bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] coating on the bacterial communities of artificial structures
Authors: Chai Yee Jean , Syauqi Taufiq Ahmad , Sudesh Kumar , Ee Tan Leng , Ban Cheah Chee , Kar Mun Amanda Chong , Anne Strain Elisabeth Marijke , Merican Faradina , Rahim Masazurah A. , Md Salleh Kaharudin , Yin Chee Su
Published: April 2024

The expanding urbanization of coastal areas has led to increased ocean sprawl, which has had both physical and chemical adverse effects on marine and coastal ecosystems. To maintain the health and functionality of these ecosystems, it is imperative to develop effective solutions. One such solution involves the use of biodegradable polymers as bioactive coatings to enhance the bioreceptivity of marine and coastal infrastructures. Our study aimed to explore two main objectives: (1) investigate PHA-degrading bacteria on polymer-coated surfaces and in surrounding seawater, and (2) comparing biofilm colonization between surfaces with and without the polymer coating. We applied poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)) coatings on concrete surfaces at concentrations of 1% and 6% w/v, with varying numbers of coating cycles (1, 3, and 6). Our findings revealed that the addition of P(3HB) indeed promoted accelerated biofilm growth on the coated surfaces, resulting in an occupied area approximately 50% to 100% larger than that observed in the negative control. This indicates a remarkable enhancement, with the biofilm expanding at a rate roughly 1.5 to 2 times faster than the untreated surfaces. We observed noteworthy distinctions in biofilm growth patterns based on varying concentration and number of coating cycles. Interestingly, treatments with low concentration and high coating cycles exhibited comparable biofilm enhancements to those with high concentrations and low coating cycles. Further investigation into the bacterial communities responsible for the degradation of P(3HB) coatings identified mostly common and widespread strains but found no relation between the concentration and coating cycles. Nevertheless, this microbial degradation process was found to be highly efficient, manifesting noticeable effects within a single month. While these initial findings are promising, it’s essential to conduct tests under natural conditions to validate the applicability of this approach. Nonetheless, our study represents a novel and bio-based ecological engineering strategy for enhancing the bioreceptivity of marine and coastal structures.
Comorbidities affecting re-admission and survival in COVID-19: Application of joint frailty model
Authors: Yazdani Akram , Mozaffarpur Seyyed Ali , Ebrahimi Pouyan , Shirafkan Hoda , Mehdinejad Hamed
Published: April 2024

Background

One of the common concerns of healthcare systems is the potential for re-admission of COVID-19 patients. In addition to adding costs to the healthcare system, re-admissions also endanger patient safety. Recognizing the factors that influence re-admission, can help provide appropriate and optimal health care. The aim of this study was to assess comorbidities that affect re-admission and survival in COVID-19 patients using a joint frailty model.

Methods

This historical cohort study was done using data of patients with COVID-19 who were re-hospitalized more than twice in a referral hospital in North of Iran. We used the joint frailty model to investigate prognostic factors of survival and recurrence, simultaneously using R version 3.5.1 (library “frailtypack”). P-values less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant.

Results

A total of 112 patients with mean (SD) age of 63.76 (14.58) years old were recruited into the study. Forty-eight (42.9%) patients died in which 53.83% of them were re-admitted for a second time. Using adjusted joint model, the hazard of re-admission increased with cancer (Hazard ratio (HR) = 1.92) and hyperlipidemia (HR = 1.22). Furthermore, the hazard of death increased with hyperlipidemia (HR = 4.05) followed by age (HR = 1.76) and cancer (HR = 1.64). It Also decreased with lung disease (HR = 0.11), hypothyroidism (HR = 0.32), and hypertension (HR = 0.97).

Conclusion

Considering the correlation between re-admission and mortality in the joint frailty model, malignancy and hyperlipidemia increased the risk of both re-admission and mortality. Moreover, lung disease probably due to the use of corticosteroids, was a protective factor against both mortality and re-admission.
How are people coping with working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic?: Experiences from the Netherlands and South Korea
Authors: Park So Yeon , Lee Rachel , Newton Caroline , Han Gisung
Published: April 2024

COVID-19 has made working from home routine for many. People who have had to maintain their productivity, particularly in physically and/or socially unacceptable home-working situations, experienced one of the pandemic’s disadvantages. The experience can vary substantially among individuals as well as by country. This study presents the results of a comparative study of the Netherlands and Korea. Working from home was not uncommon in the Netherlands before the pandemic; however, in Korea, employers adopted working from home from its start, and that increased rapidly. An online survey enabled us to compare the physical and social conditions of current home workspaces in both countries, to understand how well-equipped they were to support people who had to work from home. We studied the changes in productivity and physical/mental health before and during COVID-19, to learn how people coped with working from home in both countries. Contrary to expectations, Koreans showed better scores than people in the Netherlands, in terms of changes in health and productivity. This article discusses various aspects of that result, such as satisfaction with home workspace, housing type, job position and prior experience, compulsoriness, and frequency of working from home. Relieving stress and concentration appeared to be the most important dimensions of telecommuters’ satisfaction with working from home environments in both countries. The results are the basis for suggesting the development of strategies for a desirable WFH environment, considering different background contexts, experiences and cultures.
Assessment of radio-activation using spectroscopy in medical linear accelerators
Authors: Kwon Na Hye , Jang Young Jae , Yu Suah , Lee Hanjin , Choi Dong Hyeok , Ahn So Hyun , Kim Kum Bae , Kim Jin Sung , Kim Dong Wook , Choi Sang Hyoun
Published: April 2024

In radiotherapy, when photon energy exceeding 8 MV is utilized, photoneutrons can activate the components within the gantry of the linear accelerator (linac). At the end of the linac’s lifecycle, radiation workers are tasked with its dismantling and disposal, potentially exposing them to unintentional radiation. This study aims to identify and measure the radioisotopes generated by this activation through spectroscopy, and to evaluate the effective dose rate. We selected nine medical linacs, considering various factors such as manufacturer (Siemens, Varian, and Elekta), model, energy, period of operation, and workload. We identified the radionuclides in the linac head by employing an in situ high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. Spectroscopy and dose-rate measurements were conducted post-shutdown. We also measured the dose rates at the beam-exit window following irradiation with 10 MV and 15 MV photon beams. As a result of the spectroscopy, we identified approximately 20 nuclides including those with half-lives of 100 days or longer, such as 54Mn, 60Co, 65Zn, 122Sb, and 198Au. The dose rate measurements after 10 MV irradiation decreased to the background level in 10 min. By contrast, on 15 MV irradiation, the dose rate was 628 nSv/h after 10 min and decreased to 268 nSv/h after 1.5 hours. It was confirmed that the difference in the level of radiation and the type of nuclide depends on the period of use, energy, and workload. However, the type of nuclide does not differ significantly between the linacs. It is necessary to propose appropriate guidelines for the safety of workers, and disposal/move-install should be planned while taking into consideration the equipment’s energy usage rate.
Assessment of confidence in medical writing: Development and validation of the first trustworthy measurement tool
Authors: Astaneh Behrooz , Raeisi Shahraki Hadi , Astaneh Vala , Guyatt Gordon
Published: April 2024

Background

The popularity of medical writing workshops highlights the need for a standard measurement tool to assess the impact of such workshops on participants’ confidence in: 1- writing a standard article and 2- using optimal English language. Because such an instrument is not yet available, we undertook this study to devise and evaluate the first measurement tool to assess such confidence.

Method

We created an item pool of 50 items by searching Medline, Embase, and Clarivate Analytics to find related articles, using our prior experience, and approaching the key informants. We revised and edited the item pool, and redundant ones were excluded. Finally, the 36-item tool comprised two domains. We tested it in a group of workshop applicants for internal consistency and temporal reliability using Cronbach’s α and Pearson correlations and for content and convergent validity using the content validity index and Pearson correlations.

Results

The participants had a mean age of 40.3 years, a female predominance (74.3%), and a majority of faculty members (51.4%). The internal consistency showed high reliability (> 0.95). Test-retest reliability showed very high correlations (r = 0.93). The CVI for domain 1 was 0.78, for domain 2 was 0.73, and for the entire instrument was 0.75.

Conclusion

This unique, reliable, and valid measurement tool could accurately measure the level of confidence in writing a standard medical article and in using the appropriate English language for this purpose.
DFMG decreases angiogenesis to uphold plaque stability by inhibiting the TLR4/VEGF pathway in mice
Authors: Bai Pingjuan , Xiang Xueping , Kang Jiawen , Xiang Xiaoqing , Jiang Jingwen , Fu Xiaohua , Zhang Yong , Li Lesai
Published: April 2024

The aim of this study was to elucidate the specific mechanism through which 7-difluoromethoxy-5,4’-dimethoxygenistein (DFMG) inhibits angiogenesis in atherosclerosis (AS) plaques, given its previously observed but poorly understood inhibitory effects. In vitro, a model using Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial (HUVEC-12) cells simulated the initial lesion in the atherosclerotic pathological process, specifically oxidative stress injury, by exposing cells to 30 μmol/L LPC. Additionally, an AS mouse model was developed in ApoE knockout mice through a 16-week period of high-fat feeding. DFMG demonstrated a reduction in tubule quantities in the tube formation assay and neovascularization induced by oxidative stress-damaged endothelial cells in the chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane assay. Furthermore, DFMG decreased lipid levels in the blood of ApoE knockout mice with AS, along with a decrease in atherosclerotic plaques and neovascularizations in the aortic arch and descending aorta of AS animal models. DFMG treatment upregulated microRNA140 (miR-140) expression and suppressed VEGF secretion in HUVEC-12 cells. These effects were counteracted by Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) overexpression in HUVEC-12 cells subjected to oxidative injury or in a mouse model of AS. Dual-luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that miR-140 directly targeted TLR4. Immunohistochemical assay findings indicated a significant inverse relationship between miR-140 expression and TLR4 expression in ApoE knockout mice subjected to a high-fat diet. The study observed a close association between DFMG inhibitory effects on angiogenesis and plaque stability in AS, and the inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB/VEGF signaling pathway, negatively regulated by miR-140.
Adaptation of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis transcriptome to biofilm growth
Authors: Youngblom Madison A. , Smith Tracy M. , Murray Holly J. , Pepperell Caitlin S.
Published: April 2024

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is a leading global cause of death from infectious disease. Biofilms are increasingly recognized as a relevant growth form during M. tb infection and may impede treatment by enabling bacterial drug and immune tolerance. M. tb has a complicated regulatory network that has been well-characterized for many relevant disease states, including dormancy and hypoxia. However, despite its importance, our knowledge of the genes and pathways involved in biofilm formation is limited. Here we characterize the biofilm transcriptomes of fully virulent clinical isolates and find that the regulatory systems underlying biofilm growth vary widely between strains and are also distinct from regulatory programs associated with other environmental cues. We used experimental evolution to investigate changes to the transcriptome during adaptation to biofilm growth and found that the application of a uniform selection pressure resulted in loss of strain-to-strain variation in gene expression, resulting in a more uniform biofilm transcriptome. The adaptive trajectories of transcriptomes were shaped by the genetic background of the M. tb population leading to convergence on a sub-lineage specific transcriptome. We identified widespread upregulation of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) as a common feature of the biofilm transcriptome and hypothesize that ncRNA function in genome-wide modulation of gene expression, thereby facilitating rapid regulatory responses to new environments. These results reveal a new facet of the M. tb regulatory system and provide valuable insight into how M. tb adapts to new environments.
Depolymerization of SUMO chains induces slender to stumpy differentiation in T. brucei bloodstream parasites
Authors: Iribarren Paula Ana , Di Marzio Lucía Ayelén , Berazategui María Agustina , Saura Andreu , Coria Lorena , Cassataro Juliana , Rojas Federico , Navarro Miguel , Alvarez Vanina Eder
Published: April 2024

Trypanosoma brucei are protozoan parasites that cause sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in cattle. Inside the mammalian host, a quorum sensing-like mechanism coordinates its differentiation from a slender replicative form into a quiescent stumpy form, limiting growth and activating metabolic pathways that are beneficial to the parasite in the insect host. The post-translational modification of proteins with the Small Ubiquitin-like MOdifier (SUMO) enables dynamic regulation of cellular metabolism. SUMO can be conjugated to its targets as a monomer but can also form oligomeric chains. Here, we have investigated the role of SUMO chains in T. brucei by abolishing the ability of SUMO to polymerize. We have found that parasites able to conjugate only SUMO monomers are primed for differentiation. This was demonstrated for monomorphic lines that are normally unable to produce stumpy forms in response to quorum sensing signaling in mice, and also for pleomorphic cell lines in which stumpy cells were observed at unusually low parasitemia levels. SUMO chain mutants showed a stumpy compatible transcriptional profile and better competence to differentiate into procyclics. Our study indicates that SUMO depolymerization may represent a coordinated signal triggered during stumpy activation program.
Haven or hell? A perspective on the ecology of offshore oil and gas platforms
Authors: Fortune Irene S. , Madgett Alethea S. , Scarborough Bull Ann , Hicks Natalie , Love Milton S. , Paterson David M.
Published: April 2024

Offshore oil and gas platforms (OGP) have been installed worldwide and initially with limited consideration given to the nature of their positive or negative long-term interactions with the natural marine habitats. However, as OGP reach the end of their useful life, with many being decommissioned and removed, it is timely to review the growing evidence of the association of marine biota with OGP to provide a summary and synthesis for policy makers and to give insight to decisions in increasingly crowded marine spatial plans. In the last decade, there has been rapid increase in studies concerning the ecological role of OGP. This research reveals strong contextual difference between platforms in different geographical regions, but all OGP add to local biodiversity particularly where hard substrata are introduced to areas dominated by depositional (mud and sand) habitats. This includes the attraction and increased productivity of fish, sessile invertebrates, and algae while also affecting change in the benthic habitats beneath platforms. There also evidence of the OGP changing local hydrodynamics conditions with effects on phytoplankton and local scour. In terms of the biota associated with OGP, water depth is a major driver of community type across systems. This study emphasises that while knowledge of OGP communities and species has improved, there are still significant knowledge gaps that may prevent the most environmentally beneficial decisions being made around decommissioning. There are few studies following the effect of decommissioning (topping, toppling, or removal) on the ecology of the systems as they change with time (longitudinal research) for the decommissioning event. There is also a need for more studies comparing the biodiversity and functionality of OGP system to artificial and natural reefs and habitats to better understand the ecological cost-benefit of decommissioning scenarios. Finally, commercial data is often unavailable and even when available, surveys are often conducted using varied methodology that prevents comparative analysis. By imposing/agreeing standards and sharing data around the ecological cost-benefit of decommissioning strategies, improve policy guidance concerning OGP planning, and management might emerge.
Eclectic primitivism: Piero Tosi’s Medea (1969)
Authors: Billeri Matteo
Published: April 2024

Marked by difficult beginnings, Piero Tosi’s work on the costumes for Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1969 Medea turned out to be one of the designer’s most innovative contributions. Departing from his own philological method and from the protective alliance with Luchino Visconti, Tosi eventually came to absorb from Pasolini a liberating form of contamination, which remains at the core of the film’s primitivistic costumes. Seconding Pasolini’s allegorical intentions and anthropological imagination, Tosi reconstructed the mythological past of the Euripidean tragedy without incurring the clichés of conventional Hellenism. Supported by dressmaker Umberto Tirelli, he created experimental works that drew upon a variety of anachronistic sources, from seventeenth-century Tupi feather garments to early twentieth-century fashion, from Pre-Columbian gold ornaments to Italian mannerist paintings. This article aims at uncovering several overlooked references in Tosi’s postmodern eclecticism while providing a documented reconstruction of the designer’s collaboration with Pasolini.
Malavita chic: Fashion and fandom in the Italian crime series
Authors: Bauman Rebecca
Published: April 2024

This article analyses how fashion in the Italian crime series Suburra and Gomorrah is a significant facet of how these programmes’ visual and narrative discourses work upon audiences to communicate a privileged vision of the criminal subcultures they represent. Clothing and style are crucial to the series through the narrative dimension, in which costuming reveals character development and symbolizes shifts in plot and theme, as well by articulating the characters’ adherence to and deviation from their cultural milieu. Moreover, by presenting an ethnography of criminal subcultures as articulated through dress, these series have engendered a complex network of fashion fandom, raising significant questions about viewer identification and the reification of mob wear within mainstream culture. This in-depth analysis of the role of fashion in Suburra and Gomorrah aims to deepen our understanding of how these series constitute a significant intervention on the interplay of fashion and identity in Italy today.
Feminist genealogies, archival constellations and women’s labour in fashion films: Anna Piaggi: una visionaria nella moda (2016) and Triangle (2014)
Authors: Benini Stefania
Published: April 2024

In this article, I examine how Alina Marazzi and Costanza Quatriglio deal with the world of haute couture and off-the-rack fashion, and with the turn to the archive in their documentaries. They construct feminist genealogies (between maternage and spectral sisterhood) in the fashion world and adopt different modalities of montage (between gleaning and détournement). In Anna Piaggi: una visionaria nella moda (‘Anna Piaggi: A fashion visionary’) (2016), Marazzi focuses on Anna Piaggi, a renowned fashion editor for Vogue Italia. In contrast, Costanza Quatriglio in Triangle (2014) centres her story on the 123 women textile workers, victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York in 1911, in counterpoint to her interview with Mariella Fasanella, the only survivor of a collapsed sweatshop in Barletta, Italy in 2011. The two filmmakers produce a short circuit in fashion films among feminist genealogies, archival constellations and women’s labour in the fashion industry, activating a feminist and ethical stance.
Scenographers, set and costume designers in the Alessandro Blasetti Archive
Authors: Zegna Michela
Published: April 2024

The Alessandro Blasetti Archive is a unique source of information that traces the profiles and work of many professional figures of the film industry, including scenographers and costume designers. An examination of the director’s filmography reveals the names of the numerous maestri of Italian cinema who, between the 1930s and the 1970s, elevated the art of set and costume design beyond Italy. Among them were pioneers such as Virgilio Marchi, Gastone Medin, Gino Carlo Sensani and Dario Cecchi. The archive holds rare documents that concern them as well as documents relative to Marina Arcangeli and Maria de Matteis, two women who were as important as their male colleagues to the success of Italian talent in this sector.
Interview with Alina Marazzi: The tactile gaze
Authors: Paulicelli Eugenia
Published: April 2024

Alina Marazzi is a well-known Italian feminist director whose explorations of women’s lives, the challenges they have faced (and still face) in society and the family have had a profound impact on film and feminist studies. She has contributed to creating a new cinematic language and mode of storytelling through experimenting with the use of both collage and montage. She has also made incursions into the world of fashion with a film on international fashion icon and intellectual Anna Piaggi, and later with her short film that the House of Dior commissioned: To Cut Is to Think (2020). The interview focuses on this latter film where Marazzi shares her experience in working on the film, the opportunities it opened up for her creative process, her collaboration with Maria Grazia Chiuri, and her encounter with the work of the poet and artist Lucia Marcucci, whose work is the subject of the film.
Interview with Maria Grazia Chiuri: Women in fashion: Crafting feminisms
Authors: Paulicelli Eugenia
Published: April 2024

Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director at the House of Christian Dior, talks about her current role working for the French luxury brand. She reflects on how passionate she is about highlighting and promoting women’s multifaceted manifestations of work, image and creativity. Chiuri also discusses her long career in fashion, starting with her mother’s atelier, her studies at the European Institute of Design and then her work for the Fendi sisters and Valentino, both located in Rome, where she was born. Chiuri stresses certain books have been crucial for her, from Ngozi’s recent bestseller , to Clare Hunter’s Threads of Life (2019) and classical texts by Simone de Beauvoir, as well as Robin Morgan’s . In addition, she emphasizes how beneficial it has been to be able to immerse herself in Dior’s rich archive. She finds inspiration in the history of women, fashion, feminism, the arts, cinema and how all these institutions promote necessary changes to the fashion industry of the twenty-first century.
Towards a ‘spatial writing’: O Complex Mass
Authors: Lawrence John
Published: April 2024

The following contribution aims to convey a sense of O Complex Mass, an artwork I developed for Dilston Gallery, Southwark Park, London in 2022. O Complex Mass represents the first significant outcome resulting from a commitment to a new site-responsive approach to writing within my practice that I now refer to as ‘spatial writing’. This work is preoccupied with the complex relationship between writing and physical space – how the conditions under which we experience language (written or spoken) can have an impact on our understanding of its meaning. Could ‘site of reception’ be considered as a facet of language itself? By naming this approach ‘spatial writing’ I connect it to twentieth century avant-garde approaches within ‘spatial music’ as well as ideas around ‘critical spatial practice’ as defined by Professor Jane Rendell.
Espelhos de Mercúrio: A representação do comércio nas Monarquias Ibéricas, 1500-1800
Authors: Léon Pablo Sanchéz , Vieira Carla , Vieira Nina
Published: April 2024

Espelhos de Mercúrio; reúne estudos e reflexões sobre a representação do comércio e dos comerciantes nas Monarquias Ibéricas durante o período moderno. Ao compilar artigos de investigadores de diferentes universidades, oferece uma pluralidade de perspectivas em torno de três linhas: 1) a linguagem do comércio, a organização mercantil e as instituições; 2) as identidades mercantis e a representação social dos comerciantes; e 3) a representação do comércio na cultura.
Da imagem social e cultural do comércio na Espanha borbónica ao mito da decadência do comércio português na Ásia no Itinerario de Van Linschoten; dos privilégios dos mercadores alemães no Portugal quatrocentista à agenda do mecenato artístico e religioso da nação genovesa na Andaluzia; da Mesa do Bem Comum da Bahia à nação italiana em Lisboa; e do ideário do programa decorativo do Stadhuis de Antuérpia à comunidade mercantil espanhola em Portugal, passando pelas dimensões sociais e culturais do negócio do tabaco, neste livro colocamos Mercúrio ao espelho e indagamos alguns dos seus reflexos na era da primeira globalização.
Transoral Outlet Reduction: Expert Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting
Authors: Maselli Daniel B. , Donnangelo Lauren L. , Jirapinyo Pichamol , Thompson Christopher C. , McGowan Christopher E.
Published: April 2024

Transoral outlet reduction (TORe) is an incisionless, endoscopic procedure to address weight recurrence after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Given the chronic, progressive nature of obesity and the minimally invasive, anatomy preserving technique of TORe, the procedure is expected to be met with high patient acceptance and widening clinical adoption. Nevertheless, the approach to TORe has been heterogeneous. As endoscopic bariatric therapies are increasingly incorporated into the multidisciplinary management of obesity, it is crucial to have a standardized, evidence-based framework for their implementation. In this review, based on the available literature and the authors' combined experience of over 1,000 TORe procedures, we present our approach to patient selection, procedural technique, troubleshooting, and patient aftercare unique to TORe.
O Dentista Sincero: Tecnologia
Authors: Hirata Ronaldo
Published: April 2024

Eu costumo chamar as pessoas (professores) que alarmam as outras a respeito de tudo de “anunciantes do caos”. Você as conhece, pois sempre estão a dizer: “O fim está próximo!”, “O caos é iminente!”, “A Odontologia já mudou e, se você não a acompanha, está fora!”. Algo nessa linha... Escrevi sobre esse tópico há alguns dias no Instagram e disse que a tecnologia deve vir benevolente, e ela vem.
Merit System Innovation through the SIPINTER Application (Information System for Self-Assessment of Merit System Implementation) in Indonesia
Authors: Afisa Afisa , Suswanta Suswanta , Zaenuri Muchamad
Published: April 2024

This study aims to analyze the implementation and impact of the State Civil Apparatus (ASN) management innovation carried out by the State Civil Apparatus Commission (KASN) through the SIPINTER application (Information System for Self-Assessment of the Implementation of the Merit System) and its relevance in achieving good governance in Indonesia. This study used a descriptive research method with a qualitative approach, and data were obtained from official sources such as the KASN website and online news. The theory used in this study is the Public Sector Innovation Typology theory from Halvorse et al. (2005), covering (1) Creation of new services, (2) Process innovation, (3) Administrative innovation that focuses on policy change, (4) System innovation, (5) Conceptual innovation, and (6) Radical change in rationality. The results of the study show that the application of information technology in ASN management through the SIPINTER application has increased transparency, accountability, and effectiveness of ASN management at various levels of local government. Future research can carry out the development of a sustainable strategy as an important step to realize the potential of this application in the implementation of a meritocratic system in all regional and central government in Indonesia.
(Im)possibility of ethical encounters in places of separation: aesthetics as a quiet applied linguistics praxis
Authors: Kubanyiova Magdalena
Published: April 2024

What is the possibility of ethical encounters in places that are historically, spatially, and morally configured to avoid them? And what can applied linguistics do to create such a possibility? This study is located in a rural community in eastern Slovakia with a history of separation between Slovak and Roma ethnic groups and the systemic spatial, economic and linguistic marginalisation of the latter. This paper draws on relational ethics to foreground the perceiving subject’s ethical responsibility. I take up the scholarship on semiotic repertoires and exploit their performative power to affect the perceiving subject. Advocating for aesthetics as an applied linguistics research praxis, this article both documents and invites a sensory entanglement with others through a series of aesthetic invitations. I see such an embodied engagement as a way for applied linguistics to stage the ground for ethical encounters, even if never guarantee an outcome. I discuss what this research pathway might mean for doing applied linguistics research in social and educational settings with entrenched narratives about the other and how quiet applied linguistics – one which privileges sensory attending and epistemological indeterminacy – might be a form of activism that disturbs the realm of the impossible.
Embracing diversity: enhancing the management of South Africa’s kelp forests in an era of change
Authors: Mehta Akshata , Wynberg Rachel , Smit Albertus J.
Published: April 2024

In an era of climate change, South Africa’s kelp forests offer important opportunities for sustainable resource utilization. However, these opportunities also bring risks of over-exploitation. The mismanagement of kelp forests through monistic and exclusionary strategies must therefore be avoided. Emphasizing the value of plural knowledges and cultural norms associated with kelp, here we advocate for inclusive and integrated marine resource management to ensure the resilience of South Africa’s kelp forests and the well-being of coastal communities that depend on them.
Salivary fatty acids in humans: a comprehensive literature review
Authors: Abodi Martina , Mazzocchi Alessandra , Risé Patrizia , Marangoni Franca , Agostoni Carlo , Milani Gregorio Paolo
Published: April 2024

Fatty acids (FAs) exert diverse biological functions in humans, influencing physiological responses and, ultimately, health and disease risk. The analysis of FAs in human samples has significant implications and attracts interest in diagnostics and research. The standard method for assessing FA profiles involves the collection of blood samples, which can be inconvenient, invasive, and potentially painful, particularly for young individuals outside hospital settings. Saliva emerged as a promising alternative for evaluating FA profiles in both clinical and research settings. However, to the best of our knowledge, an updated synthesis of the related evidence is unavailable. This comprehensive review aims to summarize data on FA analysis and highlight the potential of the use of salivary FAs as a biomarker in health and disease. Over the past decade, there has been a growing interest in studying salivary FAs in chronic diseases, and more recently, researchers have explored the prognostic value of FAs in acute conditions to check the availability of a non-invasive sampling methodology. A deeper understanding of salivary FAs could have relevant implications both for healthy individuals and patients, particularly in elucidating the correlation between the dietary lipidic content and salivary FA level, Finally, it is crucial to address the standardization of the methods as the sampling, processing, and analysis of saliva are heterogeneous among studies, and limited correlation between blood FAs and salivary FAs is available.
Geodesics and magnetic curves in the 4-dim almost Kähler model space F4
Authors: Erjavec Zlatko , Inoguchi Jun-ichi
Published: April 2024

We study geodesics and magnetic trajectories in the model space

F

4

{{\rm{F}}}^{4}

. The space

F

4

{{\rm{F}}}^{4}

is isometric to the 4-dim simply connected Riemannian 3-symmetric space due to Kowalski. We describe the solvable Lie group model of

F

4

{{\rm{F}}}^{4}

and investigate its curvature properties. We introduce the symplectic pair of two Kähler forms on

F

4

{{\rm{F}}}^{4}

. Those symplectic forms induce invariant Kähler structure and invariant strictly almost Kähler structure on

F

4

{{\rm{F}}}^{4}

. We explore some typical submanifolds of

F

4

{{\rm{F}}}^{4}

. Next, we explore the general properties of magnetic trajectories in an almost Kähler 4-manifold and characterize Kähler magnetic curves with respect to the symplectic pair of Kähler forms. Finally, we study homogeneous geodesics and homogeneous magnetic curves in

F

4

{{\rm{F}}}^{4}

.
Influence of the injection velocity profile on the properties of injection moulded parts
Authors: Hopmann Christian , Köbel Thilo
Published: April 2024

An important machine setting parameter of the injection moulding process is the injection velocity, which influences the local process parameters in the mould cavity and as a result the final part properties. In order to avoid surface defects by too low or too high melt front velocities along the flow path, profiling of the injection velocity can be necessary. Therefore, in previous work, a methodical approach has been developed, which calculates an injection velocity profile that can be set directly at the injection moulding machine, in order to gain a constant melt front velocity along the flow path. Using the existing approach, two different part geometries are injection moulded with an injection velocity profile from two different materials. The resulting microscopic and macroscopic part properties are evaluated and compared with the samples produced at a constant injection velocity. By keeping the melt front velocity constant, the surface quality can be specifically influenced, while other properties are hardly affected by profiling the injection velocity.
Establishment and refinement of a DEN-induced hepatocellular carcinoma model in rats
Authors: Peng Chunxiu , Ye Zhijian , Na Jintong , Liu Xiyu , Zhang Zhiyong
Published: April 2024

Objectives

Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world with complex etiology, high tumor heterogeneity, and low efficacy of treatment. The establishment of an animal model that is close to the clinical situation of hepatocellular carcinoma and can be successfully modeled many times is of great significance to the study of the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods

We used Diethylnitrosamine (DEN) to induce hepatocellular carcinoma in rodents and compared four models of DEN-induced hepatocellular carcinoma. Group C (Control): rats were fed a standard laboratory rat diet and freely drank normal water. Group P (Peritoneal injection): rats were administered an IP injection (50 mg/kg/week) between 5 and 23 weeks after birth. Ten microliter of DEN solution would be injected per g of rat. Group O (DEN-Fed group): rats were allowed unrestricted access to water contaminated with 0.01 % DEN between the ages of 7 and 15 weeks. 0.2 mL of DEN drinking water was consumed per gram of rat. Group P+O (Combined peritoneal injection and Oral feeding): rats were administered an IP injection (50 mg/kg) at weeks 3 and 5 post-birth, and they freely drank water contaminated with 0.012 % DEN between weeks 7 and 14 post-birth. We used an ultrasound scan, biochemical testing, haematoxylin, and eosin staining, Masson staining, Wolf scarlet staining, Ki67, CD34, a-SMA, CD8, and CD68 staining to compare between groups.

Results

Liver dissection and ultrasound scan showed that compared to other groups, the liver of Group P+O was darker in color, with more grey-white cancer nodules and larger localized tumors, and the structure of the tumors was slightly disorganized, with the elastography hardness of the middle lobe and the right lobe was slightly increased. The alanine aminotransferase and total bilirubin of Group P+O were higher than those of Group O but lower than those of Group P. Haematoxylin and eosin staining showed that the tumors of Group P+O were large, with large tumor cords and pseudo-glandular, the degree of differentiation was medium and surrounded by more fatty lesions.

Conclusions

We conclude that combined DEN treatment is more effective, stable, and has the advantage of multiple modalities, leading to faster tumor formation.
Motorcycles, minarets, and mullahs: a multimodal critical discourse analysis on Pakistan’s journey to rebrand Islam
Authors: Salam-Salmaoui Rauha , Salam Shazrah , Hassan Shajee
Published: April 2024

This study addresses the issue of how religious authority is negotiated and redefined in the age of digital media, focusing on the case of Raja Zia ul Haq, a Pakistani Muslim cleric. Utilizing Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis, the study posits that Zia ul Haq’s strategic semiotic choices in attire and symbolism serve as calculated maneuvers to navigate complex dialogues of power, identity, and cultural capital. The findings reveal that his appropriation of biker club symbolism disrupts traditional paradigms of Islamic clerical authority in Pakistan. These choices resonate with a younger, digitally savvy audience and function as a form of religious rebranding. The study argues that Zia ul Haq’s semiotic choices challenge monolithic interpretations of Islamic authority, thereby opening new avenues for religious engagement and interpretation. The significance of this work lies in its transnational implications, offering a counter-narrative that challenges prevailing stereotypes about Islamic scholars and suggests new paradigms for understanding religious authority in a globalized world.
Gestión territorial contemporánea entre los nahuas de Tlamacazapa, Estado de Guerrero, México
Authors: Montes de Oca Hernández Acela
Published: April 2024

Territorial management, as an alternative tool for the controversial concept of development, offers land management plans to regulate anthropogenic activities and protect ecosystems. However, institutional measures continue to bring together the participation of territorial actors and to be challenged by increased environmental crises. The above motivates the following question: What is the relationship between territorial management and human capacities? This article aims to analyze the contemporary territorial management of the Nahuas of Tlamacazapa from the human capacities perspective, focusing on the family, cultural, and environmental spheres. This was researched in poor Nahua families and their ways of occupying, managing, and taking advantage of the territory based on their abilities, knowledge, and skills. The methodology used was qualitative. Ontological dialogues help specify the relationship between study families and the territory. The materialization of ontological knowledge in the territory intends to extend the discussion of contemporary territorial management.
Es fundamental recuperar la memoria histórica de la lucha comunitaria contra las piñeras en Costa Rica
Authors: Cerdas Vega Gerardo , Ulate Segura Mónica
Published: April 2024

Interview with Erlinda Quesada, community leader and member of the National Front of Sectors Affected by Pineapple Production (FRENASAPP).
Vitamin D Levels and Incidence of Preterm Labor
Authors: Aziz Muhammad Alamsyah , Syahbana Chandra Garnida , Effendi Jusuf Sulaeman , Purwara Benny Hasan , Madjid Tita Husnitawati , Susiarno Hadi
Published: April 2024

One pathophysiology of preterm delivery is maternal or fetal hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation. The HPA axis can be affected by vitamin D, which increases uterine contractions and affects the body’s immune mechanism against bacterial infections. A lower level of vitamin D in pregnant women is suspected to contribute to the incidence of premature conditions. This study aimed to compare the 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 concentration in preterm parturient with non-preterm parturient, and the correlation between vitamin D level and the incidence of preterm labor. This comparative analytic study used a cross-sectional approach and involved 46 subjects who were divided into case and control groups. This study was conducted in August–September 2017 at Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia. The Electro-chemiluminescence Immunoassay (ECLIA) method was used to examine the serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 concentration in case and control groups, demonstrating that 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 concentration in case group (17.26 ng/mL) was significantly (p<0.0001) lower than in control group (24.30 ng/mL). The correlation coefficient between the 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 and the incidence of preterm labor was -0.837 (p<0.001).  Thus, there was a correlation between the 25-hydroxy-Vitamin D3 level and the incidence of preterm labor that vitamin D supplementation in pregnant women must be considered.
History and Sociology of Science During the Crisis and Transitional Periods of Social Development
Authors: RYZHKO L. , LYTVYNKO A. , ZHYVAHA O.
Published: April 2024

Introduction. During critical or crisis periods of social development, the need to search for forms of interactionbetween science and society, to solve problems in organizing research activities and researcher individual work, and to identify scientifi c problem to be solved for overcoming social challenges becomes especially relevant. It is reasonable to use the heuristic possibilities of studies in history and sociology of science and the experience gained.Problem Statement. Rethinking the subject areas and tasks of the history and sociology of science, which arepro posed to be considered not only a historical description of the impact of social processes on the development ofscience, or science on society, but also knowledge that allows identifying the mechanisms for enhancing the de velopment of science and society through mutual understanding, inclusive and sustainable growth, innovation culture.Purpose. To defi ne the heuristic potential of history and sociology of science for fi nding ways to overcomethe challenges related to interaction between science and society during crises associated with the practice basedapproach of modern science; urgent problems of researcher professional activity; social aspects of the projectmethod of organizing scholarly research; issues of science communication with society and government in timesof pandemic and war.Material and Methods. The research is based on the comprehensive use of general scientifi c principles ofhistoricism, objectivity, reliability, integrity, systematic approach, and representativeness.Results. It has been substantiated that studying history and sociology of science enables identifying problemsand mechanisms of enhancing the development of science and society through mutual understanding, inclusiveand sustainable growth.Conclusions. For the successful innovation-driven development of Ukraine’s economy it is necessary to focusprimarily on developing the innovation culture of society and implementing science-centric government policy. Thesocial and humanitarian sphere should become one of the priority areas of innovation in Ukraine.
Associations of Childhood Adiposity and Cardiometabolic Biomarkers With Adolescent PCOS
Authors: Whooten Rachel C. , Rifas-Shiman Sheryl L. , Perng Wei , Chavarro Jorge E. , Taveras Elsie , Oken Emily , Hivert Marie-France
Published: April 2024

OBJECTIVE

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is common among females, with significant metabolic and reproductive comorbidities. We describe PCOS development in a pediatric population.

METHODS

We assessed cardiometabolic biomarkers and adiposity at the midchildhood (mean 7.9 y), early teen (mean 13.1 y), and midteen (mean 17.8 y) visits among 417 females in the prospective Project Viva cohort. We defined PCOS via self-reported diagnosis or ovulatory dysfunction with hyperandrogenism in midlate adolescence. We used multivariable logistic regression to assess associations of metabolic and adiposity markers at each visit with PCOS.

RESULTS

Adolescents with PCOS (n = 56, 13%) versus without had higher mean (SD) BMI z-score and truncal fat mass at the midchildhood (0.66 [0.99] vs 0.30 [1.04]; 3.5 kg [2.6] vs 2.7 [1.5]), early teen (0.88 [1.01] vs 0.25 [1.08]; 9.4 kg [6.7] vs 6.1 [3.4]), and midteen (0.78 [1.03] vs 0.33 [0.97]; 11.6 kg [7.2] vs 9.1 [4.9]) visits as well as lower adiponectin to leptin ratio at the early (0.65 [0.69] vs 1.04 [0.97]) and midteen (0.33 [0.26] vs 0.75 [1.21]) visits. In models adjusted for maternal PCOS, education and child race and ethnicity (social factors), we found higher odds of PCOS per 1-SD increase in truncal fat at midchildhood (odds ratio [OR] 1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03–1.95) and early teen visits (OR 1.61; 95% CI 1.14–2.28) and lower odds per 1-SD increase in adiponectin/leptin ratio at the midteen visit (OR 0.14; 95% CI 0.03–0.58).

CONCLUSIONS

Childhood excess adiposity and adipose tissue dysfunction may be a first signs of later PCOS risk.
Movinvenções em pesquisa
Authors: De Araujo Róger Albernaz , Santos Tamires Guedes dos , Boanova Cecília Oliveira
Published: April 2024

O presente artigo pretende recolher marcas de um percurso de uma pesquisa de dissertação de mestrado intitulada “Sem título & com muitos nomes”, a partir da utilização do Método Maquinatório de Pesquisa. Para tanto, os pesquisadores fabulam acerca de como o método funciona no trabalho em questão e como implica e envolve a língua e a linguagem a partir da literatura; um código aberto que se constitui durante os movimentos do pesquisar. Um procedimento para mapear os deslocamentos que a pesquisa inventa-cria, quando acontece um encontro: QR Codes e pesquisadores. QR Codes: um “como dizer” do que a pesquisa insiste em produzir. Movimentos de maquinações abstratas de um outro código em uma mesma língua. Um diagrama. Movinvenções.