bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical Course of Euthyroid Subjects With Positive TSH Receptor Antibody: How Often Does Graves’ Disease Develop?
Authors: Suzuki Nami , Kawaguchi Akiko , Yoshimura Noh Jaeduk , Yoshimura Ran , Mikura Kentaro , Kinoshita Aya , Suzuki Ai , Mitsumatsu Takako , Hoshiyama Ayako , Fukushita Miho , Matsumoto Masako , Yoshihara Ai , Watanabe Natsuko , Sugino Kiminori , Ito Koichi
Published: March 2021

Background

Thyroid stimulating hormone receptor antibody (TRAb) is detected in the serum of patients with Graves’ disease (GD). This study aims to investigate the prevalence of euthyroid individuals showing positive results for TRAb and to clarify the clinical course of thyroid function and TRAb levels in these subjects.

Objective

Subjects were female patients who newly visited our hospital for a screening test prior to fertility treatment and showed normal thyroid function and volume without nodules between 2014 and 2017. After excluding subjects with a history of thyroid disease, 5,622 subjects were analyzed.

Results

Forty-seven of the 5,622 subjects showed positive results for TRAb (reference range, <2.0 IU/L) at the initial visit. Median initial TRAb was 2.9 IU/L (range, 2.0-14.7 IU/L) and median follow-up was 18.3 months (range, 0-66.5 months). Six of the 47 subjects (12.8%) developed GD and median duration until development was 6.6 months (range, 1.2-13.2 months). Median TRAb values initially and at diagnosis of GD for those 6 patients were 3.7 IU/L (range, 2.7-5.1 IU/L) and 7.2 IU/L (range 3.6-21.4 IU/L), respectively. TRAb results turned negative for 20 of the 47 subjects but remained positive despite normal thyroid function in 13 of the 47 subjects.

Conclusion

GD developed over time in 12.8% of euthyroid young female patients showing positive TRAb within a median of 6.6 months. A positive result for TRAb itself did not mean development of GD, so other factors must be essential for the pathogenesis of GD.
Postoperative Hematocrit and Adverse Outcomes in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study From the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society Database Collaboration
Authors: Long Justin B. , Engorn Branden M. , Hill Kevin D. , Feng Liqi , Chiswell Karen , Jacobs Marshall L. , Jacobs Jeffrey P. , Goswami Dheeraj
Published: March 2021

BACKGROUND:

We sought to examine potential associations between pediatric postcardiac surgical hematocrit values and postoperative complications or mortality.

METHODS:

A retrospective, cross-sectional study from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database (STS-CHSD) and Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society Database Module (2014–2019) was completed. Multivariable logistic regression models, adjusting for covariates in the STS-CHSD mortality risk model, were used to assess the relationship between postoperative hematocrit and the primary outcomes of operative mortality or any major complication. Hematocrit was assessed as a continuous variable using linear splines to account for nonlinear relationships with outcomes. Operations after which the oxygen saturation is typically observed to be <92% were classified as cyanotic and ≥92% as acyanotic.

RESULTS:

In total, 27,462 index operations were included, with 4909 (17.9%) being cyanotic and 22,553 (82.1%) acyanotic. For cyanotic patients, each 5% incremental increase in hematocrit over 42% was associated with a 1.31-fold (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-1.55; P = .003) increase in the odds of operative mortality and a 1.22-fold (95% CI, 1.10-1.36; P < .001) increase in the odds of a major complication. For acyanotic patients, each 5% incremental increase in hematocrit >38% was associated with a 1.45-fold (95% CI, 1.28-1.65; P < .001) increase in the odds of operative mortality and a 1.21-fold (95% CI, 1.14-1.29; P < .001) increase in the odds of a major complication.

CONCLUSIONS:

High hematocrit on arrival to the intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with increased operative mortality and major complications in pediatric patients following cardiac surgery.
Lalla Essaydi’s Bullets and Bullets Revisited
Authors: Hachad Naïma
Published: March 2021

In Bullets and Bullets Revisited (2009–14) the Moroccan-born artist Lalla Essaydi invites the onlooker to reflect on the power dynamics of image production and consumption in a globalizing visual culture. As in the artist’s previous series, the photographs present Moroccan women in interior spaces and poses made familiar to an international audience by nineteenth-century European paintings. However, Essaydi trades Orientalism’s apparent realism and colorful decors for a monochromatic gold color scheme that originates from thousands of bullet casings she has meticulously sewn together to fabricate ceilings, walls, floors, furniture, jewelry, and clothes for her models. This article underscores how Essaydi’s use of a readable symbol of violence allows her to take part in and act on representational traditions that have shaped the perception of Arab Muslim women and the Middle East. Her violent aesthetics further account for curatorial and marketing practices that neutralize the subversive content of art by women originating in North Africa and the Middle East. Often shown in exhibitions featuring similar images and associating women with the veil, weapons, and scenes of destruction, Essaydi’s photographs are uncritically linked to events and situations as varied as the Arab uprisings, violence in the Palestinian territories, and the wars in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. Instead of illuminating complex sociopolitical issues and reshaping dominant discourses, they become part of a homogenizing visual archive that sustains ways of seeing and producing the Middle East—as inherently violent and culturally backward—that are rooted in imperial imaginaries and political ideologies.
Glamour, Drag, and Death
Authors: Davis Ms. Bob
Published: March 2021

In the art of three San Francisco drag queen painters we find their highly personal responses to HIV/AIDS and their own mortality. Doris Fish's commitment to glamour wouldn't allow the disease to intrude on her paintings, though she was able to write about her illness's progress in her weekly newspaper column. Jerome Caja made art from the disease's horror by incorporating the ashes of deceased artist Charles Sexton, who died of AIDS, into her works, her way of mastering the carnage. Miss Kitty confronted the disease in an even more personal way, creating art from her own illness by incorporating her prescription for Prozac into one painting and using her emaciated, AIDS-ravaged body as the subject of a photographic portrait by Daniel Nicoletta in which her physical body fades, white on white, into an angel with wings.
Phenotype of a transient neonatal diabetes point mutation (SUR1-R1183W) in mice
Authors: Sachse Gregor , Haythorne Elizabeth , Proks Peter , Stewart Michelle , Cater Heather , Ellard Sian , Davies Ben , Ashcroft Frances M.
Published: March 2021

Background: The KATP channel plays a key role in glucose homeostasis by coupling metabolically generated changes in ATP to insulin secretion from pancreatic beta-cells.  Gain-of-function mutations in either the pore-forming (Kir6.2) or regulatory (SUR1) subunit of this channel are a common cause of transient neonatal diabetes mellitus (TNDM), in which diabetes presents shortly after birth but remits within the first few years of life, only to return in later life. The reasons behind this time dependence are unclear.

Methods: In an attempt to understand the mechanism behind diabetes remission and relapse, we generated mice expressing the common TNDM mutation SUR1-R1183W. We employed Cre/LoxP technology for both inducible and constitutive expression of SUR1-R1183W specifically in mouse beta-cells, followed by investigation of their phenotype using glucose tolerance tests and insulin secretion from isolated islets. 

Results: We found that the R1183W mutation impaired inhibition of KATP channels by ATP when heterologously expressed in human embryonic kidney cells. However, neither induced nor constitutive expression of SUR1-R1183W in mice resulted in changes in blood glucose homeostasis, compared to littermate controls. When challenged with a high fat diet, female mice expressing SUR1-R1183W showed increased weight gain, elevated blood glucose and impaired glycaemic control, but glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic islets appeared unchanged.

Conclusions: The mouse model of TNDM did not recapitulate the human phenotype. We discuss multiple potential reasons why this might be the case. Based on our findings, we recommend future TNDM mouse models employing a gain-of-function SUR1 mutation should be created using the minimally invasive CRISPR/Cas technology, which avoids many potential pitfalls associated with the Cre/LoxP system.
Second waves, social distancing, and the spread of COVID-19 across the USA
Authors: Friston Karl J. , Parr Thomas , Zeidman Peter , Razi Adeel , Flandin Guillaume , Daunizeau Jean , Hulme Oliver J. , Billig Alexander J. , Litvak Vladimir , Price Catherine J. , Moran Rosalyn J. , Lambert Christian
Published: March 2021

We recently described a dynamic causal model of a COVID-19 outbreak within a single region. Here, we combine several instantiations of this (epidemic) model to create a (pandemic) model of viral spread among regions. Our focus is on a second wave of new cases that may result from loss of immunity—and the exchange of people between regions—and how mortality rates can be ameliorated under different strategic responses. In particular, we consider hard or soft social distancing strategies predicated on national (Federal) or regional (State) estimates of the prevalence of infection in the population. The modelling is demonstrated using timeseries of new cases and deaths from the United States to estimate the parameters of a factorial (compartmental) epidemiological model of each State and, crucially, coupling between States. Using Bayesian model reduction, we identify the effective connectivity between States that best explains the initial phases of the outbreak in the United States. Using the ensuing posterior parameter estimates, we then evaluate the likely outcomes of different policies in terms of mortality, working days lost due to lockdown and demands upon critical care. The provisional results of this modelling suggest that social distancing and loss of immunity are the two key factors that underwrite a return to endemic equilibrium.
Deriving alpha angle from anterior-posterior dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scans: an automated and validated approach
Authors: Faber Benjamin G. , Ebsim Raja , Saunders Fiona R. , Frysz Monika , Davey Smith George , Cootes Timothy , Tobias Jonathan H. , Lindner Claudia
Published: March 2021

Introduction: Alpha angle (AA) is a widely used measure of hip shape that is commonly used to define cam morphology, a bulging of the lateral aspect of the femoral head. Cam morphology has shown strong associations with hip osteoarthritis (OA) making the AA a clinically relevant measure. In both clinical practice and research studies, AA tends to be measured manually which can be inconsistent and time-consuming.

Objective: We aimed to (i) develop an automated method of deriving AA from anterior-posterior dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans; and (ii) validate this method against manual measures of AA.

Methods: 6,807 individuals with left hip DXAs were selected from UK Biobank. Outline points were manually placed around the femoral head on 1,930 images before training a Random Forest-based algorithm to place the points on a further 4,877 images. An automatic method for calculating AA was written in Python 3 utilising these outline points. An iterative approach was taken to developing and validating the method, testing the automated measures against independent batches of manually measured images in sequential experiments.

Results: Over the course of six experimental stages the concordance correlation coefficient, when comparing the automatic AA to manual measures of AA, improved from 0.28 [95% confidence interval 0.13-0.43] for the initial version to 0.88 [0.84-0.92] for the final version. The inter-rater kappa statistic comparing automatic versus manual measures of cam morphology, defined as AA ³≥60°, improved from 0.43 [80% agreement] for the initial version to 0.86 [94% agreement] for the final version.

Conclusions: We have developed and validated an automated measure of AA from DXA scans, showing high agreement with manually measuring AA. The proposed method is available to the wider research community from Zenodo.
Economics: a teaching aid for students of non-core areas of training for bachelor's degree
Authors: Utkina A.N. , Dolmatova T.N.
Published: March 2021

Учебно-методическое пособие по «Экономике» предназначено для оказания методической помощи преподавателям, а также для обучения и самоконтроля студентов, изучающих курс «Экономика» в вузе по непрофильным направлениям подготовки бакалавриата.
Psychological prevention of professional stress and emotional burnout in the heads of the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia
Authors: Bogatyrev Sergey , Chumanov Yuriy
Published: March 2021

The relevance of the research topic is due to the fact that the activities of employees of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia are associated with the influence of various adverse factors on their work, such as the negative impact of criminal acts, the complexity of operational investigative, procedural, administrative activities, falling under the influence of corrupt officials, and so on. A special feature of the work of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia is that it covers all types and areas of state security of the country. In this regard, the work of the heads of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia is subject to stress and emotional pressure. As a result, there may be situations when employees stop performing their professional duties efficiently, that is, we are talking about their professional burnout. This negative phenomenon affects all categories of employees of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia, but it is in relation to managers that the topic under consideration is of particular interest.

The problem of the research lies, first, in the infancy of the conceptual apparatus, namely the lack of a uniform definition of the terms occupational stress, professional burnout and emotional burnout of head of the territorial body of the MIA of Russia. Secondly, not enough attention is paid to psychoprevention measures, which makes it necessary to develop recommendations for the prevention of emotional burnout of heads of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia.

The purpose of the study is to develop recommendations for the prevention of emotional burnout and stress tolerance in the official activities of heads of territorial bodies of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia.

Literature analysis, synthesis, generalization and systematization of materials, method of empirical-theoretical General scientific description

First, from the perspective of the vocational service activities of the head of the territorial body of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia refined the definitions of the following terms: professional stress, professional burnout, emotional burnout of the head of the territorial body of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia. Secondly, recommendations have been developed for the prevention of emotional burnout of heads of territorial bodies of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia.
INFLUENCE OF PERCEIVED USEFULNESS AND EASE OF USE ON STUDENTS’ CONTINUOUS INTENTION IN LEARNING ON-LINE ENGLISH LESSONS: AN EXTENDED TAM
Authors: Akmal Akmal
Published: March 2021

There are huge numbers of English lessons available on-line and are ready to be used by TEFL and ELT teachers for teaching Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Pronunciation, Grammar, etc. Some on-line English lessons may receive less attention from the students as the web pages are too complicated or the addresses are too difficult to be accessed. It can be caused by improper choice of learning template such as Moodle, Edmodo, the Blackboard system, etc or caused by type of application  used such as Wondershare, PPT Macros, Aurora 3D, Zondle, Hotpotato, iMindmap, Drop Box, Edmodo, ToolBook, Smashwords, Amazon Kindle DX, PowToon, and so forth. Therefore, it is critical to understand students’ continuous intention in following on-line English lessons. This study was aimed at assessing the influence of Perceived Usefulness and Ease of Use on Students’ Continuous Intention in learning on-line English Lessons. There were 230 pre-service English students (4A-4E classes) who took compulsory course of Teaching Media/ Instructional Technology during the academic year of 2016/2017.The students were divided into several groups for joining on-line English lessons of Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Pronunciation, Grammar, Vocabulary, and TOEFL. While joining those on-line lessons, the researcher measured their continuous attention from ease-of-use, and perceived usefulness of extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The data were collected through questioners and analysed by using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).The results indicate that the students’ intentions are influenced positively by the design of the lessons, lessons delivery/ease-of-use, and their perceived usefulness. Perceived usefulness (PU) influenced more on students’ motivation than ease-of-use (PEOU). It is recommended that designers of on-line English lessons should consider students’ prior knowledge of ICT, pedagogical principles, and technological barrier in the students’ location for receiving more positive enduring intention.
The construction of English verb “send”: A cognitive linguistics study
Authors: Prabaskoro Moch. Panji , Prayudha Prayudha
Published: March 2021

This research is entitled “The Construction of English Verb “SEND”: A Cognitive Linguistic Study”. It is based on cognitive linguistic, because with cognitive linguistic it could be seen how exactly the construction of English verb “send” and how the construction could have that construction. The aims of the research are; 1) to analyze the construction of English verb “SEND” as a single verb; and 2) to analyze the Construction of English verb "SEND" as a phrasal verb. The data will be collected by using observation method and noting technique. Then, it will be analyzed by using distributional method with expansion, ellipsis, and immediate constituent division. All data that have been collected and analyzed will then be described by qualitative method. As a result, there would be two main outcome found in this research. First, the construction of English verb “send” in the form of single verb, those are English verb “send” as single verb in intransitive construction, transitive construction and ditransitive construction. Second, the construction of English verb “send” in the form of phrasal verb, those are English verb “send” as phrasal verb in intransitive construction, transitive construction, and ditransitive construction.
University student strategies to cope with anxiety in learning English
Authors: Rondonuwu Joppi
Published: March 2021

This article has been prepared to report a quantitative study that revealed the strategies of students of English major and non-English major to cope with anxiety in the learning of English as a foreign language, including the description of student anxiety in learning English and strategies to cope with English learning. The respondents consisted of 173 students from English major and 173 students from non-English major of a private university in North Sulawesi Province.  The validated adapted constructs of the questionnaire, namely strategies and anxiety, were originally proposed by He and Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope respectively. The research findings showed that both English major and non-English major students had no significant difference in their strategies to cope with anxiety in learning English and in their level of anxiety in learning English. However, there were four strategies to cope with anxiety in learning English which significantly contributed to the anxiety in learning English as a foreign language.
Interplay of writing skill and inquiry–based learning strategy in EFL classroom
Authors: Hermansyah Sam , Sadapotto Andi
Published: March 2021

The objective of the study is to improve the students’ writing skills through inquiry-based learning strategy of the first-year students of UMS Rappang. It employs collaborative classroom action research. The researcher and the collaborator teacher work together in designing the lesson plan, implementation, and reflection. Each cycle of the study comprises four meetings: three meetings for the treatment, one meeting for the writing test. The data were collected through observation checklists, writing tests, portfolios, field-notes, and the students’ writing performance. Inquiry-based learning takes five major steps. First, students answer the questions given by the teachers about a particular topic. Second, students observe the given pictures, objects, and reading texts, and share their ideas about the observation. Third, students take notes of the observation. Fourth, students discuss the results of the observation and do peer editing. Fifth, the students re-read their writing for content and clarity of meaning and produce the final version to be submitted to the teacher. During the process, the students are grouped heterogeneously, regardless of their achievement, so they can interact and help each other. The teacher controls and guides the learning activities.
Keep up the good work
Authors: Caswell Jo
Published: March 2021

With lockdown restrictions beginning to ease and the promise of more positive times ahead, early years providers must continue to prioritise children's safety until routine inspections resume.
According to plan
Authors: Siraj-Blatchford John , Brock Lynette
Published: March 2021

Find out how a pre-school in an area of disadvantage has embedded a sustainable ethos which is giving children the knowledge and confidence to become eco-citizens of the future.
Recognising and treating long Covid
Authors: Moffat Polly
Published: March 2021

Reports of continuing, long-term symptoms of Covid-19 after patients have recovered from infection have raised concerns among health professionals. What are the characteristics of the condition?
Additive Manufacturing: Application Perspectives in Small and Medium Enterprises
Authors: Beltrami Mirjam , Orzes Guido
Published: March 2021

Changes in customer expectations, markets and organisations are creating an increasing need for customised products and calling for reactive supply chains. New technologies might help organisations to deal with these challenges in a flexible and cost-effective way. One of these technologies is Additive Manufacturing (AM). The object of this paper is to outline the potential of AM in production, to identify possible supply chain developments and to determine the role that SMEs might play in this scenario. In detail, we pose the question whether AM might lead to geographically dispersed manufacturing plants and might replace physical material flow with information flow and how SMEs can act in this development process. Based on an exploratory literature review, we highlight the market requirements addressed by AM, the supply chain characteristics for AM and the role of SMEs. Implementing AM can cause shifts in the decoupling point as well as changes in the global supply chain configuration (relocation of production closer to the final customer). We then conduct some expert interviews, which confirm some of the results of the literature review, but emphasise that AM will not replace conventional manufacturing processes on a large scale, at least in the medium term.
Smart Logistics – Conceptualization and Empirical Evidence
Authors: Woschank Manuel , Zsifkovits Helmut
Published: March 2021

Industry 4.0 approaches have gained increasing relevance and impact on logistics research and practical applications. However, logistics research often focuses on the investigation of isolated concepts, which leads to a systematic neglect of more holistic research frameworks. Therefore, this paper conceptualises Smart Logistics as an important element within the context of Industry 4.0 approaches. Furthermore, a set of technological concepts for Smart Logistics is identified and potential applications are outlined and discussed. Moreover, the paper presents recent developments in the area of Smart Logistics based on both primary and secondary data analyses and recommends further directions for future research efforts.
Isolation of Corncob Xylan-Degrading Fungi and Its Application in Xylobiose Production
Authors: Febrinasari Tantry , Tae Hasegawa , Riki Nakanishi , Yotsombat Akkharapimon , Goro Takata , Cahyanto Muhammad Nur , Khanongnuch Chartchai
Published: March 2021

In the present study, a potential corncob xylan degradation fungi was isolated and screened from soil to produce xylanase, and was identified as Fusarium oxysporum. The production of xylanase by F. oxysporum under solid state fermentation using corncob powder as the solid substrate reached the maximum xylanase activity when using particle size of substrate of 60 mesh, water content ratio of 2 mL/g substrate, incubation temperature of 30°C, initial pH of 6.0, size of inoculum of 5x107 spore/3 g substrate, and incubation time of 2 days. The xylanase activity increased about 4 times up to 7.92 U/mL after optimization. The potential application of xylanase of F. oxysporum in hydrolyzing alkali-treated corncob xylan to produce xylobiose was also demonstrated. Hydrolysis of 6% of corncob xylan using 100 U/g substrate of enzyme loading under optimum pH and temperature conditions (pH 5.5 and 50°C, respectively) achieved the yield of xylobiose up to 28.7 g/100 g pure xylan after 12 h incubation. The purification of hydrolysate could retain 91.1% of xylobiose. Further separation step using activated charcoal column chromatography was able to get a pure xylobiose, but could only recover 59.3% of xylobiose.
Effects of Benzyladenine on in vitro ‘Hom Rangsi’ Rice and Induction of Aluminum Acid Tolerance Lines by Gamma Irradiation
Authors: Puripunyavanich Vichai , Khamvarn Vararas , Ngamjob Somjai
Published: March 2021

‘Hom Rangsi’ was the non-photoperiod aromatic mutant rice which derived from fast neutron radiation KDML 105. ‘Hom Rangsi’ seeds were cultured on MS solid medium without any supplemented for a week. And then, all explants were placed on MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) medium supplemented with 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 mg/L BA (benzyladenine) for multiple shoot induction. The optimal concentration of BA for induced multiple shoot induction of ‘Hom Rangsi’ line was MS + BA 25 mg/L, the highest number of shoots were 5.38 shoot/seed. The following experiment was done, irradiated ‘Hom Rangsi’ seeds with 0, 100, 200, 300, 400 Gy gamma ray which cultured on MS solid medium supplemented with 400 mg/L Al3+ pH 2.9 were selected for acid tolerance lines. After six weeks cultured, the survivals of irradiated plantlets were 86.32, 77.78, 58.95, 58.95, 21.87% and the height of irradiated plantlets were 8.4, 8.3, 6.7, 6.6, 6.1 cm respectively without any shoot budding. All survival plantlets were transferred to suitable MS + BA 25 mg/L medium which discovered from the first experiment for multiple shoot budding. After six weeks cultured, the maximum of 5.24 shoots/plantlet were found from 300 Gy irradiation significantly and followed by 400, 200, 0 and 100 Gy irradiation treatments which gave 4.55 and 4.41, 4.37 and 4.31 shoots/planlet respectively.
TestDaF oder ZOP? Welche Prüfung sagt mehr über die Studierfähigkeit aus?
Authors: Schleif Susanne Katharina
Published: March 2021

The following article is about two tests of the knowledge of German as a foreign language on an advanced level: TestDaF and ZOP (Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung, Goethe-Institut). Each test type is first described and then analysed for its suitability as a university entry test for foreign students, as both are recognised as such by German universities. It is shown that every test type includes items, which are not valid for university applicants. Based on this analysis, the author works out criteria, which a university entry test should include.
The Self Access Centre as Mass Customization
Authors: Farmer Frank
Published: March 2021

This paper describes the Self Access Centre (SAC) at the Universidad de Quintana Roo and presents the research support for the model in terms of mass-customization. The SAC with its systems, materials, activities and tutor support may be described as offering mass-customized language education. Tutor support is conceived in systemic terms as mass-customization, but as provider of professional advice in support of students' own learning projects and facilitator of feedback in productive skills, tutor support is highly individualized. However, the mass-customization element makes individualization efficient and achievable.
Varieties Within a Collective Skill Formation System: How VET Governance in Switzerland is Shaped by Associations
Authors: Bürgi Regula , Gonon Philipp
Published: March 2021

Context: International scholarship and policy tend to depict national structures governing Vocational Education and Training (VET) as uniform and devoid of internal differences. This macro perspective neglects the numerous processes at the meso and micro level that shape the structure and content of VET. This article focusses on professional associations (meso level) in Switzerland to examine the heterogeneity of governance of individual VET programmes that can exist within one country or one collective skill formation system. Approach: Drawing on insights from historical institutionalism and research on corporatism, we argue that these differences are the product of the characteristics, traditional practices and styles of reasoning of the various associations involved in VET governance. Our analysis is based on expert interviews and governance documents in two vocational areas: Electrotechnology and food services. Findings: We identify and decode an array of cooperative practices and show that collective skill formation has a different meaning for different associations and, correspondingly, different occupations. Collaboration with state actors, unions, VET schools and single firms, as well as voting procedures, differ considerably between associations. Furthermore, we find that these different modes of governance are determined by associational characteristics such as size, level of professionalization, location and established cooperative practices, as well as traditional styles of reasonings. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the decisions taken are not always the product of current day training requirements but of historically grown associational characteristics. Thus, path dependencies are to be considered not only at a macro level but also at the meso level. There is a multifaceted variety of governance approaches beneath the classification "collective skill formation system". Associations are key in defining VET content, working life structures and collectivity.
Social distancing compliance: A video observational analysis
Authors: Hoeben Evelien M. , Bernasco Wim , Suonperä Liebst Lasse , van Baak Carlijn , Rosenkrantz Lindegaard Marie
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Virus epidemics may be mitigated if people comply with directives to stay at home and keep their distance from strangers in public. As such, there is a public health interest in social distancing compliance. The available evidence on distancing practices in public space is limited, however, by the lack of observational data. Here, we apply video observation as a method to examine to what extent members of the public comply with social distancing directives.

Data

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage of interactions in public was collected in inner-city Amsterdam, the Netherlands. From the footage, we observed instances of people violating the 1.5-meter distance directives in the weeks before, during, and after these directives were introduced to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

We find that people complied with the 1.5-meter distance directives when these directives were first introduced, but that the level of compliance started to decline soon after. We also find that violation of the 1.5-meter distance directives is strongly associated with the number of people observed on the street and with non-compliance to stay-at-home directives, operationalized with large-scale aggregated location data from cell phones. All three measures correlate to a varying extent with temporal patterns in the transmission of the COVID-19 virus, temperature, COVID-19 related Google search queries, and media attention to the topic.

Conclusion

Compliance with 1.5 meter distance directives is short-lived and coincides with the number of people on the street and with compliance to stay-at-home directives. Potential implications of these findings are that keep- distance directives may work best in combination with stay-at-home directives and place-specific crowd-control strategies, and that the number of people on the street and community-wide mobility as captured with cell phone data offer easily measurable proxies for the extent to which people keep sufficient physical distance from others at specific times and locations.
Clinical features and outcome of Streptococcus agalactiae bone and joint infections over a 6-year period in a French university hospital
Authors: Loubet Paul , Koumar Yatrika , Lechiche Catherine , Cellier Nicolas , Schuldiner Sophie , Kouyoumdjian Pascal , Lavigne Jean-Philippe , Sotto Albert
Published: March 2021

Background

Bone and joint infections (BJIs) due to Streptococcus agalactiae are rare but has been described to increase in the past few years. The objective of this study was to describe clinical features and outcomes of cases of S. BJIs.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis of adult cases of S. agalactiae BJIs that occurred between January 2009 and June 2015 in a French university hospital. The treatment success was assessed until 24 months after the end of antibiotic treatment.

Results

Among the 26 patients included, 20 (77%) were male, mean age was 62 years ± 13 and mean Charlson comorbidity index score was 4.9 ± 3.2. Diabetes mellitus was the most common comorbidity (n = 14, 54%). Six had PJI (Prosthetic Joint Infections), five osteosynthesis-associated infections, 11 osteomyelitis and four native septic arthritis.

Eleven patients had a delayed or late infection: six with a prosthetic joint infection and five with an internal fixation device infection. Sixteen patients (62%) had a polymicrobial BJI, most commonly with Gram-positive cocci (75%) notably Staphylococcus aureus (44%). Polymicrobial infections were more frequently found in foot infections (90% vs 44%, p = 0.0184). During the two-year follow-up, three patients died (3/25, 12%) and seven (7/25, 28%) had treatment failure.

Conclusion

Diabetes mellitus was the most common comorbidity. We observed an heterogenous management and a high rate of relapse.
Time trend of Brazilian hospital admissions and deaths due to asthma among children and teenagers, 1998–2019
Authors: Fonseca Luiza Gabriela de Araújo , Florêncio Rêncio Bento , Lima Illia Nadinne Dantas Florentino , Peroni Gualdi Lucien
Published: March 2021

Background

Asthma is one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases worldwide. The aim of this study was to characterize the distribution of Brazilian hospital admissions due to asthma among children and teenagers between 1998 and 2019, as well as to analyze hospital admission incidence and mortality rate during the period according to the geographic region, age group and gender.

Methods

This is a descriptive time trend study using secondary data regarding hospital admissions and lethality registered in the Brazilian System of Hospital Information of the Brazilian Public Health System (SIH/SUS) due to asthma (ICD-10) in subjects aged from 0 to 19 years old between 1998 and 2019. The following variables were collected: number and place of hospital admissions classified by the ICD-10, absolute values and frequency by age group, gender and lethality. Statistical analysis was performed by GraphPad Prism version 5.0 software.

Results

The total number of hospital admissions due to asthma was 3,138,064. It was observed that children aged between 1 to 4 years, living in the Northeast region and males showed the highest number of hospitalizations. A 74.37% reduction over a 21-year period was found. The lethality rate found in the study was 0.06, with the highest rates being from the Northeast region, males and < 1-year-old.

Conclusion

Hospital admissions were more prevalent in young children, male gender and in the Northeast region. A decrease of hospital admissions and lethality rate was observed in all groups over time. This profile is important for implementing government strategies to lower hospital admissions and decrease costs.
Factors limiting youths’ practice of preventive measures toward the outbreak of COVID-19 in Oromia special zone surrounding Finfinnee, Ethiopia
Authors: Feyisa Zelalem Tadese
Published: March 2021

Background

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious viral infection, and it has negative effects on public health. The practice of preventive measures of the disease supports containment processes of the spread of coronavirus. However, the practice of preventive measures is affected by several associated risk factors.

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the associated factors that limit the youths’ practice of preventive measures against COVID-19 in the study area.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. The study used a quantitative approach for collecting data from 384 youths using a survey method. Not practicing preventive measures was measured to determine whether or not youths applied hygiene practices, kept their distance, restricted their movements, and sought self-help or support in the past two months. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the distribution of study participants, and a binary regression model was executed to examine the association factors with inability to practice preventive measures with a p-value < 0.05 statistically significant.

Results

Male youths (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 0.06; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.16) were less likely to practice preventive measures. Older youth (AOR = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.56), with higher education level (AOR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.06), and who had higher income (AOR = 1.34; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.78) were more likely to practice preventive measures. Further, the belief in the body’s immunity to resist the disease (AOR = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.67), lack of paying attention to the disease (AOR = 0.07; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.73), ignorance of evidence to the disease (AOR = 0.31; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.74), ease of restriction of movements (AOR = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.72), lack of sensitization to actions in the community (AOR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.96), and substance use (AOR = 0.11; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.21) were other factors that were inversely related to practicing preventive measures.

Conclusions

The findings suggested that more intervention efforts, by either communicating to or reaching out all groups, should be employed. All segments of the population should be equipped with the facts that effectively support them practice preventive measures against the disease. Finally, the results suggested that youths should abstain from substance use, keep their distance in their pastime and avoid crowdings.
Inequalities in the identification and management of common mental disorders in the perinatal period: An equity focused re-analysis of a systematic review
Authors: Prady Stephanie L. , Endacott Charlotte , Dickerson Josie , Bywater Tracey J. , Blower Sarah L.
Published: March 2021

Objective

Maternal mental health problems in the perinatal period can cause significant distress and loss of functioning, and can have lasting impact on children. People living in disadvantage are at risk of health inequalities, including for perinatal mental health. A review of current guidance found that overall implementation of the UK detection and management strategy was satisfactory, but equity was not considered in the review. Greater understanding of implementation equity is needed. We aimed to reanalyse an existing systematic review on the implementation of current guidance for the identification and management of perinatal mental health problems for equity.

Methods

Studies reporting the presence or absence of variation by a social, economic or demographic group were quality appraised and the presence and direction of disparity tabled. We calculated standardised absolute prevalence estimates for overall detection and management, and absolute and relative estimates by determinants grouping. A thematic analysis of the studies that examined potential reasons for disparity was undertaken.

Results

Six studies, with no major quality concerns, provided consistent evidence of reduced identification and management for ethnic minority women, both those who do, and do not, speak English. There was less consistent evidence of inequality for other axes of social disparity and for characteristics such as age, parity and partnership status. Explanations centred on difficulties that translation and interpretation added to communication, and hesitancy related to uncertainty from healthcare providers over cultural understanding of mental health problems.

Conclusion

The identification and management of perinatal mental health problems is likely to be inequitable for ethnic minority women. Further systems-based research should focus on clarifying whether other groups of women are at risk for inequalities, understand how mismatches in perception are generated, and design effective strategies for remediation. Inequalities should be considered when reviewing evidence that underpins service planning and policy decision-making.
Genetic association analysis of the cardiovascular biomarker: N-terminal fragment of pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP)
Authors: Yang Yuan , Zmuda Joseph M. , Wojczynski Mary K. , Thyagarajan Bharat , Christensen Kaare , Cvejkus Ryan K. , Kuipers Allison L.
Published: March 2021

Background

NT-proBNP is a biomarker of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Little is known about the heritability and genetic variants associated with NT-proBNP. Therefore, we estimated the heritability of and examined genetic associations of SNPs in the BNP gene region with circulating NT-proBNP and prevalent CVD in 4,331 participants from the Long Life Family Study (LLFS).

Methods and results

Genotypes of 10 SNPs from the NPPB and NPPA regions that encode BNP and A-type natriuretic peptide, respectively, were tested for association with NT-proBNP and prevalent cardiovascular disease and risk factors. We performed analyses using the Sequential Oligogenic Linkage Analysis (SOLAR) program to account for family relatedness, and adjusted all models for age, sex, and field center. The mean age of the LLFS was 69.8 years (range 24–110) with 55.4% females. NT-proBNP was significantly heritable (h2 = 0.21; P = 4x10-14), and the minor alleles of rs632793 (p<0.001) and rs41300100 (p = 0.05) were independently associated with higher serum NT-proBNP levels. Additionally, the minor allele of rs632793 was significantly and consistently associated with lower prevalent CVD, including blood pressures, independent of NT-proBNP level (all P<0.05). Results for prevalent CVD, but not NT-proBNP levels, showed significant interaction by familial generation.

Conclusion

In this family-based study of subjects with exceptional longevity, we identified several allelic variants in the BNP gene region associated with NT-pro-BNP levels and prevalent CVD.
EDP-938, a novel nucleoprotein inhibitor of respiratory syncytial virus, demonstrates potent antiviral activities in vitro and in a non-human primate model
Authors: Rhodin Michael H. J. , McAllister Nicole V. , Castillo Jonathan , Noton Sarah L. , Fearns Rachel , Kim In Jong , Yu Jianming , Blaisdell Thomas P. , Panarese Joseph , Shook Brian C. , Or Yat Sun , Goodwin Bryan , Lin Kai
Published: March 2021

EDP-938 is a novel non-fusion replication inhibitor of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). It is highly active against all RSV-A and B laboratory strains and clinical isolates tested in vitro in various cell lines and assays, with half-maximal effective concentrations (EC50s) of 21, 23 and 64 nM against Long (A), M37 (A) and VR-955 (B) strains, respectively, in the primary human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs). EDP-938 inhibits RSV at a post-entry replication step of the viral life cycle as confirmed by time-of-addition study, and the activity appears to be mediated by viral nucleoprotein (N). In vitro resistance studies suggest that EDP-938 presents a higher barrier to resistance compared to viral fusion or non-nucleoside L polymerase inhibitors with no cross-resistance observed. Combinations of EDP-938 with other classes of RSV inhibitors lead to synergistic antiviral activity in vitro. Finally, EDP-938 has also been shown to be efficacious in vivo in a non-human primate model of RSV infection.
The Common Origins of Philosophical and Political Power in Plato's Gorgias
Authors: Winn Lydia
Published: March 2021

Plato’s Gorgias concerns the tension between political and philosophical power. In it, Socrates and Gorgias discuss rhetoric’s power, which Gorgias claims is universal, containing all powers, enabling the rhetorician to rule over others politically. Polus and Callicles develop Gorgias’s understanding of rhetoric’s universal power. Scholars addressing power’s central focus rightly distinguish Socrates’ notion of philosophical power from Gorgias’s. However, these authors make this distinction too severe, failing to acknowledge the kinship between philosophy and politics. This paper argues that Socrates’ notion of power has its origins in Gorgias’s, but instead of seeking to persuade others, philosophy primarily concerns self-persuasion.
The Use and Meaning of the Past in Plato
Authors: Migliori Maurizio
Published: March 2021

This essay is based on two premises. The first concerns the vision of writing proposed by Plato in Phaedrus and especially the conception of philosophical writing as a maieutic game. The structurally polyvalent way in which Plato approaches philosophical issues also emerges in the dialogues. The second concerns the birth and the development of historical analysis in parallel with the birth of philosophy.

On this basis the text investigates a series of data about the relationship between Plato and "the facts".

1) If we compare the Apology of Socrates with other sources, we discover a series of important “games” that Plato performs to achieve the results he proposes.

2) The famous passage of Phaedo 96A-102A, which concludes with the Ideas and with a reference to the Principles, expresses definite judgments on the Presocratics.

3) In his works Plato attributes to the sophists some merits, even if the outcome of their contri-bution is overall negative.

4) However, in the fourth complicated diairesis of the Sophist, there is a "sophist of noble stock", an educator who can only be Socrates.

5) Plato in the Sophist shows the weakness of the Gigantomachy, and proposes an adequate definition of the beings: the power of undergoing or acting. This reveals, before the Philebus and the Timaeus, the dynamic and dialectical nature of his philosophy

In summary, a multifocal vision emerges, adapted to an intrinsically complex reality.