician and medical student volunteers were recruited from Stony Brook University Hospital, a suburban tertiary care center, to oversee program logistics. WWaD was scheduled to take place on the third Sunday of every month for 1 h at Heritage Park in Mount Sinai, New York. The event was advertised by volunteers to colleagues, peers, patients, and community members utilizing word of mouth, printed flyers, emails to listservs, and social media outlets. Each month, a physician volunteer oversaw a brief discussion (approximately 10 min in length).

Results

Over the course of the 5 month evaluation period, 91 individuals participated in the walks, including repeat attendees. After excluding duplicate or incomplete entries, data from 30 participants were included in this analysis. The majority of participants were female (n=24) with a mean age of 50 years (range, 23–98 years). Feedback on WWaD program elements was largely positive. Participants commended the monthly speakers for “informative talks” (n=6) on “interesting topics” (n=4), with plans to review the supplemental information in educational pamphlets following the walk (n=4). The brochures were also deemed “helpful.” Overwhelmingly, patients referred to the community gathering and team building aspects of WWaD as the “most enjoyable” aspect of the program (n=8) and a key driver for participation.

Conclusions

This mixed-methods study of the WWaD chapter at Stony Brook contributes to a growing body of evidence highlighting the value of walking groups as effective avenues for collaboration in producing accessible healthy behavior.
Enhanced inverse Faraday effect and time-dependent thermo-transmission in gold nanodisks
Authors: González-Alcalde Alma K. , Shi Xinping , Ortiz Victor H. , Feng Ji , Wilson Richard B. , Vuong Luat T.
Published: February 2024

Nonmagnetic media can be magnetized by light via processes referred to as an inverse Faraday effect (IFE). With nonmagnetic metal nanostructures, the IFE is dominated by the presence of light-induced solenoidal surface currents or plasmons with orbital angular momenta, whose properties depend on both the light and nanostructure geometry. Here, through a systematic study of gold nanodisks with different sizes, we demonstrate order-of-magnitude enhancement of the IFE compared to a bare gold film. Large IFE signals occur when light excites the dipolar plasmonic resonance of the gold nanodisk. We observe that the spectral response of the IFE signal mirrors the spectral response of time-dependent thermo-transmission signals. Our careful quantitative experimental measurements and analysis offer insight into the magnitude of IFE in plasmonic structures for compact, low-power, magneto-optic applications.
The crystal structure of 1,3-diacetyltetrahydroimidazo[4,5-d]imidazole-2,5(1H,3H)-dione, C8H10O4N4
Authors: Sha Bai , Guangqi Liu , Jun Chen , Jianlong Wang
Published: February 2024

C8H10O4N4, triclinic, P

1
‾

$\bar{1}$

(no. 2), a = 5.0069(7) Å, b = 8.4593(10) Å, c = 11.3565(14) Å, α = 84.986(4)°, β = 78.693(4)°, γ = 79.928(4)°, V = 463.69(10) Å3, Z = 8, Rgt
(F) = 0.0524, wRref
(F
2) = 0.1330, T = 170 K.
Current internal political situation in BiH
Authors:   Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Eremin Denis
Published: February 2024

Office of the High Representative and the Constitutional Court of BiH are being used by non- regional actors, primarily USA and EU, for centralization of Bosnia. Christian Schmidt, still not approved as the High Representative by decision of the UN Security Council, does not have the full authority that his predecessors used to have. Nevertheless, he was recognized in the Federation of BiH as the High Representative and introduced amendments to the constitutional legislation of the Muslim- Croatian entity, which in the long term may pose an existential threat to the autonomy of the Republika Srpska and become a step of centralization of BiH.
Germany's New Strategy In Relations With China
Authors:   Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Belov Vladislav
Published: February 2024

On July 13, 2023, German Foreign Ministry published the long-awaited Strategy of German- Chinese relations. The document is the first of its kind in 50 years of bilateral diplomatic relations between Berlin and Beijing. It is dedicated to all areas of cooperation between Germany and China. The article analyses the stage of the Strategy’s preparation, examines its individual chapters and evaluates their main points.
Actual ups and downs in the popularity of established parties in Germany
Authors:   Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Belov Vladislav
Published: February 2024

By August 2023, the electoral popularity of the parties of government coalition of Germany has significantly decreased. The rating of “Alternative for Germany” reached its peak, and at the same time it remained at a low level for another protest party, the Left, which is in danger of becoming an insignificant political entity. CDU / CSU Union, the leading opposition force in Germany, maintained approximately the same level of positive perception by respondents throughout 2023 in polls. The mood of voters was mainly determined by economic factors: recession, high inflation, etc. The author analyzes the current situation in established parties and makes a forecast of further development of party and political processes in Germany.
NATO Vilnius Summit through the prism of the Ukrainian conflict
Authors:   Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Danilov Dmitry
Published: February 2024

On July 11-12, 2023, NATO summit was held in Vilnius. The agenda included a wide range of issues of practical adaptation of the alliance to the "new strategic norm" in the context of implementation of its Madrid Concept of 2022. However, the specification of updated conceptual guidelines appears to be complicated by the continuing strategic uncertainty associated with developments of the military conflict in Ukraine. The Ukraine–NATO Council established in Vilnius to strengthen the enhanced partnership seems to be a machine of variable geometry, the future trajectory of which depends on assessment of strategic risks and relevant parameters of NATO's military-political planning, primarily in the context of Ukrainian conflict’s specific developments and outcomes.
Oil prices in Europe: current situation and prospects
Authors:   Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Fazelyanov Envarbik
Published: February 2024

Global economy faces geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty regarding the trends forming on the European energy market. The key question is how oil prices (and related gas prices) will change this year and in the foreseeable future. Author offer their forecast of how the situation on the market may develop.
EU sanctions landscape: amid bypasses and excessive compliance
Authors:   Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Kotov Alexander
Published: February 2024

The current EU sanctions policy over 18 months showed its potential, including the negative effect on the major European economies. The article analyzes these developments as well as special features of the 11th sanctions package, aimed at strengthening the control of previously imposed barriers and limiting Russia's ability to avoid sanctions with help of third countries. Based on the example of Germany, the article analyzes the instruments used by the EU and the discussion that business and political circles are conducting in search of cost and risk reduction. It notes a fundamentally new ability of the EU to not only impose individual sanctions, but also suspend the import of sanctioned goods into countries violating sanctions in general.
Changing the rules of financial support for the territory of Ukraine from the EU budget
Authors: Kondratieva Natalia
Published: February 2024

On June 20, 2023, the European Commission initiated a change in the rules and increased financial support for Ukraine. The goal of Brussels is to provide consistent, predictable and, at the same time, flexible support for this territory of Europe for the period of 2024-2027. The paper discusses whether the EU's investment venture can benefit Ukraine and harm Russia's Special military operation.
The Agony of “Françafrica”
Authors:   Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Rubinskiy Yu.
Published: February 2024

The long process of decay of the so-called “Françafrica” – a system of indirect control of Paris over its former colonial possessions on the African continent, created over the past half century, – is approaching its end. It is accompanied by the withdrawal of French military contingent, and recall of the French ambassador from Niger at the demand of new authorities, who seized power through military coup. These events were regarded in the world as a defeat not only of France, but also of the collective West in its confrontation with Russia, China, Iran, and other countries.
UK in the preelection year
Authors:   Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ananieva Elena
Published: February 2024

At the annual conferences held in October, political parties unveiled their guidelines on the eve of the UK parliamentary elections, which should take place no later than January 2025. The components of electoral success are party unity, an attractive program, a charismatic leader capable of becoming a national figure. Analysis of the preliminary programs and ratings of the Conservative and Labour Parties shows that the ruling party has failed to reverse the steady trend of lagging behind the Labour Party in popularity among voters. Sociologists predict that the leading opposition party will win a majority in the House of Commons.
Cotton instead of silk: Italy on the way out of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative
Authors:   Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Alekseenkova Elena
Published: February 2024

The Italian prime-minister Giorgia Meloni does not take part in the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on October 17-18, 2023. Moreover, Italy is not expected to renew the Memorandum of Understanding with China signed in 2019 by Giuseppe Conte’s government. Under the influence of its Euro-Atlantic partners, Rome declines to prolong its participation in the “Silk Road”, opting for the “Cotton Road”, which will connect India, the Middle East and Europe (Imec). The Apennines, due to their geographical location, are expected to become the center of a new economic corridor and an active member of new geopolitical processes in the Indo-Pacific.
Robert Fico – the New “Old” Prime Minister of Slovakia
Authors:   Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vedernikov Mikhail
Published: February 2024

SMER – Slovak Social Democracy won the parliamentary election in Slovakia in Autumn 2023. Despite the doubts expressed during the election campaign, Robert Fico succeeded for the fourth time to get an opportunity to form a new government. The prime minister's first steps have demonstrated his commitment to the views he held since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. His position is likely to stay stable. The election highlighted declining popularity of political forces, openly sympathizing Russia, and consolidation of the national Euro-Atlantic camp albeit with strong “Slovak” features.
Cooperation and competition of USA and EU in trade and high technologies
Authors:   Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Sharikov Pavel
Published: February 2024

Bilateral trade and technological cooperation are the priorities in current relations between US and EU. These particular topics became key for the emerging confrontation against China. The article contains analysis of the recent US-EU summit, which took place in October 2023. The author investigates the priorities of bilateral relations based on the final joint statement of the summit. The contents and scope of the summit are very different from the previous one which took place in 2021. The priorities include geopolitical issues – coordination of political efforts related to contemporary conflicts in the world. Many cooperative initiatives in Africa and Indo-Pacific region are related to the emerging strategic competition with China. Besides, Washington and Brussels raised an ambitious agenda in bilateral trade, investment and technological cooperation.