bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer Survival Differences and Potential Geographic Determinants Among Men and Women in Utah
Authors: Rogers Charles R. , Korous Kevin M. , Brooks Ellen , De Vera Mary A. , Tuuhetaufa Fa , Lucas Todd , Curtin Karen , Pesman Curt , Johnson Wenora , Gallagher Phuong , Moore Justin X.
Published: May 2022

By 2030, early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is expected to become the leading cancer-related cause of death for people age 20 to 49. To improve understanding of this phenomenon, we analyzed the geographic determinants of EOCRC in Utah by examining county-level incidence and mortality. We linked data from the Utah Population Database to the Utah Cancer Registry to identify residents (age 18–49) diagnosed with EOCRC between 2000 and 2020, and we used spatial empirical Bayes smoothing to determine county-level hotspots. We identified 1,867 EOCRC diagnoses (52.7% in male patients, 69.2% in non-Hispanic White patients). Ten counties (34%) were classified as hotspots, with high EOCRC incidence or mortality. Hotspot status was unrelated to incidence rates, but non-Hispanic ethnic-minority men (incidence rate ratio, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.15–1.91), Hispanic White men and women (incidence rate ratio, 2.24; 95% CI, 2.00–2.51), and Hispanic ethnic-minority men and women (incidence rate ratio, 4.59; 95% CI, 3.50–5.91) were more likely to be diagnosed with EOCRC. After adjustment for income and obesity, adults living in hotspots had a 31% higher hazard for death (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.02–1.69). Survival was poorest for adults with a late-stage diagnosis living in hotspots (chi square (1) = 4.0; p = .045). Adults who were married or who had a life partner had a lower hazard for death than single adults (HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.58–0.92). The risk for EOCRC is elevated in 34% of Utah counties, warranting future research and interventions aimed at increasing screening and survival in the population age 18 to 49.
Strategies to Increase Participation of African Populations in Clinical Trials
Authors: Loehrer Patrick J. , Carpten John , Gopal Satish , Shamley Delva
Published: May 2022

Conducting clinical research in low- and middle-income countries is essential to address the global impact of cancer. In 2017, ASCO convened an Academic Global Oncology Task Force that recommended an increase in global oncology research to enhance the field of oncology through research and education. The emerging crisis of cancer in Africa demands a similar global commitment to workforce development, infrastructure building, and access to care that will provide a platform for impactful and relevant research efforts. In the words of the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer, it is time to “transform cancer control in Africa through collaboration in education, research, (and) delivery of equitable and timely interventions to minimize the impact of cancer.” Although there are some initiatives aimed at developing research capacity to host trials in Africa, there is now a need to establish strategic partnerships with the aim of achieving harmonized, accredited clinical trial units capable of running trials according to Good Clinical Practice standards.
The Paradise Performs
Authors: Atiles Jose
Published: May 2022

This article develops a sociolegal analysis of the legislation and tax policies implemented by the US and Puerto Rico (PR) governments to incentivize venture capitalists and cryptocurrency investors to relocate to PR. Specifically, the article looks at the role that Act 60 of 2019 played in attracting blockchain proponents and cryptocurrency investors to PR. By analyzing this tax policy and the governmental official discourses, this article demonstrates that the blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors have contributed to the transformation of PR into an offshore financial center or tax haven. Furthermore, the article shows how grassroot movements, among them Abolish Act 60, have organized against this transformation. Thus, the article demonstrates how the slogan “The Paradise Performs” is largely embedded in legal practices, tax evasion, and fraud.
Staging Mirrors
Authors: McKee C.C.
Published: May 2022

This essay deploys Lacanian psychoanalysis and Black feminist theory to assert that the prominent use of mirrors in the paintings and sculptures of Deborah Anzinger, a contemporary Kingston-based Jamaican artist, are crucial to understanding subjectivity as inextricable from tropical ecology in her practice. Within what Anzinger terms an “aesthetic syntax,” the mirror is a catalyst around which her abstract compositions—which include paint, clay, synthetic hair, and Aloe barbadensis plants—conceptualize a racialized and gendered self that emerges from the reflective interaction between queer Black femininity and Caribbean ecologies. The fluid interdependence of bodies and landscapes in these works theorizes what this essay names a black ontological dehiscence that is capable of holding the afterlives of slavery together with other, ecologically porous forms of personhood. The artworks investigate the relational property of racialized and gendered alterity and open onto a psychoanalytic field of inquiry informed by Black feminist thought to unravel the colonizing borders of intersubjectivity and blur the distinction between desire and jouissance. Placing Lacan's theorization of the mirror stage in relation to the black aesthetic of Anzinger's works situates the psychoanalytic subject within an expanded field. Attending to the environments reflected in Anzinger's mirrors reveals the ecological inflections suggested by Lacanian subjectivity but never recognized within it. Moreover, the subject's fragmented coherence before the mirror elucidates Anzinger's approach as one that embraces ontological dehiscence as an ecologically relational position materially and psychically entangled with the world.
Still Life
Authors: Ruprecht Louis A.
Published: May 2022

This essay explores the subtle interplay between sculptural bodies and animate bodies by exploring several “moments” in the history of classical and neoclassical aesthetics. These exemplary moments include the ancient Roman period (Pliny's reflections on Greek sculpture); the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Winckelmann's reflections on Greek sculpture and later Italian excavations at Pompeii); the twentieth century (Nazi adaptations of ancient Greek sculpture in Munich); and the twenty-first century (recurring discussion of polychromatic Greek art). Given that most of the art under discussion was “pagan,” this slippage between sculptural bodies and animate bodies highlights the presence of desire, specifically a desire for forbidden bodies.
Residual force enhancement is reduced in permeabilized fiber bundles from mdm muscles
Authors: Mishra Dhruv , Nishikawa Kiisa C.
Published: May 2022

Residual force enhancement (RFE) is the increase in steady-state force after active stretch relative to the force during isometric contraction at the same final length. The muscular dystrophy with myositis (mdm) mutation in mice, characterized by a small deletion in N2A titin, has been proposed to prevent N2A titin–actin interactions so that active mdm muscles are more compliant than wild type (WT). This decrease in active muscle stiffness is associated with reduced RFE. We investigated RFE in permeabilized soleus (SOL) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) fiber bundles from WT and mdm mice. On each fiber bundle, we performed active and passive stretches from an average sarcomere length of 2.6–3.0 µm at a slow rate of 0.04 µm s−1, as well as isometric contractions at the initial and final lengths. One-way ANOVA showed that SOL and EDL fiber bundles from mdm mice exhibited significantly lower RFE than WT mice (P<0.0001). This result is consistent with previous observations in single myofibrils and intact muscles. However, it contradicts the results from a previous study that appeared to show that compensatory mechanisms could restore titin force enhancement in single fibers from mdm psoas. We suggest that RFE measured previously in mdm single fibers was an artifact of the high variability in passive tension found in degenerating fibers, which begins after ∼24 days of age. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that RFE is reduced in mdm skeletal muscles owing to impaired Ca2+-dependent titin–actin interactions resulting from the small deletion in N2A titin.
Modelling of magnetic microbubbles to evaluate contrast enhanced magnetomotive ultrasound in lymph nodes – a pre-clinical study
Authors: Sjöstrand Sandra , Bacou Marion , Kaczmarek Katarzyna , Evertsson Maria , Svensson Ingrid K , Thomson Adrian JW , Farrington Susan M , Moug Susan J , Jansson Tomas , Moran Carmel M. , Mulvana Helen
Published: May 2022

Objectives:

Despite advances in MRI the detection and characterisation of lymph nodes in rectal cancer remains complex, especially when assessing the response to neoadjuvant treatment. An alternative approach is functional imaging, previously shown to aid characterisation of cancer tissues. We report proof of concept of the novel technique Contrast-Enhanced Magneto-Motive Ultrasound (CE-MMUS) to recover information relating to local perfusion and lymphatic drainage, and interrogate tissue mechanical properties through magnetically induced deformations.

Methods:

The feasibility of the proposed application was explored using a combination of experimental animal and phantom ultrasound imaging, along with finite element analysis. First, contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging on one wild type mouse recorded lymphatic drainage of magnetic microbubbles after bolus injection. Second, tissue phantoms were imaged using MMUS to illustrate the force- and elasticity dependence of the magnetomotion. Third, the magnetomechanical interactions of a magnetic microbubble with an elastic solid were simulated using finite element software.

Results:

Accumulation of magnetic microbubbles in the inguinal lymph node was verified using contrast enhanced ultrasound, with peak enhancement occurring 3.7 s post-injection. The magnetic microbubble gave rise to displacements depending on force, elasticity, and bubble radius, indicating an inverse relation between displacement and the latter two.

Conclusion:

Combining magnetic microbubbles with MMUS could harness the advantages of both techniques, to provide perfusion information, robust lymph node delineation and characterisation based on mechanical properties.

Advances in knowledge:

(a) Lymphatic drainage of magnetic microbubbles visualised using contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging and (b) magnetomechanical interactions between such bubbles and surrounding tissue could both contribute to (c) robust detection and characterisation of lymph nodes.
Incidental findings on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in adults: a review of imaging spectrum, clinical significance, and management
Authors: Wangaryattawanich Pattana , Rutman Aaron M , Petcharunpaisan Sasitorn , Mossa-Basha Mahmud
Published: May 2022

Utilization of brain MRI has dramatically increased in recent decades due to rapid advancement in imaging technology and improving accessibility. As a result, radiologists increasingly encounter findings incidentally discovered on brain MRIs which are performed for unrelated indications. Some of these findings are clinically significant, necessitating further investigation or treatment and resulting in increased costs to healthcare systems as well as increased patient anxiety. Moreover, management of these incidental findings poses a significant challenge for referring physicians. Therefore, it is important for interpreting radiologists to know the prevalence, clinical consequences, and appropriate management of these findings. There is a wide spectrum of incidental findings on brain MRI such as asymptomatic brain infarct, age-related white matter changes, microhemorrhages, intracranial tumors, intracranial cystic lesions, and anatomic variants. This article provides a narrative review of important incidental findings encountered on brain MRI in adults with a focus on prevalence, clinical implications, and recommendations on management of these findings based on current available data.
High-resolution ultrasonography of gingival biomarkers for periodontal diagnosis in healthy and diseased subjects
Authors: Moore Colman A , Law Jane K , Retout Maurice , Pham Christopher T , Chang Kai Chiao J , Chen Casey , Jokerst Jesse V
Published: May 2022

Objective:

To determine the capacity of ultrasonographic image-based measurements of gingival height and alveolar bone level for monitoring periodontal health and disease.

Methods:

Sixteen subjects were recruited from patients scheduled to receive dental care and classified as periodontally healthy (n = 10) or diseased (n = 6) according to clinical guidelines. A 40-MHz ultrasound system was used to measure gingival recession, gingival height, alveolar bone level, and gingival thickness from 66 teeth for comparison to probing measurements of pocket depth and clinical attachment level. Interexaminer variability and comparison between ultrasound measurements and probing measurements was performed via Bland-Altman analysis.

Results:

Gingival recession and its risk in non-recessed patients could be determined via measurement of the supra- and subgingival cementoenamel junction relative to the gingival margin. Interexaminer bias for ultrasound image analysis was negligible (<0.10 mm) for imaged gingival height (iGH) and 0.45 mm for imaged alveolar bone level (iABL). Diseased subjects had significantly higher imaging measurements (iGH, iABL) and clinical measurements (probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level) than healthy subjects (p < 0.05). Subtraction of the average biologic width from iGH resulted in 83% agreement (≤1 mm difference) between iGH and probing pocket depth measurements.

Conclusions:

Ultrasonography has an equivalent diagnostic capacity as gold-standard physical probing for periodontal metrics while offering more detailed anatomical information.
Trypanosoma cruzi strain and starvation-driven mitochondrial RNA editing and transcriptome variability
Authors: Gerasimov Evgeny S. , Ramirez-Barrios Roger , Yurchenko Vyacheslav , Zimmer Sara L.
Published: May 2022

Trypanosoma cruzi is a unicellular protistan parasitic species that is comprised of strains and isolates exhibiting high levels of genetic and metabolic variability. In the insect vector, it is known to be highly responsive to starvation, a signal for progression to a life stage in which it can infect mammalian cells. Most mRNAs encoded in its mitochondrion require the targeted insertion and deletion of uridines to become translatable transcripts. This study defined differences in uridine-insertion/deletion RNA editing among three strains and established the mechanism whereby abundances of edited (and, thus, translatable) mitochondrial gene products increase during starvation. Our approach utilized our custom T-Aligner toolkit to describe transcriptome-wide editing events and reconstruct editing products from high-throughput sequencing data. We found that the relative abundance of mitochondrial transcripts and the proportion of mRNAs that are edited varies greatly between analyzed strains, a characteristic that could potentially impact metabolic capacity. Starvation typically led to an increase in overall editing activity rather than affecting a specific step in the process. We also determined that transcripts CR3, CR4, and ND3 produce multiple open reading frames that, if translated, would generate different proteins. Finally, we quantitated the inherent flexibility of editing in T. cruzi and found it to be higher relative to that in a related trypanosomatid lineage. Over time, new editing domains or patterns could prove advantageous to the organism and become more widespread within individual transcriptomes or among strains.
Metal content and kinetic properties of yeast RNA lariat debranching enzyme Dbr1
Authors: Clark Nathaniel E. , Katolik Adam , Taggart Allison J. , Buerer Luke , Holloway Stephen P. , Miller Nathaniel , Phillips John D. , Farrell Colin P. , Damha Masad J. , Fairbrother William G.
Published: May 2022

In eukaryotic cells, intron lariats produced by the spliceosome contain a 2′5′ phosphodiester linkage. The RNA lariat debranching enzyme, Dbr1, is the only enzyme known to hydrolyze this bond. Dbr1 is a member of the metallophosphoesterase (MPE) family of enzymes, and recent X-ray crystal structures and biochemistry data demonstrate that Dbr1 from Entamoeba histolytica uses combinations of Mn2+, Zn2+, and Fe2+ as enzymatic cofactors. Here, we examine the kinetic properties and metal dependence of the Dbr1 homolog from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yDbr1). Elemental analysis measured stoichiometric quantities of Fe and Zn in yDbr1 purified following heterologous expression E. coli. We analyzed the ability of Fe2+, Zn2+, and Mn2+ to reconstitute activity in metal-free apoenzyme. Purified yDbr1 was highly active, turning over substrate at 5.6 sec−1, and apo-yDbr1 reconstituted with Fe2+ was the most active species, turning over at 9.2 sec−1. We treated human lymphoblastoid cells with the iron-chelator deferoxamine and measured a twofold increase in cellular lariats. These data suggest that Fe is an important biological cofactor for Dbr1 enzymes.
Does availability of point of care C-reactive protein measurement affect provision of antibiotics in a community respiratory service?
Authors: Barber David , Pilsworth Samantha , Wat Dennis
Published: May 2022

Antibiotic resistance presents a growing threat to health systems and patients at a global scale. Point of care (POC) C-reactive protein (CRP) measurement, as an adjunct to exacerbation assessment, has been studied in primary and secondary care and may represent a useful tool for community teams. A retrospective service review was conducted to determine the effect of CRP measurement on antibiotic provision in a community respiratory setting, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchiectasis exacerbations. This review compared antibiotic provision for COPD and bronchiectasis patients for those where CRP was measured versus those where it was not. It was found that antibiotic provision dropped by almost 25% points for COPD exacerbations, and almost 59% in bronchiectasis, when a CRP measurement was taken as a component of a respiratory assessment. Antibiotics were also provided at a greater amount based on symptom presentation. Therefore, it is concluded that CRP measurement correlates with a reduction in antibiotic provision, highlighting its use alongside symptom assessment in future work.
Ultra-low noise phase measurement of fiber optic sensors via weak value amplification
Authors: Liu Yue , Zhang Yichi , Xu Zhiming , Zhou Libo , Zou Yongchao , Zhang Bingbing , Hu Zhengliang
Published: May 2022

The noise floor is a vital specification that determines the minimum detectable signal in the phase measurement. However, the noise floor in optical phase measurement conducted via conventional optical interferometry tends to approach the intrinsic limit. In this study, a low noise phase measurement of a fiber optic sensor conducted via weak value amplification is experimentally demonstrated. The system has a flat, wideband frequency response from 0.1 Hz to 10 kHz, as well as adequate linearity. The operating band is wider than the present sensor using the same mechanism. In particular, the system noise floor is measured to be -98 dB at 1 Hz and -155 dB at 1 kHz. The results indicate that the minimum detectable signal can reach as low as 5.6 × 10−6 rad at 1 Hz and 8 × 10−9 rad at 1 kHz. In addition, it is demonstrated that the noise result of the proposed system is two-order of magnitude lower than that of the typical interferometric fiber optic sensors through the comparison experiment. With the characteristic of low-noise, the system is promising in the field of weak signal detection such as underwater acoustic signal detection, seismic wave detection, and mineral resource exploration.
Theoretical investigation on the elimination of the period chirp by deliberate substrate deformations
Authors: Bienert Florian , Graf Thomas , Ahmed Marwan Abdou
Published: May 2022

We present a theoretical investigation on the approach of deliberately bending the substrate during the exposure within laser interference lithography to compensate for the period chirp. It is shown that the yet undiscovered function of the surface geometry, necessary to achieve the zero-chirp case (i.e. having a perfectly constant period over the whole substrate) is determined by a first-order differential equation. As the direct analytical solution of this differential equation is difficult, a numerical approach is developed, based on the optimization of pre-defined functions towards the unknown analytical solution of the differential equation by means of a Nelder-Mead simplex algorithm. By applying this method to a concrete example, we show that an off-center placement of the substrate with respect to the point sources is advantageous both in terms of achievable period and substrate curvature and that a fourth-order polynomial can greatly satisfy the differential equation leading to a root-mean-square deviation of only 1.4 pm with respect to the targeted period of 610 nm.
Efficient quantum memory for photonic polarization qubits generated by cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric downconversion
Authors: Tseng Yu-Chih , Wei Yan-Cheng , Chen Ying-Cheng
Published: May 2022

Quantum memories, for storing then retrieving photonic quantum states on demand, are crucial components for scalable quantum technologies. Spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC) with a nonlinear crystal is the most widely used process for generating entangled photon pairs or heralded single photons. Despite the desirability of efficient quantum memories for SPDC-generated single photons, the storage and retrieval efficiencies achieved with this approach still fall below 50%, a threshold value for practical applications. Here, we report an efficiency of > 70% for the storage of heralded single photons generated by cavity-enhanced SPDC using atomic quantum memories based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). In addition, we demonstrate the quantum memory for single-photon polarization qubits with a fidelity of ∼96%. This result paves the way towards the development of large-scale quantum networks.
Differential mitochondrial protein interaction profile between human translocator protein and its A147T polymorphism variant
Authors: Asih Prita R. , Poljak Anne , Kassiou Michael , Ke Yazi D. , Ittner Lars M.
Published: May 2022

The translocator protein (TSPO) has been implicated in mitochondrial transmembrane cholesterol transport, brain inflammation, and other mitochondrial functions. It is upregulated in glial cells during neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease. High affinity TSPO imaging radioligands are utilized to visualize neuroinflammation. However, this is hampered by the common A147T polymorphism which compromises ligand binding. Furthermore, this polymorphism has been linked to increased risk of neuropsychiatric disorders, and possibly reduces TSPO protein stability. Here, we used immunoprecipitation coupled to mass-spectrometry (IP-MS) to establish a mitochondrial protein binding profile of wild-type (WT) TSPO and the A147T polymorphism variant. Using mitochondria from human glial cells expressing either WT or A147T TSPO, we identified 30 WT TSPO binding partners, yet only 23 for A147T TSPO. Confirming that A147T polymorphism of the TSPO might confer loss of function, we found that one of the identified interactors of WT TSPO, 14-3-3 theta (YWHAQ), a protein involved in regulating mitochondrial membrane proteins, interacts much less with A147T TSPO. Our data presents a network of mitochondrial interactions of TSPO and its A147T polymorphism variant in human glial cells and indicate functional relevance of A147T in mitochondrial protein networks.
An analysis of the adolescents’ hazard perception when crossing road from the perspective of personality characteristics based on an eye-tracking study
Authors: Wang Ning , Chang Ruosong , Wu Fang
Published: May 2022

Using the Road Situation Video Test Paradigm and Eye-Tracking Analysis Method, according to the two-stage processing model of hazard perception (HP), this study divides HP into two stages: perception and behaviour response, and compares the different roles of sensation seeking level in two different processing stages of perception and behaviour response when adolescents are crossing the road. The results show that: (1) In the perception stage, adolescents with high sensation seeking, especially boys with high sensation seeking perceive danger faster than boys with low sensation seeking and girls, they are more aware of danger. Particularly, boys with high sensation seeking show a stronger advantage of attention processing to hazard in the early stage of perception processing from 8th and 9th grades. (2) In the behaviour response stage, adolescents with high sensation seeking, especially the boys are less sensitive, have stricter judgment criteria, and are more likely to make dangerous decisions when crossing the road. Girls with different sensation seeking levels are more sensitive and more cautious when crossing the road, make the probability of judging dangerous situation is higher, so they choose a more conservative way, and may be less likely to across the road.
Alternative methods for skeletal maturity estimation with the EOS scanner—Experience from 934 patients
Authors: Schlégl Ádám Tibor , O’Sullivan Ian , Varga Péter , Than Péter , Vermes Csaba
Published: May 2022

Background

Hand-wrist bone age assessment methods are not possible on typical EOS 2D/3D images without body position modifications that may affect spinal position. We aimed to identify and assess lesser known bone age assessment alternatives that may be applied retrospectively and without the need for extra imaging.

Materials and methods

After review of 2857 articles, nine bone age methods were selected and applied retrospectively in pilot study (thirteen individuals), followed by evaluation of EOS images of 934 4-24-year-olds. Difficulty of assessment and time taken were recorded, and reliability calculated.

Results

Five methods proved promising after pilot study. Risser ‘plus’ could be applied with no difficulty in 89.5% of scans (836/934) followed by the Oxford hip method (78.6%, 734/934), cervical (79.0%, 738/934), calcaneus (70.8%, 669/934) and the knee (68.2%, 667/934). Calcaneus and cervical methods proved to be fastest at 17.7s (95% confidence interval, 16.0s to 19.38s & 26.5s (95% CI, 22.16s to 30.75s), respectively, with Oxford hip the slowest at 82.0 s (95% CI, 76.12 to 87.88s). Difficulties included: regions lying outside of the image—assessment was difficult or impossible in upper cervical vertebrae (46/934 images 4.9%) and calcaneus methods (144/934 images, 15.4%); position: lower step length was associated with difficult lateral knee assessment & head/hand position with cervical evaluation; and resolution: in the higher stages of the hip, calcaneal and knee methods.

Conclusions

Hip, iliac crest and cervical regions can be assessed on the majority of EOS scans and may be useful for retrospective application. Calcaneus evaluation is a simple and rapidly applicable method that may be appropriate if consideration is given to include full imaging of the foot.
Association of maternal high-risk fertility behavior and under-five mortality in Ethiopia: Community-based survey
Authors: Asresie Melash Belachew , Dagnew Gizachew Worku
Published: May 2022

Background

High-risk fertility behavior is a major public health concern in low and middle-income countries including Ethiopia. Some studies show that the relationship between high-risk fertility behavior and child mortality has analyzed each fertility behavior individually. Yet, there are limited studies that have analyzed outcomes associated with the joint impact of high-risk fertility behaviors. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the individual and combined influence of high-risk fertility behavior on under-five mortalities in Ethiopia.

Methods

Data from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey were used analyzed. A total of 10,773 mothers who gave live births were included in the final analysis. Both descriptive and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using STATA V.14.

Results

Overall, 62.1%, 24.0%, and 2.3% of women experienced at least one, two, and three high-risk fertility behaviors, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, under-five mortality was significantly associated with a combination of two or more maternal high-risk fertility behaviors. The odds of under-five mortality among children of women who were engaged in a combination of two high-risk fertility behaviors (AOR = 2.17, 95%CI: 1.52–3.08) and three high-risk fertility behaviors (AOR = 3.69, 95%CI:1.80, 7.55) was higher compared to children of women who have not engaged any high-risk fertility behaviors.

Conclusion

This study revealed that a single high-risk fertility behavior was not associated with under-five mortality, yet the presence of two or more maternal high-risk fertility behaviors was an important factor that increased the likelihood of under-five child death. Thus, special emphasis should be given to children of women who engage in a combination of high-risk fertility behaviors. Furthermore, more emphasis should be placed on increasing access to family planning services and raising awareness about high-risk reproductive behaviors among Ethiopian women.
Effects of non-pharmacological interventions for preventing delirium in general ward inpatients: A systematic review & meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Kim Yun Hee , Kim Nam Young , Ryu Seang
Published: May 2022

The purpose of this study was to identify the types and contents of non-pharmacological delirium prevention interventions applied to inpatients in general wards, and to verified the effectiveness of the interventions on the incidence of delirium. We performed an extensive search of bibliographic databases and registries (CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, PubMed and Google Scholar, and Korean DB such as RISS, DBpia, KISS, NDSL and KCI) using terms to identify delirium, prevention, and non-pharmacological. We searched all databases from their inception to January 2021 and imposed restriction on language of publication in English and Korean. We included studies if they were conducted as all types of randomized controlled trials (RCT), involving adult patients aged 19 years or more who were admitted to a general ward. We included trials comparing non-pharmacological intervention versus usual care. The entire process of data selection and extraction, assessment of risk of bias with ROB2.O was independently performed by three researchers. The estimated effect size was an odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval. The fixed effects model and general inverse variance estimation method were adopted. The type of non-pharmacological delirium prevention interventions for inpatients in general ward was mainly multi-component intervention to correct delirium risk factors. The content and intensity of non-pharmacological interventions varied greatly depending on the characteristics of the patient and the clinical situation. As a result of the meta-analysis, non-pharmacological multi-component intervention was effective in reducing the incidence of delirium, and it was confirmed that it was effective in reducing the incidence of delirium in both the internal and surgical wards. It was confirmed by quantitative evidence that non-pharmacological interventions, especially multi-component interventions, were effective in preventing delirium in general ward inpatients.
Determinants of neonatal near miss among neonates admitted to public hospitals in Southern Ethiopia, 2021: A case-control study
Authors: Habte Aklilu , Lukas Kaleegziabher , Melis Tamirat , Tamene Aiggan , Sahle Tadesse , Hailu Mulugeta , Gizachew Addisalem
Published: May 2022

Background

Neonatal near-miss (NNM) cases refer to situations in which babies are on the verge of dying between the ages of 0 and 28 days due to severe morbidity that occurs during pregnancy, delivery, or extra-uterine life, but survive either by luck or due to high-quality health care. Identifying NNM cases and addressing their determinants is crucial for devising comprehensive and relevant interventions to tackle neonatal morbidity and mortality. Hence, this study aimed at finding out the determinants of NNM in neonates admitted to public hospitals in Hadiya zone, southern Ethiopia.

Methods

A hospital-based unmatched case-control study was conducted in three selected hospitals in southern Ethiopia from May 1 to June 30, 2021. A total of 484 participants took part in the study (121 cases and 363 controls). Controls were chosen using systematic sampling approaches, whereas cases were recruited consecutively at the time of discharge. Cases were selected based on the Latin American Centre for Perinatology (CLAP) criteria of an NNM. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and a data extraction checklist were used for data collection. The Data were entered into Epi-Data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. A multivariable logistic regression analysis with a p-value of <0.05 was used to determine the determinants of NNM.

Results

Ninety-seven (80.1%) and 56 (46.2%) near-miss cases encountered at least one pragmatic and management criteria, respectively. The most common pragmatic and management criteria were gestational age less than 33 weeks (44.6%) and intravenous antibiotic usage up to 7 days and before 28 days of life (27.3%), respectively. A short birth interval [AOR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.29, 3.57], lack of ANC [AOR = 3.37; 95%CI: 1.35, 6.39], Caesarean mode of delivery [AOR = 2.24; 95%CI: 1.20, 4.16], the occurrence of a third maternal delay [AOR = 3.47; 95% CI: 2.11, 5.75], and poor birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) plan[AOR = 2.50; 95% CI: 1.49,4.13] were identified as a significant determinants of NNM.

Conclusion and recommendation

The provision of adequate ANC should be a priority for health care providers at service delivery points. To avoid serious neonatal problems, mothers who deliver by Cesarean section should receive more attention from their families and health care providers. Health care providers in the ANC unit should encourage pregnant women to implement the WHO-recommended elements of the BPCR plan. To achieve optimal birth spacing, healthcare providers should focus on the contraceptive provision. Unnecessary delays in health facilities during childbirth should be avoided at all costs.
Association of the incidence of atopic dermatitis until 3 years old with climate conditions in the first 6 months of life: Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS)
Authors: Yokomichi Hiroshi , Mochizuki Mie , Shinohara Ryoji , Kushima Megumi , Horiuchi Sayaka , Kojima Reiji , Ooka Tadao , Akiyama Yuka , Miyake Kunio , Otawa Sanae , Yamagata Zentaro ,   on behalf of the Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group
Published: May 2022

Objective

To determine the climate conditions that affect the incidence of atopic dermatitis from infancy to 3 years old.

Study design

We analyzed 100,303 children born from 2011 to 2014 for follow-up until 3 years old using cohort data from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study. The study included 15 Regional Centers, including 19 prefectures across Japan. We used meteorological data of the Japan Meteorological Agency. We calculated the hazard ratio (HR) of the standard deviation and low vs. high mean values of several climate conditions in children in their first 6 months of life to determine the incidence of atopic dermatitis.

Results

The Kaplan–Meier curve showed that children born in the months of October to December had the highest incidence of atopic dermatitis. Among climate conditions, a one standard deviation increase in the temperature (HR = 0.87), minimum temperature (HR = 0.87), and vapor pressure (HR = 0.87) showed the lowest HRs for the incidence of atopic dermatitis. These results were confirmed by an analysis by strata of the birth season. A low vapor pressure (HR = 1.26, p<0.0001) and the combination of a low mean temperature or low mean minimum temperature and low vapor pressure (HR = 1.26, p<0.0001) were associated with the highest incidence of atopic dermatitis. These results were consistent when they were adjusted for a maternal and paternal history of allergy and the prefecture of birth.

Conclusion

Among climate conditions, a low vapor pressure is the most strongly associated with a high incidence of atopic dermatitis. Measuring vapor pressure may be useful for preventing atopic dermatitis.
Prognostic value of the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in lung cancer patients receiving immunotherapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Wang Haoyu , Li Cui , Yang Ruiyuan , Jin Jing , Liu Dan , Li Weimin
Published: May 2022

Background

Current studies have revealed that the platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) may lead to a poor prognosis in lung cancer patients receiving immunotherapy. We conducted a meta-analysis to explore the prognostic value of PLR in lung cancer patients receiving immunotherapy.

Methods

We retrieved potential studies from the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus databases up to June 2021 and merged the hazard ratios (HRs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to evaluate the association between PLR and overall survival (OS) or progression-free survival.

Results

Fourteen studies involving 1761 patients were included in our meta-analysis. The results indicated that an elevated level of pretreatment PLR was associated with poorer OS and PFS in lung cancer patients receiving immunotherapy (OS: HR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.37–2.58; PFS: HR = HR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.11–1.76). The association remained consistent after subgroup analysis and was robust even after sensitivity analysis.

Conclusions

PLR may be a prognostic factor of lung cancer patients receiving immunotherapy, which can lead to worse survival outcomes. However, further studies are necessary for evidence in clinical application.
‘Humans of New York’ during the pandemic: Giving users a voice
Authors: Roberts Jessica
Published: May 2022

Issues of voice and representation have always been relevant in the media, but social media have raised new questions about the potential for more diverse, representative voices to appear in the media. Questions of representation are important in terms of the ability to cultivate empathy in the audience for the people represented. The contact hypothesis suggests that exposure to people through media may decrease prejudice for people perceived to belong to different groups. This article examines the pandemic-driven changes made to the Humans of New York social media project to determine the effect of a change in whose voice is privileged in this storytelling medium. This study compared quantitative calculations of engagement on Instagram as well as attempted to qualitatively analyse two sets of comments on posts to determine how this change in ‘voice’ affected the perception of and engagement with the posts and the people featured in them.
Creaky voice gender
Authors: Venturi Francesco
Published: May 2022

This Voicing is concerned with issues of voice perception, subjectivity and gender construction and explores the possibility of addressing them through the extended voice. It gives an account of the experience of ‘Voice X’, a singer who suffered from dysphoria, tracking the gendering process of their sounding voice through adolescence and its implications with personhood and social inclusion. I argue that the extended voice can problematize the gap between that which we say and what is said by the ‘grain’ of our voice. Focusing on the meaning potential of creak – taken as an example of ‘another voice’ – this practice research piece puts forward the argument that any extra-normal voicing has an implicit drag potential, made explicit each time a body to-be-looked-at and a voice to-be-listened-to do not seem to match. In conclusion, I introduce the idea of ‘minor creak’ as a queer space for vocal exploration.
Ageing and Contemporary Female Musicians, Abigail Gardner (2020)
Authors: Rigopoulou Faye
Published: May 2022

Review of: Ageing and Contemporary Female Musicians, Abigail Gardner (2020)

London and New York: Routledge, 154 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-31517-041-1, e-book, £36.99
Expansion of positivity to a class of doubly nonlinear parabolic equations
Authors: Henriques Eurica
Published: May 2022

We establish the expansion of positivity of the nonnegative, local, weak solutions to the class of doubly nonlinear parabolic equations

∂
t

(

u

q

)
−
div
⁡

(

|

D
u

|

p
−
2

D
u
)

=
0
,

 
p
>
1
 
and
 
q
>
0

considering separately the two possible cases
q
+
1
−
p
>
0
and
q
+
1
−
p
<
0
. The proof relies on the procedure presented by DiBenedetto, Gianazza and Vespri for both the degenerate and the singular parabolic
p
-Laplacian equation.
A vendetta szerepe az elbeszélő forrásokban
Authors: Szolnoki Zoltán
Published: May 2022

The research about vendetta is an important topic in the history literature. In my thesis I primarily examined the motivations and the aims of the authors of the vendetta stories. I also examined the political/cultural background in which the chroniclers worked. In my current work I examined over forty-one different narrative sources. I focused the circle of the primer sources as regards to the region of historical Tuscany. I also sorted them out chronologically narrowing to the period between 1289 and 1424. It was an important criterion element within each part, to mirror the historiographical diversity of the examined medieval cities. My aim was to observe not just the special conclusions about each topics and sources, but to draw general ones too. I introduced the relation between the popolo and the magnati, which was the main context of the vendetta. I summed the general studies about the medieval Italian revenge, and wrote about the importance and speciality of the game-theory viewpoint. In the dissertation, the different topics followed as: the Florentine vendetta stories, the revenges from Pistoia, the fights of the Senese clans, the lessons from the ricordanze and the Luchese sources which were born at the end of the period. I also emphasised the short vendetta stories which were inserted into city chronicles, mainly in the works of Giovanni Sercambi.
A REVIEW ON RECYCLING OF THERMOSETS
Authors: Jayakumari LS , Kumar M Arun , Arunbala B , Sailaja R
Published: May 2022

Thermosets are a type of plastics that pose a major problem when it comes to easy reusability and recycling because they become irreversibly rigid when subjected to progressive increase in temperatures. Epoxy resins, Phenol Formaldehyde, and Polyurethanes are a few of the many thermosets that are widely employed in several different fields. The rigid, brittle, opaque thermosets, in general, possess qualities like good mechanical strength at elevated temperatures, good chemical resistance in addition to even being self-extinguishing at times (mostly with the help of additives), with low smoke emissions, as highlighted by the British Plastics Federation. However, these properties which serve as an advantage to the end product also affect their recyclability, which is difficult and limited, because of their ability to undergo cross-linking on heating, which ultimately results in the formation of strong covalent bonds that cannot be broken easily. Several commercial techniques are now available for recycling thermosets, which include - Mechanical Processing, Thermal Processing and Chemical Processing. These methods demand higher amount of energy for offering feasible results. There are several studies that have focused on degradation (which is the essential first step that progressively leads to recycling) of thermosets. This review highlights the importance of such studies, techniques and methodologies on aspects including feasibility, cost, sustainability and technological innovation.
Environmental education and healthy housing as strategies for the prevention of COVID-19 at the household level.
Authors: Torres Parra Camilo , Saldeño Madero Yelinca , Castiblanco Prieto Juan José , Villegas Flores Noé , Fasolino Isidoro
Published: May 2022

Context: The COVID-19 is the most recent global health concern that affects human health mainly the respiratory system with more than 170 million people affected by the virus worldwide. Also, Latin America has been emerging as an epicenter of contagion, and transmission is gradually increasing among the communities in each of the countries analyzed. The infection of more than 30 million people in Latin America supposes the construction of new models and habits of public health that promote attitudes to reduce the number of cases and mortality.
Method: A proposal was defined based on three frameworks and models—the principle of healthy housing promoted by the Panamerican Health Organization, the four types of knowledge transfer without memorization proposed by the OECD, and the theory of social constructivism (in which knowledge is built from a present reality). This proposal is aims to help a community to understand the health risks present at home so that they can prevent the spread of the virus COVID-19 through the use of good practices.
Results: The proposal shows categorized risk factors at home that increase the possibility of contagion of COVID- 19 and getting infected; also, it presents possible solutions to these factores, which focus on good practices of healthy housing to improve habitability and prevent diseases that also allow the virus to spread.
Conclusions: It is necessary to implement strategies that humanize public health problems and that in turn include the knowledge that the field of engineering can contribute to solve these problems. In addition, these strategies must emerge from practical work focused on the community. An example of this is the proposal for good practices for healthy housing to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Dielectric properties of Raphia Fiber from Epidermis of young Raphia Vinifera leaflet
Authors: Etuk Sunday Edet , Ekpo Sunday Samuel , Robert Ubong Williams , Agbasi Okechukwu Ebuka , Effiong Enwongo-Abasi Amos
Published: May 2022

There are materials that could serve useful purpose(s) in many fields, but they are left unutilized due to lack of both the knowledge on their useful properties and availability of values as per such properties. Notably, the knowledge of dielectric properties of some materials of plant origin is lacking whereas such is necessary for industrial, agricultural, electrical, electronics, biophysical and medical applications as well as other uses of a material. In this research, Raphia Vinifera is a material of choice. The experimental determination and computation of some dielectric properties of Raphia fiber from epidemis of young leaflets of Raphia Vinifera is explored. The properties considered for determination were dielectric permittivity, loss angle and dissipation factor. A Schering Bridge arrangement was employed, with a fixed thickness and varying areas of sample at various select frequencies. The values of the investigated properties recorded for our research sample trended towards being dependent of frequency. At frequency values above 1 kHz, the values of the properties determined decreased with increase in frequency. The values compared favorably with those of the already known and commonly used dielectric materials. The preliminary investigation showed that Raphia Vinifera would have usefulness in the electrical and electronic industries as raw material for the production of capacitor among other uses.