bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Boundary-Layer Receptivity
Authors: Ruban Anatoly I. , Gajjar Jitesh S. B. , Walton Andrew G.
Published: July 2023

Receptivity theory studies the process of excitation of instability modes in boundary layers by various ‘external perturbations’, such as free-stream turbulence, acoustic noise, and body surface roughness. Using triple-deck theory we analyse the process of Tollmien-Schlichting wave generation by a vibrating ribbon installed in the boundary layer. We first study harmonic oscillations of the ribbon and calculate the amplitude of the generated Tollmien-Schlichting wave. This leads to the concept of a receptivity coefficient. Then, an initial value problem is considered where the ribbon starts to oscillate at a certain time, creating a wave packet in the boundary layer. This is followed by analysis of the Tollmien-Schlichting wave generation by acoustic noise interacting with the wall roughness.
Coherent Structures and Self-Sustaining Processes in Shear Flows
Authors: Ruban Anatoly I. , Gajjar Jitesh S. B. , Walton Andrew G.
Published: July 2023

A self-sustaining process (SSP) is a series of interactions by which distinguishable flow structures known as rolls and streaks, which would otherwise decay due to the action of viscosity, are maintained by extracting energy from wave disturbances. In turn, the waves are themselves supported by the very structure they help to preserve. For moderate to high Reynolds numbers, these equilibrium solutions correspond to certain coherent states visited by turbulent flows. We investigate the mathematical nature of these states at both finite Reynolds number, and at asymptotically large Reynolds number where it is often referred to as a vortex-wave interaction (VWI). Here the process can be given a rigorous mathematical foundation, with the roll and streak described by a system of nonlinear three-dimensional partial differential equations, and the wave satisfying a nonlinear eigen-value problem. In a particular class of these interactions, the critical layer plays a vital role in the process.
On Indirect Rule
Authors: Forjwuor Bernard
Published: July 2023

This chapter is a historical exposition of the politics of indirect rule in Ghana. It challenges the self-evidentiality of political independence as constituting the full terms of political decolonization. Using primary and secondary sources, the chapter analyzes the policies and projects designed to transform direct coercive colonial rule (transfer of colonial administrative control) into an indirect form (self-governing colonialism). It defines this transformation of colonial governance and the logic underlying this approach as colonial renewal/revival. It demonstrates how colonial power was delegated and the mechanism of its dissemination strategically decentered. Thus, colonial power was fashioned to actively engage colonized people to participate in their own subjugation. At the same time, the sheer force of exploitative colonial obligations was filtered through the legitimate and sovereign will that should only reside with the colonized population. The chapter distinguishes between the purpose (ontological) and processes (ontic references) of colonialism. The purpose of colonialism, it argues, was designed to remain resolutely fixed, while the processes through which it is affirmed and elaborated remain in flux. The chapter also argues that this colonial form is a system of racecraft that produced the colonized as natives (as an innate and immutable racial condition), and this racial condition became the condition of possibility for the intensification of colonial obligation.
Mythologies of Political Decolonization
Authors: Forjwuor Bernard
Published: July 2023

This chapter reconsiders the meaning of political decolonization within the context of Ghana. It accounts for the colonial jurigenerative moment of the 1957 Independence Act (a declaration of independence) and the Independence Constitution. In this jurigenerative moment, self-determination/self-governance, and global liberal discourses of political organization were articulated as part of a series of preconditions for decolonization. Ironically, self-governance, in the form of indirect rule, was already a constitutive part of the colonial arrangement. Thus, the post-independence adoptions/affirmation of these colonial dictations and practices were a priori tainted. To critique the meaning of political decolonization, then, the chapter interrogates how indirect rule, standing at the intersection of two warring desires (colonialism and decolonization), implicates the colonial within the terms and practices of the politics of decolonization. In other words, indirect colonial rule allows for a re-articulation of decolonization that has no autonomy from the colonial it seeks to negate. In this stead, decolonization is always in excess of its articulated meanings and practices, where any specific articulation of decolonization reifies the assumed transgressed colonial.
Critique of Liberal Democracy
Authors: Forjwuor Bernard
Published: July 2023

This chapter is a critical interrogation of liberal democracy as constituted by an original colonial contract. It attempts to confront the foreclosed, if also disavowed, colonial in liberal democracy. The engagement with liberal democracy in this chapter is specific. It is a critique of the Western liberal variant introduced into Ghanaian political practices. Thus, the following are among the questions that inform the discussion: Can democracy be forcefully or otherwise imposed? Can it be established outside the constitutive will of the colonized people? If it could be imposed or established in isolation from the people’s will, does it remain democratic, or does it become something else? In what ways can we read the colonial and liberal democracy as constitutively entangled?
Introduction
Authors: Kinsey Christopher
Published: July 2023

This book is an attempt to move the study of mercenaries and private military and security contractors forward into new areas of research. In this respect, it takes a unique approach with both its historical and contemporary analysis. First, it takes an in-depth approach to examining the role of mercenaries in South America’s Wars of Independence, Congo, and the Yemen. Second, the book attempts to explain why some mercenary operations succeed while others do not, using management theory. This is a significant point of departure, as the success or failure of mercenary operations is more usually explained using theories derived from international relations. Third, the focus on Russia and China is new. None of the books mentioned in the chapter discuss their use of mercenaries or private military and security contractors. This is not surprising given that they were written before these countries started using them in significant numbers. The book explains why both countries will continue using these actors in support of their foreign policy and strategic ambitions into the future. It does this through examining the strategic and political drivers behind their use. In the case of Russia, using mercenaries as irregular troops to advance the Kremlin’s foreign and strategic aims in Africa is standard, and part of a wider historical picture of using irregular troops at home and abroad. In the case of China, the country is likely to follow a similar path to that of the USA when it comes to using military and security contractors.
Who Is a Mercenary in the Twenty-First Century?
Authors: Kinsey Christopher
Published: July 2023

This chapter is the first of the contemporary chapters and is focused on Africa and the Middle East. When governments from these regions turn to the mercenary instrument for the reasons discussed earlier the West has been highly critical of them, condemning their actions as ill-judged and irresponsible. Yet, STTEP’s intervention in Nigeria during 2015 has shown, that the mercenary can have a positive impact in helping to stem civil wars. Why is it, then, that when African leaders turn to the mercenary instrument they are condemned, but when the West uses military contractors (another name for mercenaries) it is seen as legitimate? As this chapter shows, modern mercenary operations contracted by African states themselves can be successful. Despite this, the stigma they carry, as reinforced by the West, often disincentivizes local governments from utilizing them. How much longer this will remain the case is unclear. If the mercenary is going through a transformation that is likely to result in him being more politically acceptable in future, then his utility to the state as a military instrument will only grow. Therefore, the book includes analysis of the important perception that ‘one state’s mercenary is another state’s private military contractor’.
Looking to the Future and what it Holds for Mercenaries and Private Military and Security Companies
Authors: Kinsey Christopher
Published: July 2023

The final chapter is focused on the future and what it holds for the mercenary and military contractor. If the future of warfare is hybrid in character, where enemies engage each other below the threshold of conventional war and where plausible deniability is essential to prevent such violence escalating, then the mercenary and military contractor have bright prospects. This is because both actors are not only ideally suited to perform this type of warfare, they also act as a firewall between their sponsoring state client and the government they are working for. This has the effect of making it harder for the target state or belligerent they are acting against to prove who is responsible for the violent act against it. Moreover, hybrid war raises fundamental questions about the character of future war, questions that this chapter will address from the perspective of the market for force. Crucially for this chapter, it uses the same set of questions Martin Van Creveld uses to explain why Clausewitz’s interpretation of armed conflict is redundant. These questions include by whom war is fought; what war is fought for; and how war is fought. These questions go to the heart of the chapter’s argument, which is that with the changing character of conflict, states will increasingly seek to use mercenaries and military and security contractors into the future.
Conclusion
Authors: Kinsey Christopher
Published: July 2023

With the US military’s abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan on 30 August 2021 and President Biden’s decision soon afterwards to continue with Trump’s policy of ‘America First’, thus ending two decades of ‘nation building’, a new era in international security has begun. As irregular warfare continues to spread across parts of the world, preventing insurgencies and terrorism will take on a greater urgency for states. Moreover, given the West’s military failure in Afghanistan, the need for new and more effective counterinsurgency and counterterrorist strategies is obvious. Indeed, if the West is to have any chance of winning in the future, it will need to change its approach to irregular war by combining military and non-military strategies, with the latter likely to include the use of PMSCs and mercenaries. This will require a change in attitude by Western government policymakers if they are to effectively utilize the market for force. During the present period, these policymakers have often poured scorn on private military and security operations, regarding private military and security contractors as second-class citizens when compared to state military personnel. This new epoch offers an opportunity to reset this relationship in a positive light. Importantly, establishing a relationship based on cooperation instead of obstruction may give the West enough of a strategic advantage to turn the table on organizations such as Boko Haram. However, this will only happen if PMSCs and mercenaries are allowed to come to the fore and help take the ‘war on terror’ to the enemy, instead of operating in the shadows.
The Experiment
Authors: Matthew Christopher A.
Published: July 2023

This chapter provides an overview of Eratosthenes’ experiment as it is outlined in the ancient source material, and begins to investigate the possible reasons for variances in the accounts of the results that are found in the ancient texts. This chapter also examines the types of instrument (sundial) that Eratosthenes would have used in his experiment and calculations, examines their construction and configuration, and provides an overview of the importance of timekeeping and the identification of the time of the Solstices in ancient Egyptian and Greek culture and how they impacted such things as their calendars, their religious practices, and their architecture. The chapter concludes with the account of reconstructive experimentation that was undertaken with a replica of Eratosthenes’ sundial to determine the accuracy of the instrument, the ease in which it could be used to gauge to time of solar culmination on the Summer Solstice, and lead into a better understanding of how Eratosthenes could have used a sundial to determine the size of the Earth’s circumference.
Genetic welding
Authors: Cutter Asher D.
Published: July 2023

Explains the mechanisms and implications of additional CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing applications, focusing on genetically engineered CRISPR-Cas9 gene drives. Describes how gene drives can propagate themselves into the genomes of an entire species, not just a single genomic type that results from simple genetic engineering of a lab mouse or crop plant. Illustrates how modification gene drives can alter the course of evolution and how suppression gene drives can induce extinction. Provides examples from Drosophila fruit flies, Caenorhabditis nematode roundworms, and mosquitoes. Develops the idea that genetically engineered gene drives inserted into wild populations would form a new evolutionary force, termed genetic welding.
Evolutionary engineering in the flesh
Authors: Cutter Asher D.
Published: July 2023

Delves into the practicalities of evolving a new and extraordinary species. Considers what specific novel combination of features might be genetically intertwined and what founding stock to use, such as birds. Weighs the logistics and constraints of selective breeding, population size, genetic engineering with CRISPR-Cas9, and genetic welding with gene drives in terms of technical procedures and tangible complications of traits. Develops a recipe and a cost analysis in time, effort, and money. Explains how to go about engineering the evolution of extraordinary capabilities and of strategies for how to limit the impact of such “novafauna” on the rest of nature.
Inspection by the department of health, safety, and ethics
Authors: Cutter Asher D.
Published: July 2023

Deliberates the ethical and political considerations of introducing new species through genetic welding and genetic engineering with CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing. Scrutinizes notions of playing god and the ethical obligations humans may have to other animals and to all of nature. Discusses the naturalistic fallacy, status quo bias, and fears of unintended consequences, considering both Eurocentric and Indigenous perspectives. Examines potential ecological risks and ecological benefits to intervening in nature, the opportunity costs to not intervening, and biodiversity as an insurance policy for ecosystem services. Explores the basis of animal intelligence, with examples from whales, worms, and crows. Considers some of the complexities of genetically modified organisms, Cartagena protocols, bioterrorism, capitalist profiteers, and trophy hunting as they intersect with biodiversity and wilderness.
Breakdown and Renewal, 1945–52
Authors: Baylis John , Eames Anthony
Published: July 2023

With victory in World War II came a re-evaluation of the special level of nuclear cooperation that had led to the world’s first atomic bomb. No longer a secret, the American and British public were now participants in debates about the atomic age, which created new dynamics for trust in the relationship. The cancellation of the lend-lease agreement, a less personal relationship between the president and prime minister, and disagreements over geopolitical issues around the world foreshadowed the passage of the McMahon Act in 1946. The McMahon Act fractured the fragile nuclear partnership and left in doubt whether the emergent special relationship would serve as a cornerstone of the post-war world order. However, ambiguity, in the form of the Truman–Attlee Understandings, would rescue the relationship from further deterioration.
An Introduction to Narrative Generators
Authors: Pérez y Pérez Rafael , Sharples Mike
Published: July 2023

This book describes how computer programs can generate narratives and how studies of computational narrative can illuminate how humans tell stories. It is designed for readers with little or no background in computer science but who are interested in understanding the core processes underlying AI systems. We refer to this phenomenon as the AI knowledge gap. This book contributes to filling the AI knowledge gap in the field of automatic narrative generation and to enhancing the dissemination of information about automatic storytelling. The book introduces the most relevant techniques employed over the past 60 years for the development of computer models for narrative generation, avoiding, as much as possible, the use of technical language. The techniques studied are narrative templates, problem-solving, planning, author engagement and reflection, and statistical methods such as deep neural networks. Throughout the book, we offer introductions to relevant concepts related to automatic storytelling, followed by descriptions of well-known computer programs that illustrate how such concepts are employed. The book compares ways that researchers have characterized the automatic generation of narratives and covers the core properties that distinguish this area of knowledge. In the final chapter, we reflect on some of the implications for society from the development of automatic narrative generator systems.
The power to narrate
Authors: Pérez Rafael Pérez y , Sharples Mike
Published: July 2023

This chapter highlights the relevant role of narratives for the development of our cognitive and social skills. Then, it discusses how computer models can contribute to the understanding of narrative generation. Next, we explain why we wrote a book about automatic narrative generation. We discuss that it is hard to find material designed for readers with no background in computer science but who, nevertheless, are interested in understanding the core processes underlying these systems. We refer to this phenomenon as the AI knowledge gap. We also discuss the dissemination of misinformation related to automatic storytelling. Finally, we describe the core features of this book and how it is organized.
Endless ways to use computers to study narrative generation (part 2)
Authors: Pérez Rafael Pérez y , Sharples Mike
Published: July 2023

Continuing with the analysis of Chapter 12, here we explore how the knowledge generated in other fields, specifically narratology and studies on human daydreaming, shape the design of CURVESHIP and DAYDREAMER, two programs for narrative generation. We also consider SLANT, a system that integrates the core features of three narrative generators. We provide useful information to understand better the motivations behind the systems, how the generation process works in each case, and the type of outputs they produce. We end with some reflections about how computers offer endless ways to approach the study of narrative generation.
Patient education and counselling of fertility preservation for transgender and gender diverse people: A scoping review
Authors: Stanley Joshua R , Ratnapalan Savithiri
Published: July 2023

Objectives

To examine patient education, counselling practices, decision aids, and education resources related to fertility preservation for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth and young adults.

Methods

A scoping review was conducted using a comprehensive literature search (Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed Medline, OVID Embase, Ovid PsychoINFO, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) conducted from 1806 to October 21, 2022. Inclusion criteria involved abstracts and articles on patient education, counselling, decision aids or education resources regarding fertility preservation for TGD youth and adults.

Results

Of 1,228 identified articles and abstracts, only six articles met inclusion criteria. Three key themes were identified: (1) patient education and counselling practices (n = 4), with majority of patients receiving fertility preservation counselling at their respective centres; (2) decision aids and strategies for clinicians on fertility preservation for TGD individuals (n = 2) and; (3) patient education resources (n = 1). There was a paucity of literature on decision aids and patient education resources.

Conclusions

This study highlights the need to further develop and evaluate decision aids for healthcare providers and patient education resources, including eLearning modules, around fertility preservation for TGD individuals.
Bacterioferritin nanocage structures uncover the biomineralization process in ferritins
Authors: Jobichen Chacko , Ying Chong Tan , Rattinam Rajesh , Basak Sandip , Srinivasan Mahalashmi , Choong Yeu Khai , Pandey Kannu Priya , Ngoc Tran Bich , Shi Jian , Angayarkanni Jayaraman , Sivaraman J
Published: July 2023

Iron is an essential element involved in various metabolic processes. The ferritin family of proteins forms nanocage assembly and is involved in iron oxidation, storage, and mineralization. Although several structures of human ferritins and bacterioferritins have been solved, there is still no complete structure that shows both the trapped Fe-biomineral cluster and the nanocage. Furthermore, whereas the mechanism of iron trafficking has been explained using various approaches, structural details on the biomineralization process (i.e. the formation of the mineral itself) are generally lacking. Here, we report the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of apoform and biomineral bound form (holoforms) of the Streptomyces coelicolor bacterioferritin (ScBfr) nanocage and the subunit crystal structure. The holoforms show different stages of Fe-biomineral accumulation inside the nanocage, in which the connections exist in two of the fourfold channels of the nanocage between the C-terminal of the ScBfr monomers and the Fe-biomineral cluster. The mutation and truncation of the bacterioferritin residues involved in these connections significantly reduced the iron and phosphate binding in comparison with those of the wild type and together explain the underlying mechanism. Collectively, our results represent a prototype for the bacterioferritin nanocage, which reveals insight into its biomineralization and the potential channel for bacterioferritin-associated iron trafficking.
Making Sense of Open Government: A Conceptual Framework and Ideas for Future Research
Authors: Gil-Garcia J Ramon , Gasco-Hernandez Mila , Pardo Theresa A
Published: July 2023

In the last decade, open government has been considered a powerful tool for administrative reform and governance transformation, particularly through transparency improvements and citizen engagement strategies. Although extensive research has been conducted on open government during this period, most studies highlight its links to information access and transparency and do not explicitly analyze other components related to citizen engagement, such as participation and collaboration with the public or the role of information technologies as an important enabler of open government. Similarly, studies focused on open government have failed to clearly identify and explain several of its potential results, such as improved government performance, greater accountability, and enhanced legitimacy and trust in government—all themes studied in Public Administration for decades. The streams of research on open government’s components and results have generally developed in isolation from one another, each considering a limited number of variables, with relatively few attempts to systematically connect them. As an effort to begin addressing this gap, this article proposes an open government framework that integrates multiple concepts related to open government and categorizes them as either constitutive components or potential results. The article also suggests a few propositions that illustrate how the framework could be used to envision future studies.
How Do Humans Create and Sustain Viable Communities? A Review Essay
Authors: Marcus George E
Published: July 2023

In a very lucid account, Efrén Pérez and Margit Tavits’s Voicing Politics: How Language Shapes Public Opinion reports empirical studies demonstrating that language is an important foundation in nation-building. Their research makes excellent use the considerable percentage of Estonians who are proficient in Estonian and Russian, prominent languages spoken in Estonia; the two languages differ in how they characterize gender, how they characterize the future, and how they characterize ethnicity. Pérez and Tavits make use of experiments and survey modes of investigation. And across both modes and across many opinions, they find repeated, hence reliable, and modest “nudges” due to the language bilingual speakers are randomly assigned to use. I expand the focus to consider how language is but one of the important means by which the human species is able to generate very different social forms. Some societies—or better, polities—are more rigid, reliant on past practices to survive; some are more fluid and open to new possibilities. Each has proven vulnerable. I argue that the diversity of sociability enhances the likelihood of the survival of the species by having some better able to address the challenges of the moment—a better strategy than a fixed single solution.
A More Conservative Approach in the Surgical Management of Pediatric Physeal Ankle Fractures Should be Preferred: Mid to Long-term Functional Outcomes of Three Different Surgical Techniques for Salter-Harris Type II and Triplane Distal Tibial Fractures
Authors: Onay Tolga , Çelen Zekeriya Ersin , Bayhan Mazlum , Kandemir İbrahim , Kiliç Nazim Canberk , Kayaalp Mahmut Enes
Published: July 2023

Background:

Pediatric physeal ankle fractures carry a high risk of complications. This study aimed to (1) investigate the effect of anatomic reduction of the physis on mid to long-term functional outcomes in Salter-Harris type II and triplane distal tibial physeal fractures (DTPFs) and (2) compare the outcomes of 3 different surgical techniques applied in these fractures.

Methods:

The database of a single level-I trauma center was retrospectively reviewed for DTPFs between 2012 and 2022. A total of 39 eligible patients with operative Salter-Harris type II and triplane fractures between 2012 and 2022 were included. Surgical treatment methods were closed reduction-percutaneous fixation (CR-PF), open reduction-screw fixation, or open reduction-plate fixation. Patients were further divided into subgroups for fractures reduced anatomically (<1 mm) or nonanatomically (1 to 3 mm). The primary outcome measures were the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society Score, ankle range of motion, presence of premature physeal closure and angular deformities, and Takakura ankle osteoarthritis grade.

Results:

A total of 39 patients were included, with an average age of 12.9 ± 2.2 years. The mean follow-up time was 68.9±38.0 months. The CR-PF group had higher postoperative fracture displacement (P = 0.011). American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society scores were excellent in all groups, statistically similar between surgical techniques, and similar between anatomic and nonanatomic reduction groups. The CR-PF group (P =0.030) and nonanatomic reduction (P = 0.030) provided a significantly lower ankle osteoarthritis rate. All 4 patients with premature physeal closure were observed in patients treated with open techniques.

Conclusions:

CR-PF for the treatment of DTPFs should be preferred in suitable cases as it is less invasive and provides satisfactory mid to long-term functional outcomes without increasing complications compared with anatomic reduction and open techniques.

Level of Evidence:

Level III.
Efficacy and safety of triple therapy containing berberine, amoxicillin, and vonoprazan for Helicobacter pylori initial treatment: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Chen Shasha , Shen Weina , Liu Yuhuan , Dong Qiang , Shi Yongquan
Published: July 2023

Background:

With the development of traditional Chinese medicine research, berberine has shown good efficacy and safety in the eradication of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of triple therapy containing berberine, amoxicillin, and vonoprazan for the initial treatment of H. pylori.

Methods:

This study was a single-center, open-label, parallel, randomized controlled clinical trial. Patients with H. pylori infection were randomly (1:1:1) assigned to receive berberine triple therapy (berberine 500 mg, amoxicillin 1000 mg, vonoprazan 20 mg, A group), vonoprazan quadruple therapy (vonoprazan 20 mg, amoxicillin 1000 mg, clarithromycin 500 mg, colloidal bismuth tartrate 220 mg, B group), or rabeprazole quadruple therapy (rabeprazole 10 mg, amoxicillin 1000 mg, clarithromycin 500 mg, colloidal bismuth tartrate 220 mg, C group). The drugs were taken twice daily for 14 days. The main outcome was the H. pylori eradication rate. The secondary outcomes were symptom improvement rate, patient compliance, and incidence of adverse events. Furthermore, factors affecting the eradication rate of H. pylori were further analyzed.

Results:

A total of 300 H. pylori-infected patients were included in this study, and 263 patients completed the study. An intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis showed that the eradication rates of H. pylori in berberine triple therapy, vonoprazan quadruple therapy, and rabeprazole quadruple therapy were 70.0% (70/100), 77.0% (77/100), and 69.0% (69/100), respectively. The per-protocol (PP) analysis showed that the eradication rates of H. pylori in these three groups were 81.4% (70/86), 86.5% (77/89), and 78.4% (69/88), respectively. Both ITT analysis and PP analysis showed that the H. pylori eradication rate did not significantly differ among the three groups (P >0.05). In addition, the symptom improvement rate, overall adverse reaction rate, and patient compliance were similar among the three groups (P >0.05).

Conclusions:

The efficacy of berberine triple therapy for H. pylori initial treatment was comparable to that of vonoprazan quadruple therapy and rabeprazole quadruple therapy, and it was well tolerated. It could be used as one choice of H. pylori initial treatment.
Percutaneous coronary intervention with ridaforolimus-eluting stents in long lesions: the BIONICS 38 mm prospective trial
Authors: Jonas Michael , Ben-Yehuda Ori , Banai Shmuel , Segev Amit , Danenberg Haim , Assali Abid , Tuvali Ortal , Haberman Dan , Chernin Gil
Published: July 2023

Background

The ridaforolimus-eluting stent (RES) system is a novel cobalt alloy-based coronary stent with a durable elastomeric polymer eluting ridaforolimus. The aim of this trial was to assess the performance of a 38 mm RES in long coronary lesions.

Methods

A prospective, multicenter, single-arm, open-label clinical trial. Clinical follow-up was performed at 30 days, 6 months, and 1 year after the procedure. Target lesions were located in native coronary arteries or bypass graft conduits, with visually estimated diameters of ≥2.75 mm to ≤4.25 mm. The primary endpoint was combined efficacy (final in-stent residual diameter stenosis <30%) without 30-day major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (composite of cardiac death, any myocardial infarction), or ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization.

Results

A total of 50 patients were enrolled in the study. Fourteen (28%) had acute coronary syndromes; 17 (34%) had diabetes. The mean lesion length was 32.4 mm ± 8.3, reference vessel diameter 2.88 mm ± 0.45, minimal lumen diameter 0.80 mm ± 0.41, and percent diameter stenosis 72.6% ± 13.2. The primary endpoint was achieved in 88% (44/50) of the patients (95% confidence interval: 75.7–95.5%). Thirty-day and 1-year MACE rates were 6% and 8%, respectively. Target lesion failure after 1 year occurred in three patients (6%). Forty-seven lesions (94%) were treated successfully, with final in-stent diameter stenosis of < 30% [95% confidence interval: (84–99%).

Conclusion

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of long lesions with a 38 mm RES achieved satisfactory results, and support the safety and efficacy of PCI with RES in patients with long lesions. (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03702608).
Financial toxicity in thyroid cancer survivors
Authors: Bogdanovski Anastasia K. , Sturgeon Cord , James Benjamin C.
Published: July 2023

Purpose of review

Financial burden and distress are high in patients with thyroid cancer. However, little has been done to evaluate potential interventions to mitigate financial toxicity in survivors. This review will cover current data on the impact of financial toxicity on quality of life and clinical outcomes in patients with thyroid cancer and highlight areas for future study.

Recent findings

Thyroid cancer incidence has nearly tripled in the past decades, and cost of treatment is predicted to rise more than other cancers over the next decade. With mean age of diagnosis at 51 years, most patients begin treatment while still working, do not qualify for Medicare or Social Security, and are susceptible to higher financial burden. Though thyroid cancer has high survival rates, some studies suggest patients have worse quality of life and higher financial burden than more morbid cancers.

Thyroid cancer survivors have high rates of financial toxicity, and there remains need for longitudinal studies to evaluate how financial burden may change during the treatment process while also assessing potential tools to mitigate this burden.
Recent Advances in Blood-Based Liquid Biopsy Approaches in Prostate Cancer
Authors: Cani Andi K. , Salami Simpa S.
Published: July 2023

The advent of high-throughput technologies has enabled the analysis of minute amounts of tumor-derived material purified from body fluids, termed “liquid biopsies.” Prostate cancer (PCa) management, like in many other cancer types, has benefited from liquid biopsies at several stages of the disease. Although initially describing circulating tumor cells in blood, the term “liquid biopsy” has come to more prominently include cell-free, circulating tumor DNA, as well as RNA, proteins, and other molecules. They provide tumor molecular information representing the entire, often-heterogeneous disease, relatively noninvasively and longitudinally. Blood has been the main liquid biopsy specimen in PCa, and urine has also proven beneficial. Technological advances have allowed clinical implementation of some liquid biopsies in PCa, in disease monitoring and precision oncology. This narrative review introduces the main types of blood-based PCa liquid biopsies focusing on advances in the past 5 years. Clinical adoption of liquid biopsies to detect and monitor the evolving PCa tumor biology promises to deepen our understanding of the disease and improve patient outcomes.
Refining Auxiliary Orthotopic Liver Transplantation (AOLT) Improves Outcomes in Adult Patients with Acute Liver Failure
Authors: Pravisani Riccardo , Cocchi Lorenzo , Cesaretti Manuela , Dondero Federica , Sepulveda Ailton , Farges Olivier , Weiss Emmanuel , Vilgrain Valérie , Francoz Claire , Roux Olivier , Belghiti Jacques , Durand Francois , Lesurtel Mickaël , Dokmak Safi
Published: July 2023

Objective:

To investigate whether and how experience accumulation and technical refinements simultaneously implemented in auxiliary orthotopic liver transplantation (AOLT) may impact on outcomes.

Background:

AOLT for acute liver failure(ALF) provides the unique chance of complete immunosuppression withdrawal after adequate native liver remnant regeneration, but is a technically demanding procedure. Our department is a reference center for ALF and an early adopter of AOLT.

Methods:

This is a single center retrospective before/after study of a prospectively-maintained cohort of 48 patients with ALF who underwent AOLT between 1993 and 2019. In 2012 technical refinements were implemented to improve outcomes: (i)favoring the volume of the graft rather than that of the native liver, (ii)direct anastomosis of graft hepatic artery with recipient right hepatic artery instead of the use of large size vessels, (iii)end-to-side hepatico-choledocostomy instead of bilio-enteric anastomosis. Early experience(1993-2011) group(n=26) and recent experience(2012-2019) group(n=22) were compared. Primary endpoint was 90-day severe morbidity rate (Clavien-Dindo≥IIIa) and secondary endpoints were overall patient survival and complete immunosuppression withdrawal rates.

Results:

Compared with the earlier experience group, the recent experience group was associated witha lower severe complication rate (27% vs. 65%,P<0.001), as well as less biliary (18% vs. 54%,P=0.017) and arterial (0% vs. 15%,P=0.115) complications. The 1-, 3- and 5-year patient survival was significantly improved(91%, 91%, 91% vs. 76%, 61%, 60%,P=0.045). The rate of complete immunosuppression withdrawal increased to 94% (vs. 70%,P=0.091) with no need of long-term graft explant.

Conclusions:

These technical refinements favoringthe liver graftand reducing morbidity may promote AOLT implementation among LT centers.
Reduction effects of isoprothiolane during rice washing and
cooking
Authors: Kim Myungheon , Cho Mihyun , An So Eun , Im Moo-Hyeog
Published: July 2023

This study used gas chromatography combined with the microelectron capture
detection method to determine the most effective washing and cooking methods for
removing isoprothiolane from rice. The initial isoprothiolane concentrations in
brown and polished rice, before washing, were 17.03 mg/kg and 1.67 mg/kg,
respectively. Residual concentrations declined with more washing cycles
(19.3-59.3% for brown rice; 43.1-66.5% for polished rice); and by
increasing the temperature of the washing water from 5°C to 40°C
(56.6-63.1% for brown rice; 67.1-74.9% for polished rice).
Hand-washing samples using gentle stirring or harsh rubbing reduced pesticide
concentrations by 63.1-71.6% for brown rice, versus 75.4-87.4% for
polished rice. Reduction in isoprothiolane concentrations varied based on the
rice cooker type and whether the rice was pre-soaked. Immediate cooking using an
electric- or pressure-cooker showed 78.5% and 78.4%
reduction in brown rice, compared with 94.0% and 94.0% for
polished rice, respectively. Pre-cooking immersion for 30 min showed similar
reductions of 83.4% and 83.4% in brown rice, versus 95.8%
and 95.8% in polished rice. The results of this study suggest that the
most effective method for removing residual isoprothiolane from both brown rice
and polished rice was to wash six times (with vigorous rubbing during the 2nd
and 3rd washing) in 7-fold water at 40°C, followed by immersion for 30
min before cooking. Regardless of the type of rice cooker, heating is sufficient
to remove an average of 83.4% and 95.8% of isoprothiolane from
brown rice and polished rice, respectively.
Characteristics of dried apple bugak (Korean
traditional dried food) using superfine powders as coating
materials
Authors: Iradukunda Dieudonne , Kang Yoon-Han
Published: July 2023

Dried apple bugak, a traditional Korean dried food, was made
using superfine powders of glutinous rice (GR), non-glutinous rice (NGR), and
Wasabia koreana Nakai leaf (WKNL) as coating materials.
This study aimed to determine the effect of coating sliced apples with superfine
GR powders substitute with superfine NGR and WKNL powders at different ratios.
Apple slices coated with superfine GR, NGR and WKNL powders were air-fried and
compared with dried and air-fried apple bugak coated with
superfine GR powders. The results showed that coating apple slices with
superfine GR powders with the addition of superfine NGR and WKNL powders
significantly increased oil absorption capacity and antioxidant activity but
reduced viscosity, water absorption capacity, total polyphenol, total flavonoids
contents, and improved color and structural improvements. Among all the samples,
80:20:5-treated (GR:NGR:WKNL) dried and air-fried bugak showed
enhanced quality characteristics. Thus, the results suggested that coating apple
slices by the substituting GR superfine rice powders with 10 or 20% of
NGR and 3 or 5% of WKNL superfine powders produces good quality dried and
air-fried bugak with nutritious characteristics.
Quick changeover design: a new Lean methodology to support the design of machines in terms of rapid changeover capability
Authors: Braglia Marcello , Di Paco Francesco , Frosolini Marco , Marrazzini Leonardo
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This paper presents Quick Changeover Design (QCD), which is a structured methodological approach for Original Equipment Manufacturers to drive and support the design of machines in terms of rapid changeover capability.

Design/methodology/approach

To improve the performance in terms of set up time, QCD addresses machine design from a single-minute digit exchange of die (SMED). Although conceived to aid the design of completely new machines, QCD can be adapted to support for simple design upgrades on pre-existing machines. The QCD is structured in three consecutive steps, each supported by specific tools and analysis forms to facilitate and better structure the designers' activities.

Findings

QCD helps equipment manufacturers to understand the current and future needs of the manufacturers' customers to: (1) anticipate the requirements for new and different set-up process; (2) prioritize the possible technical solutions; (3) build machines and equipment that are easy and fast to set-up under variable contexts. When applied to a production system consisting of machines subject to frequent or time-consuming set-up processes, QCD enhances both responsiveness to external market demands and internal control of factory operations.

Originality/value

The QCD approach is a support system for the development of completely new machines and is also particularly effective in upgrading existing ones. QCD's practical application is demonstrated using a case study concerning a vertical spindle machine.
Experimental investigation on residual capacity of square steel-reinforced concrete-filled steel tubular columns after fire
Authors: Sun Jinhua
Published: July 2023

Purpose

Steel-reinforced concrete-filled steel tubular (SRCFST) columns have been increasingly popular in engineering practice for the columns' excellent seismic and fire performance. Significant design progress guidance has been made through continuous numerical and experimental research in recent years. This paper tested and analysed the residual loading capacity of SRCFST columns under axial loading after experiencing non-uniform ISO-834 standard fire.

Design/methodology/approach

The experimental research covered the main parameter of heating conditions, 1-side and 2-side fire, through two specimens. Two specimens were heated and loaded simultaneously in the furnace for 240 min. After cooling, the columns were moved to the hydraulic loading system and loaded to failure to determine the columns' residual capacity.

Findings

The experimental results indicated that the non-uniform heating area plays an essential role in the overall performance of SRCFST columns, the increasing heating area of columns results in lower residual loading capacity and stiffness. The SRCFST columns still had a high loading capacity after heating and loading in the fire.

Originality/value

The comparison of experimental data against design results showed that the design method generated a 16% safety margin for S2H4 and a 39% safety margin for S1H4.
One foot in academia and one in work-life – the case of Swedish industrial PhD students
Authors: Bernhard Irene , Olsson Anna Karin
Published: July 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the benefits and barriers for learning in industrial PhD education through the perspectives of industrial PhD students. A work-integrated learning (WIL) approach is applied to highlight key issues that university and industry need to consider promoting mutual learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical context is a Swedish university profiling WIL offering PhD programs in three disciplines for industrial PhD students from both the private and public sectors. Data was gathered using qualitative methods; 19 semistructured interviews with industrial PhD students.

Findings

Findings show that industrial PhD students are developing practical and transferable skills, hence, contributing to research of interest for academia and work–life. Identified benefits for learning include proximity and access to data, project and networks and contextual understanding and tacit knowledge. Barriers for learning are the perceived limited understanding of employers, the dilemma of balancing and switching between different roles, lack of belonging and identity, deficient collaboration agreements and ethical dilemmas.

Research limitations/implications

Contributes insights into an industrial PhD education transforming along with societal needs promoting a future workforce of researchers with skills, new work practices and learning capabilities applicable in the work–life of contemporary society.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the emerging field of studies of alternative doctoral educations by identifying benefits and barriers for learning and providing recommendations for how university and industry may promote learning in a resilient industrial PhD education collaboration.
Ketamine for postoperative pain treatment in spinal surgery: Systematic review with meta‐analysis and trial sequential analysis
Authors: Tornøe Anders Schou , Pind Alison Holten , Laursen Christina Cleveland Westerdahl , Andersen Cheme , Maagaard Mathias , Mathiesen Ole
Published: July 2023

Aim

We aimed to assess the beneficial and harmful effects of perioperative pain treatment with ketamine in patients undergoing spinal surgery.

Methods

We searched Medline, Embase, and CENTRAL from inception until 15 February 2023 for randomised clinical trials comparing ketamine with placebo or no intervention in patients undergoing spinal surgery. The primary outcomes were cumulative opioid consumption at 24 h postoperatively and serious adverse events. We adhered to recommendations of the Cochrane Collaboration and performed meta‐analysis, Trial Sequential Analysis (TSA) to assess the risks of random errors, risk of bias assessment to evaluate the risks of systematic errors, and used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE).

Results

We included a total of 28 randomised clinical trials enrolling 2110 participants providing data for our pre‐defined outcomes. Twenty‐three trials enrolled adult participants and 5 trials enrolled paediatric participants. Three trials were at low risk of bias. Meta‐analysis and TSA of trials including adults showed that ketamine versus placebo or no intervention seemed to reduce the cumulative 24‐h opioid consumption (mean difference −17.57 mg; TSA‐adjusted 95% confidence interval, −24.22 to −10.92; p < .01; low certainty of evidence), and there was no evidence of a difference of ketamine versus placebo or no intervention on the risk of serious adverse events (risk ratio 2.16; 96.7% confidence interval, 0.35 to 13.17; p = .36; very low certainty of evidence).

Conclusion

In adults undergoing spinal surgery, ketamine may reduce cumulative 24‐h opioid consumption. Ketamine may increase the occurrence of serious adverse events, but the evidence was very uncertain.