bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cognitive Computation in Ideological and Political Classroom Teaching Based on Digital Sensor Technology
Authors: Cai Hong
Published: July 2022

Numerous new ideas and concepts have changed the behavior and value orientation of university students as a result of the internet’s rising popularity on college campuses. This study performs research on digital sensor technologies in order to enhance the intelligent effect of ideological and political classroom instruction. In addition, this study combines the fast Fourier transform principle to enhance digital sensor technology, digital sensor and cognitive computation technology to investigate the ideological and political classroom teaching process, and the actual situation of the ideological and political teaching to digitally process the ideological and political teaching process. In addition, this study employs sensor technology to convey data and digital sensor technology to increase the quality of ideological and political classroom instruction by enhancing the traditional teaching paradigm. In addition, on this premise, this study conducts a performance evaluation of the system, primarily focusing on the digital effect and the enhancement of ideological and political teaching quality. In conclusion, this study proves its teaching system through test research. According to the test results, the intelligent teaching method described in this study has a certain practical effect.
The Potential Role of PV Solar Power System to Improve the Integration of Electric Energy Storage System
Authors: Patnaik Rajesh Kumar , Bharathi P. Shyamala , Mathiyalagan Sivaramkrishnan , Thumma Rajesh , Saravanan G. , Alanazi Mohana , Sivaraman V. , Elfasakhany Ashraf , Belay Assefa
Published: July 2022

Integration technique is becoming effective due to the world’s largest power requirement, which has imposed a considerable need for various techniques by which electricity can be generated or integrated, as well as the assumption that integrating solar energy into nonrenewable source materials is essential to minimize the relative to nonresource consumption and thus reduces fossil fuel consumption. Photovoltaic (PV) systems are at the forefront of this transformation, harnessing the sun’s renewable electricity and converting this from DC to AC. Controlling the power grid utilizes power system photovoltaic energy production and the many ramifications of grid-scale PV energy module integration into energy systems. To completely integrate photovoltaic (PV) processes into a network, cost-effective and efficient technologies of energy storage must be used in conjunction with smart energy management systems. Electrical energy storage system (EESS) could have been used to improve a system’s stability and the performance, to recent technology improvements and quick efficiency improvements. This research provides an understanding of EESS for the photovoltaic system as well as a complete evaluation of the developing penetration level of PV. As the worldwide photovoltaic solar market is expanding, growing onsite use of PV-generated energy would become increasingly critical to ensure the stability of the grid. This research study was the first one to provide such a comprehensive overview of all forms of energy storage devices which can be used in conjunction with PV, including both thermal and electrical energy storage systems. Finally, a simulation of optimization planning is executed. The result reveals that lowering peak loads and lowering electricity usage lowers the price of electricity.
Application Analysis of Multi-Intelligence Optimization Decision-Making Method in College Students’ Ideological and Political Education System
Authors: Tian Ben , Xie Zhaogang , Peng Wei
Published: July 2022

Today’s society is a society with diversified information. The rapid change of information also affects the ideological and political education in universities. Therefore, the fixed thinking of ideological and political education in universities tells students, which is an educational way in line with the development of the times. We should follow up with the rapidly changing times at any time, change with the times, and update the thinking and systematic way of the ideological and political education system at any time. In the ideological and political education of college students, diversified teaching methods and multiobjective recommendation systems are implemented and then combined with traditional ideological and political teaching methods. The two ways complement each other and promote each other so as to achieve higher learning efficiency and better learning effect. The optimization algorithm of multiobjective recommendation should be used to further improve the ideological and political education system. By analyzing the optimization results and performance comparison of various algorithms, we find the most suitable algorithm model for optimizing the ideological and political education system. The multiobjective-recommended ideological and political education system for college students needs to fully improve the teaching tasks of teachers and students in two stages. A reasonable and scientific system recommendation mechanism should take into account students’ own learning preferences, subject types, ideological and political teacher information, curriculum information, curriculum evaluation, curriculum relevance, and other multiobjective data. This paper achieves the highest performance and the lowest time cost of the ideological and political education system through multiobjective evolutionary optimization method.
Immune Cytolytic Activity for Comprehensive Insights of the Immune Landscape in Endometrial Carcinoma
Authors: Chen Qiang , Wang Chongyang , Lei Xinyi , Huang Ting , Zhou Renyu , Lu Yuanzhi
Published: July 2022

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has been explored as a therapeutic strategy to recover the antitumor immune activities against endometrial cancer (EC) escaping from immune surveillance. Increasing evidence has indicated that microsatellite instability (MSI) is a promising biomarker to stratify patients for the ICB therapy. However, even in patients with MSI-High (MSI-H) endometrial cancers, PD-L1 inhibitors, avelumab, and durvalumab have shown only 27% of response rates. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover new biomarkers for a predictive response to ICB therapy. In this study, we demonstrated that the immune cytolytic activity (CYT) index was significantly correlated with the development and response to immunotherapy in EC. The data showed that higher CYT was significantly associated with better clinical outcome, more antitumor infiltrating immune cells, fewer somatic copy number alterations, but a higher TMB (Tumor mutational burden) status. Furthermore, CYT-high EC was notably relevant to the high expression of various immune checkpoint molecules and showed more effective responses to ICB treatment. Taken together, this study provided new insights into the connection between diverse genetic events and the immune microenvironment in EC and indicated that the CYT status might be a promising biomarker to stratify patients with EC for ICB therapy.
The Effect of Polymer Composite Materials on the Comfort of Sports and Fitness Facilities
Authors: Feng Qingkun , Wang Lijun
Published: July 2022

In a narrow sense, polymer composites refer to multiphase materials composed of polymers and other substances with different compositions, shapes, and properties. They can be divided into structural composites and functional composites. In a broad sense, polymer composite materials also include polymer blend systems, collectively referred to as “polymer alloys.” The purpose of this paper is at studying how to study the impact of polymer composite materials on the adaptation and comfort of sports and fitness facilities. This paper puts forward the problem of comfort, which is based on the construction materials of sports equipment, and then elaborates on the polymer composite materials and makes a case design and analysis of the applicability of polymer composite materials in sports equipment being carried out. The experimental results show that 34.81% of the people are very satisfied and relatively satisfied with the quality identification of sports equipment and only 41.99% of the people are very satisfied and relatively satisfied with the feeling of sports equipment when exercising. Both are less than half of the total sample size, which shows that the current state of sports facilities is worrying.
Pomegranate Peels and Seeds as a Source of Phenolic Compounds: Effect of Cultivar, By-Product, and Extraction Solvent
Authors: Campos Lara , Seixas Luana , Henriques Marta H. F. , Peres António M. , Veloso Ana C. A.
Published: July 2022

The nutraceutical properties of Punica granatum L. are not restricted to the edible portion of the fruit but also to the peels and seeds, flowers, leaves, and tree bark. The recovery and valorization of the peel and seeds (ca. 50% of the whole fruit), besides the positive environmental impact, can be viewed as a source of natural bioactive compounds. Thus, the bioactive properties of extracts of pomegranate peel and seeds from Acco and Wonderful known cultivars, as well as of the novel Big Full cultivar, were evaluated. The dried and ground pomegranate by-products were submitted to a conventional solid/liquid extraction with ethanol/water mixtures (0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% of EtOH, v/v). The obtained extracts were characterized in terms of total phenolic compounds (TPC), total flavonoids (TF), and antioxidant activity (AA), determined by the DPPH radical scavenging activity and expressed as IC50 (half maximum inhibitory concentration). With the exception of the Acco cultivar, the extraction yield (EY) was higher for peels, whose extracts showed higher TPC, TF, and IC50 (lower AA). The extracts obtained from the by-products of the Big Full cultivar had a statistically higher overall bioactive potential (TPC: 0.36 mg GAE/mg extract; TF: 0.031 mg CATE/mg extract; IC50: 0.51 mg/mL) compared to the other two studied cultivars. Furthermore, the EY was enhanced by solvents richer in ethanol (50-75%), allowing obtaining extracts richer in TPC and TF with higher AA. Finally, it was shown that EY combined with bioactive data allowed a satisfactory principal component unsupervised differentiation of the pomegranate extracts according to the type of by-product used.
The Exosome Journey: From Biogenesis to Regulation and Function in Cancers
Authors: Li Yuan , Meng Li , Li Bo , Li Yanxia , Shen Tao , Zhao Baobing
Published: July 2022

Exosomes are a type of small endosomal-derived vesicles ranging from 30 to 150 nm, which can serve as functional mediators in cell-to-cell communication and various physiological and pathological processes. In recent years, exosomes have emerged as crucial mediators of intracellular communication among tumor cells, immune cells, and stromal cells, which can shuttle bioactive molecules, such as proteins, lipids, RNA, and DNA. Exosomes exhibit the high bioavailability, biological stability, targeting specificity, low toxicity, and immune characteristics, suggesting their potentials in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. They can be applied as an effective tool in the diagnostics, therapeutics, and drug delivery in cancers. This review summarizes the regulation and functions of exosomes in various cancers to augment our understanding of exosomes, which paves the way for parallel advancements in the therapeutic approach of cancers. In this review, we also discuss the challenges and prospects for clinical application of exosome-based diagnostics and therapeutics for cancers.
Effect of Particle Size and Dosing of Polymeric Aluminum Chloride Waste Residue on Cement Mortar
Authors: Yang Weitao , Hou Zhenguo , He Haiying , Xu Ping , Sun Weidong , Wang Yingbin , Gong Jian
Published: July 2022

Five particle sizes and six dosages of polymerized aluminum chloride (PAC) residue were taken to prepare polymerized aluminum chloride residue cement mortar (PACRM). The compressive and flexural strengths were tested, and SEM analysis was performed. The results showed that the change pattern of strength of PAC waste residue mixed into cement mortar was similar to that of fly ash at the same substitution rate. However, the strength of PACRM decreased with the increase of substitution rate. The flexural and compressive strengths of PACRM reached their peak at all ages after replacing cement with PAC waste residue with particle size of 0-0.075 mm and 30% doping. Their strength ratios were greater than 62%. It does not contribute much to the early strength development of PACRM, but contributes more to the later strength development after the cement is replaced by PAC waste residue. PAC waste residue mainly acts as microaggregate and fills into the mortar pores at low substitution rate. The cracks of the matrix structure are filled by C-S-H, so the mortar structure is more dense and the material strength is enhanced. When the substitution rate increases, the water requirement of mortar increases, resulting in an uncompact structure. The internal pores increase after hardening, and the mortar strength decreases rapidly.
Preinvasive to Invasive: PD-1–Expressing Macrophages Shift Lung Cancer into High Gear
Authors: Lee Juyeun , Bayik Defne , Lathia Justin D.
Published: July 2022

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common subtype of lung cancer, which has the second highest incidence among cancers. Immunotherapy has revolutionized lung cancer treatment, yet the checkpoint blockade response rate is less than 20% in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. As lung adenocarcinoma consists of heterogeneous histologic subsets with diverse tumor invasion phenotypes and clinical outcomes, understanding the mechanisms of resistance based on the histology subset is essential. In the current issue, Jang and colleagues demonstrated that PD-1–expressing macrophages are the dominant immune cell population in the tumor-immune microenvironment (TiME) of invasive lung adenocarcinoma and are responsible for driving tumor progression from preinvasive to invasive subtypes. PD-1–expressing macrophages are protumorigenic and highly plastic, potentially promoting invasive solid tumor development. Ablation of macrophages remodels the TiME and leads to a favorable anti-PD-1 blockade response, suggesting a potential combination therapy in patients with lung adenocarcinoma resistant to monotherapy. This current work highlights the spatiotemporal dynamics of the TiME during lung adenocarcinoma progression and the critical role of PD-1–expressing macrophages in driving tumorigenesis as well as resistance to immunotherapy.

See related article by Jang et al., p. 2593
Highly Sensitive EGFRvIII Detection in Circulating Extracellular Vesicle RNA of Glioma Patients
Authors: Batool Syeda Maheen , Muralidharan Koushik , Hsia Tiffany , Falotico Sarah , Gamblin Austin S. , Rosenfeld Yulia B. , Khanna Sirena K. , Balaj Leonora , Carter Bob S.
Published: July 2022

Purpose:

Liquid biopsy offers an attractive platform for noninvasive tumor diagnosis, prognostication, and prediction of glioblastoma clinical outcomes. Prior studies report that 30% to 50% of GBM lesions characterized by EGFR amplification also harbor the EGFRvIII mutation.

Experimental Design:

A novel digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) assay for high GC content amplicons was developed and optimized for sensitive detection of EGFRvIII in tumor tissue and circulating extracellular vesicle RNA (EV RNA) isolated from the plasma of patients with glioma.

Results:

Our optimized qPCR assay detected EGFRvIII mRNA in 81% [95% confidence interval (CI), 68%–94%] of EGFR-amplified glioma tumor tissue, indicating a higher than previously reported prevalence of EGFRvIII in glioma. Using the optimized ddPCR assay in discovery and blinded validation cohorts, we detected EGFRvIII mutation in 73% (95% CI, 64%–82%) of patients with a specificity of 98% (95% CI, 87%–100%), compared with qPCR tumor tissue analysis. In addition, upon longitudinal monitoring in 4 patients, we report detection of EGFRvIII in the plasma of patients with different clinical outcomes, rising with tumor progression, and decreasing in response to treatment.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates the feasibility of detecting EGFRvIII mutation in plasma using a highly sensitive and specific ddPCR assay. We also show a higher than previously reported EGFRvIII prevalence in glioma tumor tissue. Several features of the assay are favorable for clinical implementation for detection and monitoring of EGFRvIII-positive tumors.
Plasma Metabolomics Analysis of Aspirin Treatment and Risk of Colorectal Adenomas
Authors: Barry Elizabeth L. , Fedirko Veronika , Jin Yutong , Liu Ken , Mott Leila A. , Peacock Janet L. , Passarelli Michael N. , Baron John A. , Jones Dean P.
Published: July 2022

Despite substantial observational and experimental evidence that aspirin use can provide protection against the development of colorectal neoplasia, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved is inadequate and limits our ability to use this drug effectively and safely for chemoprevention. We employed an untargeted plasma metabolomics approach using liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectroscopy to explore novel metabolites that may contribute to the chemopreventive effects of aspirin. Associations between levels of metabolic features in plasma and aspirin treatment were investigated among 523 participants in a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of two doses of aspirin (81 or 325 mg/day) and were linked to risk of colorectal adenoma occurrence over 3 years of follow-up. Metabolic pathways that were altered with aspirin treatment included linoleate and glycerophospholipid metabolism for the 81-mg dose and carnitine shuttle for both doses. Metabolites whose levels increased with 81 mg/day aspirin treatment and were also associated with decreased risk of adenomas during follow-up included certain forms of lysophosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine as well as trihydroxyoctadecenoic acid, which is a derivative of linoleic acid and is upstream of cyclooxygenase inhibition by aspirin in the linoleate and arachidonic acid metabolism pathways. In conclusion, our findings regarding lysophospholipids and metabolites in the linoleate metabolism pathway may provide novel insights into the chemopreventive effects of aspirin in the colorectum, although they should be considered hypothesis-generating at this time.

Prevention Relevance:

This research used metabolomics, an innovative discovery-based approach, to identify molecular changes in human blood that may help to explain how aspirin use reduces the risk of colorectal neoplasia in some individuals. Ultimately, this work could have important implications for optimizing aspirin use in the prevention of colorectal cancer.
Treatments in Neurology: The Winding Road from 1897 to 2022
Authors: Tatu Laurent , Bogousslavsky Julien
Published: July 2022

Background: For many years, neurology was seen as a purely observational discipline, focused on pathology and with little interest in treatments. Summary: From the creation in 1897 of Monatsschrift für Psychiatrie und Neurologie, the forebear of European Neurology, to nowadays, there have been great changes in the paradigms and concepts of treatments in neurology. We present an overview of the evolution of neurological treatments from 1897 to 2022. Key Messages: However, the last 125 years have not consisted of constant progress. The exceptional advances made in some diseases (multiple sclerosis or surgical treatment of Parkinson’s disease) cannot hide the stagnation in others (certain brain tumors or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
Glucose Conferred Irinotecan Chemoresistance through Divergent Actions of Pyruvate and ATP in Cell Death and Proliferation of Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Huang Chung-Yen , Pai Yu-Chen , Yu Linda Chia-Hui
Published: July 2022

Background: Altered glucose metabolism is associated with chemoresistance in colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to illustrate the molecular mechanisms of glucose-mediated chemoresistance against irinotecan, a topoisomerase I inhibitor, focusing on the distinct roles of metabolites such as pyruvate and ATP in modulating cell death and proliferation. Methods: Four human CRC cell lines, tumorspheres, and mouse xenograft models were treated with various doses of irinotecan in the presence of various concentrations of glucose, pyruvate, or ATP-encapsulated liposomes. Results: In this study, human CRC cell lines treated with irinotecan in high glucose displayed increased cell viability and larger xenograft tumor sizes in mouse models compared to those treated in normal glucose concentrations. Irinotecan induced apoptosis and necroptosis, both mitigated by high glucose. Liposomal ATP prevented irinotecan-induced apoptosis, while it did not affect necroptosis. In contrast, pyruvate attenuated the receptor-interacting protein kinase 1/3-dependent necroptosis via free radical scavenging without modulating apoptotic levels. Regarding the cell cycle, liposomal ATP aggravated the irinotecan-induced G0/G1 shift, whereas pyruvate diminished the G0/G1 shift, showing opposite effects on proliferation. Last, tumorsphere structural damage, an index of solid tumor responsiveness to chemotherapy, was determined. Liposomal ATP increased tumorsphere size while pyruvate prevented the deformation of spheroid mass. Conclusions: Glucose metabolites confer tumor chemoresistance via multiple modes of action. Glycolytic pyruvate attenuated irinotecan-induced necroptosis and potentiated drug insensitivity by shifting cells from a proliferative to a quiescent state. On the other hand, ATP decreased irinotecan-induced apoptosis and promoted active cell proliferation, contributing to tumor recurrence. Our findings challenged the traditional view of ATP as the main factor for irinotecan chemoresistance and provided novel insights of pyruvate acting as an antioxidant responsible for drug insensitivity, which may shed light on the development of new therapies against recalcitrant cancers.
County-Level Social Vulnerability is Associated With In-Hospital Death and Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19: An Analysis of the American Heart Association COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry
Authors: Islam Shabatun J. , Malla Gargya , Yeh Robert W. , Quyyumi Arshed A. , Kazi Dhruv S. , Tian Wei , Song Yang , Nayak Aditi , Mehta Anurag , Ko Yi-An , de Lemos James A. , Rodriguez Fatima , Goyal Abhinav , Wadhera Rishi K.
Published: July 2022

Background:

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected low-income and racial/ethnic minority populations in the United States. However, it is unknown whether hospitalized patients with COVID-19 from socially vulnerable communities experience higher rates of death and/or major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). Thus, we evaluated the association between county-level social vulnerability and in-hospital mortality and MACE in a national cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Methods:

Our study population included patients with COVID-19 in the American Heart Association COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry across 107 US hospitals between January 14, 2020 to November 30, 2020. The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), a composite measure of community vulnerability developed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was used to classify the county-level social vulnerability of patients’ place of residence. We fit a hierarchical logistic regression model with hospital-level random intercepts to evaluate the association of SVI with in-hospital mortality and MACE.

Results:

Among 16 939 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the registry, 5065 (29.9%) resided in the most vulnerable communities (highest national quartile of SVI). Compared with those in the lowest quartile of SVI, patients in the highest quartile were younger (age 60.2 versus 62.3 years) and more likely to be Black adults (36.7% versus 12.2%) and Medicaid-insured (31.1% versus 23.0%). After adjustment for demographics (age, sex, race/ethnicity) and insurance status, the highest quartile of SVI (compared with the lowest) was associated with higher likelihood of in-hospital mortality (OR, 1.25 [1.03–1.53];
P
=0.03) and MACE (OR, 1.26 [95% CI, 1.05–1.50];
P
=0.01). These findings were not attenuated after accounting for clinical comorbidities and acuity of illness on admission.

Conclusions:

Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 residing in more socially vulnerable communities experienced higher rates of in-hospital mortality and MACE, independent of race, ethnicity, and several clinical factors. Clinical and health system strategies are needed to improve health outcomes for socially vulnerable patients.
Associations of Clinical and Social Risk Factors With Racial Differences in Premature Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Shah Nilay S. , Ning Hongyan , Petito Lucia C. , Kershaw Kiarri N. , Bancks Michael P. , Reis Jared P. , Rana Jamal S. , Sidney Stephen , Jacobs David R. , Kiefe Catarina I. , Carnethon Mercedes R. , Lloyd-Jones Donald M. , Allen Norrina B. , Khan Sadiya S.
Published: July 2022

Background:

Racial differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) are likely related to differences in clinical and social factors. The relative contributions of these factors to Black-White differences in premature CVD have not been investigated.

Methods:

In Black and White adults aged 18 to 30 years at baseline in the CARDIA study (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults), the associations of clinical, lifestyle, depression, socioeconomic, and neighborhood factors across young adulthood with racial differences in incident premature CVD were evaluated in sex-stratified, multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models using multiply imputed data assuming missing at random. Percent reduction in the β estimate (log-hazard ratio [HR]) for race quantified the contribution of each factor group to racial differences in incident CVD.

Results:

Among 2785 Black and 2327 White participants followed for a median 33.9 years (25th–75th percentile, 33.7–34.0), Black (versus White) adults had a higher risk of incident premature CVD (Black women: HR, 2.44 [95% CI, 1.71–3.49], Black men: HR, 1.59 [1.20–2.10] adjusted for age and center). Racial differences were not statistically significant after full adjustment (Black women: HR, 0.91 [0.55–1.52], Black men: HR 1.02 [0.70–1.49]). In women, the largest magnitude percent reduction in the β estimate for race occurred with adjustment for clinical (87%), neighborhood (32%), and socioeconomic (23%) factors. In men, the largest magnitude percent reduction in the β estimate for race occurred with an adjustment for clinical (64%), socioeconomic (50%), and lifestyle (34%) factors.

Conclusions:

In CARDIA, the significantly higher risk for premature CVD in Black versus White adults was statistically explained by adjustment for antecedent multilevel factors. The largest contributions to racial differences were from clinical and neighborhood factors in women, and clinical and socioeconomic factors in men.
Differences in Comorbidities Explain Black–White Disparities in Outcomes After Femoropopliteal Endovascular Intervention
Authors: Krawisz Anna K. , Natesan Sahana , Wadhera Rishi K. , Chen Siyan , Song Yang , Yeh Robert W. , Jaff Michael R. , Giri Jay , Julien Howard , Secemsky Eric A.
Published: July 2022

Background:

Black adults have a higher incidence of peripheral artery disease and limb amputations than White adults in the United States. Given that peripheral endovascular intervention (PVI) is now the primary revascularization strategy for peripheral artery disease, it is important to understand whether racial differences exist in PVI incidence and outcomes.

Methods:

Data from fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries ≥66 years of age from 2016 to 2018 were evaluated to determine age- and sex-standardized population-level incidences of femoropopliteal PVI among Black and White adults over the 3-year study period. Patients’ first inpatient or outpatient PVIs were identified through claims codes. Age- and sex-standardized risks of the composite outcome of death and major amputation within 1 year of PVI were examined by race.

Results:

Black adults underwent 928 PVIs per 100 000 Black beneficiaries compared with 530 PVIs per 100 000 White beneficiaries (risk ratio, 1.75 [95% CI, 1.73–1.77];
P
<0.01). Black adults who underwent PVI were younger (mean age, 74.5 years versus 76.4 years;
P
<0.01), were more likely to be female (52.8% versus 42.7%;
P<
0.01), and had a higher burden of diabetes (70.6% versus 56.0%;
P
<0.01), chronic kidney disease (67.5% versus 56.6%;
P<
0.01), and heart failure (47.4% versus 41.7%;
P<
0.01) than White adults. When analyzed by indication for revascularization, Black adults were more likely to undergo PVI for chronic limb-threatening ischemia than White adults (13 023 per 21 352 [61.0%] versus 59 956 per 120 049 [49.9%];
P<
0.01). There was a strong association between Black race and the composite outcome at 1 year (odds ratio, 1.21 [95% CI, 1.16–1.25]). This association persisted after adjustment for socioeconomic status (odds ratio, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.03–1.13]) but was eliminated after adjustment for comorbidities (odds ratio, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.92–1.01]).

Conclusions:

Among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries, Black adults had substantially higher population-level PVI incidence and were significantly more likely to experience adverse events after PVI than White adults. The association between Black race and adverse outcomes appears to be driven by a higher burden of comorbidities. This analysis emphasizes the critical need for early identification and aggressive management of peripheral artery disease risk factors and comorbidities to reduce Black–White disparities in the development and progression of peripheral artery disease and the risk of adverse events after PVI.
Disparities in Cardiovascular Mortality Between Black and White Adults in the United States, 1999 to 2019
Authors: Kyalwazi Ashley N. , Loccoh Eméfah C. , Brewer LaPrincess C. , Ofili Elizabeth O. , Xu Jiaman , Song Yang , Joynt Maddox Karen E. , Yeh Robert W. , Wadhera Rishi K.
Published: July 2022

Background:

Black adults experience a disproportionately higher burden of cardiovascular risk factors and disease in comparison with White adults in the United States. Less is known about how sex-based disparities in cardiovascular mortality between these groups have changed on a national scale over the past 20 years, particularly across geographic determinants of health and residential racial segregation.

Methods:

We used CDC WONDER (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research) to identify Black and White adults age ≥25 years in the United States from 1999 to 2019. We calculated annual age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality rates (per 100 000) for Black and White women and men, as well as absolute rate differences and rate ratios to compare the mortality gap between these groups. We also examined patterns by US census region, rural versus urban residence, and degree of neighborhood segregation.

Results:

From 1999 to 2019, age-adjusted mortality rates declined overall for both Black and White adults. There was a decline in age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality among Black (602.1 to 351.8 per 100 000 population) and White women (447.0 to 267.5), and the absolute rate difference (ARD) between these groups decreased over time (1999: ARD, 155.1 [95% CI, 149.9–160.3]; 2019: ARD, 84.3 [95% CI, 81.2–87.4]). These patterns were similar for Black (824.1 to 526.3 per 100 000) and White men (637.5 to 396.0; 1999: ARD, 186.6 [95% CI, 178.6–194.6]; 2019: ARD, 130.3 [95% CI, 125.6–135.0]). Despite this progress, cardiovascular mortality in 2019 was higher for Black women (rate ratio, 1.32 [95% CI, 1.30–1.33])— especially in the younger (age <65 years) subgroup (rate ratio, 2.28 [95% CI, 2.23–2.32])—as well as for Black men (rate ratio, 1.33 [95% CI, 1.32–1.34]), compared with their respective White counterparts. There was regional variation in cardiovascular mortality patterns, and the Black-White gap differed across rural and urban areas. Cardiovascular mortality rates among Black women and men were consistently higher in communities with high levels of racial segregation compared with those with low to moderate levels.

Conclusions:

During the past 2 decades, age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality declined significantly for Black and White adults in the United States, as did the absolute difference in death rates between these groups. Despite this progress, Black women and men continue to experience higher cardiovascular mortality rates than their White counterparts.
7. The Natural History of Medicinal Flies
Authors: Harvey Michelle L.
Published: July 2022

When flies are used for therapeutic purposes to treat wounds (maggot therapy), they may be referred to as medicinal flies. Species that have been used for maggot therapy or which are likely candidates for maggot therapy generally belong to the family Calliphoridae, commonly known as blowflies. These flies have ecological relationships, life-history patterns, physiologies, and nutritional requirements that help them exploit cadavers as well as living bodies. The same adaptations can also be harnessed to treat non-healing necrotic wounds. This chapter first introduces the general features of dipteran diversity, morphology, and biology before a closer examination of the family Calliphoridae.
9. The Antimicrobial Activity of Medicinal Maggots
Authors: Nigam Yamni , Wilson Michael R.
Published: July 2022

Bacterial infection of wounds is a serious and growing issue and contributes to a delay in wound healing. Whilst debridement is often the primary motivation for the clinical use of maggot therapy, there is accumulating evidence that the therapy has other therapeutic properties. In particular, larvae have a significant antibacterial effect on the wound surface through the antimicrobial action of their excretions and secretions and the disruption of microbial biofilms that are common in chronic wounds. This chapter describes the principles and mechanisms that allow medicinal maggots to successfully shape and control the microbial environment of the chronic wound.
13. Fly Colony Establishment, Quality Control and Improvement
Authors: Stadler Frank , Johnston Nikolas P. , Butterworth Nathan J. , Wallman James F.
Published: July 2022

This chapter provides guidance on the collection and selection of species suitable for maggot therapy. All life stages are suitable for collection, except pupae that are generally hidden from view. Correct identification of the species that are collected and the correct selection of breeding stock is critical. Domestication of the newly established fly colony proceeds via adaptation to the insectary environment and the producers’ operating procedures. Monitoring of fly colony life history and morphological traits enables producers to manage the adaptation of flies to the insectary environment and to improve performance through selective breeding, genetic replenishment, and genetic engineering.
17. Distribution Logistics
Authors: Stadler Frank
Published: July 2022

Speedy delivery to the point of care and application to the wound should occur within 24–48 hours of dispatch from the production facility. Consequently, there is a need for reliable and efficient logistics infrastructure and a diversity of distribution models tailored to regional and local conditions. This chapter describes supply chain architectures and logistics solutions that can be adopted for medicinal maggots. In particular, it explores the case of a small Kenyan medicinal maggot supply chain and the wider Kenyan transport logistics infrastructure for medical commodities with similar characteristics.
19. The Ethics of Maggot Therapy
Authors: Stadler Frank
Published: July 2022

Maggot therapy needs a social licence, which means that regulators, healthcare administrators, doctors, nurses, allied health providers, and patients must accept and support the treatment. Therefore, medicinal maggot production and maggot therapy must be informed and guided by strong animal and healthcare ethics. The first part of this chapter explores the animal ethics of rearing flies in laboratories and using medicinal maggots for wound care. The second part is dedicated to the biomedical and healthcare ethics of maggot therapy. Rather than a definitive treatise, this chapter should be understood as a first-pass examination of ethical issues related to maggot therapy.
Drivers of Household Risk Perceptions and Adjustment Intentions to Tornado Hazards in Oklahoma
Authors: Li Yueqi , Wu Hao-Che , Greer Alex , Huntsman David O.
Published: July 2022

Tornadoes are responsible for considerable property damage and loss of life across Oklahoma. While several studies have explored drivers of tornado adjustment behaviors, their results are not consistent in terms of their significance and direction. To address this shortcoming in the literature, we surveyed households using a disproportionate stratified sampling procedure from counties in Oklahoma that frequently experience tornado threats to explore drivers of adjustments. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore relationships among variables highlighted in the protection motivation theory (PMT) and related literature that affect adjustment intentions and risk perceptions. Overall, we found that the factors highlighted in the PMT are effective at explaining households’ intentions of adopting adjustment behaviors associated with tornado hazards. Threat appraisals, however, were less important than coping appraisals in explaining tornado hazard adjustment intentions. In further analysis, we grouped adjustments as 1) basic (e.g., flashlight, food supply, and water supply) and 2) complex (e.g., insurance and storm shelter), and we found that while coping appraisals are significant drivers of both adjustment categories, the effect of threat appraisals is only significant for complex adjustment intentions. We also found that emotional responses to hazards are major drivers of threat appraisals, stronger than perceived knowledge and hazard salience. Moreover, we found that demographic characteristics affect both adjustment intentions and threat appraisals. The additions to the PMT and categorization of adjustment activities improve our understanding of the PMT in different contexts. Such insights provide scholars and emergency managers with strategies for risk communication efforts.

Significance Statement

Tornadoes have caused considerable property damage and loss of life across the state of Oklahoma. Here, we utilize the protection motivation theory (PMT) to explore drivers of tornado hazard adjustment intentions by surveying households from counties in Oklahoma that frequently experience tornadoes. Overall, we found that threat appraisals and coping appraisals produce differential effects depending on the type of hazard adjustment in question. Our findings show that risk perceptions are not a significant explanatory variable of basic adjustments (e.g., flashlight, food supply, and water supply) but are a significant explanatory variable of complex adjustments (e.g., insurance and storm shelter). Future work should provide broader perspectives on how to advance the PMT to better explain adjustment intentions for various hazards.
Traumatic Cardiac Arrest in Pediatric Patients: An Analysis of the National Trauma Database 2007-2016
Authors: Faulkner Justin , Carballo Christopher , Colosimo Christina , Gratton Austin , Mentzer Caleb , Yon James
Published: July 2022

The purpose of this study was to identify the population of pediatric patients who arrive without signs of life and describe outcomes using a national database.

Patients eighteen and younger with no signs of life were pulled from the National Trauma Database (NTDB) from the years 2007-2016. A total of N = 7503 patients were separated into two cohorts for comparison. Subset analysis was also conducted for patients undergoing a thoracotomy. Statistical analysis was performed on the collected data. Over the 9-year period most patients died in the ED or hospital (95.7%), very few patients were discharged home (1.3%), and ED thoracotomies were performed rarely (9%) with most patients dying (97%).

Arrival to the trauma bay without signs of life is associated with a dismal prognosis. Clinical judgment must be carefully applied to choose the small number of patients who would benefit from an aggressive approach.
City governance and visual impression management: Visual semiotics and the Biccherna panels of Siena
Authors: Davison Jane , Giovannoni Elena
Published: July 2022

A major preoccupation in the contemporary organizational landscape is governance and how to cope with conflict and uncertainty. These challenges are particularly evident in the governance of cities, with their complex histories, politics and administrative processes. We argue that visual artefacts can form powerful visual impression management, constituting ‘visual governance’, for dealing with such complexities. We construct a framework from the visual semiotics of Umberto Eco, extended by medieval aesthetics. We analyse the pre-modern case of the Sienese Biccherna panels (painted covers and paintings linked to the city accounts) to show how their calligraphy, heraldry and pictures convey idealized reassuring images of orderly administration, in times of complicated, disordered underlying realities. In demonstrating how art and accounting are intertwined as tools of governance, and that there are contemporary resonances in corporate annual reporting, we add both to research in governance and to visual organizational research, and pave the way for further interdisciplinary work on the relationship between art and organizations.
Widowhood revisited: Nature of landholding and women’s work in colonial agrarian Bengal
Authors: Chakravarty Ishita , Chakravarty Deepita
Published: July 2022

Despite major economic and political changes in the last two centuries, the incidence of underage marriage of girls as well as their widowhood is much higher in West Bengal than in any other parts of India. The incidence of widowhood was very high in Bengal among the major colonial provinces in the first half of the twentieth century. Many historians argue that marriage practices of the higher castes gradually percolated downwards, and many intermediary cultivating castes as well as lower castes started following the norms of child marriage and ban on widow remarriage as a means of attaining social respectability during the closing decades of the nineteenth and the early years of the twentieth century. This article tries to explore whether the very high incidence of widowhood in colonial Bengal in the first half of the twentieth century could also have been linked to the very nature of women’s labour force participation which in turn was largely determined by the nature of the agrarian economy.
Ideas That Matter: Humanistic Psychology, Past, Present, and Future
Authors: Hoffman Edward
Published: July 2022

A paper on “The Search for Challenge” by sociologist David Riesman begins a new feature of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology (JHP). Periodically, various scholars in humanistic psychology will be invited to present their reactions to particular, important papers in the history of the field. Riesman, a leading social thinker in the post–World War II era, was a founding editorial board member of JHP. This article, published shortly before JHP was launched, has considerable relevance for our own time; the five scholars who have provided their reactions offer a diversity of intriguing viewpoints.
I Will Get a Reward, Too: When Disclosing the Referrer Reward Increases Referring
Authors: Xu Minzhe , Yu Zhihao , Tu Yanping
Published: July 2022

Incentivized customer referral programs (e.g., “Refer a friend, reward yourself!”) are prevalent, yet they usually have low referring rates. One reason, the authors suggest, is that existing customers (referrers) view incentivized referring as an exchange activity that feels incompatible with their communal relationship with friends (referees), resulting in a psychological barrier (i.e., negative feelings such as discomfort, conflict, guilt, etc.). In seven studies (five preregistered, two in the field; N = 2,060) and one preregistered supplemental study (N = 176), the authors propose and find that disclosing the referrer reward in the invitation message—a not yet widely adopted method—can promote referring by making the referring action seem more compatible with communal norms and reducing the experienced psychological barrier. They also document the potential of disclosing the referrer reward on increasing acceptance, conversion, and sales. The authors further identify three theoretically and practically relevant boundary conditions: (1) the relative reward amount (whether the referrer reward is greater than, equal to, or less than the referee reward), (2) the stated source of the referrer reward (the company or the referee's spending), and (3) the framing of the referral opportunity (whether it is already framed as a communal activity). The authors conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications.
Are Political Staffers out of Touch with Grassroots Party Members? Assessing Congruence between Professionals and Volunteers
Authors: Moens Pieter
Published: July 2022

This article examines whether political professionalization causes attitudinal incongruence within political parties. In this first of a kind study, the internal opinion structure of five Belgian political parties based in Flanders is analysed by comparing the political attitudes of staffers and party members. The analysis combines original survey data collected among the staff of five Belgian political parties based in Flanders ( N = 560) and survey data collected among their party members by the MAPP project ( N = 10,022). The results demonstrate that staffers are mostly congruent with party members, with a few remarkable exceptions. As anticipated by my reinterpretation of cleavage theory, incongruences are more prevalent among mainstream parties and mostly appear on issues concerning globalization. This cosmopolitan bias among staffers is primarily driven by an educational and generational divide with party members.
Research on creep modeling and simulation of cotton fiber assembly based on the three-dimensional discrete element
Authors: Sun Peng , Yong Li , Chen Xiaochuan , Wang Jun
Published: July 2022

In order to analyze the mesoscopic contact characteristics of cotton fiber creep, this paper uses the meso-particle discrete element method to establish a cotton fiber assembly creep microscopic model based on the existing cotton fiber creep experiment. The microscopic parameters of the Particle Flow Code contact constitutive model are calibrated according to the macroscopic mechanical indexes of cotton fiber creep obtained from experiments, and the creep strain of the cotton fiber in the instantaneous creep stage under different compressive stresses and the contact force between particles are analyzed. According to the time–temperature equivalence principle, the calculation efficiency of the viscoelastic discrete element model is optimized, which improves the time scale of the simulation test. The results show that the numerical simulation results accord with the variation characteristics of the experimental creep variables, which verifies the feasibility of the method in this paper. The research results can provide a certain reference for the deeper study of cotton fiber creep characteristics and its mechanism.
Popper and Agassi at Odds
Authors: Jarvie Ian
Published: July 2022

Three main conflicts between Popper and Agassi are discussed. Over the ethics of hard work which in reality turns out to be over perfectionism and optimism. Over the role of metaphysics in science. Over methodological individualism where is it argued that Popper's views are contradictory and that Agassi' Institutionalism prevails.