bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reconstructing narratives: The politics of heritage in contemporary Syria
Authors: Munawar Nour A
Published: January 2022

It is predominantly known that history is written by winners. However, this statement is true when a conflict has a symmetric tendency. In the case of Syria, where the conflict has been widely considered asymmetric, history is being written by a regime/government that won the war by not losing it. This article investigates the interconnection between heritage and politics in Syria by scrutinizing heritage practices, uses, and abuses since the colonial period. First, this article examines regime/government-led post-conflict reconstruction projects in the aftermath of Syria’s current conflict. Then the article moves on and explores the creation of war narratives and the selective memorialization of Syria’s recent conflict by looking at the portrayal of contested war memories in the media and the production of oral history. I argue that heritage practices, uses, presentation, and promotion in Syria since the colonial period have produced a politicized, one-sided (hi)story influenced by political agendas. This history includes highly politicized, ongoing tangible and intangible heritage reconstruction works, freighted with cultural meaning and primarily intended to bolster the power and authority of the ruling regime.
Opening up semiotic spaces for gender expression: a case study of the construction of gender in Australian award-winning early childhood picture books
Authors: Caple Helen , Tian Ping
Published: January 2022

This article examines the visual and verbal expressions of gender in Australian award-winning early childhood picture books. It brings together social semiotic analysis and the narratological concepts of narration and focalization to examine the extent to which one community of practice (authors, illustrators, publishers and awards council) reproduces symbolic manifestations of gender, or offers readers space to engage with alternatives. The authors’ findings suggest that, while the literary works produced by this community of practice mostly serve to reinforce hegemonic cultural attitudes of what constitutes desirable femininity and masculinity in Australia, there is ample opportunity for change.
Ranked-Choice Voting and the Potential for Improved Electoral Performance of Third-Party Candidates in America
Authors: Simmons Alan James , Gutierrez Manuel , Transue John E.
Published: January 2022

Proponents of ranked-choice voting highlight a number of arguments for why such an approach to elections should be adopted. One major argument is that ranked-choice voting will encourage voters to support more third-party or independent candidates and break the electoral stranglehold of the two main parties in America. Considering approximately two-thirds of Americans want a third major party this argument may prove appealing to American voters, but there is currently no empirical evidence to support such claims. In this project, we explore a theory of why ranked-choice voting may increase voter support for third-party or independent candidates and test the argument that ranked-choice voting (RCV) will improve the fortunes of third-party candidates using a survey experiment. We find significant support for the claim that ranked-choice voting increases support for third-party candidates.
Zadok Adolu-Otojoka and Music Education in Uganda: An Oral History
Authors: Wabyona Milton
Published: January 2022

Zadok Adolu-Otojoka (b. 1932) is one of the prominent music educators and professional performers in the recent history of arts education in East Africa. A Ugandan by nationality, Adolu-Otojoka has served in different professional capacities as music educator, opera singer, folk musician, dancer, composer, and education/culture administrator, at national and regional levels. Educated in Uganda and in the United States, Adolu-Otojoka excelled as a bass-baritone and featured in several professional opera performances alongside celebrated European and American actors and actresses such as Ray Charman, Lance Hardy, Jane Wise, Mike Laflin, and Henry Pearson in the 1970s and 1980s. His most memorable production was Jesus Christ Superstar in which he performed as Caiaphas, in Nairobi, Kenya. His long and distinguished music teaching career spans over half a century starting in the early 1950s through 2006, during which he taught vocal performance, instruments, music theory, and dance and drama courses in the East African region. Although his career is widely discussed, very little or no documentation of his celebrated life is available for reference. Therefore, this oral history was intended to chronicle historical patterns of music education in Uganda through his testimonies as one of the pioneers of music education in colonial and post-independence East Africa. Adolu-Otojoka’s experiences will not only provide valuable inspiration for the young music education discipline in Uganda, but also insights regarding multicultural music education perspectives in general.
Analysis of user pairing non-orthogonal multiple access network using deep Q-network algorithm for defense applications
Authors: Ravi Shankar , Kulkarni Gopal Ramchandra , Ray Samrat , Ravisankar Malladi , krishnan V Gokula , Chakravarthy D S K
Published: January 2022

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) networks play an important role in defense communication scenarios. Deep learning (DL)-based solutions are being considered as viable ways to solve the issues in fifth-generation (5G) and beyond 5G (B5G) wireless networks, since they can provide a more realistic solution in the real-world wireless environment. In this work, we consider the deep Q-Network (DQN) algorithm-based user pairing downlink (D/L) NOMA network. We have applied the convex optimization (CO) technique and optimized the sum rate of all the wireless users. First, the near-far (N-F) pairing and near-near and far-far (N-N and F-F) pairing strategies are investigated for the multiple numbers of users, and a closed-form (CF) expression of the achievable rate is derived. After that, the optimal power allocation (OPA) factors are derived using the CO technique. Through simulations, it has been demonstrated that the DQN algorithms perform much better than the deep reinforcement learning (DRL) and conventional orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) schemes. The sum-rate performance significantly increases with OPA factors. The simulation results are in close agreement with the analytical results.
Antibiotics Versus Surgery in Treatment of Early Flexor Tenosynovitis
Authors: Latario Luke , Abeler Jesse , Clegg Stephanie , Thurber Laura , Igiesuorobo Oghomwen , Jones Marci
Published: January 2022

Background:

Treatment of pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis (FTS) historically involved surgical debridement supplemented with antibiotic therapy. No consensus exists on either: (1) the treatment algorithm for this infection; or (2) the clinical definition of “early” FTS. We performed a retrospective study to clarify indications for nonoperative management.

Methods:

We identified 40 patients with a diagnosis of FTS using Current Procedural Terminology and International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, codes and a keyword search from an electronic medical record between 2011 and 2019. Patients underwent either surgical management (SG) (n = 20) or early antibiotics only (EAG) (n = 20). The surgical group was divided into patients with intraoperative purulence within the tendon sheath (PU) and those without purulence (NP).

Results:

The number of Kanavel signs and duration of days of symptoms were significantly greater in SG compared with EAG. Subgroup analysis of SG showed a greater number of days of symptoms in the NP group when compared with the PU group. No statistical significance was found with respect to age, smoking, or specific individual Kanavel signs between SG and EAG.

Conclusions:

Both duration of symptoms and number of Kanavel signs should be considered in suspected early FTS. Patients with shorter duration of symptoms and fewer Kanavel signs were treated successfully with antibiotics alone. Operatively confirmed FTS presented more acutely with fewer days of symptoms and a higher number of Kanavel signs. Patients with subacute presentations may represent inflammatory conditions and hand infections other than FTS.
VTE prophylaxis in pregnant people with chronic physical disability: Data from a physicians survey and the need for guidance
Authors: Kazi Sajida , McLeod Anne , Berndl Anne
Published: January 2022

Background

International guidelines recommend risk assessment during the antepartum and postpartum period to inform VTE prophylaxis. We aimed to evaluate physicians’ approach to VTE prophylaxis of women with chronic physical disability (CPD) during pregnancy.

Methods

A cross-sectional study consisting of a self-administered electronic questionnaire was sent to specialists across Canada.

Results

Seventy-three participants responded to the survey, and 55 (75.3%) completed the survey including 33 (60%) Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialists and 22 (40%) Internal Medicine (IM) specialists including physicians with an interest in Obstetric Medicine. Our study shows considerable variation in VTE thromboprophylaxis during pregnancy with CPD. Most respondents favoured antepartum (67.3%) and postpartum (65.5%) VTE prophylaxis for pregnancies within a year of spinal cord injury.

Conclusions

In order to better manage this complex population, CPD should be considered as a risk factor for development of VTE.
Mechanical thrombectomy in stroke patients with acute occlusion of the M1- compared to the M2-segment: Safety, efficacy, and clinical outcome
Authors: Weiss Daniel , Rubbert Christian , Ivan Vivien L , Lee John-Ih , Gliem Michael , Jander Sebastian , Caspers Julian , Turowski Bernd , G Kaschner Marius
Published: January 2022

Purpose

Endovascular treatment (ET) in occlusions of the M1- and proximal M2-segment of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) is an established procedure. In contrast, ET in distal M2-occlusions has not been sufficiently evaluated yet. The purpose of this study was to assess relevant parameters for clinical outcome, efficacy, and safety of patients undergoing ET in M1-, proximal M2-, and distal M2-occlusions.

Methods

One hundred seventy-four patients undergoing ET in acute ischemic stroke with an occlusion of the M1- or M2-segment of the MCA were enrolled prospectively. Non-parametric analysis of variance in 3-month mRS, TICI scale, and complication rates were performed with Kruskal–Wallis test between M1- and proximal and distal M2-occlusions. Subsequent pairwise group comparisons were calculated using Mann–Whitney U-tests. Binary logistic regression models were calculated for each occlusion site.

Results

There were no significant group differences in 3-month mRS, mTICI scale, or complication rates between M1- and M2-occlusions nor between proximal and distal M2-occlusions. Binary logistic regression in patients with M1-occlusions showed a substantial explanation of variance (NR2=0.35). NIHSS ( p=0.009) and Maas Score as parameter for collateralization ( p=0.01) appeared as significant contributing parameters. Binary logistic regression in M2-occlusions showed a high explanation of variance (NR2=0.50) of mRS but no significant factors.

Conclusions

Clinical outcome and procedural safety of patients with M2-occlusions undergoing ET are comparable to those of patients with M1-occlusions. Clinical outcome of patients with M1-occlusions undergoing ET is primarily influenced by the initial neurological deficit and the collateralization of the occlusions. By contrast, clinical outcome in patients with M2-occlusions undergoing ET is more multifactorial.
The application of artificial intelligence and custom algorithms with inertial wearable devices for gait analysis and detection of gait-altering pathologies in adults: A scoping review of literature
Authors: Lim Ashley Cha Yin , Natarajan Pragadesh , Fonseka R Dineth , Maharaj Monish , Mobbs Ralph J
Published: January 2022

Background

The purpose of this scoping review was to explore the current applications of objective gait analysis using inertial measurement units, custom algorithms and artificial intelligence algorithms in detecting neurological and musculoskeletal gait altering pathologies from healthy gait patterns.

Methods

Literature searches were conducted of four electronic databases (Medline, PubMed, Embase and Web of Science) to identify studies that assessed the accuracy of these custom gait analysis models with inputs derived from wearable devices. Data was collected according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis statement guidelines.

Results

A total of 23 eligible studies were identified for inclusion in the present review, including 10 custom algorithms articles and 13 artificial intelligence algorithms articles. Nine studies evaluated patients with Parkinson’s disease of varying severity and subtypes. Support vector machine was the commonest adopted artificial intelligence algorithm model, followed by random forest and neural networks. Overall classification accuracy was promising for articles that use artificial intelligence algorithms, with nine articles achieving more than 90% accuracy.

Conclusions

Current applications of artificial intelligence algorithms are reasonably effective discrimination between pathological and non-pathological gait. Of these, machine learning algorithms demonstrate the additional capacity to handle complicated data input, when compared to other custom algorithms. Notably, there has been increasing application of machine learning algorithms for conducting gait analysis. More studies are needed with unsupervised methods and in non-clinical settings to better reflect the community and home-based usage.
A Multi-step Approach to Adapting a Mind-Body Resiliency Intervention for Fear of Cancer Recurrence and Uncertainty in Survivorship (IN FOCUS)
Authors: Hall Daniel L. , Yeh Gloria Y. , O'Cleirigh Conall , Peppercorn Jeffrey , Wagner Lynne I. , Denninger John , Bullock Andrea J. , Mizrach Helen R. , Goshe Brett , Cheung Tina , Li Raissa , Markowitz Alexandros , Park Elyse R.
Published: January 2022

Background

For cancer survivors, there is a paucity of fear of recurrence (FOR) interventions that integrate empirically supported mind-body and psychological skills for managing FOR and are delivered in scalable formats.

Objective

To adapt an evidence-based resiliency intervention to address FOR among cancer survivors.

Methods

A multidisciplinary team of researchers, clinicians, and patient stakeholders followed an iterative intervention adaptation process (ORBIT). In Step 1, we sought to define key FOR management skills through a literature review and feedback from stakeholders. In Step 2, we integrated findings into a treatment manual and refined procedures for in-person delivery to groups of cancer survivors, defined as adults who had completed primary cancer treatment for non-metastatic cancer. In Step 3, we conducted a single arm trial to assess initial acceptability and change in FOR severity with 23 cancer survivors (N=4 intervention groups). In Step 4, we conducted additional qualitative interviews with 28 cancer survivors (N=6 focus groups stratified by FOR severity, N=15 individual interviews) to define adaptive and maladaptive strategies for coping with FOR and to identify preferences for delivery. In Step 5, we refined the treatment manual and procedures for testing in a future pilot randomized feasibility trial.

Results

We identified critical feedback using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The single arm trial suggested preliminary feasibility and sustained reductions in FOR severity, yet need for refinement (i.e., eligibility, delivery modality), prompting additional qualitative interviews for further targeting. The resulting intervention (IN FOCUS) is comprised of virtual, synchronous, group-delivered sessions that offer an integrated approach to FOR management by teaching cognitive-behavioral techniques, meditation, relaxation training, adaptive health behaviors, and positive psychology skills. Sessions are targeted by applying skills to FOR and associated healthcare engagement.

Conclusions

IN FOCUS is a targeted intervention for teaching mind-body resiliency skills to groups of cancer survivors with elevated FOR. Next steps are testing feasibility in a pilot randomized trial.
How Are Patients Reviewing Spine Surgeons Online? A Sentiment Analysis of Physician Review Website Written Comments
Authors: Tang Justin E. , Arvind Varun , Dominy Calista , White Christopher A. , Cho Samuel K. , Kim Jun S.
Published: January 2022

Study Design

A Sentiment Analysis of online reviews of spine surgeons.

Objectives

Physician review websites have significant impact on a patient’s provider selection. Written reviews are subjective, but sentiment analysis through machine learning can quantitatively analyze these reviews. This study analyzes online written reviews of spine surgeons and reports biases associated with demographic factors and trends in words utilized.

Methods

Online written and star-reviews of spine surgeons were obtained from healthgrades.com . A sentiment analysis package was used to analyze the written reviews. The relationship of demographic variables to these scores was analyzed with t-tests and word and bigram frequency analyses were performed. Additionally, a multiple regression analysis was performed on key terms.

Results

8357 reviews of 480 surgeons were analyzed. There was a significant difference between the means of sentiment analysis scores and star scores for both gender and age. Younger, male surgeons were rated more highly on average ( P < .01). Word frequency analysis indicated that behavioral factors and pain were the main contributing factors to both the best and worst reviewed surgeons. Additionally, several clinically relevant words, when included in a review, affected the odds of a positive review.

Conclusions

The best reviews laud surgeons for their ability to manage pain and for exhibiting positive bedside manner. However, the worst reviews primarily focus on pain and its management, as exhibited by the frequency and multivariate analysis. Pain is a clear contributing factor to reviews, thus emphasizing the importance of establishing proper pain expectations prior to any intervention.
Differentiating Teachers’ Social Goals: Implications for Teacher–Student Relationships and Perceived Classroom Engagement
Authors: Chang Chiung-Fang , Hall Nathan C.
Published: January 2022

Whereas developing meaningful connections with students has long been documented as critical for promoting classroom engagement, teachers’ differing motives for building relationships with students remain underexplored. This study examined teachers’ social achievement goals from a multidimensional perspective in relation to teachers’ self-efficacy, teacher–student relationships, and perceived classroom engagement. Results from practicing K–12 teachers (N = 154) from across Canada showed three distinct goal orientations including social mastery-approach, social mastery-avoidance, and social ability goals (combining social ability-approach and social ability-avoidance goals). Teachers who aimed to develop better social skills with students (social mastery-approach goals) reported higher self-efficacy, better relationships with students, and greater classroom engagement. In contrast, social goal orientations focused on not losing connections with students (social mastery-avoidance goals) or being well-liked (social ability goals) did not correspond with self-efficacy or classroom outcomes. Implications concerning integrative pedagogies and growth mind-sets pertaining to relationship building were discussed.
Patterns of Undergraduate Student Interpersonal Interaction Network Change During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Smith Rachel A. , Brown Michael G. , Grady Kevin A. , Sowl Stephanie , Schulz Jessica M.
Published: January 2022

In spring 2020, many U.S. colleges and universities rapidly shifted to online instruction and implemented social distancing policies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students experienced unprecedented disruption of their interpersonal academic and social networks due to the loss of physical proximity. We used egocentric network analysis and latent profile analysis with survey data from April 2020 and conducted follow-up interviews in September 2020 to examine some of the pandemic’s immediate effects on student interpersonal network change. We found the disappearance of interpersonal network patterns featuring coworkers and academic ties, as well as reductions in students’ overall number of connections and the role diversity of their networks. Results suggest potential ongoing reduction of peer academic relationships, implying that institutional personnel may need to pay particular attention to academic connections in online spaces and to regenerating students’ academic networks when on-campus physical spaces may again be used to support learning.
Institutional straddling: Negotiating micro-governance in Hanoi’s new urban areas
Authors: Labbé Danielle , Fauveaud Gabriel
Published: January 2022

The rise and spread of commercially built residential projects in East and Southeast Asia has attracted growing scholarly attention since the 1990s. This scholarship has notably explored how the private production of new residential developments has altered urban governance across the region. However, few studies have analyzed how private corporate actors’ new roles in city-making processes shape governance logics at the neighborhood scale. This paper begins to fill the gap by exploring the governance dynamic of three new urban areas (NUAs) built on the edge of Hanoi in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Our analysis builds on a conceptualization of local state-linked organizations in East and Southeast Asia as “straddlers” Relying on interviews with local community leaders and homeowners, we find that the privatization of urban space production has not sidelined residents and government from micro-local politics in Hanoi. Instead, conflicts between homeowners and developers over land uses, property rights, and management practices and responsibilities have led to a repositioning of the old socialist neighborhood administrative apparatus to accommodate the governance of NUAs. The self-protection response of NUA homeowners during these conflicts played a key role in this process. By deploying what we call institutional straddling, these people forged a new mode of neighborhood governance that weaves together the neighborhood administration apparatus inherited from socialism and new residential property self-management bodies.
Dispossession by municipalization: Property, pipelines, and divisions of power in settler colonial Canada
Authors: Schmidt Jeremy J.
Published: January 2022

In Canada, Indigenous activists and scholars critique municipalization as a threefold process that subverts Indigenous authority to the state, then delegates forms of state authority to Indigenous peoples, and concludes by asserting that delegated authority satisfies the terms of Indigenous self-determination. This article centers municipalization in two steps that connect it to how Canada divides power regarding foreign and domestic affairs. The first examines the history of municipalization and its evolution alongside changes in Canadian federalism. The second examines dispossession by municipalization to show how state divisions of power facilitate extraction of value from land. It uses a case where the federal government considered creating new, privatized reserves of Indigenous land explicitly to facilitate oil pipelines. Together, these support an argument that municipalization is not only a powerful language of critique, but critical to understanding the on-going production of settler colonial space.
Spatially-explicit prediction of low-density peri-urban development: comparison between urban and rural scenarios in the Moreton Bay Region in South East Queensland, Australia
Authors: Wang Siqin , Liu Yan , Feng Yongjiu , Lei Zhenkun
Published: January 2022

Mainstream urban modelling literature focuses on urban expansion featured by a relatively fast urbanisation process, but relatively less research is available to understand and model the slow-paced urban and rural land development in the low-density peri-urban context. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by simulating the urban and rural land development in the Moreton Bay Region in South East Queensland (SEQ), Australia using two cellular automata (CA) models that are coupled with a generalised simulated annealing (GSA) algorithm. With the total land available for development estimated using a Markov Chain model, the GSA-CA urban and rural models were developed, respectively, to simulate urban and rural land development from 1991 to 2011, and then to predict their future development to 2041 following vigorous model calibrations. The modelling results illustrate three snapshots of the predicted spatial patterns of urban and rural development in 2021, 2031 and 2041, with moderate growth in both the urban and rural areas over time, but with urban development occurring in a more compact form than rural development. The GSA-CA modelling approach is capable of optimising the CA transition rules and has the potential to be applied to other geographical contexts to support regional planning, decision-making and scenario designation for future land development in cities that have entered the saturation phase of urbanisation.
Walking in the cities without ground, how 3d complex network volumetrics improve analysis
Authors: Zhang Lingzhu , Chiaradia Alain JF
Published: January 2022

Pedestrian route choice, wayfinding behaviour and movement pattern research rely on objective spatial configuration model and analysis. In 3D indoor and outdoor multi-level buildings and urban built environments (IO-ML-BE), spatial configuration analysis allows to quantify and control for route choice and wayfinding complexity/difficulty. Our contribution is to compare the interaction of the level of definition (LOD) of indoor and outdoor multi-level pedestrian network spatial models and complexity metric analyses. Most studies are indoor or outdoor and oversimplify multi-level vertical connections. Using a novel open data set of a large-scale 3D centreline pedestrian network which implement transport geography 2D data model principles in 3D, nine spatial models and twelve spatial complexity analyses of a large-scale 3D IO-ML-BE are empirically tested with observed pedestrian movement patterns ( N = 17,307). Bivariate regression analyses show that the association with movement pattern increases steadily from R2 ≈ 0.29 to 0.56 (space syntax, 2.5D) and from R2 ≈ 0.54 to 0.72 (3D sDNA) as the 3D transport geography spatial model LOD and completeness increases. A multivariate stepwise regression analysis tests the bi-variate findings. A novel 3D hybrid angular-Euclidean analysis was tested for the objective description of 3D multi-level IO-ML-BE route choice and wayfinding complexity. The results suggest that pedestrian route choice, wayfinding and movement pattern analysis and prediction research in a multi-level IO-ML-BE should use high-definition 3D transport geography network spatial model and include interdependent outdoor and indoor spaces with detailed vertical transitions.
Conceptual Application of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Treat Victims of Bullying
Authors: Lydecker Janet A.
Published: January 2022

Bullying is a critical pediatric public health problem; estimates across diverse methodologies generally indicate that roughly 36% of youth are bullied. Although policy initiatives aim to address the universal prevention of bullying and school-level secondary prevention programs aim to reduce the occurrence of bullying, tertiary prevention and intervention programs that mitigate the negative consequences experienced by victims of bullying remain an understudied need. The nature of bullying (that it occurs as events, leaves children feeling unsafe, and engenders emotional distress) and the association of bullying with posttraumatic stress symptoms among youth suggests that trauma treatment for bullying is promising. This manuscript presents the rationale for treating victims of bullying with trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), describes the components of TF-CBT, and discusses how to use TF-CBT specifically for bullying. Conducting research on treatment outcomes when using TF-CBT for bullying is critical to evaluate its efficacy and effectiveness in this group. Behavioral clinical trials would provide evidence for whether TF-CBT reduces the mental health harm experienced by youth victims of bullying. This evidence is an essential step to address the public health problem of bullying because the scientific literature currently does not have a well-established individual-level treatment for victims of bullying that mental health providers in diverse settings can deliver, despite individuals’ beliefs that healthcare providers are important sources of help for youth who have been bullied.
An evaluation of the “every child can learn, every child must learn” mantra’s alignment with educational policies in Jamaica
Authors: Hylton Kamilah , Hylton-Fraser Kadia
Published: January 2022

Sixty years after Jamaica’s independence, remnants of imperialism are visible. It has been argued that the education system has not escaped these roots and that the system encourages and thus maintains the pre-independent tiered class structure and perpetuates education as an elitist entitlement. A brief review of the genesis of primary schools reveals they resulted from donations of the rich plantocracy and so curriculum, ethos, and job preparation were based on Eurocentric beliefs and approaches that sought to “civilize” newly freed slaves. Post-independent Jamaica continues to depend on and pander significantly to persons of a higher socioeconomic status, invariably marginalizing those who are not. This has had implications for access to and equity in education. Through a review of several educational policies implemented by the government of Jamaica, this paper critically examines the Jamaican education system at the primary and secondary levels to evaluate how policy interventions over the last three decades have laid the foundation for and align with the Ministry of Education’s current mantra of “ Every Child Can Learn, Every Child Must Learn.” Furthermore, the paper will recommend approaches that engender social justice and may mitigate against children being further marginalized.
Engineering site response analysis of Anchorage, Alaska, using site amplifications and random vibration theory
Authors: Thornley John , Douglas John , Dutta Utpal , Yang Zhaohui (Joey)
Published: January 2022

Earthquake records collected at dense arrays of strong-motion stations are often utilized in microzonation studies to evaluate the changes in site response due to variability in site conditions across a region. These studies typically begin with calculating Fourier spectral amplification(s) and then transition to performing engineering site response analyses. It has proven difficult to utilize Fourier spectral amplification(s) to define the appropriate elastic response spectr(um)/(a) for a site or sites. This is because, first, the ground motions recorded at these strong-motion stations have lower intensity and hence do not show the nonlinear site effects observed during higher-intensity earthquakes and, second, Fourier and response spectral amplitudes measure different aspects of ground motions. The strong-motion stations in Anchorage, Alaska, have been recording earthquakes in the region for the last three decades. This study utilizes a database of 95 events from 2004 to 2019 to calculate Fourier spectral amplifications at 35 stations using the generalized inversion technique (GIT). Estimated response spectra have been evaluated at each site by applying those Fourier spectral amplifications to a response spectrum of a reference station through random vibration theory (RVT). Correction factors are also applied within the approach to account for nonlinear site effects. This RVT-based approach is tested using ground motions recorded during the MW 7.1 2018 Anchorage Earthquake, and close matches between measured and predicted response spectra are found. The method is then compared with site response analyses using a calibrated 1D equivalent linear (EQL) model of the Delaney Park Downhole Array site. Estimated spectra using the RVT-based approach are, finally, compared with those using Next Generation Attenuation Subduction (NGA-Sub) and NGA-West2 ground-motion models. The proposed method provides a coherent and straightforward way to use GIT-derived Fourier spectral amplifications to directly estimate site-specific response spectra, accounting for nonlinear site effects and without requiring engineering characterization of subsurface soil conditions.
Food packaging and its oxygen transfer models in active multilayer structures: A theoretical review
Authors: Viana Batista Rubia , Gonçalves Wanzeller Wanderson , Lim Loong-Tak , Quast Ernesto , Zanella Pinto Vânia , Machado de Menezes Vivian
Published: January 2022

Many food products are sensitive to oxygen which can promote rancidity, aerobic microorganism growth, browning, vitamin degradation, flavor loss, and other undesirable reactions. Active packaging concepts have been successfully applied to delay these deteriorative phenomena. In particular, oxygen scavengers help limit O2 ingress into packaging thus extending product shelf-life and thereby reducing food waste. Besides oxygen barrier polymers, other composite materials have been developed to reduce the overall O2 permeability into the package by adding oxygen scavengers or barrier fillers into the packaging structures. Typical thermoplastic food packaging barrier properties are summarized, including commercially available ones, and reported in the patent literature. Furthermore, various mathematical models have been developed to predict the oxygen transport behavior in active packaging to simulate oxygen transport in polymeric and composite materials. Such models are helpful to provide a better understanding of the mass transport fundamentals involved and shorten product development cycle time and cost. This review provides an overview of various oxygen absorber systems used in active food packaging. It also summarizes the mathematical models that simulate oxygen transport and absorption in different polymer films. Finally, these models can be adapted for other polymers and O2 scavengers to simulate O2 transfer on active polymeric materials. Simulation tools help the fundamental understanding of the O2 transport behavior and facilitate to developing novel active packaging systems that extend food shelf-life and enhance their safety.
Noninvasive systemic biomarkers of e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury: a pilot study
Authors: Podguski Stephanie , Kaur Gagandeep , Muthumalage Thivanka , McGraw Matthew D. , Rahman Irfan
Published: January 2022

Background

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) vaping, containing nicotine and/or Δ8, Δ9or Δ10or Δotetrahydrocannabinol (Δn-THC), is associated with an outbreak of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). Despite thousands being hospitalised with EVALI, much remains unknown about diagnosis, treatment and disease pathogenesis. Biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress and lipid mediators may help identify e-cigarette users with EVALI.

Methods

We collected plasma and urine along with demographic and vaping-related data of EVALI subjects (age 18–35 years) and non-users matched for sex and age in a pilot study. Biomarkers were assessed by ELISA/EIA and Luminex-based assays.

Results

Elevated levels of THC metabolite (11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-THC) were found in plasma from EVALI subjects compared to non-users. Levels of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), an oxidative DNA damage biomarker, and 8-isoprostane, an oxidative stress marker, were slightly increased in urine samples from EVALI subjects compared to non-users. Conversely, plasma levels of lipid mediators, including resolvin D1(RvD1) and prostaglandin E2(PGE2), were significantly lower in EVALI subjects compared to non-users. Both pro-inflammatory biomarkers, such as tumour necrosis factor-α, macrophage inflammatory protein-1β, RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted) and granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor, as well as anti-inflammatory biomarkers, such as interleukin-9 and CC10/16, were decreased in plasma from EVALI subjects compared to non-users, supportive of a possible dysregulated inflammatory response in EVALI subjects.

Conclusions

Significant elevations in urine and plasma biomarkers of oxidative stress, as well as reductions in lipid mediators, were shown in EVALI subjects. These noninvasive biomarkers (8-OHdG, 8-isoprostane, RvD1and CC10/16), either individually or collectively, may serve as tools in diagnosing future EVALI subjects.
Identification of Metabolomic Biomarkers of Seed Vigor and Aging in Hybrid Rice
Authors: Chen Bing-Xian , Fu Hua , Gao Jia-Dong , Zhang Yi-Xin , Huang Wen-Jie , Chen Zhong-Jian , Qi-Zhang  , Yan Shi-Juan , Liu Jun
Published: January 2022

Seed deterioration during rice seed storage can lead to seed vigor loss, which adversely affects agricultural production, the long-term preservation of germplasm resources, and the conservation of species diversity. However, the mechanisms underlying seed vigor maintenance remain largely unknown. In this study, 16 hybrid rice combinations were created using four sterile lines and four restorer lines that have been widely planted in southern China. Following artificial aging and natural aging treatments, germination percentage and metabolomics analysis by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was used to identify the metabolite markers that could accurately reflect the degree of aging of the hybrid rice seeds. Significant differences in the degree of seed deterioration were observed among the 16 hybrid rice combinations tested, with each hybrid combination having a different germination percentage after storage. The hybrid rice combination with the storage-resistant restorer line Guanghui122 exhibited the highest germination percentage under both natural and artificial storage. A total of 89 metabolic peaks and 56 metabolites were identified, most of which were related to primary metabolism. Interestingly, the content of galactose, gluconic acid, fructose and glycerol in the seeds increased significantly during the aging process. Absolute quantification indicated that galactose and gluconic acid were highly significantly negatively correlated with the germination percentage of the seeds under the different aging treatments. The galactose content was significantly positively correlated with gluconic acid content. Additionally, glycerol showed a significant negative correlation with the germination percentage in most hybrid combinations. Based on the metabolomics analysis, metabolite markers that could accurately reflect the aging degree of hybrid rice seeds were identified. Galactose and gluconic acid were highly significantly negatively correlated with the germination percentage of the seeds, which suggested that these metabolites could constitute potential metabolic markers of seed vigor and aging. These findings are of great significance for the rapid and accurate evaluation of seed aging degree, the determination of seed quality, and the development of molecular breeding approaches for high-vigor rice seeds.
Structural characterization of Platanthera ussuriensis chloroplast genome and comparative analyses with other species of Orchidaceae
Authors: Han Chenyang , Ding Rui , Zong Xiaoyan , Zhang Lijie , Chen Xuhui , Qu Bo
Published: January 2022

Background

The genus Tulotis has been classified into the genus Platanthera in the present taxonomic studies since the morphological characteristics of this genus is very similar to that of Platanthera. Platanthera ussuriensis, formerly named as Tulotis ussuriensis, is a small terrestrial orchid species and has been listed as wild plant under State protection (category II) in China. An improved understanding of the genomic information will enable future applications of conservation strategy as well as phylogenetic studies for this rare orchid species. The objective of this research was to characterize and compare the chloroplast genome of P. ussuriensis with other closely related species of Orchidaceae.

Results

The chloroplast genome sequence of P. ussuriensis is 155,016 bp in length, which included a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 26,548 bp that separated a large single copy (LSC) region of 83,984 bp and a small single copy (SSC) region of 17,936 bp. The annotation contained a total of 132 genes, including 86 protein-coding genes, 38 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. The simple sequence repeat (SSR) analysis showed that there were 104 SSRs in the chloroplast genome of P. ussuriensis. RNA editing sites recognition indicated 72 RNA editing events occurred, and all codon changes were C to T conversions. Comparative genomics showed that the chloroplast sequence of Platanthera related species were relatively conserved, while there were still some high variation regions that could be used as molecular markers. Moreover, Platanthera related species showed similar IR/SSC and IR/LSC borders. The phylogenetic analysis suggested that P. ussuriensis had a closer evolutionary relationship with P. japonica followed by the remaining Platanthera species.

Conclusion

Orchidaceae is a key group of biodiversity protection and also a hot spot group in the plant taxonomy and evolution studies due to their characteristics of high specialization and rapid evolution. This research determined the complete chloroplast genome of P. ussuriensis for the first time, and compared the sequence with other closely related orchid species. These results provide a foundation for future genomic and molecular evolution of the Orchidaceae species, and provide insights into the development of conservation strategy for Platanthera species.
Genetic diversity in L1 ORF of human papillomavirus in women with cervical cancer with and without human immunodeficiency virus in Botswana and Kenya
Authors: Tawe Leabaneng , Choga Wonderful T. , Paganotti Giacomo M. , Bareng Ontlametse T. , Ntereke Tlhalefo D. , Ramatlho Pleasure , Ditshwanelo Doreen , Gaseitsiwe Simani , Kasvosve Ishmael , Ramogola-Masire Doreen , Orang’o Omenge E. , Robertson Erle , Zetola Nicola , Moyo Sikhulile , Grover Surbhi , Ermel Aaron C.
Published: January 2022

Background

The variation of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes shapes the risks of cervical cancer and these variations are not well defined in Africa. Nucleotide changes within the L1 gene, nucleotide variability, and phylogeny were explored in relation to HIV in samples from Botswana and Kenya.

Methods

A total of 98 HPV-positive cervical samples were sequenced to identify different HPV variants. Phylogenetic inferences were used to determine HPV genotypes and investigate the clustering of sequences between women living with HIV (WLWHIV) and -women not living with HIV (WNLWHIV).

Results

Out of 98 generated sequences, 83.7% (82/98) participants had high-risk (HR) HPV genotypes while 16.3% (16/98) had low-risk (LR) HPV genotypes. Among participants with HR-HPV genotypes, 47.6% (39/82) were coinfected with HIV. The prevalence of HR-HPV genotypes was statistically higher in the Botswana population compared to Kenya (p-value < 0.001). Multiple amino acid mutations were identified in both countries. Genetic diversity differed considerably among WLWHIV and WNLWHIV. The mean pairwise distances between HPV-16 between HIV and HIV/HPV as well as for HPV-18 were statistically significant. Six (6) new deleterious mutations were identified in the HPV genotypes based on the sequencing of the L1 region, HPV-16 (L441P, S343P), HPV-18 (S424P), HPV-45 (Q366H, Y365F), and HPV-84 (F458L). The majority of the patients with these mutations were co-infected with HIV.

Conclusions

Genomic diversity and different genomic variants of HPV sequences were demonstrated. Candidate novel mutations within the L1 gene were identified in both countries which can be further investigated using functional assays.
Impact of COVID-19 infection among myasthenia gravis patients- a Cerner Real-World DataTM study
Authors: Digala Lakshmi Prasanna , Prasanna Shivika , Rao Praveen , Qureshi Adnan I. , Govindarajan Raghav
Published: January 2022

Background

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an auto-immune disease, and the mainstay of therapy is immunomodulation. Such patients are at high risk of acquiring any infections. Hence, we sought to determine the impact of the current global pandemic COVID-19 infection in MG patients.

Methods

For our study, we used Cerner Real-World DataTM that was provided through Cerner’s HealtheDataLab research tool. We ran a database query from January 2019 to July 2020 in our study and identified myasthenia patients with and without COVID-19 infection. To extract these patients’ data, we used ICD 9-CM, ICD-10, and SNOMED-CT codes. We reported the data using means, range, and prevalence rates, and the p-values were calculated using the two-sample t-test and Pearson’s chi-squared test.

Results

In the COVID-19 data set, a total of twenty-seven myasthenia patients were identified with a positive COVID-19 infection, and four were diagnosed with an exacerbation. The male to female ratio was equal and one unknown gender (3.7%) with a mean (± SD) age of 64.33 ± 18.42 years. This study group was compared with a non-COVID-19 data set in which a total of sixty-four myasthenia patients were identified, and twenty-three had an exacerbation. Among the 13 hospitalized patients in the two groups, the mean length of hospitalization for the myasthenia patients in the COVID-19 data set was 8.28 days (n = 7), and the non-COVID-19 set was 4.33 days (n = 6), and it was statistically significant (p-value= 0.007).

Conclusions

The mean length of hospital stay is prolonged in myasthenia patients who tested positive for COVID-19.