bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Use at NCI-Designated Cancer Centers in the Cancer Moonshot–funded Cancer Center Cessation Initiative
Authors: D'Angelo Heather , Land Stephanie R. , Mayne Rachel Grana
Published: June 2021

Assessing tobacco product use and delivering tobacco dependence treatment is an essential part of cancer care; however, little is known about electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) or e-cigarette use assessment in cancer treatment settings. Given the importance of tailoring tobacco treatment, it is critical to understand how ENDS use is assessed in the electronic health record (EHR) in cancer care settings. Two questionnaires were completed by tobacco treatment program leads at 42 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers in the Cancer Center Cessation Initiative (January 1 to June 30 and July 1 to December 31, 2019). Items assessed how often smoking status and ENDS use were recorded in the EHR. An open-ended item recorded the text and response categories of each center's ENDS assessment question. All 42 centers assessed smoking status at both time periods. Twenty-five centers (59.5%) assessed ENDS use in the first half of 2019, increasing to 30 (71.4%) in the last half of 2019. By the end of 2019, 17 centers assessed smoking status at every patient visit while six assessed ENDS use at every visit. A checkbox/drop-down menu rather than scripted text was used at 30 centers (73.2%) for assessing smoking status and at 18 centers (42.9%) for assessing ENDS use. Our findings underscore the gap in systematic ENDS use screening in cancer treatment settings. Requiring ENDS use measures in the EHR as part of quality measures and providing scripted text scripts to providers may increase rates of ENDS use assessment at more cancer centers.

Prevention Relevance:

This study identifies a gap in the systematic assessment of ENDS use among patients seen at 42 NCI-Designated cancer centers. Requiring the systematic assessment of both ENDS use and use of other tobacco products can inform evidence-based treatment of tobacco dependence and lead to improved cancer treatment outcomes.
A Case of Anterior Choroidal Artery Occlusion and Stroke Secondary to External Compression
Authors: Narayana Patro Satya , Hassan Haroon Khawaja , Tamboli Khansabegum , Zafar Abdulaziz , Hussain Suhail , Muhammad Ahmad
Published: June 2021

The anterior choroidal artery (AChA) is a small artery commonly arising from the supraclinoid segment of the internal carotid artery (ICA). The significance of the AChA is related to its strategic supply to various important structures of the brain, such as the optic tract, the posterior limb of the internal capsule, the cerebral peduncle, the lateral geniculate body, medial temporal lobe, medial area of pallidum, and the choroid plexus [J Neurol. 1988;235:387–91]. The AChA syndrome in its complete form consists of the triad of hemiplegia, hemisensory loss, and hemianopia. However, incomplete forms are more frequent in clinical practice [Stroke. 1994;25:837–42]. Isolated infarction in the AChA territory is relatively rare. The presumed pathogenic mechanisms of AChA infarction are cardiac emboli, large-vessel atherosclerosis, dissection of the ICA, small-vessel occlusion, or other determined or undetermined causes [Stroke. 1994;25:837–42 and J Neurol Sci. 2009;281:80–4].
Online Tool (Brain Assessment) for the Detection of Cognitive Function Changes during Aging
Authors: Satoh Masayuki , Tabei Ken-ichi , Fujita Saiko , Ota Yoshinori
Published: June 2021

Introduction: It is well-known that cognitive function declines with age. In order to detect changes in cognitive function, cognitive tests should be performed repeatedly. Currently existing cognitive tests come in only a single version, so the subject is likely to remember the contents with repeated testing. And, under the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), in-person assessment should be avoided. This study was performed to develop a new cognitive test (brain assessment, BA) that has 5 versions and can be performed on a personal computer (PC) through the Internet. Materials and Methods: Five thousand subjects performed the online BA, which consisted of 5 subtests: number memory, word memory, mental rotation test, N-back test, and judgment test. We standardized the raw scores (cognitive scores, CSs) using mean and standard deviation, which were 50 and 10, respectively. Then, we calculated the mean CS for each sex and age, plotted the relationships between ages and mean CSs on figures, and calculated the formula of cognitive changes during normal aging. Results: The CSs of all subtests decreased with aging. The regression coefficient was from −0.31 to −0.45. It is noteworthy that in most subtests, the CSs started to increase at 85 years of age. Discussion: Our BA has 5 versions and can be done on a PC using the Internet. We tested the BA in a large number of subjects, and the standard values of CSs were measured in individuals up to 89 years of age. By performing this test repeatedly, subjects can evaluate the degree of their cognitive decline. If the rate of cognitive decline is greater than that predicted using the normalized formula, the subjects can undertake strategies to improve their control of lifestyle-related diseases or other habits of daily living. Conclusion: The BA can be easily taken online using a PC, and its scores linearly declined with normal aging. The BA will be useful for detecting longitudinal cognitive changes and comparing them to the pattern seen in normal aging.
The Role of hlb-Converting Bacteriophages in Staphylococcus aureus Host Adaption
Authors: Rohmer Carina , Wolz Christiane
Published: June 2021

As an opportunistic pathogen of humans and animals, Staphylococcus aureus asymptomatically colonizes the nasal cavity but is also a leading cause of life-threatening acute and chronic infections. The evolution of S. aureus resulting from short- and long-term adaptation to diverse hosts is tightly associated with mobile genetic elements. S. aureus strains can carry up to four temperate phages, many of which possess accessory genes encoding staphylococcal virulence factors. More than 90% of human nasal isolates of S. aureus have been shown to carry Sa3int phages, whereas invasive S. aureus isolates tend to lose these phages. Sa3int phages integrate as prophages into the bacterial hlb gene, disrupting the expression of the sphingomyelinase Hlb, an important virulence factor under specific infection conditions. Virulence factors encoded by genes carried by Sa3int phages include staphylokinase, enterotoxins, chemotaxis-inhibitory protein, and staphylococcal complement inhibitor, all of which are highly human specific and probably essential for bacterial survival in the human host. The transmission of S. aureus from humans to animals is strongly correlated with the loss of Sa3int phages, whereas phages are regained once a strain is transmitted from animals to humans. Thus, both the insertion and excision of prophages may confer a fitness advantage to this bacterium. There is also growing evidence that Sa3int phages may perform “active lysogeny,” a process during which prophages are temporally excised from the chromosome without forming intact phage particles. The molecular mechanisms controlling the peculiar life cycle of Sa3int phages remain largely unclear. Nevertheless, their regulation is likely fine-tuned to ensure bacterial survival within different hosts.
Dyspepsia Challenge in Primary Care Gastroenterology
Authors: Milivojevic Vladimir , Rankovic Ivan , Krstic Miodrag N. , Milosavljevic Tomica
Published: June 2021

Background: The purpose of this review is to take a deep dive into general problems and challenges of diagnosis and treatment of patients with symptoms of dyspepsia in primary care practice. Summary: Primary care physicians become acquainted with a broad range of clinical problems and therefore require a wide span of knowledge in taking care of patients from their first medical examination within the health care system. Dyspepsia and Helicobacter pylori infection are two of the most frequent reasons of digestive-related health care issues, despite that in primary care practice, current recommendations for diagnosis and differential therapy are often not implemented. The “test-and-treat” strategy is the initial management of the condition, reserving gastroscopy for patients refractory to symptomatic treatment and for patients presenting with any of the following alarm signs: age of above 55, dysphagia, anemia, weight loss, frequent vomiting, family history of GI malignancy, or a physical examination with key pathological findings. Key Messages: Examination and treatment of dyspepsia symptoms is the diagnostic and therapeutic challenge dictated by organizational and economic potentials of the health system, professional resources, and primary health care capabilities to accept and treat patients with dyspepsia and to properly refer those with alarm symptoms and findings indicative of organic disease to a gastroenterologist.
Renal Injuries in Primary Aldosteronism: Quantitative Histopathological Analysis of 19 Patients With Primary Adosteronism
Authors: Ogata Hiroko , Yamazaki Yuto , Tezuka Yuta , Gao Xin , Omata Kei , Ono Yoshikiyo , Kawasaki Yoshihide , Tanaka Tomoaki , Nagano Hidekazu , Wada Norio , Oki Yutaka , Ikeya Akira , Oki Kenji , Takeda Yoshiyu , Kometani Mitsuhiro , Kageyama Kazunori , Terui Ken , Gomez-Sanchez Celso E. , Liu Shujun , Morimoto Ryo , Joh Kensuke , Sato Hiroshi , Miyazaki Mariko , Ito Akihiro , Arai Yoichi , Nakamura Yasuhiro , Ito Sadayoshi , Satoh Fumitoshi , Sasano Hironobu
Published: June 2021

The rapid progression of chronic kidney disease and higher incidence of cardiovascular complications are well known in patients with hyperaldosteronism. However, detailed renal histopathologic characteristics of this disease have remained unknown. Therefore, renal biopsy specimens of 19 cases with unilateral hyperaldosteronism were compared with 22 autopsy renal cases of estimated glomerular filtration rate-matched essential hypertension without nephropathy or endocrine disorders to explore the hyperaldosteronism-specific histopathologic renal changes in this study. Global and segmental glomerulosclerosis, interstitial fibrosis, infiltration of inflammatory cells, arteriosclerosis, hyalinization of arterioles and immunoreactivity of mineralocorticoid receptor, 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 and 2, and renin were all quantitatively evaluated. The ultrastructural analysis was added in 3 hyperaldosteronism cases. Both mineralocorticoid receptor (
P
<0.01) and 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (
P
<0.01) were significantly higher in renal tubules of hyperaldosteronism, which could result in enhancement of in situ aldosterone effects in hyperaldosteronism kidneys. Interstitial fibrosis was significantly more marked in hyperaldosteronism (
P
<0.01). The proportion of segmental glomerulosclerosis was also significantly higher in hyperaldosteronism (
P
<0.01). There were no significant differences of global glomerulosclerosis between 2 groups (
P
=0.08). Glomerular size was significantly larger in hyperaldosteronism (
P
<0.01). In medium size artery, luminal stenosis tended to be more marked (
P
=0.08), and intima-to-media ratio was significantly lower (
P
=0.02) in hyperaldosteronism. Arteriolar hyalinization was significantly more pronounced (
P
<0.01), especially at efferent arterioles (
P
<0.01) in hyperaldosteronism. Results above demonstrated more pronounced whole renal damages in hyperaldosteronism. Results of our present study also indicated the potential clinical significance of early intervention using mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists or blockers.
MEDI6012: Recombinant Human Lecithin Cholesterol Acyltransferase, High‐Density Lipoprotein, and Low‐Density Lipoprotein Receptor–Mediated Reverse Cholesterol Transport
Authors: George Richard T. , Abuhatzira Liron , Stoughton Susan M. , Karathanasis Sotirios K. , She Dewei , Jin ChaoYu , Buss Nicholas A. P. S. , Bakker‐Arkema Rebecca , Ongstad Emily L. , Koren Michael , Hirshberg Boaz
Published: June 2021

Background

MEDI6012 is recombinant human lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase, the rate‐limiting enzyme in reverse cholesterol transport. Infusions of lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase have the potential to enhance reverse cholesterol transport and benefit patients with coronary heart disease. The purpose of this study was to test the safety, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic profile of MEDI6012.

Methods and Results

This phase 2a double‐blind study randomized 48 subjects with stable coronary heart disease on a statin to a single dose of MEDI6012 or placebo (6:2) (NCT02601560) with ascending doses administered intravenously (24, 80, 240, and 800 mg) and subcutaneously (80 and 600 mg). MEDI6012 demonstrated rates of treatment‐emergent adverse events that were similar to those of placebo. Dose‐dependent increases in high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol were observed with area under the concentration‐time curves from 0 to 96 hours of 728, 1640, 3035, and 5318 should be: mg·h/mL in the intravenous dose groups and 422 and 2845 mg·h/mL in the subcutaneous dose groups. Peak mean high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol percent change was 31.4%, 71.4%, 125%, and 177.8% in the intravenous dose groups and 18.3% and 111.2% in the subcutaneous dose groups, and was accompanied by increases in endogenous apoA1 (apolipoprotein A1) and non‐ATP‐binding cassette transporter A1 cholesterol efflux capacity. Decreases in apoB (apolipoprotein B) were observed across all dose levels and decreases in atherogenic small low‐density lipoprotein particles by 41%, 88%, and 79% at the 80‐, 240‐, and 800‐mg IV doses, respectively.

Conclusions

MEDI6012 demonstrated an acceptable safety profile and increased high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, endogenous apoA1, and non‐ATP‐binding cassette transporter A1 cholesterol efflux capacity while reducing the number of atherogenic low‐density lipoprotein particles. These findings are supportive of enhanced reverse cholesterol transport and a functional high‐density lipoprotein phenotype.

Registration

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique identifier: NCT02601560.
Effect of Underlying Cardiometabolic Diseases on the Association Between Sedentary Time and All‐Cause Mortality in a Large Japanese Population: A Cohort Analysis Based on the J‐MICC Study
Authors: Koyama Teruhide , Ozaki Etsuko , Kuriyama Nagato , Tomida Satomi , Yoshida Tamami , Uehara Ritei , Tanaka Keitaro , Hara Megumi , Hishida Asahi , Okada Rieko , Kubo Yoko , Oze Isao , Koyanagi Yuriko N. , Mikami Haruo , Nakamura Yohko , Shimoshikiryo Ippei , Takezaki Toshiro , Suzuki Sadao , Otani Takahiro , Kuriki Kiyonori , Takashima Naoyuki , Kadota Aya , Arisawa Kokichi , Katsuura‐Kamano Sakurako , Ikezaki Hiroaki , Murata Masayuki , Takeuchi Kenji , Wakai Kenji , Narimatsu Hiroto , Matsuo Keitaro , Kita Yoshikuni , Miura Katsuyuki , Nagase Hiroki
Published: June 2021

Background

This study aimed to determine the association between sedentary time and mortality with regard to leisure‐time physical activity with or without cardiometabolic diseases such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus.

Methods and Results

Using data from the J‐MICC (Japan Multi‐Institutional Collaborative Cohort) Study, 64 456 participants (29 022 men, 35 434 women) were analyzed. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were used to characterize the relative risk of all‐cause mortality to evaluate its association with sedentary time (categorical variables: <5, 5 to <7, 7 to <9, ≥9 h/d and 2‐hour increments in exposure) according to the self‐reported hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus using a Cox proportional hazards model. A total of 2257 participants died during 7.7 years of follow‐up. The corresponding HRs for each 2‐hour increment in sedentary time among participants with all factors, no factors, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus were 1.153 (95% CI, 1.114–1.194), 1.125 (95% CI, 1.074–1.179), 1.202 (95% CI, 1.129–1.279), 1.176 (95% CI, 1.087–1.273), and 1.272 (95% CI, 1.159–1.396), respectively. Furthermore, when analyzed according to the combined different factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus), HRs increased with each additional factor, and participants reporting all 3 conditions had the highest HR of 1.417 (95% CI, 1.162–1.728) independently of leisure‐time metabolic equivalents.

Conclusions

The association between sedentary time and increased mortality is stronger among patients with hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus regardless of leisure‐time physical activity in a large Japanese population.
Ascending Aortic Length and Its Association With Type A Aortic Dissection
Authors: Eliathamby Daniella , Gutierrez Mariana , Liu Aileen , Ouzounian Maral , Forbes Thomas L. , Tan Kong Teng , Chung Jennifer
Published: June 2021

Background

The aim of this study was to determine the role of ascending aortic length and diameter in type A aortic dissection.

Methods and Results

Computed tomography scans from patients with acute type A dissections (n=51), patients with proximal thoracic aortic aneurysms (n=121), and controls with normal aortas (n=200) were analyzed from aortic annulus to the innominate artery using multiplanar reconstruction. In the control group, ascending aortic length correlated with diameter (
r
2
=0.35,
P
<0.001), age (
r
2
=0.17,
P
<0.001), and sex (
P
<0.001). As a result of immediate changes in aortic morphology at the time of acute dissection, predissection lengths and diameters were estimated based on models from published literature. Ascending aortic length was longer in patients immediately following acute dissection (median, 109.7 mm; interquartile range [IQR], 101.0–115.1 mm), patients in the estimated predissection group (median, 104.2 mm; IQR, 96.0–109.3 mm), and patients in the aneurysm group (median, 107.0 mm; IQR, 99.6–118.7 mm) in comparison to controls (median, 83.2 mm; IQR, 74.5–90.7 mm) (
P
<0.001 all comparisons). The diameter of the ascending aorta was largest in the aneurysm group (median, 52.0 mm; IQR, 45.9–58.0 mm), followed by the dissection group (median, 50.3 mm; IQR, 46.6–57.5 mm), and not significantly different between controls and the estimated predissection group (median, 33.4 mm [IQR, 30.7–36.7 mm] versus 35.2 mm [IQR, 32.6–40.3 mm],
P
=0.09). After adjustment for diameter, age, and sex, the estimated predissection aortic lengths were 16 mm longer than those in the controls and 12 mm longer than in patients with nondissected thoracic aneurysms.

Conclusions

The length of the ascending aorta, after adjustment for age, sex, and aortic diameter, may be useful in discriminating patients with type A dissection from normal controls and patients with nondissected thoracic aneurysms.
The Promiscuous Life of a Genre for the Dead: The Marthiya as an Instrument of Community Construction in Muslim Russia
Authors: Ross Danielle
Published: June 2021

This article explores how the Islamic elegiac genre of marthiya can shed new light on the social and cultural history of the Muslims of Russia’s Volga-Ural region in the late imperial period (1870s-1917). The marthiyas enjoyed great popularity across geographical, ethnic, and factional lines as a medium for asserting and affirming social bonds and expressing collective identities. Volga-Ural marthiyas reveal the links between Sufism and Tatar national history-writing, demonstrate the interrelation between Sufi literature and Muslim revolutionary culture, and point to historical figures and groups that were left out of the evolving Tatar national historiography.
Curious Readers: The Bodleian’s Book of Curiosities as a Fatimid View of the World Through Ottoman Eyes
Authors: Liebrenz Boris
Published: June 2021

An illustrated cosmographical and geographical manuscript at Oxford’s Bodleian Library, known as the Book of Curiosities, has recently seen a rare confluence of public and scholarly attention. It is widely regarded as one of the outstanding Arabic works of geography, with stylistically idiosyncratic maps and a text that can be traced back to Egypt in the Fatimid period. However, few concrete facts are known about the history of this unique artefact. This article will identify and analyse the traces left by some of its previous owners and thus unlock the Ottoman history of this Fatimid work. By placing it in a concrete temporal and geographical context, we are better able to envisage the intellectual, social, and political environment in which this book could make sense to its owners and readers.
A revision and first record of the genus Oxyina Hollis, 1975 (Acrididae: Oxyinae) from India, with description of a new species
Authors: BABA TAJAMUL HASSAN , USMANI MOHD. KAMIL
Published: June 2021

The genus Oxyina make up a total of three known species and a new species. In the present study an extensive survey was carried out from August, 2018 to September, 2020. The collected specimens comprehend all the three species viz., Oxyina bidentata, Oxyina sinobidentata, Oxyina javana and a new species: Oxyina kashmira n. sp. is illustrated. Oxyina javana is rediscovered, as this species has never been reported since its original description. On account of this, genus Oxyina now includes four species. Moreover the genus Oxyina is being reported first time from India. Principally based on genitalic characters, a brief diagnosis and a key to the species is provided.
Two new species of Heteropterna Skuse, 1888 (Diptera: Keroplatidae) from China
Authors: WANG QINGYUN , QI LEI , WU HONG , HUANG JUNHAO
Published: June 2021

Two new species of Heteroptera (Diptera: Keroplatidae: Keroplatinae), H. cuneata sp. n. and H. fanjingshana sp. n. are described from Guizhou, China. Key to adult males of Heteropterna from China is given. Habitus images of adults and morphological structures are provided.
Mesodorylaimus ushkaniensis sp. n. and Allodorylaimus baikalensis sp. n. (Nematoda, Dorylaimida) from Lake Baikal, Russia
Authors: NAUMOVA TATYANA V. , GAGARIN VLADIMIR G.
Published: June 2021

Two new nematode species of the order Dorylaimida from Lake Baikal sediments are described and illustrated. Mesodorylaimus ushkaniensis sp. n. is morphologically similar to M. cryptosperma Loof, 1969, but differs by the longer body, comparatively shorter tail in females, longer odontostyle and longer spicules. Allodorylaimus baikalensis sp. n. resembles A. tarkoenensis (Andrássy, 1959) Andrássy, 1986, but differs by the comparatively longer body, tail, spicules, and prerectum in females.
Taxonomy of the coastal Thinobius Kiesenwetter (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) in Korea
Authors: LEE JAE-SEOK , YOO IN-SEONG , AHN KEE-JEONG
Published: June 2021

A taxonomic study of the intertidal Thinobius Kiesenwetter in Korea is presented. Three species are recognized, two of which are identified as new species (Thinobius jejuensis Lee & Ahn, sp. n. and Thinobius koreanus Lee & Yoo, sp. n.) and Thinobius kuroshio (Sawada) is recorded for the first time in Korea. A key, descriptions, habitus photographs, and line drawings of diagnostic characters of these three species are provided to facilitate identification.
Linking Warm Arctic Winters, Rossby Waves, and Cold Spells: An Idealized Numerical Study
Authors: Jolly Emilien , D’Andrea Fabio , Rivière Gwendal , Fromang Sebastien
Published: June 2021

The changes of midlatitude Rossby waves and cold extreme temperature events (cold spells) during warm Arctic winters are analyzed using a dry three-level quasigeostrophic model on the sphere. Two long-term simulations are compared: the first run has the observed wintertime climatology, while the second run includes the composite of the global anomalies associated with the six hottest Arctic winters. A spectral analysis shows a large increase in wave amplitude for near-zero and westward phase speeds and a more moderate decrease for high eastward phase speeds. The increase in low-frequency variability (periods greater than a week) associated with the power shift to slower waves is largely responsible for an increase in midlatitude long-lasting cold spells. In midlatitude regions, in the presence of a mean warming, that increase in low-frequency variance compensates the increase of the mean temperature, resulting at places in a frequency of cold spells that remains by and large unaltered. In presence of mean cooling, both the increase in variance and the decrease in the mean temperature participate in an increased frequency of cold spells. Sensitivity experiments show that the power shift to slower waves is mainly due to the tropical anomalies that developed during those particular winters and less importantly to changes in the background flow at higher latitudes associated with the Arctic amplification pattern.
Decadal Modulation of Trans-basin Variability on Extended Boreal Summer Tropical Cyclone Activity in the Tropical North Pacific and Atlantic Basins
Authors: Chen Shaohua , Zhao Haikun , Klotzbach Philp J. , Raga Graciela B. , Cao Jian , Wang Chao
Published: June 2021

This study analyzes decadal modulation of trans-basin variability (TBV) on extended boreal summer (May-October) tropical cyclone frequency (TCF) over the western North Pacific (WNP), central-eastern North Pacific (CENP) and North Atlantic (NATL) basins. There are distinct decadal regimes (P1:1979-1997, P2:1998-2008, and P3:2009-2019) with changes in the interannual relationship between TBV and TCF over these three basins. During P1 and P3, there is a significant inter-annual TBV-TCF relationship over the CENP and NATL, but these relationships become insignificant during P2. Changes in the interannual TBV-TCF relationship over the WNP are opposite to those over the CENP and NATL basins, with significant relationship during P2 but insignificant relationship during P1 and P3. Changes in all three basins coincide with decadal changes in large-scale parameters associated with TBV. Consistent basin-wide changes in lower-tropospheric vorticity (vertical wind shear) associated with TBV appear to be largely responsible for changes in total TCF over the NATL (CENP) during P1 and P3. In contrast, a dipole pattern in lower-tropospheric vorticity and vertical wind shear anomalies associated with TBV over the NATL and CENP basins occurs during P2, leading to an insignificant interannual TBV-TCF relationship over the NATL and CENP basins. Over the WNP, a basin-wide consistent distribution of lower-tropospheric vorticity associated with TBV is consistent with changes in total TCF during P2, while a dipole correlation pattern between TBV-associated factors and TCF during P1 and P3 leads to a weak correlation between TBV and WNP TCF. These three distinct observed decadal regimes may be associated with interactions between ENSO and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation on decadal timescales.
How Loud and Clear Rung the Alarm Bell: The Communication Efforts of WHO on the Beginning of COVID-19 Outbreak
Authors: Toker Huriye
Published: June 2021

As seen clearly from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, health is an important foreign policy and diplomatic issue connected with security, economic well-being, and international development. According to risk communication researchers, effective, transparent, and timely information sharing is the most important tool after vaccines for responding to pandemics. This study aims to start a scholarly discussion on the risk communication efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO) during the COVID-19 outbreak. We analyzed WHO’s communication efforts during the first 3 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the leading international health organization, WHO was responsible for providing rapid, up-to-date, and credible information for the public and the media. The selected research items were 42 news releases and statements provided by WHO between December 31, 2019, and March 30, 2020. These were subjected to qualitative and quantitative content analyses using the NVivo 12 qualitative analysis software program for coding. The data were coded under 6 variables (date of publication, topics, frequency, wording of the COVID-19 outbreak, sourcing, and themes of the releases). While 54.7% of WHO's communications were devoted to the COVID-19 outbreak, more than half were not issued until March. That is, instead of early risk communication and clear warnings about the outbreak, WHO acted overcautiously, preferring messages related to solidarity and cooperation during the most devastating pandemic of the 21st century.
Optimization design of curved outrigger structure based on buckling analysis and multi-island genetic algorithm
Authors: Liu Zhi-Hai , Tian Shao-Lu , Zeng Qing-Liang , Gao Kui-Dong , Cui Xin-Long , Wang Cheng-Long
Published: June 2021

In the present work, the working state of the crane leg is analyzed and discussed, and its structure is optimized. SolidWorks software is used for modeling; ANSYS software is used for finite element analysis. First of all, the constrained finite element method (CFEM) is used to analyze the linear eigenvalue buckling and geometric nonlinear buckling of outriggers with different cross-section shapes. Prove that the curved leg has certain advantages in buckling. At the same time, analyzing the leg along a different path of buckling condition and stress changes provide the basis for the design of the subsequent reinforcement. After selecting the best cross-section shape of the outrigger, the agent-based multi-island genetic algorithm is used to optimize the structural parameters of the outrigger under the transverse stiffened plate reinforced structure and the longitudinally stiffened plate reinforced structure respectively. It is proved that the outrigger with the transverse stiffened plate has a significant effect in improving the bearing capacity and in the lightweight of the structure. Finally, the gap between the movable leg and the fixed leg was changed, the stress of different gaps was analyzed by using the finite element method, and the appropriate gap value was selected according to the high-order fitting curve.
Cultivating Asset-, Equity-, and Justice-Oriented Identities: Urban Field Experiences of Elementary Preservice Teachers of Color
Authors: Maddamsetti Jihea
Published: June 2021

I examine how three elementary-level preservice teachers of Color cultivated their asset-, equity-, and justice-oriented pedagogical learning and identities through multilayered community-engaged tasks. Systemic and structured support from multiple stakeholders played a critical role in helping the preservice teachers of Color to promote and sustain their asset-, equity-, and justice-oriented pedagogical learning and identities. This study demonstrates that giving students tasks with multiple modalities (e.g., individual and collaborative work, face-to-face meetings, online reflections) can cultivate their pedagogical learning and identity construction. This work has implications for creating asset-, equity-, and justice-oriented pedagogical spaces in both the classroom and the field.
Neoliberalism and neo-dirigisme in action: The state–corporate alliance and the great housing rush of the 2000s in Istanbul, Turkey
Authors: Gülhan Sinan Tankut
Published: June 2021

This paper foregrounds the state–corporate alliance in real estate development in Istanbul since the early 2000s. Employing a geo-coded sample of 294 private housing development projects built since the early 1980s and in-depth interviews with the private development companies, the paper focuses on how the construction industry and the massive commodification of urban land produced a new state–space nexus. The underlying question here is the nascent shape of urban political-economy, the trends of housing construction, the cycles of boom and bust and the mechanisms of capital accumulation concerning the state’s centralising control over space. In this sample, a few critical aspects of the production of concrete space became apparent. Seven findings are discussed. First, the developers of Istanbul followed the clientelistic patterns in the urban built environment. The second aspect is that the state is the sole supply-side actor that determines Istanbul’s built environment. The third point in this analysis of urban development initiated by the private sector is focused on the fact that the real estate speculation is state-led. The fourth and fifth points are related to the Turkish real estate developers’ inability to procure financing for the duration of the construction process. The sixth factor in the evaluation of the private real estate sector in Istanbul is the geographical and class dispersal of active development projects. The seventh factor in understanding those real estate developers is their novel approach to marketing and advertisement and the way they employ architecture as an extension of public relations.
Governing investors and developers: Analysing the role of risk allocation in urban development
Authors: Brill Frances
Published: June 2021

This article argues that urban governance, and academic theorisations of it, have focused on the role and strategies of real estate developers at the expense of understanding how investors are shaped by regulatory environments. In contrast, using the case of institutional investment in London’s private rental housing (Build to Rent), in this article I argue that unpacking the private sector and the development process helps reveal different types of risk which necessitate variegated responses from within the real estate sector. In doing so, I demonstrate the complexities of the private sector in urban development, especially housing provision, and the limitations of a binary conceptualised around pro- and anti-development narratives when discussing planning decisions. Instead, I show the multiplicity of responses from within the private sector, and how these reflect particular approaches to risk management. Uncovering this helps theorise the complexities of governing housing systems and demonstrates the potential for risk-based urban governance analysis in the future.
Validating Sequence Analysis Typologies Using Parametric Bootstrap
Authors: Studer Matthias
Published: June 2021

In this article, the author proposes a methodology for the validation of sequence analysis typologies on the basis of parametric bootstraps following the framework proposed by Hennig and Lin (2015). The method works by comparing the cluster quality of an observed typology with the quality obtained by clustering similar but nonclustered data. The author proposes several models to test the different structuring aspects of the sequences important in life-course research, namely, sequencing, timing, and duration. This strategy allows identifying the key structural aspects captured by the observed typology. The usefulness of the proposed methodology is illustrated through an analysis of professional and coresidence trajectories in Switzerland. The proposed methodology is available in the WeightedCluster R library.
A World Through Glass: A Narrative Around the Family Experiences During the Confinement of COVID-19
Authors: González-Calvo Gustavo , Arias-Carballal Marta
Published: June 2021

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, and the world has witnessed significant changes since then. Spain has been forced to go into extreme lockdown, cancelling all school classes and outdoor activities for children. Our study explores how parents of a group of school children aged 7 to 8 years have experienced confinement due to the COVID-19 health crisis. Following a narrative methodology, the results have been organized around a story that takes as a reference the period of confinement for a mother and worker in times of confinement. The conclusions of our study suggest that participants have experienced significant changes in their routines, having faced numerous personal and professional dilemmas in a climate of great emotional burden. This study is the first of its kind in investigating how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the ways that children and their families live and its possible implications for their futures.
Course and Correlates of Stigma in Patients on Opioid Agonist Treatment: A Prospective Study from an Outpatient Treatment Program in India
Authors: Ghosh Abhishek , Roub Fazle , Pillai Renjith R. , Mahintamani Tathagata , Basu Debasish , Subodh B.N. , Mattoo S.K.
Published: June 2021

Background:

Individuals with opioid dependence experience stigma and discrimination. Stigma can potentially reduce treatment-seeking and negatively affect treatment outcomes. We aimed to study the course of stigma and its correlates among patients receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT).

Methods:

We recruited 51 subjects (aged between 18 and 45 years) registered in the OAT clinic from February to September 2019. We excluded subjects dependent on alcohol and other drugs (except for cannabis and tobacco), with severe mental illness, intellectual disability, and organic brain disease. We assessed the internalized and enacted stigma and quality of life at the treatment entry and after 3 months. Relationship of stigma with quality of life, socio-demographic, and other clinical variables were examined at the treatment entry.

Results:

Mean age of the subjects was 26.7 (± 5) years. At the end of three months, 33 (64.7%) patients were retained in the treatment. Internalized stigma correlated negatively with the social and environmental domains of quality of life. The strength of the correlations was modest. No significant correlation was found between demographic and clinical variables and internalized stigma and enacted stigma scores. Both internalized and enacted stigma scores reduced significantly at 3 months follow-up. The significance levels were retained even after controlling for the baseline quality of life scores. Stigma at the treatment entry did not predict early dropout.

Conclusion:

Despite higher severity at the treatment entry, the level of internalized and enacted stigma reduced significantly within three months of an outpatient-based OAT program.
An algorithm combining VVSYmQ® and VCSS scores may help to predict disease severity in C2 patients
Authors: Sadek Mikel , Pergamo Matthew , Almeida Jose I , Jacobowitz Glenn R , Kabnick Lowell S
Published: June 2021

Objectives

The purpose was to assess whether combining patient reported scores (VVSymQ®) and physician reported scores (VCSS) stratifies disease severity in C2 patients.

Methods

Consecutive patients were pooled from the VANISH-1 and VANISH-2 cohorts. VCSS and VVSymQ® were calculated for each patient. The relationship between scoring systems was evaluated using Pearson’s correlation and frequency distribution analysis.

Results

Two-hundred and ten C2 limbs were included. Scoring systems demonstrated: VVSymQ®: mean = 8.72; VCSS: mean = 6.32; correlation (r = 0.22, p = 0.05). Frequency distribution analysis demonstrated 61.4% of patients had low VVSymQ® and low VCSS; 31.3% had elevated VVSymQ® and increased VCSS; 7.3% were inconsistent with C2 disease. Strict concordance analysis revealed 40.5% had VVSymQ® (< 9)/VCSS (0-6), 18.6% had VVSymQ® (≥ 9)/VCSS (7-9), and 2.9% had VVSymQ® (≥9)/VCSS (≥10).

Conclusions

For combined elevated VVSymQ® and VCSS, moderate/severe disease is corroborated, and intervention may be indicated. For combined lower scores, the disease severity is mild and conservative therapy is more appropriate.
Science evaluation and social transformations
Authors: Wagner Peter
Published: June 2021

This editorial and introductory article outlines some of the aspects that are being addressed and questions that are being raised in the subsequent special section on science evaluation. It sets the emergence of new evaluation practices in the context of changing state forms; it reflects on the distinction between internal and external evaluation procedures as an expression of boundaries between fields of social practice or between orders of justification; it suggests the need for distinguishing between foci of evaluation: on research results, on researchers, or on research proposals; and it asks the question if and how different modes of critique lead to different conclusions for remedy.
Assessment of Psychological Distress in Health-care Workers during and after the First Wave of COVID-19: A Canadian Longitudinal Study: Évaluation de la Détresse Psychologique Chez Les Travailleurs de la Santé Durant et Après la Première Vague de la COVID-19: une étude longitudinale canadienne
Authors: Dufour Marie-Michèle , Bergeron Nicolas , Rabasa Axelle , Guay Stéphane , Geoffrion Steve
Published: June 2021

Objectives:

Health-care workers (HCW) exposed to COVID-19 are at risk of experiencing psychological distress. Although several cross-sectional studies have been carried out, a longitudinal perspective is needed to better understand the evolution of psychological distress indicators within this population. The objectives of this study were to assess the evolution of psychological distress and to identify psychological distress trajectories of Canadian HCW during and after the first wave of COVID-19.

Method:

This prospective cohort study was conducted from May 8 to September 4, 2020, and includes a volunteer sample of 373 HCW. Symptoms of post-traumatic disorder, anxiety, and depression were assessed using the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (PCL-5), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Descriptive statistics were used to illustrate the evolution of psychological distress indicators, whereas latent class analysis was carried out to identify trajectories.

Results:

During and after the first wave of COVID-19, the rates of clinical mental health symptoms among our sample varied between 6.2% and 22.2% for post-traumatic stress, 10.1% and 29.9% for depression, and 7.3% and 26.9% for anxiety. Finally, 4 trajectories were identified: recovered (18.77%), resilient (65.95%), subchronic (7.24%), and delayed (8.04%).

Conclusion:

The longitudinal nature of our study and the scarcity of our data are unique among existing studies on psychological distress of HCW in COVID-19 context and allow us to contextualize prior transversal data on the topic. Although our data illustrated an optimistic picture in showing that the majority of HCW follow a resilience trajectory, it is still important to focus our attention on those who present psychological distress. Implementing preventive mental health interventions in our health-care institutions that may prevent chronic distress is imperative. Further studies need to be done to identify predictors that may help to characterize these trajectories.
Identifying Predictors of Inpatient Verbal Aggression in a Forensic Psychiatric Setting Using a Tree-based Modeling Approach
Authors: Neumann Merten , Klatt Thimna
Published: June 2021

Inpatient violence poses a great risk to the health and well-being of other patients and members of staff. Previous research has shown that prevalence rates of violent behavior are particularly high in forensic psychiatric settings. Thus, the reliable identification of forensic inpatients who are particularly at risk for violent behavior is an important aspect of risk management. In the present study, we analyzed clinicians’ assessments of N = 504 male and female inpatients of German forensic mental health institutions in order to identify risk factors for verbal institutional violence. Using a tree-based modeling approach, we found the following variables to be predictors of verbal aggression: gender, insight into the illness, number of prior admissions to psychiatric hospitals, and insight into the iniquity of the offence. A high number of prior admissions to psychiatric hospitals seems to be a risk factor for verbal aggression amongst men whereas it showed the opposite effect amongst women. Our results highlight the importance of dynamic risk factors, such as poor insight into the own illness, in the prediction of violent incidents. With regard to future research, we argue for a stronger emphasis on nonparametric models as well as on potential interaction effects of risk and protective factors.
Implicating Ourselves Through Our Research: A Duoethnography of Researcher Reflexivity
Authors: Wiant Cummins Molly , Brannon Grace Ellen
Published: June 2021

Researcher reflexivity is not a new concept in qualitative research. However, how/if researchers engage in that reflexivity varies. In this essay, the authors engage in reflexivity about a research project they conducted together. The previous project consisted of semi-structured interviews with U.S.-based mothers regarding their perceptions about motherhood. We then used intensive motherhood as a theoretical lens through which we analyzed the interviews. The project also encompassed mothers’ perceptions during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Through duoethnography, the researchers reflexively consider major dead angles of their project, challenges they faced, and what reflexivity brings to the forefront. They further reflect on their own communication processes throughout the research project and discuss implications for future researchers. As a result, the authors call for researchers to consider their own positionalities and the effects on research more deeply through collaboration and continual reevaluation.
Multiaxial fatigue assessment for outer cylinder of landing gear by critical plane method
Authors: Wang Yingyu , Zhang Xiaofan , Dong Xingliang , Yao Weixing
Published: June 2021

The in-service loadings on the landing gear are usually complex and from different directions, which lead to the fatigue critical locations in the landing gear structure mostly in multiaxial stress state. A methodology based on the critical plane method was proposed for estimating the fatigue lifetime of outer cylinder of the main landing gear undergoing variable amplitude (VA) multiaxial proportional loading. The orientation of the critical plane was determined by the so-called maximum variance method. The Bannantine–Socie’s cycle counting method and Miner’s linear rule were applied with Zhang–Yao’s criterion in this research. The calculated results on the fatigue lifetime of the outer cylinder were compared with the experimental data. The results indicate that the methodology proposed in this article is a sound method for fatigue life prediction of engineering components bearing complex VA multiaxial fatigue loading.
Condom use, symptoms of suggestive sexually transmitted infections, and health care seeking among female sex workers in Bangladesh
Authors: Alam Nazmul , Wahed Tasnuva , Alam Anadil , Dema Passang , Oishi Shafiqua N , Nahar Quamrun
Published: June 2021

This article presents a mixed-method cross-sectional study reporting condom use, sexually transmitted infection (STI) symptoms, and care seeking of female sex workers (FSWs) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A survey of 1228 FSWs, in-depth interviews ( n = 24), and key informants’ interviews ( n = 26) were used for data collection. Among the 1228 FSWs included in this study, 50% of them were illiterate and 39.3% were married, and their mean age was 27.1 years. The consistent use of condoms was reported by 75.6% of the FSWs, 88.7% reported having STI symptoms in the last 6 months, while 91.8% visited one of the drop-in centers for services. FSWs without formal education had lower odds of using condoms consistently (AOR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.55–0.95), and those working elsewhere than in the streets showed higher odds (AOR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.23–2.15) to use condoms. Stigma to access health care services, poor knowledge about STI/HIV, and low perceived risk were mentioned as causes of having STI symptoms in the survey as well as in qualitative in-depth interviews. Self-reported condom use, STI symptoms, and care-seeking practices were found to be high among the FSWs. Inconsistent condom use and a high number of sex partners could be the reasons for high levels of STI symptoms. Innovative objectively verifiable approaches should be tested to collect condom use data.