bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recruitment Strategies to Optimize Participation by Diverse Populations
Authors: Webber-Ritchey Kashica J. , Aquino Elizabeth , Ponder Tiffany N. , Lattner Christina , Soco Cheryl , Spurlark Roxanne , Simonovich Shannon D.
Published: July 2021

The authors describe the methodological strategies used to effectively recruit a diverse sample of nurses in a qualitative study. Adequate representation of diverse populations is necessary to advance science and health equity. A multimodal research approach (research team composition, flyers, social media, and purposive sampling) was used. When undertaking research with underrepresented groups, recruitment efforts should begin in the early phases of study planning with research team development that can assist in employing multiple recruitment strategies accordingly.
Innovative Communities: A Global Nursing Perspective
Authors: Baumann Steven L.
Published: July 2021

The author in this article explores four innovations in communities that offer a place of welcome and growth while inviting all to see people, including those with intellectual or developmental challenges, elders, persons with dementia, and persons with chronic progressive diseases very differently than is widely assumed. These four innovative communities are L’Arche Homes and Communities, the Green House Model of Long-Term Care, the village of Hogeweyk, Holland, and Lyfebulb. Implications for nursing and healthcare are discussed.
The Paradox of Dignity
Authors: Kabigting Edwin-Nikko R.
Published: July 2021

The author in this paper reflects and offers insights on the paradoxical nature of dignity. Furthermore, the author relates this to his own experience watching Maudie and introduces this column’s reviewer.
The Necessity of Diversity for Expanding Knowledge
Authors: Florczak Kristine L.
Published: July 2021

Consideration of the idea of diversity of knowledge is the subject of this column since it is meant as an introduction to the article about recruitment strategies in minority populations during Covid-19.
Accompanying Patients Aged 65 or Over: How Companions’ Health Literacy Affects Value Co-Creation During Medical Encounters
Authors: Río-Lanza Ana-Belén del , Suárez-Álvarez Leticia , Suárez-Vázquez Ana
Published: July 2021

Objectives: The recent health crisis has led to a tightening of visitor policies during medical consultations. This work studies the relationship between the companion’s health literacy (functional, interactive, and critical) and the companion’s co-creation of value (co-production and value in use). Methods: Six hypotheses are tested by means of a sample of companions of chronically ill patients over the age of 65, using structural equation modeling. Results: Functional literacy does not predict the co-creation of value through either of its dimensions (co-production and value in use). Interactive literacy has a positive influence on co-production and a negative influence on value in use. Critical literacy only positively influences value in use. Discussion: Merely understanding the health information is not sufficient for the companion to be recognized as a collaborator or “ally” of the doctor. It is necessary to encourage the companion’s communication and critical evaluation skills.
Johny Baleng (c. 1890–1964): A colonial broker from the Cameroon Grassfields
Authors: Márquez García Ricardo
Published: July 2021

This article presents insights into the life story of Johny Baleng, a subchief from the Cameroon Grassfields. I argue that understanding him as a broker in a colonial context helps to identify local agency beyond the paradigm of coloniser-colonised. He needed to prove to his paramount chief that he was able to manage people and facilitate a high agricultural production rate, in order to achieve a more elevated social status in the local context. He travelled extensively and forged alliances with several chiefs of the region. At the same time, he worked with the German and French colonial administrations as a tax collector, worker recruiter and interpreter. These activities secured him an important position in his social environment and in the colonial structures.
Organized Crime and Employment Relations: A Personal Story of ‘Ndrangheta Control on Employment Relations Management Practices in Southern Italy
Authors: Guerci Marco , Sferrazzo Roberta , Cabras Federica , Radaelli Giovanni , X Paolo
Published: July 2021

This article sets out the testimony of Paolo, an Italian entrepreneur who worked under the control of an ‘Ndrangheta clan for years, and finally rebelled against that criminal organization. Paolo operated on a crucial front line, as he managed the relations between his company and the dominant criminal organization in his area. This story constitutes a ‘wake-up call’ for more research on the intrusion of organized crime in the labour market. Paolo’s story reveals how strongly organized crime can penetrate decision-making processes and control key people’s management practices. Such control is decisive not only while under the direct influence of organized crime, but also after rebelling against it. Overall, this article provides insights into how organized crime affects employment relations and it calls for more attention to be paid to this topic in the sociology of work and employment relations.
The Bilingual Advantage in Children’s Executive Functioning Is Not Related to Language Status: A Meta-Analytic Review
Authors: Lowe Cassandra J. , Cho Isu , Goldsmith Samantha F. , Morton J. Bruce
Published: July 2021

There is considerable debate about whether bilingual children have an advantage in executive functioning relative to monolingual children. In the current meta-analysis, we addressed this debate by comprehensively reviewing the available evidence. We synthesized data from published studies and unpublished data sets, which equated to 1,194 effect sizes from 10,937 bilingual and 12,477 monolingual participants between the ages of 3 and 17 years. Bilingual language status had a small overall effect on children’s executive functioning ( g = .08, 95% confidence interval = [.01, .14]). However, the effect of language status on children’s executive functioning was indistinguishable from zero ( g = −.04) after we adjusted for publication bias. Further, no significant effects were apparent within the executive-attention domain, in which the effects of language status have been hypothesized to be most pronounced ( g = .06, 95% confidence interval = [−.02, .14]). Taken together, available evidence suggests that the bilingual advantage in children’s executive functioning is small, variable, and potentially not attributable to the effect of language status.
Moral affordance, moral expertise, and virtue
Authors: Hampson Peter J. , Hulsey Timothy L. , McGarry Phillip P.
Published: July 2021

We extend “4E” cognition to moral psychology. Since acting on affordances typically requires expertise, moral expertise, or virtue, is needed to act on moral affordances and to shape moral agency. Ethical rules and codes, often selected through a process of constraint satisfaction, are also involved in the detection and selection of moral affordances. We argue that individuals who act prudently possess moral expertise that allows them to remain in the “metastable zone” between mind and world, giving them an optimal grip on moral affordances and permitting wise judgement and action. We show how this can be explained via a noncognitivist, affordance-based account of the virtue phronesis (prudence). Our overall approach creates space for reciprocally causal accounts and prospection in explanations of human moral activity.
What and for whom is a decolonising African psychology?
Authors: Malherbe Nick , Ratele Kopano
Published: July 2021

Contributing to work that locates the place of psychology in countering coloniality, we explore in this article what and for whom is a decolonising African psychology. We answer these questions not with a definitive statement, but through several moves, signals, and routes. First, we conceptualise African psychology as a kind of transdisciplinary praxis that occurs within psychology as well as outside of the received bounds of the discipline. However, rooting this praxis-oriented psychology within a decolonial attitude ensures that African psychology takes emancipated visions of Africa and of the world from Africa—rather than the disciplinary dictums of psychology—as its starting point. Then, in considering for whom a decolonising African psychology is for, we insist that such a psychology, taken as transdisciplinary praxis, is ultimately for everyone in its humanistic commitment to those lives that have been partialised under coloniality. This commitment does not, however, render a decolonising African psychological praxis immune to recuperation, and measures must be taken to guard against this.
Notoginsenoside R1 protects hypoxia-reoxygenation deprivation-induced injury by upregulation of miR-132 in H9c2 cells
Authors: Jin Z , Gan C , Luo G , Hu G , Yang X , Qian Z , Yao S
Published: July 2021

Background:

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) is a common perioperative complication of heart and great vessels surgery, aggravating the original myocardial damage and seriously affecting the postoperative recovery of cardiac function. The aim of this study was to reveal the functional effects and potential mechanisms of notoginsenoside R1 (NG-R1) in myocardial cells injured by hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R).

Methods:

The rat cardiomyocyte line H9c2 was subjected to H/R with or without NG-R1 treatment. The levels of miR-132 and HBEGF in the cell were altered by microRNA or short-hairpin RNA transfection. Cell viability, apoptosis, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were monitored. Dual luciferin was used to detect the relationship between miR-132 and HBEGF.

Results:

NG-R1 (20 μM) had no impact on H9c2 cells, but cell viability was significantly reduced at 80 μM. NG-R1 (20 μM) protected H9c2 cells against H/R-induced cell damage, accompanied by increased cell viability, reduced cell apoptosis, and downregulation of LDH and MDA. Furthermore, the level of miR-132 was decreased in response to H/R exposure but then increased after NG-R1 treatment. When miR-132 was overexpressed, H/R-induced cell damage could be recovered. Downregulation of miR-132 limited the protective effect of NG-R1 on H/R damage. We also found that HBEGF was a direct target of miR-132. The expression of HBEGF was increased upon H/R damage, and this increase was reversed after NG-R1 treatment.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrated that NG-R1 markedly protected H9c2 cells against H/R-induced damage via upregulation of miR-132 and downregulation of its target protein HBEGF.
The role of gender in peer-group perceptions of climate scientists’ media statements
Authors: Armstrong Lauren , Adamson George
Published: July 2021

This research explores whether environmental scientists perceive their male and female peers differently when making statements in the media including policy advocacy. Environmental scientists in the United Kingdom were provided with a media statement by a fictitious scientist containing a mixture of scientific information and advocacy, and asked to rate the statement against various attributes. Attributes were designed to represent stereotypes associated with male and female tendencies, and with science (impartial objectivity) and the media (dramatic narrative). The statements were randomly assigned to one of two male and two female scientists. Where the statements were attributed to a female scientist, male environmental scientists rated the fictitious scientist as significantly more ‘dramatic’ and ‘biased’ than their female counterparts did. These gendered attributes are typically held as contrary to the norms of science, suggesting an implicit bias among male scientists when reviewing their female peers’ media statements.
What does the biography of Duncan Forbes MBE (1873–1941), Medical Officer of Health for Brighton (1908–1938), reveal about managing pandemics?
Authors: Khan-White Thomas , Whiston Benjamin , Cooper Max
Published: July 2021

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the national lockdowns of 2020/2021 illustrate how modern public health systems are founded on empirical evidence and contemporary understanding of disease transmission. Duncan Forbes was one of the earliest sanitarians in Britain to propose and implement a new understanding of infectious disease control. Starting his early career in Manchester and Cambridge, his eventual tenure as Brighton's longest-serving medical officer of health (MOH) left an indelible mark by challenging the entrenched tradition of terminal disinfection and by devising his “Brighton methods” for the care of tubercular patients. Forbes led Brighton's public health responses during World War I and the 1918/1919 “Spanish” influenza pandemic. Forbes also strove to improve health and housing in Brighton. His views on limiting access to contraception on the grounds of eugenics are also significant. Analysis of Forbes' work then allowed a discussion of both his legacy and of the applicability of his experiences to our own in tackling COVID-19. Forbes undeniably had a great influence in shaping modern public health practice in Britain and his challenges as MOH bear many similarities, as well as stark differences, to today's experience of COVID-19.
Book review: Ravinder Kaur, Brand New Nation: Capitalist Dreams and Nationalist Designs in Twenty-First-Century India
Authors: Castrén Matias Lennart
Published: July 2021

Ravinder Kaur, Brand New Nation: Capitalist Dreams and Nationalist Designs in Twenty-First-Century India (Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 2020), pp. 360., $28, ISBN 9781503612594 (Paperback).
Book review: Ahmet T. Kuru, Islam, Authoritarianism and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison
Authors: Hussain Maqsood
Published: July 2021

Ahmet T. Kuru, Islam, Authoritarianism and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison (Cambridge University Press, 2019). pp. 323. ISBN: 9781108419093 paperback (£26.99).
The Rule of Law: From unconscious unawareness to conscious awareness (and beyond?)
Authors: Burgess Paul
Published: July 2021

The recent deployment of ‘the Rule of Law’ by the Prime Minister and Attorney-General relies upon a shared notion that the Rule of Law is a good thing. While everyone is in favour of it, do we really know what it is? Even if we do, is it the case that we take it to mean the same thing as other people? By adopting a critical view of Rule of Law conceptions that are accepted as constituting the meaning of the concept of the Rule of Law, I expose the problems in thinking that we all know, or agree, what the Rule of Law is.
The 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic and Its Corresponding Data Boon: Issues With Pandemic-Related Data From Criminal Justice Organizations
Authors: Wallace Danielle , Walker Jason , Nelson Jake , Towers Sherry , Eason John , Grubesic Tony H.
Published: July 2021

Public organizations, including institutions in the U.S. criminal justice (CJ) system, have been rapidly releasing information pertaining to COVID-19. Even CJ institutions typically reticent to share information, like private prisons, have released vital COVID-19 information. The boon of available pandemic-related data, however, is not without problems. Unclear conceptualizations, stakeholders’ influence on data collection and release, and a lack of experience creating public dashboards on health data are just a few of the issues plaguing CJ institutions surrounding releasing COVID-19 data. In this article, we detail issues that institutions in each arm of the CJ system face when releasing pandemic-related data. We conclude with a set of recommendations for researchers seeking to use the abundance of publicly available data on the effects of the pandemic.
The Benefits of Longitudinal Data and Multilevel Modeling to Measure Change in Adventure Education Research
Authors: Shirilla Paul , Solid Craig , Graham Suzanne E.
Published: July 2021

Background: A common critique of adventure education research methodology is the overreliance on pre-/post-study designs to measure change. Purpose: This paper compares and contrasts two methods of data analysis on the same adventure education data set to show how these distinct approaches provide starkly different results and interpretation. Methodology/Approach: Using secondary data analysis, we employ a longitudinal data set of the social skill development of urban middle school students who participated in an adventure education program over the course of three academic years. First, change was assessed using a pre-/post-design by a traditional analysis of variance (ANOVA). Next, change was assessed with a six-wave, longitudinal design using multilevel modeling. Findings/Conclusions: Results show that the multilevel modeling approach revealed nonlinear change in the social skill development of middle school students, resulting in more accurate, nuanced estimation of change in social skill development than the ANOVA approach. Implications: The use of longitudinal data and multilevel modeling can be a useful methodological approach and statistical tool for adventure education researchers to not only address the criticisms of quantitative research in adventure education, but more importantly, provide a more thorough understanding of the impact of adventure education on human development.
A Retrospective Longitudinal Treatment Review of Multidisciplinary Interventions in Nonsyndromic Robin Sequence With Cleft Palate
Authors: Palaska Pinelopi K. , Antonarakis Gregory S. , Suri Sunjay
Published: July 2021

Objective:

To document and analyze the overall longitudinal institutional treatment experience of children with nonsyndromic Robin sequence (RS) from infancy to early adulthood.

Design:

Retrospective longitudinal treatment review.

Setting:

A tertiary-care, referral, teaching hospital.

Patients:

Children with nonsyndromic RS and cleft palate (N = 117) born between December, 1985, and January, 2012.

Interventions:

Data regarding airway management, nutritional management, audiological interventions, orthodontic treatment, and surgical interventions were documented and analyzed in different growth/developmental stages. Comparative data from other international centers were collected from the literature.

Results:

Airway management during infancy involved prone positioning (92%), nasopharyngeal airway (6%), tracheostomy (2%), and mandibular distraction osteogenesis (1%). Feeding with nasogastric, gastrostomy, and/or gastrojejunostomy tubes was used in 44%, Haberman feeders in 53%, and Mead Johnson feeders in 3%. Gastroesophageal reflux disease was documented in 6% of the sample. During childhood and early adolescent years, pharyngeal flap surgery was carried out in 22% of the children, while 11% had secondary palatal surgery. Audiological management included the use of tympanostomy tubes in 62%, with several children needing multiple tube replacements. At least 18% were diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. Adenoidectomy or adenotonsillectomy was undertaken in 4%. Analysis of data pertaining to middle childhood and adolescent years showed that orthodontic treatment was conducted for most children for crowding, tooth agenesis, and skeletal and/or dental dysplasia. Orthognathic surgery frequency (<18%) was low.

Conclusions:

Institutional treatment experience of children with nonsyndromic RS involves multidisciplinary care at different ages and stages of their development.
China’s Higher Education Expansion and Its Impact on Equality in Educational Opportunity
Authors: Rong Liying , Deng Feng
Published: July 2021

By making use of a nationally representative dataset collected by China Family Panel Studies, this article discusses how the higher education expansion policy influences the equality of higher education access opportunity. Moreover, this study applied the multilevel cross-classified model in order to control for inequality in chances of enrollment caused by the fixed admission quota for each province. The results indicate that the expansion has interrupted the continuously enlarged gap of access opportunities between regions; the expansion policy did not increase rural and ethnic inequalities and narrowed the rural inequality within provinces; it also shows that gender gap has been significantly reduced.
Analysis of the Frequency and Onset Time of Hyponatremia/Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Induced by Antidepressants or Antipsychotics
Authors: Takeda Koki , Kobayashi Chika , Nakai Taketo , Oishi Teruki , Okada Akira
Published: July 2021

Background

Hyponatremia and syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) is a potentially fatal adverse effect of antidepressants (ADs) and antipsychotics (APs), although its frequency and onset time have not been well documented.

Objective

To analyze the frequency and onset time of AD- or AP-induced hyponatremia/SIADH.

Methods

We used plural data-mining techniques to search the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database for reports on hyponatremia/SIADH induced by psychotropic drugs from January 2004 to June 2020. For each item, we assessed the reporting odds ratio, 95% CI, median onset time, and Weibull distribution parameters.

Results

We identified 36 422 reports related to hyponatremia/SIADH. Signals were detected for all psychotropic drugs that we analyzed, except for clozapine. The median onset time of total AD-induced hyponatremia/SIADH was shorter than that of AP. For all ADs and APs except clozapine, hazards were considered to be the early failure type. In contrast, the hazard of clozapine was considered to be the random failure type. The limitations of this study included several reporting biases and the presence of confounding variables, particularly age.

Conclusion and Relevance

Most ADs and APs were found to be associated with a risk for hyponatremia/SIADH. In addition, sufficient attention should be paid to signs of hyponatremia/SIADH in the early phase when most ADs and APs are administered. These data are potentially useful for determining AD- or AP-induced hyponatremia/SIADH in the early stage and for preventing its further aggravation into a serious condition.
Oxidative stress in corneal stromal cells contributes to the development of keratoconus in a rabbit model
Authors: Liu Ruixing , Yan Xiaoming
Published: July 2021

Purpose:

To investigate the role of oxidative stress in keratocytes in the pathogenesis of keratoconus (KC) using the rabbit cornea as a model.

Methods:

Immerse the rabbit cornea in collagenase type II solution at room temperature for 30 min in the KC group. The central cornea thickness (CCT), and mean keratometry (Km) were examined before and after the procedure. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (NRF-2), the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) protein, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) Oxidase (NOX) family members NOX-2 and NOX-4 protein levels were examined by immunohistochemistry analysis and Western Blot. The expression levels of HO-1, NOX-2, NOX-4, and NRF-2 mRNA were quantitatively detected by Real-time PCR.

Results:

A significant increase in Km and a significant decrease in CCT were observed in the KC group compared with the control group after the surgery (both p < 0.001). Immunofluorescence staining showed the rabbit KC model induced a significant increase in ROS production ( p < 0.001). The expression of HO-1, NOX-2, NOX-4, and NRF-2 proteins in the KC group were significantly higher than those in the control group (all p < 0.001). RT-PCR results showed the levels of HO-1, NOX-2, NOX-4, and NRF-2 mRNA in KC groups were all significantly increased compared with control groups (all p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

Oxidative stress and compensatory activation of antioxidant proteins suggest oxidative stress injury in corneal stromal cells plays an important role in the development of KC in a rabbit model.
Staphylococcus aureus accumulation at the tip of hemodialysis catheters with or without tip side holes in catheter related bloodstream infection in a large animal
Authors: Tal Michael G , Yevzlin Alexander S
Published: July 2021

Background:

Eighty percent of hemodialysis patients start their dialysis with a tunneled hemodialysis catheter. Catheter related bacteremia is the second most common cause of death in these patients. Side holes near the tips of the tunneled cuffed central venous catheters are associated with accumulation of thrombus, which can lead to catheter dysfunction and, possibly, also to catheter-related infection. To assess the hypothesis that a catheter without side holes would be associated with less bacterial growth, this study compared the susceptibility of a side-hole-free catheter to accumulation of pathogenic bacteria at the catheter tip with that of two catheters which have side holes.

Methods:

Eight tunneled cuffed double-lumen central venous catheters were inserted into both jugular veins of four sheep; one side-hole-free and one control catheter with side holes at the tip in each animal. Staphylococcus aureus bacteria were then infused intravenously to cause bacteremia. Six hours later, the catheters were removed, the clots that accumulated in their tips were collected and cultured, and the bacterial colonies were counted after additional 12 h of incubation.

Results:

Bacteria grew on culture plates seeded with the clot homogenate obtained from the tips of all catheters. The colony counts from the catheters with side holes at the tip exceeded the colony counts of bacteria accumulated in the tips of the side-hole-free hemodialysis catheters by one or more orders of magnitude, with a difference of at least two orders of magnitude observed in three of the four intra-animal comparisons.

Conclusions:

In paired intra-animal post-inoculation comparison made in this limited study, fewer colony forming units of pathogenic bacteria accumulated at the tip of the side-hole-free catheters than at the tips of the catheters which have side holes. This may translate to a decreased rate of catheter-related blood stream infections in the side-hole-free catheters.
The intraoperative intravascular lithotripsy to recruit a calcified radial artery for creating a distal radio-cephalic fistula
Authors: Napoli Marcello , Barbarini Silvia , Ria Paolo , Zito Anna , Lefons Maria Luisa , De Pascalis Antonio
Published: July 2021

Guidelines for vascular access recommend that the distal autogenous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) should be the first choice-access procedure for patients starting dialysis. Arteriosclerosis of radial artery may cause early failure, as well as failure of maturation of distal arteriovenous fistulas. To increase the incidence of distal AVFs, our team, specialized in vascular access surgery from 2004 onwards, has introduced Intraoperative Transluminal Angioplasty (ITA) under ultrasound (UG) or fluoroscopic guidance, to recruit inadequate arterials for creating distal fistulas. Intravascular lithotripsy (IL) is a novel approach to treat luminal and medial calcifications in patients with peripheral arterial disease and coronary disease. We believe that intraoperative IL may be an opportunity to recruit calcified radial arteries for creating distal radio-cephalic fistulas. Purpose of this study is to describe the intraoperative IL technical applied in our clinical experience. A 37-year-old diabetic patient with distal radio-cephalic fistula was recruited for the first IL experience. One year ago, a wrist radio-cephalic fistula was created in the right upper limb, with intraoperative UG radial artery angioplasty for extensive calcifications. The fistula was functioning but showed a delay in maturation. An angioplasty was unsuccessfully attempted to facilitate the maturation. Subsequently, a surgical revision of the fistula was performed, creating a new anastomosis immediately upstream of the previous one by performing an intraoperative IL UG of the radial artery. The fistula was immediately well functioning, and was cannulated with two needles after 1 month. It is currently being used with intradialytic adequate blood flow. The positive outcome of the case described in this paper, even if only anecdotal, could act as a trigger for further experiences with IL.
Vakatoka Yaca (Naming) method: critiquing the Tukutuku Raraba, colonial histories of Fijian tribes
Authors: Varani-Norton Eta
Published: July 2021

This article uses a new research method to assess the veracity of the official historical record of a Fijian vanua (Fijian tribe and its land), an example of narratives recorded during colonial times to identify land ownership and chiefly titles among the Indigenous Fijians. The colonial narratives of history continue to be the major resource for official resolution of local disputes about land and titles despite widespread Fijian distrust of their reliability. New historical research employing the Vakatoka Yaca (Naming) method reveals major inconsistencies in the official history of the author’s vanua that demonstrate the need for revisions of this official narrative, and perhaps reviews of the histories of other vanua.
Tension without tikanga: the damaging face of the treaty claims settlement system
Authors: Taiapa Ken , Moewaka Barnes Helen , McCreanor Tim
Published: July 2021

In Aotearoa New Zealand, the arrival of imperial ideologies in the 19th century led to devastating land-loss and cultural marginalisation for Māori at the hands of settlers and successive governments. This article examines the damaging effects of a Crown-imposed treaty claims settlement system designed to address injustices inflicted on Māori. Interview data from a Taranaki-based (a West Coast region, central North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand) hapū (sub-tribe) that engaged with this system foreground the adversarial nature of this system and its continuation of trauma. We argue that, while the process provides voice to Māori, it does so within a paradigm that pits kin-groups against each other, unjustly limits redress and fails to resolve tension. A tikanga framing provides insights into how tensions are set up and ways tikanga (underlying values and principles that guide practice) can be used outside the redress system to seek healing and resolution.
Ko ngā kaumātua ngā poupou o tō rātou ao: kaumātua and kuia, the pillars of our understanding
Authors: Muru-Lanning Marama , Lapsley Hilary , Dawes Tia
Published: July 2021

This feasibility study examined innovations in kaupapa Māori (a Māori approach) research methods to explore kaumātua (older Māori men and women) understandings of ageing well. We designed a research pathway that brought together kaupapa Māori methods in the form of noho wānanga (a method of knowledge sharing) with kaumātua and researchers in Tutukaka in 2018. Kaumātua participants were invited as guests in a comfortable and congenial setting to share their experiences of growing older. Our engagement with kaumātua, and our data-gathering and analysis methods provided an effective method for understanding kaumātua well-being. We found that focusing directly on health did not resonate with participants. There was diffidence when kaumātua talked about their own personal health, when compared with their enthusiasm for other parts of their lives. They understood well-being as a holistic process connecting hinengaro (mental health), wairua (the spirit and spiritual health), tinana (physical health) and te taiao (natural environments).
A novel germline BRCA1 mutation identified in a family with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome
Authors: Wu Yanmei , Pan Xiaodong , Dou Juan , Zhang Quan , Li Yuantong , Sheng Yuan , Liu Xishui
Published: July 2021

Pathogenic germline mutations occurring in the BRCA1 (MIM:113705) and BRCA2 (MIM: 600185), which always result in truncated protein or nonsense-mediated mRNA decay, have been identified to increase the risk of hereditary breast, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, and melanoma cancers. Recent studies show that BRCA1/2 germline mutations also contribute to half of all hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC).

In this case series, we reported a novel frameshift mutation of the BRCA1 gene. This novel frameshift mutation occurs in exon10 of BRCA1 and may result in a lack of the serine cluster domain and BRCA1 C-terminus domain, which mediates the function of BRCA1 in DNA repair and are responsible for activation function of BRCA1. The mutation was present in a Chinese hereditary male/female breast and ovarian cancer family characterized by a high incidence of breast cancer and/or ovarian cancer among the relatives and by a high incidence of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Our findings speculate that BRCA1 E1148Rfs*7 mutation may be related to the occurrence of HBOC and even TNBC. Interestingly, three cases of TNBC with this novel BRCA1 mutation in this case series showed a good disease-free survival, one of them has a disease-free survival up to 7 years. Therefore, further study is required to confirm that whether this mutation is associated with good prognosis of HBOC.
Prevalence of Intestinal Parasite Infection and its Association with Anemia among Children Aged 6 to 59 Months in Sidama National Regional State, Southern Ethiopia
Authors: Gujo Amelo Bolka , Kare Assefa Philipos
Published: July 2021

Background:

Previous studies conducted in Ethiopia revealed anemia as a severe public health problem among under-5 children but failed to associate with parasite infection. This study was aimed at assessing the prevalence of intestinal parasite infection (IP) and its association with anemia among children aged 6 to 59 months in Yirgalem General Hospital, Southern Ethiopia.

Method:

Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 on 367 children aged 6 to 59 months. Trained data collectors administered the questionnaire. Blood was collected and analyzed for hemoglobin using the HemoCue 301. The stool samples were collected and analyzed. Association between IP and anemia was measured using multivariable analysis. The outputs are presented using an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals.

Results:

The prevalence of anemia was 48.8% (95% CI: 43.7, 53.9). Anemia was of mild, moderate, and severe type in 24.5%, 21.5%, and 2.8% of the children respectively. The prevalence of IP was 43.3% (95% CI: 38.2, 48.3). The odds of anemia were higher among children infected with IP (AOR = 3.19, 95% CI: 1.97, 5.17), large family size (AOR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.26, 3.59), low-income level (AOR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.25, 3.35), and MUAC < 11 cm (AOR = 3.27, 95% CI: 1.85, 5.81).

Conclusions:

The prevalence of IP was high. Anemia has severe public health significance. IP infection, income level, family size, and MUAC level were associated with anemia in children. Strengthening existing programs to prevent childhood anemia, and IP recommended.
Long-term clinical, MRI, and cognitive follow-up in a large cohort of pathologically confirmed, predominantly tumefactive multiple sclerosis
Authors: Kalinowska-Lyszczarz Alicja , Tillema Jan-Mendelt , Tobin W Oliver , Guo Yong , Fitz-Gibbon Patrick D , Weigand Stephen D , Giraldo-Chica Monica , Port John D , Lucchinetti Claudia F
Published: July 2021

Background:

Limited studies have described long-term outcomes in pathology confirmed multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objectives:

To describe long-term clinical–radiographic–cognitive outcomes in a prospectively followed cohort of patients with pathologically confirmed CNS demyelinating disease, consistent with MS.

Methods:

Subjects underwent clinical assessment, standardized 3T-MRI brain, and cognitive battery.

Results:

Seventy-five patients were included. Biopsied lesion size was ⩾ 2 cm in 62/75. At follow-up, median duration since biopsy was 11 years. Median EDSS was 3 and lesion burden was large (median 10 cm3). At follow-up, 57/75 met MS criteria, 17/75 had clinically isolated syndrome, and 1 radiographic changes only. Disability scores were comparable to a prevalence cohort in Olmsted County ( p < 0.001, n = 218). Cognitive outcomes below age-normed standards included psychomotor, attention, working memory, and executive function domains. Total lesion volume and index lesion-related severity correlated with EDSS and cognitive performance. Volumetric cortical/subcortical GM correlated less than lesion metrics to cognitive outcomes.

Conclusion:

Despite early aggressive course in pathologically confirmed MS, its long-term course was comparable to typical MS in our study. Cognitive impairment in this group seemed to correlate strongest to index lesion severity and total lesion volume. It remains to be established how the aggressive nature of the lesion, biopsy, and treatment affect clinical/cognitive outcomes.
Increased rate of hospitalisation for COVID-19 among rituximab-treated multiple sclerosis patients: A study of the Swedish multiple sclerosis registry
Authors: Spelman Tim , Forsberg Lars , McKay Kyla , Glaser Anna , Hillert Jan
Published: July 2021

Background:

The primary objective of this study was to analyse the association between multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying therapy (DMT) exposure and hospitalisation in patients infected with COVID-19.

Methods:

Associations between MS DMT exposure and COVID-19 hospitalisation were analysed using univariable and multi-variable-clustered propensity score weighted logistic regression, where the models were clustered on the individual patients to control for patients contributing multiple COVID-19 episodes.

Findings:

As of 18 January 2021, a total of 476 reported COVID-19 cases had been recorded in MS patients in the Swedish MS registry. Of these, 292 (61.3%) had confirmed COVID-19. The mean value (standard deviation (SD)) age at infection was 44.0 years (11.6). Of the 292 confirmed infections, 68 (23.2%) required hospitalisation. A total of 49 of the 164 confirmed COVID-19 patients on rituximab at baseline (29.9%) required hospitalisation, compared to a rate of 12.7% for all other DMTs combined. Rituximab in confirmed COVID-19 patients was associated with 2.95 times the odds of hospitalisation relative to any other DMT combined (odds ratio = 2.95; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.48–5.87).

Interpretation:

Rituximab treatment, known to increase the risk of severe infections in general, also confers such a risk for MS patients with COVID-19, in comparison with other MS DMTs.
Who reaps the benefits? A cross-country investigation of the absolute and relative normalization and equalization theses in the 2019 European Parliament elections
Authors: Bene Márton
Published: July 2021

This study is designed to contribute to the debate on whether Facebook is a normalizing or equalizing force in political competition in the context of the 2019 European Parliament elections. It argues that conflicting findings in the literature are due to (a) the lack of cross-country investigations, (b) the lack of a multidimensional approach to Facebook performance, and (c) the conceptual confusion around the normalization or equalization theories. This research tests both the absolute and the relative understanding of the hypotheses in all the visibility-related dimensions (adoption, activity, number of followers, user engagement, and ad spending) in a cross-country dataset that includes all the Facebook activity of 186 parties in 28 countries. Findings demonstrate that in absolute terms the equalization thesis prevails in activity and advertising, while the normalization thesis is confirmed in the dimensions of organic direct and indirect reach. At the same time, in relative terms, social media equalize political competition in each dimension.
Disrupting or reconfiguring racist narratives about Muslims? The representation of British Muslims during the Covid crisis
Authors: Poole Elizabeth , Williamson Milly
Published: July 2021

This article examines British newspaper coverage of Muslims during the first wave of the Coronavirus crisis. A well-established trajectory of research shows that Muslims are negativized in mainstream media representation in the UK. However, it became obvious from the outset of the pandemic, that ethnic minority key workers were disproportionately affected by Coronavirus. This, alongside high levels of support for NHS staff, had the potential to challenge and shift established narratives about Muslims as questions of structural discrimination became the subject of news media discourse. This article examines whether these events were able, even momentarily, to disrupt dominant narratives about Muslims in the UK or whether the pandemic provided further opportunity for Othering discourses to be perpetuated. In the context of a tumultuous political landscape, where the politics of immigration have been linked to the politics of austerity, Muslims have been scapegoated as a threat to the nationalist project. In this context, the identifier ‘Muslim’ is only deemed relevant if it signifies ‘difference’, or to distinguish between good versus bad Muslim/immigrant. Hence, in the context of the reporting of Coronavirus, racist discourses have been reshaped as Muslim key workers are distinguished in the reporting from other Muslims. We examine how these representational practices play out through an analysis of four British newspapers (The Sun, Daily Mail, The Telegraph and The Mirror) over a months’ coverage at the peak of the crisis (April, 2020).
Artificial intelligence in marketing: A systematic literature review
Authors: Chintalapati Srikrishna , Pandey Shivendra Kumar
Published: July 2021

The digital transformation fostered by the increasing leverage of artificial intelligence (AI) has been a critical influencing factor unleashing the next wave of enterprise business disruption. Marketing is one of the business streams witnessing this transformation on a very intense scale. Contemporary marketing has begun to experiment with modern, cutting-edge technologies, such as AI, deploying them in mainstream operations to ensure accelerated success. This article explores the use of AI in marketing as an emergent stream of research. Based on inferences from earlier studies, the study categorizes marketing into five distinct functional themes—integrated digital marketing, content marketing, experiential marketing, marketing operations, and market research—and 19 sub-functional themes (activity levers). Across the chosen themes and sub-themes, the study further dovetails into and identifies 170 featured use cases of the extant literature, where AI is leveraged by marketing in delivering superior quality outcomes and experiences. By way of a systematic literature review (SLR), the article evaluates 57 qualifying publications in the context of AI-powered marketing and qualitatively and quantitatively ranks them based on their coverage, impact, relevance, and contributed guidance, and elucidates the findings across various sectors, research contexts, and scenarios. The study discusses the practitioner and academic research implications and proposes a future research agenda to study the continuous transformation fostered by accelerated adoption of AI across the marketing landscape.
Model-theory interaction in urban planning: A critical review
Authors: Nourian Farshad , Alipour Meisam , Ache Peter
Published: July 2021

More than half a century has passed since the first use of models in urban planning. Most urban planners have agreed on using models either to simplify complicated systems or to make simulations of such systems in order to predict their future. There is, however, disagreement on how far such simplifications and simulations have worked toward the planners’ goals and objectives. In this paper, through historical analysis, we placed the model-theory interaction into the broader scope of scientific modeling to develop guidelines applicable to the narrow field of urban modeling. Here, we developed an argument that models’ applicability and meaningfulness in urban planning are primarily dependent on planning theories, that is, models and theories should move parallel to achieve all the functions and capabilities claimed by models. Thus, an interactive process shapes the model as the mediator between the theory and the phenomenon: (a) the theory explains an abstract phenomenon, (b) the model provides an understanding of that phenomenon, and (c) the original abstract explanation is revisited and made more practical. This evolutionary process is our view of the “mediator model,” that is, a new definition of the urban model.
Effect of Painful Electrical Stimuli on Readiness Potential in the Human Brain
Authors: Dilek Burcu , Osumi Michihiro , Nobusako Satoshi , Erdoğan Sinem Burcu , Morioka Shu
Published: July 2021

The readiness potential (RP), which is a slow negative electrical brain potential that occurs before voluntary movement, can be interpreted as a measure of intrinsic brain activity originating from self-regulating mechanisms. Early and late components of the RP may indicate clinical-neurophysiological features such as motivation, preparation, intention, and initiation of voluntary movements. In the present study, we hypothesized that electrical pain stimuli modulate the preparatory brain activity for movement. The grand average evoked potentials were measured at sensory motor regions with EEG during an experimental protocol consisting of painful and nonpainful stimuli. Our results demonstrated that painful stimuli were preceded by an enhanced RP when compared to non-painful stimuli at the Cz channel (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the mean amplitude of the RP at the early phase was significantly higher for the painful stimuli when compared to the non-painful stimuli (p < 0.05). Our results indicate that electrical painful stimuli, which can be considered as an unpleasant and stressful condition, modulate the motor preparation at sensory motor regions to a different extent when compared to non-painful electrical stimuli. Since early component of the RP represents cortical activation due to anticipation of the stimuli and the allocation of attentional resources, our results suggest that painful stimuli may affect the motor preparation processes and the prediction of the movement at the cortical level.
A mobile sink–integrated framework for the collection of farmland wireless sensor network information based on a virtual potential field
Authors: Yang Ying , Yang Wude , Wu Huarui , Miao Yisheng
Published: July 2021

To overcome the limitations of traditional data collection methods in large-scale farmland wireless sensor network, in this study, we introduce a mobile sink and propose a virtual potential field-based strategy for mobile sink path planning. Virtual potential field-based strategy constructs a virtual field based on the residual energy, data generation rate, location information and cache urgency of nodes in the monitoring area. The stronger the virtual field, the more attractive it will be to mobile sink, which consequently affects the mobile path of sink node. Rendezvous points are selected in accordance with the maximum-farthest criterion, and the shortest path connecting all rendezvous points is taken as the mobile path of sink. Furthermore, the monitoring nodes employ the distance probability transmission strategy to have the transmission moment selected and the energy consumption optimized with reference to the path control information sent by the sink. The virtual potential fields and the rendezvous points are recalculated periodically according to the dynamic changes of both the node residual energy and the real-time cache. The simulation results showed that excellent transmission efficiency and network lifetime, and the combination of virtual potential field-based strategy and distance probability transmission strategy can have the fairness and real time of nodes guaranteed, thus it may meet the needs of large-scale farmland data collection.