bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Capacidade funcional e déficits do controle postural em mulheres com síndrome da dor no grande trocânter
Authors: Marcioli Marieli Araujo Rossoni , Cunha Amanda Paula Ricardo Rodrigues da , Miyasaki Maurício Rodrigues , Macedo Christiane de Souza Guerino
Published: July 2023

Objetivo: Estabelecer a capacidade física e alterações do controle postural (COP) durante o apoio unipodal estático e dinâmico em mulheres com Síndrome de Dor no Grande Trocânter (SDGT). Métodos: Foram avaliadas 36 mulheres, sedentárias, maiores de 45 anos. Destas, 18 tinham diagnóstico de SDGT (Grupo Dor - GD) e 18 sem queixas álgicas (Grupo Controle - GC). Todas responderam ao questionário Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment for Gluteal Tendinopathy (VISA-G) para análise da capacidade física relacionada a dor lateral do quadril, e foram submetidas à avaliação do controle postural na plataforma de força, em apoio unipodal estático e dinâmico (mini agachamentos). Os dados foram comparados e correlacionados, com significância estatística estabelecida 5%. Resultados: As participantes do GD apresentaram alto índice de dor (7), por 10 meses e baixa capacidade funcional (54,44 pontos no VISA-G). Na análise do controle postural estático, GD mostrou piores resultados para a área de oscilação do COP (p= 0,04) e maior amplitude de oscilação médio-lateral (p= 0,03). Na avaliação dinâmica, os resultados da amplitude médio-lateral (p= 0,02) e velocidade antero posterior (p= 0,04) foram maiores no GD, mas o COP foi pior no GC (p= 0,01). Conclusão: Mulheres com SDGT tem baixa capacidade funcional e pior controle postural estático e dinâmico. Estas variáveis devem ser avaliadas para estabelecer novas estratégias de prevenção e reabilitação em mulheres com SDGT.
Programa de resistência muscular para membros inferiores melhora sarcopenia urêmica
Authors: Sampaio Liliane Stawny , Campos Renata
Published: July 2023

Insuficiência renal crônica (IRC) é caracterizada pela deterioração irreversível dos néfrons, que causa uma condição crônica com prejuízo do desempenho físico dos indivíduos, principalmente de membros inferiores (MMII), devido a sarcopenia urêmica e déficit de vitamina D. Objetivo: Avaliar a eficiência de um programa de resistência muscular para MMII de pacientes com IRC. Métodos: Cinco pacientes com IRC participaram do programa de reabilitação que ocorreu 30 minutos antes do início da hemodiálise (HD), duas vezes por semana, cada sessão teve duração de 20 minutos, totalizando 14 sessões, sendo a primeira e última, destinadas a avaliação. A intervenção consistiu de circuito funcional e exercícios resistidos, isotônicos de cadeia cinética aberta e fechada. Foi avaliado o teste de sentar e levantar em 30 segundos e teste de uma repetição máxima (1RM). Resultados: Após a aplicação, foi verificado que a força muscular pós (2,92 ± 1,10) foi estatisticamente maior que a pré (1,90 ± 1,29, p= 0,02), além de evidenciar que as variáveis da progressão da carga e força muscular pós, estão diretamente correlacionadas (r² 0,976, p= 0,005). O desempenho no teste de sentar e levantar em 30 segundos obteve diferença significativa pré (6,8 ± 2,28) e pós intervenção (10,4 ± 1,67, p= 0,004). Conclusão: O programa de resistência muscular de MMII foi eficaz, visto que aumentou o desempenho físico funcional com ganho de força e resistência muscular em pacientes em HD.
Estimulação cerebral por pulsos sonoros de baixa frequência como coadjuvante nas alterações das funções corticais superiores
Authors: Sandler Paulo Cesar , Shinzato Gilson Tanaka , Battistella Linamara Rizzo
Published: July 2023

Não há dúvidas sobre os prejuízos na vida humana, extensivos à família e sociedade como um todo, abrangendo todos os aspectos funcionais das pessoas envolvidas, além do indivíduo, originados dos traumatismos cranioencefálico, agudos e crônicos, externos ou internos: acidentes, atropelamentos, quedas, crimes, acidente vascular cerebral, doenças com neurodegeneração progressiva, resultando em estados demenciais. No que se refere aos quadros crônicos, enfrentamos dificuldades diagnósticas, pela persistente impossibilidade, quase que total, de dispormos de exames subsidiários que tiveram notável progresso tecnológico nos últimos vinte e cinco anos, a exemplo dos exames através de imagens funcionais.
Antecedentem creavit consequens: Friedrich Schlegel’s ontology of time and literary forms in Rede an die Mytologie
Authors: Ramos Gabriel Loureiro Pereira da Mota
Published: July 2023

We attempt to offer a new interpretation of Schlegel’s original solution for the problem of the new mythology. We claim that, while grasping the problem of the missing center as the structure of modern thought, Schlegel develops a theory of literature which implies an ontology of time. We advance that, by identifying myth with romantic literature, Schlegel’s argumentative economy leads him to apply the metaphysical predicates of myth to romantic literature as such. We propose then to read the status of literary forms as constituting the substance which precedes them but, paradoxically, only exists through them.
Generation and Polynomial Parsing of Graph Languages with Non-Structural Reentrancies
Authors: Björklund Johanna , Drewes Frank , Jonsson Anna
Published: July 2023

Graph-based semantic representations are popular in natural language processing, where it is often convenient to model linguistic concepts as nodes and relations as edges between them. Several attempts have been made to find a generative device that is sufficiently powerful to describe languages of semantic graphs, while at the same allowing efficient parsing. We contribute to this line of work by introducing graph extension grammar, a variant of the contextual hyperedge replacement grammars proposed by Hoffmann et al. Contextual hyperedge replacement can generate graphs with non-structural reentrancies, a type of node-sharing that is very common in formalisms such as abstract meaning representation, but that context-free types of graph grammars cannot model. To provide our formalism with a way to place reentrancies in a linguistically meaningful way, we endow rules with logical formulas in counting monadic second-order logic. We then present a parsing algorithm and show as our main result that this algorithm runs in polynomial time on graph languages generated by a subclass of our grammars, the so-called local graph extension grammars.
Languages Through the Looking Glass of BPE Compression
Authors: Gutierrez-Vasques Ximena , Bentz Christian , Samardžić Tanja
Published: July 2023

Byte-pair encoding (BPE) is widely used in NLP for performing subword tokenization. It uncovers redundant patterns for compressing the data, and hence alleviates the sparsity problem in downstream applications. Subwords discovered during the first merge operations tend to have the most substantial impact on the compression of texts. However, the structural underpinnings of this effect have not been analyzed cross-linguistically. We conduct in-depth analyses across 47 typologically diverse languages and three parallel corpora, and thereby show that the types of recurrent patterns that have the strongest impact on compression are an indicator of morphological typology. For languages with richer inflectional morphology there is a preference for highly productive subwords on the early merges, while for languages with less inflectional morphology, idiosyncratic subwords are more prominent. Both types of patterns contribute to efficient compression. Counter to the common perception that BPE subwords are not linguistically relevant, we find patterns across languages that resemble those described in traditional typology. We thus propose a novel way to characterize languages according to their BPE subword properties, inspired by the notion of morphological productivity in linguistics. This allows us to have language vectors that encode typological knowledge induced from raw text. Our approach is easily applicable to a wider range of languages and texts, as it does not require annotated data or any external linguistic knowledge. We discuss its potential contributions to quantitative typology and multilingual NLP.
Intertextuality and Ideology in Pseudo-Hecataeus
Authors: Matusova Ekaterina
Published: July 2023

The article discusses the fragments of Pseudo-Hecataeus’ work “On the Jews” (Josephus, C. Ap. 1.183–205) from a new, literary perspective that highlights the author’s relationship to Hecataeus of Abdera, Clearchus of Soli, and Aristeas, and describes his position within contemporary Jewish culture in the Egyptian diaspora. Pseudo-Hecataeus demonstrates a strong anti-hellenization tendency in the questions which are of crucial importance for the native Egyptian Jewry: the adaptation of Greek education and translation of the law into Greek. The article also suggests that a famous discrepancy between Pseudo-Hecataeus and Aristeas in how they depict the origins of the Jewish community in Egypt can be considered as an antithetical rewriting by Pseudo-Hecataeus of the story told by Aristeas.
Lycopodiaceae of the Guianas: List of exsiccata and distribution maps
Authors: BOUDRIE MICHEL , CREMERS GEORGES , ØLLGAARD BENJAMIN
Published: July 2023

The present paper provides the detailed list of the specimens of Lycopodiaceae from the Guianas that we checked during the preparation of our paper published in 2020, as well as their distribution maps. A total of 603 specimens have been studied corresponding to 28 taxa in five genera (Lycopodiella, Lycopodium, Palhinhaea, Phlegmariurus, Pseudolycopodiella). An additional species, Phlegmariurus tenuicaulis, is added and the combination of Pseudolycopodiella meridionalis var. mesetarum, which was invalid in our previous paper, is here validated.
ESG Leaders or Laggards? A Configurational Analysis of ESG Performance
Authors: Lewellyn Krista , Muller-Kahle Maureen
Published: July 2023

We draw from resource dependence and institutional theories to explore how board characteristics associated with directors’ capacities to provide resources and legitimacy (i.e., board size, the number of non-executive, interlocking, and female directors) along with regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive institutional conditions combine to shape firm environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Using a process of configurational theorizing with fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis and data from firms in 32 countries, we identify multiple equifinal configurations that are associated with high and low ESG performance. We find that high and low ESG performance have different drivers due to complementarities among the presence and absence of board characteristics. Our results also show that the effectiveness (or not) of the bundles of boards’ characteristics for ESG performance varies across institutional contexts. By leveraging these findings to construct a typology of board archetypes that lead to high and low ESG performance, we offer novel theoretical and empirical insights to scholars as well as implications for practice.
Dynamics of Price Transmission: Evidence from India’s Import Basket
Authors: Choudhry Sonam , Narayanan Abhinav , Anshul
Published: July 2023

This article uses granular information on trade flows between India and its trading-partners to estimate the impact of price changes on the import basket in general. We first investigate whether a change in world prices at the commodity level triggers a reorganisation of trading partners. Second, we examine the degree of transmission of world prices to Indian import prices. Lastly, we look at whether India imports less from countries that charge a higher markup on a product. Our results indicate that a change in world prices does not significantly change the set of importing countries. Using the country–product level price changes, we find a higher degree of transmission as compared to the world prices. This provides an important policy implication. In order to determine how the transmission of world prices to import prices works, we need to pay attention to the product price changes in the partner countries rather than focusing on the world prices. Lastly, we find that India imports less of a particular product on average from a country that charges a higher markup for that product relative to the average export prices charged by that country.

JEL Codes: F14, F60, F02, Q27
Book review: N. Menon, Planning Democracy: How a Professor, an Institute, and an Idea Shaped India
Authors: Kumar Deepak
Published: July 2023

N. Menon, Planning Democracy: How a Professor, an Institute, and an Idea Shaped India. Viking India, 2022, 360 pp., ₹799.00, ISBN: 9780670095926.
Spatial patterns of communal violence in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Döring Stefan , Mustasilta Katariina
Published: July 2023

Communal violence is a major source of insecurity within and across borders, sparking significant displacement flows and disturbing livelihoods. While conflict literature has shed light onto its causes, the existing research has paid little systematic attention to the spatial dynamics of communal violence. We distinguish between spillover of violence and spillover of predictors. Spillover of violence is defined as conflict incidences occurring as a direct response to communal violence in a nearby location. Spillover of predictors describes instances of communal violence that occur due to nearby conflict-inducing factors. We clarify theoretical pathways for both spillover processes, focusing on drought exposure affecting not locally but in nearby areas. Applying spatial models, we test the expectations regarding nearby violence breeding violence and nearby drought increasing violence with data on incidences of communal violence for sub-Saharan Africa (1990–2014). Our results demonstrate that communal violence explains nearby communal violence through different spillover processes. We also find evidence for an increase in violence due to exposure from neighborhood droughts as well as other conflict-inducing factors.
Fostering Meaningful Feedback through the Critical Response Process
Authors: Bylica Kelly , Rathgeber Jesse
Published: July 2023

Feedback plays an essential role in music education, helping individuals learn to consider creative works from multiple perspectives. In this article, we explore the Critical Response Process, a four-step process for engaging with artistic works in progress. Founded on the principle that both artists and responders play active roles in feedback, this process is designed to promote discovery and help students learn how to engage in a responsive feedback dialogue with others. In addition to outlining the process, we also offer narratives from our own practice, examples of how the process might be implemented in various settings, and ideas for adaptations.
Unpacking and Understanding Specific Learning Disabilities in Mathematics
Authors: Hughes Elizabeth M. , Witzel Bradley S. , Myers Jonte , Lin Tzu Hsing
Published: July 2023

Mathematical knowledge and skills are critical in the development of students. In this article, we begin to unpack the concept of mathematics disabilities and how they are presented across classrooms. We explain commonly used terms such as, specific learning disability and dyscalculia, and emphasize how students qualify for math support. We provide overview regarding difficulties students encounter with math and how to support student learning.
Cultivating Community Cultural Wealth and Armed Love: Freedom School as a Vanguard
Authors: Ares Nancy , Cochell Laura , Velazquez-Smith Tyana , Smith Jeremy
Published: July 2023

We present a conceptual exploration of armed love as a component of liberatory pedagogy. We ground our work in community cultural wealth theory (CCW) that centers social capital often found in non-dominant communities under pressure. We argue that recognizing and working against exploitation using the community's social, cultural, and historical assets are central to liberatory pedagogy. Explicating the connections between armed love and CCW is a novel contribution to the field, as it has not been done before and it highlights how asset-based pedagogies that are grounded in love can act as a protective factor for students in a racist society.
Black Lives Still Matter: Freedom Schools as an Embodiment of Critical Literacy Through Reflection and Action
Authors: Venegas Elena , Scott Lakia
Published: July 2023

The continuation of racial inequities in the United States has ignited the recent Black Lives Matter Movement, a protest of police brutality and gun violence. Black lives matter in public school classrooms, too—where students of color face barriers to equitable educational experiences. The Children's Defense Fund Freedom School program is a major component in developing critical literacy skills through critique, inquiry, and transformation through social justice and action. Critical literacy is enacted through identity—mainly as difference, self, consciousness, narrative, and positionality. Historical and contemporary relevance of Freedom Schools connects to the urgency of the Black Lives Matter Movement.
The Freedom School Way: A Model for Intergenerational Research Training Partnerships Among Universities and Children's Defense Fund Freedom Schools® Programs
Authors: Rawls Erik , Roehrig Alysia D. , Turner Jeannine E. , Mesa Michael P. , McClarey Madelyn , Lewis Camille , Ha Cheyeon , Auman Peggy , Jones Tamara Bertrand
Published: July 2023

Partners United for Research Pathways Oriented to Social Justice in Education is a partnership between a university research training program and a Children's Defense Fund Freedom Schools® site in north Florida. It addresses the lack of demographic diversity among doctoral students in education. Emphasis is on researcher positionality and building relationships with stakeholders in a service-learning practicum. Research fellows design projects around literacy and social action, negotiate with stakeholders, and provide service. We use autoethnographic methods to articulate how Fellows, CDF Freedom School staff, and faculty collaborate. We offer suggestions for conducting research that can lead to meaningful, systemic change.
Linking residential mobility with daily mobility: A three-wave cross-lagged panel analysis of travel mode choices and preferences pre–post residential relocation in the Netherlands
Authors: Tao Yinhua
Published: July 2023

The causal impact of the built environment on travel behaviours is a subject of debate. This debate especially concerns the independent effect of the built environment on the observed travel patterns after taking into account residential self-selection arising from pre-existing travel-related attitude. This study argues that travel attitude varies over time, and thus, is also reshaped by residential built environment and interrelated with residents’ travel behaviours. Focusing on the event of residential relocation in the Netherlands, this study longitudinally investigated the interrelations between travel mode choices and preferences before, immediately after and a year after the relocation. Results from the random-intercept cross-lagged panel models substantiated the residential self-selection based on the pre-relocation preferences for motorised means of transport, including cars and public transport. Moreover, travel mode preferences varied to a greater extent than travel mode use pre–post relocation, and especially, frequent use of public transport or bicycles stimulated by the new place of residence had a one-year lagged effect on developing the mode preference. Therefore, the structural role of residential built environment manifests as (re)shaping travel mode choices as well as mode-specific preferences in the process of residential relocation.
Masculinity Threats Sequentially Arouse Public Discomfort, Anger, and Positive Attitudes Toward Sexual Violence
Authors: Vescio Theresa K. , Schermerhorn Nathaniel E. C. , Lewis Kathrine A. , Yamaguchi-Pedroza Katsumi , Loviscky Abigail J.
Published: July 2023

Three experiments ( N = 943) tested whether men (but not women) responded to gender threats with increased concern about how one looks in the eyes of others (i.e., public discomfort) and subsequent anger that, in turn, predicted attitudes about sexual violence. Consistent with predictions, for men, learning that one is like a woman was associated with threat-related emotions (public discomfort and anger) that, in turn, predicted the increased likelihood to express intent to engage in quid-pro-quo sexual harassment (Study 1), recall sexually objectifying others (Study 2), endorse sexual narcissism (Study 2), and accept rape myths (Study 3). These findings support the notion that failures to uphold normative and socially valued embodiments of masculinity are associated with behavioral intentions and attitudes associated with sexual violence. The implications of these findings for the endurance of sexual violence are discussed.
Maternal and Neonatal Risk Factors Associated with Perinatal Depression—A Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Rajendran Bharathi , Ibrahim Syed Ummar , Ramasamy Sureshkumar
Published: July 2023

Background:

Perinatal depression (PND) is often under-treated and under-recognized. It has a negative impact on infant development and mother–child interactions. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of PND during pregnancy and in the postpartum period and the effect of sociodemographic factors, psychosocial stressors, and obstetric and neonatal factors on PND.

Methods:

166 antenatal mothers attending tertiary center, who completed the 1st-trimester, were evaluated on baseline sociodemographic, psychosocial, obstetric, neonatal, and post neonatal factors by using a semi-structured questionnaire. Periodic prospective assessments were done using Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD) at the end of the second and third trimesters and first and sixth weeks of the postpartum period.

Results:

Prevalence of PND was 21.7%, 32.2%, 35%, 30.4%, and 30.6%, at the end of the first trimester, during second, and third trimesters, and first and sixth week postpartum, respectively. Factors significantly associated with depressive symptoms included history of previous children with illness (P: 0.013, OR—5.16, CI—1.3-19.5) and preterm birth (P: 0.037, OR—3.73, CI—1.1- 13.2) at the time of recruitment; history of abuse (P: 0.044, OR—3.26, CI—1.1-10.8) and marital conflicts (P: 0.003, OR—3.2, CI—1.4-6.9) by the end of second trimester; history of miscarriages (P: 0.012, OR—2.58, CI—1.2-5.4) by the end of third trimester; lower SES (P: 0.001, OR—3.48, CI—1.64-7.37), unsatisfied living conditions (P: 0.004, OR—2.9, CI—1.4-6.04), alcohol use in husband (P: 0.049, OR—2.01, CI—1.1-4.11), history of depressive episodes (P: 0.049, OR—2.09, CI—1.1-4.46), history of high-risk pregnancy (P: 0.008, OR—2.7, CI—1.29-5.64), history of miscarriages (P: 0.049, OR—2.04, CI—1.1-4.2), stressful events in the postpartum period (P: 0.043, OR—2.58, CI—1.01-6.59), IUD (P: 0.002), preterm birth (P: 0.001), congenital malformations (P: 0.001), dissatisfaction with the sex of the child (P: 0.005, OR—3.75, CI—1.42-9.91), poor family support (P: 0.001), and low birth weight (P: 0.001, OR—16.78, CI—6.32-44.53) in the postpartum period. These analyses are purely exploratory.

Conclusions:

PND is highly prevalent from the early antenatal period onwards; this warrants periodic assessment of depression among high-risk mothers, using a validated tool, for early diagnosis and management.
Filler–gap dependencies and islands in L2 English production: Comparing transfer from L1 Norwegian and L1 Swedish
Authors: Kush Dave , Dahl Anne , Lindahl Filippa
Published: July 2023

Embedded questions (EQs) are islands for filler–gap dependency formation in English, but not in Norwegian. Kush and Dahl (2022) found that first language (L1) Norwegian participants often accepted filler–gap dependencies into EQs in second language (L2) English, and proposed that this reflected persistent transfer from Norwegian of the functional structure that licenses such filler–gap dependencies. However, their results do not conclusively establish that the judgment patterns were specific to transfer from L1 Norwegian and not a general L2 effect. To address this issue, we conducted elicited production tasks comparing how L1 Norwegian and L1 Swedish speakers complete dependencies into declarative complement clauses and EQs both in their native languages and L2 English. Despite its similarity to Norwegian, Swedish prohibits the filler–gap dependency into EQs that Norwegian allows. We expected participants to complete dependencies that they considered grammatical with gaps and to avoid gaps where they considered them ungrammatical. Our results clearly indicate transfer: L1 Norwegian participants overwhelmingly used gaps when completing dependencies into EQs in both L1 and L2, whereas Swedish participants almost never used gaps in either language. We interpret our results as support for models that allow transfer of functional heads and their associated features from L1 to L2, and suggest that such transfer persists when the L2 input does not provide relevant evidence for restructuring.
A Brief Online Cognitive Dissonance-Based Intervention to Reduce Consideration of Cosmetic Surgery and Improve Body Image Among Chinese Women
Authors: Wu Yi , Mulkens Sandra , Atkinson Melissa J. , Alleva Jessica M.
Published: July 2023

Across many cultures, women are evaluated based on their appearance, with narrow societal beauty ideals as the standard against which they are judged and, eventually, judge themselves. Women who internalize the beauty ideal are more likely to consider cosmetic surgery. Dissonance-based interventions targeting thin-ideal internalization are effective at preventing eating disorders and associated risk factors. In this study, we evaluated an online dissonance-based intervention targeting beauty-ideal internalization to reduce favorable attitudes toward cosmetic surgery among Chinese women. Chinese women who were dissatisfied with their appearance and who were considering cosmetic surgery were randomized to the intervention ( n = 127, Mage = 35.49) or to the educational brochure control condition ( n = 98, Mage = 32.97). Beauty-ideal internalization, favorable attitudes toward cosmetic surgery, facial appearance concerns, body satisfaction, and body appreciation were assessed at pretest, posttest, and 4-week follow-up. Intention-to-treat analyses showed that the intervention reduced beauty-ideal internalization and favorable attitudes toward cosmetic surgery at posttest, with small-to-medium effect sizes; however, effects were not sustained at follow-up. No effects were found for facial appearance concerns, body satisfaction, and body appreciation. This study provides preliminary evidence for the short-term efficacy of the dissonance-based intervention for reducing beauty-ideal internalization and favorable attitudes toward cosmetic surgery, and points to valuable directions for improvement. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843231183946 .
Constructing Selves in (Im)mobility: Greek Women’s Narratives Concerning the COVID-19 Lockdowns in Athens, Greece
Authors: Topali Pinelopi
Published: July 2023

The present article examines women’s narratives concerning the COVID-19 pandemic experience in Athens, Greece. The spacetime contexts that women construct to situate this experience involve the city and the house, the former involving historical and cosmological temporalities, and the second a ritualized domestic tempo that gradually becomes disorganized. In these spatiotemporal formations women develop performative acts of individuality and singularity that end up as explorations of mainly ungendered, bodily selves that exist in the emptiness of a short-term, suspended pandemic present.
Repeated long-term population growth overshoots and recessions among hunter-gatherers
Authors: Freeman Jacob , Mauldin Raymond P , Whisenhunt Mary , Hard Robert J , Anderies John M
Published: July 2023

We propose a model that may explain long-term population growth and decline events among human populations: The intensification of production generates a tradeoff between the adaptive capacity of individuals to generate a surplus of energy to maximize their fitness in the short-run and the long-term capacity of a population as a whole to experience a smooth transition into a demographic equilibrium. The model reconciles the conflicting insights of dynamic systems models of human population change, and we conduct a preliminary test of this model’s implications in Central Texas by developing time-series that estimate changes in human population density, modeled ecosystem productivity, human diet, and labor over the last 12,500 years. Our analysis indicates that Texas hunter-gatherers experienced three long-term population growth overshoots and recessions into quasi equilibria. Evidence indicates that each of these overshoots and recessions associate with changes in diet and labor devoted to processing high density, lower quality resources to unlock calories and nutrients. Over the long-term, population recessions may be necessary for populations to experiment with social and physical infrastructure changes that raise the carrying capacity of their environment.
Labour Migration to the Gulf and India’s Emigration Governance: Expanding Bounds of Protection
Authors: Varghese V. J.
Published: July 2023

This article shows how migration from India to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has been the primary determinant in constituting India’s regulative infrastructures that govern its transnational migrations. The article identifies three moments in the history of India–Gulf connection through migration since the 1970s to suggest that the Indian state regulations on the emigrant workers evolved over time progressively in response to specific challenges offered by the labour flows to the Gulf than migrations to other destinations. It suggests that the temporal controls in a sending country are outcomes of complex mediations involving diverse players and conditions and are in a constant state of becoming.
Treacher Collins Syndrome Associated with Disproportionate Nervous System, Cardiovascular, Otologic Complications Among 1,114 Patients
Authors: Kloos Jacqueline , Kaelber David C.
Published: July 2023

Objective

To compare the rates of selected nervous system, cardiovascular, and otologic abnormalities in patients with and without Treacher Collins Syndrome (TCS).

Design

Retrospective TriNetX platform cohort study.

Setting

Aggregated and deidentified electronic health record (EHR) data from across the United States.

Patients, Participants

Patients with TCS (n = 1,114) and a propensity matched control cohort without TCS (n = 1,114 matched from n = 110,368,585).

Main Outcome Measured

Prevalence and relative risk (RR) of selected diagnoses in a propensity-matched cohort.

Results

The RR of congenital malformations of the circulatory system in patients with TCS was 8.5 (95% CI 4.44-16.28). Patients with TCS also had higher rates of otologic abnormalities including conductive hearing loss (RR 44, 95% CI 24-83) and nervous system disorders including movement disorders (RR 2.60, 95% CI 1.27-5.50) and recurrent seizures (RR 4.2, 95% CI 2.12-8.33).

Conclusions

We found a significantly elevated risk in TCS patients within all three systems. We postulate that the nervous system effects may be the result of one of the TCS-linked genes, for which a mutation has also been associated with progressive ataxia, cerebellar atrophy, hypomyelination, and seizures. As the previously-identified causal genes influence neural crest cells that form the head and face, these cells may also populate cardiac structures, resulting in cardiovascular abnormalities. Finally, the characteristic craniofacial abnormalities identified in TCS impair hearing and are associated with increased risk of otitis media. Our findings may help researchers to hypothesize the function of the genes underlying TCS, as well as to inform the care of affected individuals.
Effect of Esmolol on Clinical Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients: Data from the MIMIC-IV Database
Authors: Liang Qihong , Li Lulan , Chen Kerong , An Sheng , Deng Zhiya , Li Jiaxin , Zhou Shiyu , Chen Zhongqing , Zeng Zhenhua , An Shengli
Published: July 2023

Background and aims

Esmolol is a common short-acting drug to control ventricular rate. This study aimed to evaluate the association between use of esmolol and mortality in critically ill patients.

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study from MIMIC-IV database containing adult patients with a heart rate of over 100 beats/min during the intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models and logistic regression were used to explore the association between esmolol and mortality and adjust confounders. A 1:1 nearest neighbor propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to minimize potential cofounding bias. The comparison for secondary outcomes was performed at different points of time using an independent t-test.

Results

A total of 30,332 patients were reviewed and identified as critically ill. There was no significant difference in 28-day mortality between two groups before (HR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.73-1.12, p = 0.343) and after PSM (HR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.65-1.08, p = 0.167). Similar results were shown in 90-day mortality before (HR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.75-1.14, p = 0.484) and after PSM (HR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.67-1.09, p = 0.193). However, esmolol treatment was associated with higher requirement of vasopressor use before (HR = 2.89, 95% CI = 2.18-3.82, p < 0.001) and after PSM (HR = 2.66, 95% CI = 2.06-3.45, p < 0.001). Esmolol treatment statistically reduced diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate (all p < 0.001) and increased fluid balance at 24 hours ( p < 0.05) but did not significantly lower SBP ( p = 0.721). Patients in esmolol group showed no significant difference in lactate levels and daily urine output when compared with those in non-esmolol group when adjusted for confounders (all p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Esmolol treatment was associated with reduced heart rate and lowered DBP and MAP, which may increase vasopressor use and fluid balance at the timepoint of 24 hours in critically ill patients during ICU stay. However, after adjusting for confounders, esmolol treatment was not associated with 28-day and 90-day mortality.
“He Won’t Pay”: The Entanglement of Financial Abuse and Negligence in Swedish Child Maintenance Processes
Authors: Fernqvist Stina , Flinkfeldt Marie , Tegler Helena
Published: July 2023

Since 2016, separated parents in Sweden are expected to pay child maintenance directly to each other unless special reasons, such as intimate partner violence (IPV), can be invoked. Problems with maintenance payments, which may involve expressions of financial abuse, have become a common topic in interactions between parents and the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) that handles these cases. This article examines 132 phone calls to the SSIA, and the results show that payment problems are typically framed as relating to inability or negligence and not as possible indications of abuse. This highlights the need for training and capacity building regarding IPV in the Swedish welfare state.
Bystander Intervention for the Prevention of Campus Sexual Violence: Opportunity, Frequency of Action, and Consequences for Confronting Those at Risk of Perpetration
Authors: Hoxmeier Jill C. , McMahon Sarah , Cusano Julia
Published: July 2023

This cross-sectional study examined students’ (Campus 1, n = 1,153; Campus 2, n = 1,113) experiences with four situations of direct confrontation of those at risk for sexual assault perpetration. The most reported opportunity was to confront those making false statements about sexual assault; many students reported more than one opportunity to intervene in the past year. Bystanders intervened most of the time across the four situations examined in this study. The most reported consequence of intervening was that no further harm was caused. More nuanced measures can offer practitioners further information to tailor sexual violence prevention programs.
Harms of third- and fourth-generation combined oral contraceptives in premenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Flores-Rodriguez Andrea , Diaz Gonzalez-Colmenero Fernando , Garcia-Leal Mariana , Saenz-Flores Melissa , Burciaga-Jimenez Erick , Zuñiga-Hernandez Jorge A , Alvarez-Villalobos Neri A , Rodríguez-Guajardo Rene , Morales-Martinez Felipe A , Sordia-Hernandez Luis H , Rodriguez-Gutierrez Rene
Published: July 2023

We assessed the available evidence regarding adverse effects on surrogate and patient-important health outcomes of third- and fourth-generation combined oral contraceptives among premenopausal women. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis including randomized controlled trials and observational studies comparing third- and fourth-generation combined oral contraceptives with other generation contraceptives or placebo. Studies that enrolled women aged 15 to 50 years, with at least three cycles of intervention and 6 months of follow-up were included. A total of 33 studies comprising 629,783 women were included. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly lower in fourth-generation oral contraceptives (mean differences (MD): −0.24 mmol/L; [95% CI −0.39 to −0.08]), while total cholesterol was significantly increased in levonorgestrel users when compared to third-generation oral contraceptives (MD: 0.27 mmol/L; [95% CI 0.04 to 0.50]). A decreased arterial thrombosis incidence was shown in fourth-generation oral contraceptive users, as compared to levonorgestrel (incidence rate ratio (IRR): 0.41; [95% CI 0.19 to 0.86]). No difference was found in the occurrence of deep venous thrombosis between fourth-generation oral contraceptives and levonorgestrel users (IRR: 0.91; [95% CI 0.66 to 1.27]; p = 0.60; I2 = 0%). Regarding the remaining outcomes, data were heterogeneous and showed no clear difference. In premenopausal women, the use of third- and fourth-generation oral contraceptives is associated with an improved lipid profile and lower risk of arterial thrombosis. Data were inconclusive regarding the rest of outcomes assessed. This review was registered in PROSPERO with CRD42020211133.
Prechoroidal Cleft Regression After Switch to Intravitreal Brolucizumab
Authors: Forte Paolo , Ferro Desideri Lorenzo , Manocchio Riccardo , Corazza Paolo , Traverso Carlo Enrico , Nicolò Massimo
Published: July 2023

Introduction

Prechoroidal cleft has been described as a negative prognostic biomarker in patients affected with neovascular age related macular degeneration (nAMD). This peculiar finding consists of a lenticular hyporeflective space located between an outward bowing of Bruch's membrane and the base of a fibrovascular retinal pigment epithelium detachment (PED). Previous studies have reported the partial or complete regression of prechoroidal clefts after treatment with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections.

Case report

To report a case of complete anatomical regression of an unresponsive prechoroidal cleft after switching to intravitreal Brolucizumab. The patient maintained cleft regression over time and no adverse events (i.e., RPE tears, intraocular inflammation) were observed during follow-up.

Conclusions and importance

To our knowledge, this case report is the first to analyze the clinical efficacy of brolucizumab targeting prechoroidal clefts. Clinical implication and pathogenesis of prechoroidal clefts are yet to be fully elucidated.
Personal Protective Equipment Utilization and Associated Factors among Industry Park Construction Workers in Northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Yosef Tewodros , Shifera Nigusie
Published: July 2023

Introduction:

Equipment that safeguards the user from the risk of accidents or harmful health effects is known as personal protective equipment. Reports show personal protective equipment utilization is low in Africa. Workers are exposed to a wide range of physical, chemical, and incidental hazards because of low utilization of personal protective equipment. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the magnitude and factors associated with personal protective equipment utilization among Bure Industrial Park construction workers, Northwest Ethiopia.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study involving 368 construction workers was carried out. The questionnaire was prepared to collect data on sociodemographic, work-related, and behavioral characteristics. Personal protective equipment usage was assessed by observation. Descriptive statistics’ frequencies, proportions, and means were computed, and the analysis results were presented in text and tables. To find independent variables associated with personal protective equipment utilization, bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed.

Results:

The proportion of workers at the Bure Industrial Park who utilized personal protective equipment was 47.8%, 95% CI (47.7-47.9). After adjusting employment type as a confounding factor; not being a substance user [AOR = 9.52, 95% CI (5.07-17.8)], regular workplace supervision [AOR = 4.09, 95% CI (1.26-5.48)], having occupational safety training [AOR = 6.01, 95% CI (2.05-17.6)], and provision of personal protective equipment at workplace [AOR = 7.36, 95% CI (3.97-13.6)] were the factors associated with personal protective equipment utilization.

Conclusion and recommendation:

Nearly 1 in 2 workers wear PPE at work. Lack of PPE utilization is a public health problem in the study area. According to the study, personal protective equipment utilization was influenced by behavioral and occupational factors. To increase the utilization of personal protective equipment, training in safety procedures and regular workplace supervision must be considered.
Endogenous Tryptophan-Derived Ah Receptor Ligands are Dissociated from CYP1A1/1B1-Dependent Negative-Feedback
Authors: Dong Fangcong , Annalora Andrew J , Murray Iain A , Tian Yuan , Marcus Craig B , Patterson Andrew D , Perdew Gary H
Published: July 2023

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) exerts major roles in xenobiotic metabolism, and in immune and barrier tissue homeostasis. How AHR activity is regulated by the availability of endogenous ligands is poorly understood. Potent AHR ligands have been shown to exhibit a negative feedback loop through induction of CYP1A1, leading to metabolism of the ligand. Our recent study identified and quantified 6 tryptophan metabolites (eg, indole-3-propionic acid, and indole-3-acetic acid) in mouse and human serum, generated by the host and gut microbiome, that are present in sufficient concentrations to individually activate the AHR. Here, these metabolites are not significantly metabolized by CYP1A1/1B1 in an in vitro metabolism assay. In contrast, CYP1A1/1B metabolizes the potent endogenous AHR ligand 6-formylindolo[3,2b]carbazole. Furthermore, molecular modeling of these 6 AHR activating tryptophan metabolites within the active site of CYP1A1/1B1 reveal metabolically unfavorable docking profiles with regard to orientation with the catalytic heme center. In contrast, docking studies confirmed that 6-formylindolo[3,2b]carbazole would be a potent substrate. The lack of CYP1A1 expression in mice fails to influence serum levels of the tryptophan metabolites examined. In addition, marked induction of CYP1A1 by PCB126 exposure in mice failed to alter the serum concentrations of these tryptophan metabolites. These results suggest that certain circulating tryptophan metabolites are not susceptible to an AHR negative feedback loop and are likely important factors that mediate constitutive but low level systemic human AHR activity.
Purification as a tactic of marginalisation in business-community relations: Epistemic dimensions in the exclusion of Indigeneity in Arctic development strategy
Authors: Jääskeläinen Tiina
Published: July 2023

This study reveals the tactic of purification as a form of neo-colonial marginalisation present in contemporary development strategies on Indigenous lands. The research is based on my fieldwork study of exclusive tactics in a contemporary development conflict on Indigenous lands: the Arctic Railway project in Sápmi, in Northern Europe. The tactic of purification works through the selective use of opposites in excluding Indigeneity. On the one hand, ‘pure’ Indigeneity is an excuse for proponents of extractive development projects to exclude Indigenous knowledge and identities as ‘too Indigenous’ according to modern standards, denouncing them as ‘backward’, ‘only culture’, ‘not profitable’, or ‘without knowledge’. Yet, simultaneously, a resemblance to profitable livelihood practices, beyond culture, the use of several knowledge systems, and multi-ethnicity in communities, is deemed ‘too modern’, therefore ‘not pure enough’, thus invalidating Indigeneity. Building on classification systems introduced during colonialism, settler societies employ purification as a tactic to deny Indigenous peoples their right to decolonisation projects, and strengthen their control of Indigenous lands. The purification tactic thereby enables the expansion of the modern-colonial capitalist world order.
Expanding the magic circle: Immersive storytelling that trains environmental perception
Authors: Doonan Natalie , Oliveira Luana , Ravenelle Christopher
Published: July 2023

Scholarship on immersion in simulated environments often emphasizes cognitive immersion, or the suspension of disbelief that takes place in an illusionistic space that simulates reality, making the fact of mediation disappear in the experience. Marie-Laure Ryan writes that: “immersivity can be understood in two ways: in a properly VR sense, as the technology-induced experience of being surrounded by data, and in a narrative sense... as being imaginatively captivated by a storyworld” (230). Both of these definitions rest on the notion of cognitive immersion. Grounded in the field of post-dramatic multimedia performance, this paper will focus instead on immersive storytelling that activates the senses in a phenomenological experience. Rather than transporting the spectator into a fictional imaginary space, post-dramatic multimedia performance aims to make participants aware of their presence in the here and now (Klich and Scheer, 128). This paper will describe an immersive storytelling project that integrates virtual reality (VR) into live participatory performance events that take place outdoors. The paper is co-authored by an artist-researcher and two students who are working as research assistants on this project. We recount our creative research process in developing a pervasive game, which Montola defines as a “game that has one or more salient features that expand the contractual magic circle of play socially, spatially or temporally” (2005, 3). This game is played in a park and at key moments, inside VR environments that simulate that same park. The purpose of the game is to attune participants to the species in that particular environment.