bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Maternal and foetal outcomes among pregnant women with vaginal dysbiosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Kenfack Josiane
Published: September 2024

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common gynecological condition in women of reproductive age. BV affects women during pregnancy and could lead to maternal-foetal outcomes that can be fatal for mothers and newborns. The aim of this review is to identify the different maternal and foetal outcomes among pregnant women with BV encountered worldwide and to highlight their prevalence. We search worldwide published articles that have recorded the prevalence of maternal-foetal outcomes among pregnant women with BV in the database Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and Global Index Medicus from inception until January 2022. The meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model. Sources of heterogeneity were investigated using subgroup analysis, while funnel plots and Egger tests were performed to assess publication bias. This review was registered in PROSPERO with the number CRD42022299498. A total of 8254 articles were found in the searched databases. After the exclusion of duplicated articles and others for multiple reasons, we finally obtained 26 articles that met all inclusion criteria. Worldwide, we recorded separately 22 maternal outcomes and 22 foetal outcomes among pregnant women with BV. When analyzing the different worldwide outcomes combined, there are 5 maternal-fetal outcomes that have been reported with the highest prevalence namely preterm birth, before 37 wGA (17.9% [95%CI= 13-23.3]), mechanical ventilation (15.2% [95%CI= 0-45.9]), low birth weight, less than 2500 g (14.2% [95%CI= 9.1-20.1]), premature rupture of membrane, before 37 wGA (13.2% [95%CI= 6.1-22.3]) and neonatal intensive care unit admission (11.2 % [95%CI= 0-53.5]). We also found that at the level of the WHO Region, South-East Asia records the highest prevalence of maternal-foetal outcomes (25.5 % [95%CI = 17.5-34.4]) followed by Africa with a prevalence of (24.6% [95%CI= 16.8-33.4]). At the diagnostic level, we obtained the greatest prevalence (37.2% [95%CI= 23-52.6]) for BV diagnosed with Amsel criteria, then blue test (31.7 % [95%CI= 8.4-60.6]). When considering gestation age, we obtained a high prevalence (29.6% [95%CI= 21.2-38.8]) among pregnant women with BV diagnosed in the third trimester of pregnancy. Even if BV is one of the most common vaginal conditions, the repartition of the type of maternal-foetal outcomes among pregnant women positive for BV is grandly disproportional among countries and continents.
Microdiversity of the Vaginal Microbiome in Preterm Birth
Authors: Liao Jingqiu
Published: September 2024

Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. The vaginal microbiome has been associated with PTB, yet the mechanisms underlying this association remain largely unexplained. Our understanding of these associations could be informed by detecting microbial genomic adaptation to host-related stresses. To this end, we analyzed metagenomic data from 705 vaginal samples collected longitudinally during pregnancy from 40 women who delivered preterm spontaneously and 135 term controls from the Multi-Omic Microbiome Study-Pregnancy Initiative (MOMS-PI). We assembled 1,078 metagenome-assembled genomes, representing 157 species-level taxa from at least 8 bacterial phyla. We find that the vaginal microbiome of pregnancies that ended in PTB exhibits unique genetic profiles. Compared to pregnancies ending at term, it is more genetically diverse and harbors more virulence genes. It also harbors higher richness and diversity of antimicrobial resistant genes, likely promoted by plasmids. Interestingly, we found that Gardnerella vaginalis, a central vaginal pathobiont, is driving this high genetic diversity, particularly its genes involved in ribosome pathways and metabolism. We present evidence that this species undergoes more frequent recombination and stronger purifying selection in pregnancies which ended preterm. We further showed that the PTB-associated population structure of G. vaginalis may be related to optimization of growth rates. Overall, our results reveal novel associations between the vaginal microbiome and PTB from a population genetics perspective, and suggest that evolutionary processes acting on the vaginal microbiome may play a vital role in adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Co-diversification of an intestinal Mycoplasma and its salmonid host
Authors: Rasmussen Jacob Agerbo
Published: September 2024

Understanding the evolutionary relationships between a host and its intestinal resident bacteria can transform how we understand adaptive phenotypic traits. The interplay between hosts and their resident bacteria inevitably affects the intestinal environment and, thereby, the living conditions of both the host and the microbiota. Thereby this co-existence likely influences the fitness of both bacteria and host. Whether this co-existence leads to evolutionary co-diversification in animals is largely unexplored, mainly due to the complexity of the environment and microbial communities and the often low host selection. We present the gut metagenome from wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), a new wild organism model with an intestinal microbiota of low complexity and a well-described population structure, making it well-suited for investigating co-evolution. Our data reveal a strong host selection of a core gut microbiota dominated by a single Mycoplasma species. We found a clear co-diversification between the population structure of Atlantic salmon and nucleotide variability of the intestinal Mycoplasma populations conforming to expectations from co-evolution between host and resident bacteria. Our results show that the stable microbiota of Atlantic salmon has evolved with its salmonid host populations while potentially providing adaptive traits to the salmon host populations, including defence mechanisms, biosynthesis of essential amino acids, and metabolism of B vitamins. We highlight Atlantic salmon as a novel model for studying co-evolution between vertebrate hosts and their resident bacteria.

Link to OA paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41396-023-01379-z
Engineering Genetically Intractable Bacteria: Targeted elimination of restriction-modification motifs in plasmid sequences with the SyngenicDNA Tool Generator (SyToGen)
Authors: Piccinno Gianmarco
Published: September 2024

The vast majority of bacteria that can be grown in a laboratory remain genetically intractable, beyond the power of genetics for elucidating function or engineering for human use. Inherent diversity of genetic defenses, primarily Restriction-Modification (RM) systems, across bacterial species and individual strains remains a fundamental barrier to human-made DNA constructs during genetic engineering of bacteria. Previously, we described an approach to evade RM systems through the creation of SyngenicDNA; de-novo synthesized DNA sequences that are precisely altered to achieve epigenetic compatibility with a desired bacterial host and to prevent RM defense activation upon artificial transformation. SyngenicDNA-based genetic tools have increased transformation efficiencies by several orders of magnitude, yet still require manual ad-hoc sequence alterations for their generation. To remove the need for manual introduction of site-specific DNA alterations in silico, and to improve the accessibility, speed of generation, and reproducibility of SyngenicDNA, we introduce the SyngenicDNA Tool Generator (SyToGen). SyToGen is a computational workbench designed to assist users who work with bacteria that are currently genetically intractable. The software adheres to the manual workflow for generating SyngenicDNA, namely target identification, in silico tool assembly and sequence adaptation, but rapidly and reproducibly provides users with RM-silent DNA templates for de novo synthesis and assembly. SyToGen output plasmid sequences retain the form and functionality of the original genetic tool, but are now uniquely re-designed at the DNA level to bypass RM barriers and operate within the specific bacterium of interest.
Incorporating information from reference genomes with semi-supervised deep learning leads to better metagenomic assembled genomes (MAGs)
Authors: Pan Shaojun
Published: September 2024

High-throughput sequencing is commonly used to study microorganisms in the environment without a need for culturing. Computational analysis of metagenomic has enabled the construction of large compendia of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from human-, animal-associated and environmental samples. Metagenomic binning is the step in the standard pipeline which groups the contigs into bins such that each bin is predicted to contain only contigs from the same genome.

Binning methods can be divided into reference-dependent (based on reference genomes) and reference-independent methods (operating de novo). Compared to reference-dependent methods, reference-independent methods can discover new species or even new phyla, but completely ignore any background information. To combine the advantages of these two categories, we propose a novel binning method called SemiBin which uses a semi-supervised neural network to incorporate information from reference genomes, while still being capable of finding novel species. SemiBin outperforms existing state-of-the-art binning methods in simulated and real microbiome datasets across three different environments (human gut, dog gut, and marine environments). SemiBin returns more high-quality bins (48.0-99.2% more in single-sample mode; 11.0-30.7% more in multi-sample mode, compared to the second-best alternative). Compared to the alternatives, SemiBin captures a larger taxonomic diversity, including more distinct genera and species. In particular, we verified that SemiBin can retrieve more genomes from both known and novel species.

SemiBin is available as open source software at https://github.com/BigDataBiology/SemiBin/.
Persistent Changes in the Gut Microbiome of COVID-19 Survivors
Authors: Upadhyay Vaibhav
Published: September 2024

There are hundreds of millions of survivors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and this group continues to grow. Sars-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, is detectable in gastrointestinal secretions with measurable impact on the gut microbiome. Given reports that COVID-19 causes persistent symptoms in a majority of COVID survivors, we sought to understand the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the gut microbiome. We longitudinally sampled 18 individuals (n = 14 COVID positive and n = 4 COVID-19 negative household contacts) living in San Francisco. Consistent with prior reports, we detect an association between COVID-19 and the gut microbiome. COVID-19 survivors exhibited greater dispersion of the microbial community. COVID-19 survivors gut microbial communities were more self-distinct when compared to COVID-19 negative individuals. Population level social distancing practices varied during the time of sample collection in our cohort, and we found an unexpected association between population level social distancing and gut microbial community variation. Alpha diversity varied overtime in COVID-19 negative individuals. In contrast alpha diversity over time mirrored the effects observed in beta-dispersion in this group in COVID-19 positive individuals. We analyzed a separate cohort of healthy San Franciscans pre-pandemic where we observed similar variation in alpha diversity over time. We conclude that COVID-19 survivors exhibit greater dispersion of their microbial communities, which is a perturbation observable months after infection and potentially compounded by population level social distancing practices.
The role of clonal reproduction in shaping DNA methylation patterns across angiosperms
Authors: Ritter Eleanore
Published: September 2024

Clonal reproduction is broadly prevalent across angiosperms and has long been associated with the accumulation of deleterious mutations. However, the impacts of clonal reproduction on epigenetic modifications remain relatively unknown. DNA methylation is a common reversible epigenetic modification to DNA that can have an impact on gene expression and phenotype in plants. Here, we investigated DNA methylation patterns using publicly available methylome data for 45 angiosperm species. We found that clonal plants propagated through stem-based clonal growth forms had lower DNA methylation than strictly sexual plant species in all three contexts (CG, CHG, and CHH, where H = A, C, or T). It is possible that lower DNA methylation levels in clonal plants could impact their genome evolution by reducing cytosine deamination and/or increasing transposon movement. We also explored how transitions to clonal reproduction across angiosperms have influenced the rate of DNA methylation evolution. Currently, we are generating DNA methylation sequencing data in 34 wild angiosperm species to better understand how domestication and diverse clonal growth forms impact DNA methylation levels across a broader dataset. This study sheds light on how clonal propagation influences the evolution of plant methylomes, which has important implications for plant genome evolution.
Gut metagenome associations with extensive digital health data in a volunteer-based Estonian microbiome cohort
Authors: Krigul Kertu Liis
Published: September 2024

As part of the Estonian Biobank, we established the Estonian Microbiome Cohort which includes stool, oral and plasma samples from 2509 participants and is supplemented with multi-omic measurements, questionnaires, and regular linkages to national electronic health records. Here we analyze stool data from deep metagenomic sequencing together with rich phenotyping, including 71 diseases, 136 medications, 21 dietary questions, 5 medical procedures, and 19 other factors. We identify numerous relationships (n = 3262) with different microbiome features. In this study, we extend the understanding of microbiome-host interactions using electronic health data and show that long-term antibiotic usage, independent from recent administration, has a significant impact on the microbiome composition, partly explaining the common associations between diseases.
Worldwide presence of Blastocystis in the human gut microbiome is linked to healthier dietary regimes and lower body mass index
Authors: Piperni Elisa
Published: September 2024

The human body is inhabited by a community of diverse bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, and microeukaryotes, collectively called the human microbiome, that impact human health. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing enables high-resolution profiling of all members of the community. While the bacterial constituents have been investigated extensively, organisms from other domains, such as eukaryotes, are currently underexplored. Blastocystis spp. is a common eukaryotic protist that lives in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and other animals. The ecological and clinical significance of Blastocystis is still controversial, as it has been associated both with gastrointestinal symptoms and has been found in asymptomatic individuals. We performed a large-scale data harmonization and analysis of more than 50,000 metagenomic samples (34,687 from the ZOE PREDICT Studies, 13,928 from 68 public studies on humans, and 4,623 animal samples from 50 public studies) to investigate Blastocystis presence in the gut microbiome. Our results suggest a potentially favorable role for Blastocystis. We observed a worldwide presence of Blastocystis among healthy individuals with prevalence variability linked to host age, lifestyle, and geographical provenance. We established a dose-dependent coupling of Blastocystis carriage and diet quality, showing that Blastocystis-positive individuals tended to consume healthier, less-processed, fiber-enriched foods. Moreover, we show that the presence of Blastocystis was associated with favorable near-term fasting and postprandial cardiometabolic markers, such as lower GlycA and higher HDL. Finally, we reveal through meta-analysis a robust and reproducible association between the presence of Blastocystis and a lower body mass index, as well as reduced risk for inflammatory bowel diseases, colorectal cancer, and diabetes. Overall, the widespread presence of Blastocystis among healthy individuals suggests that, although associated with disease in certain conditions, it could be a non-pathogenic member of the gut microbiome. Further genomic studies are needed to unravel the specific role of Blastocystis subspecies in human health and disease. Finally, our work serves as an example of how shotgun metagenomic datasets can help investigate the non-bacterial components of the human microbiome.
Do you see what I see? Improving color accessibility and organization of microbiome data visualizations with the microshades R package
Authors: Dahl Erin
Published: September 2024

Background: Color Vision Deficiency (CVD), commonly known as colorblindness, affects approximately 300 million people worldwide. Individuals with CVD do not experience complete loss of color vision, but have reduced ability to distinguish different colors. When creating scientific figures, it is important to consider that individuals with CVD may not perceive all colors as intended. While there are several CVD friendly color palettes available, they are often insufficient for visualizing complex data that is often generated in microbiome studies. Methods: To overcome CVD accessibility for microbiome datasets, we developed an R package, microshades. Microshades includes CVD accessible color palettes and data organization functions. To construct the palettes, hue (type of color), chroma (colorfulness), and luminance (brightness) were adjusted for optimal visual distinction and CVD accessibility. All shades were tested with a CVD simulator (cvdemulator) for accessibility. In addition to accessible color palettes, we also provide data organization functions. These include grouping data by taxonomic ranking, sorting the data vertically and horizontally, and restructuring the plot legends. Results: Each microshades color palette contains six hues with five sequential variations of chroma and luminance per hue, for a total of 30 available colors per palette. The microshades_cvd_palettes colors are universally CVD accessible to individuals with the three most common types of CVD (Deuteranope, Protanope, and Tritanope). The individual hues of the microshades_palettes colors are CVD friendly, but when used in conjunction with multiple hues, may not be universally accessible to all forms of CVD. Discussion: The microshades R package is a visualization tool designed for microbiome researchers. The package contains two CVD accessible palettes, along with several organization features. The microshades package can be used in conjunction with common microbiome R packages, such as phyloseq, to enhance microbiome data visualization.

Link to paper: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mra.00795-22
Womens’ Bladder Health and the Microbiome
Authors: Brubaker Linda
Published: September 2024

In the decade following the discovery of the urobiome, more than 14000 urobiome genomes have been contributed to Greengenes2, facilitating rapid expansion of our understanding of the urobiome in various bladder health states. This presentation will highlight ongoing research designed to correlate bladder health and the urobiome.
Analyzing microbial evolution through gene and genome phylogenies
Authors: Teichman Sarah
Published: September 2024

Microbiome scientists critically need modern tools to explore and analyze microbial evolution. Often this involves studying the evolution of microbial genomes as a whole. However, different genes in a single genome can be subject to different evolutionary pressures, which can result in distinct gene-level evolutionary histories. To address this challenge, we propose to treat estimated gene-level phylogenies as data objects, and present an interactive method for the analysis of a collection of gene phylogenies. We use a local linear approximation of phylogenetic tree space to visualize estimated gene trees as points in low-dimensional Euclidean space, and address important practical limitations of existing related approaches, allowing an intuitive visualization of complex data objects. We demonstrate the utility of our proposed approach through microbial data analyses, including by identifying outlying gene histories in strains of Prevotella, and by contrasting Streptococcus phylogenies estimated using different gene sets. Our method is available as an open-source R package, and assists with estimating, visualizing, and interacting with a collection of bacterial gene phylogenies.

Link to OA paper: https://doi.org/10.1093/biostatistics/kxad025
Klebsiella oxytoca mediates colonization resistance against multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in the gut via cooperative carbohydrate competition
Authors: Osbelt Lisa
Published: September 2024

Gut colonization with multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria enhances the risk of bloodstream infections in susceptible individuals. We demonstrate highly-variable degrees of ex vivo colonization resistance against a carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strain in human feces samples and subsequently isolated from protected donors diverse K. oxytoca strains. Several of these K. oxytoca strains reduced gut colonization of MDR K. pneumoniae strains in antibiotic-treated and gnotobiotic mouse models. Comparative analysis of K. oxytoca strains identified competition for specific carbohydrates as a key factor for colonization resistance. In addition to direct competition between K. oxytoca and K. pneumoniae, cooperation with additional commensals was required to reestablish full colonization resistance and gut decolonization. Finally, K. oxytoca also protected humanized microbiota mice generated from susceptible donors against K. pneumoniae colonization demonstrating the potential of commensal K. oxytoca strains as next-generation probiotics.
LINGUISTIC CATEGORIZATION BY MEANS OF SUBSTANTIVE COMPOSITE NOMINATIVE UNITS
Authors: TUROVETS V.
Published: September 2024

This article analyzes substantive compound nominative units in the aspect of linguistic categorization, the possibilities of fixing and ordering objects and phenomena of the existing reality by means of substantive composite nominative units. The empirical material is the substantive compound nominative units of the Belarusian, Russian and English languages. The identical nature of combining substantive compound nominative units into lexical-semantic categories in all compared languages has been established. The article also presents the quantitative data on the distribution of the units under study by lexical-semantic categories. It was found that most of the substantive constituent nominative units in 3 languages constitute the names of the products of human activity. In addition, other isomorphic and allomorphic characteristics in the systems of English, Belarusian and Russian languages are identified and analyzed in the aspect of language categorization.
The Influence of Institutional Factors on the Levels of Unaccounted for Intangible Assets in Firms
Authors: Gianfelici Cristina
Published: September 2024

This research explores the influence of institutional factors on the ratio of unaccounted intangible assets to total intangibles. From an analysis of the top global firms by intangible asset value, the results indicate that a firm’s sector, size, financial leverage, profitability, board size, and organisational complexity are all significant factors affecting the amount of intangible assets that remain unaccounted for in a firm’s financial statements. Further, the most widely used accounting standards worldwide (IFRS and US GAAP) severely limit the types of intangibles that can be recognised in the balance sheet. Hence, differences in the levels of unaccounted intangibles depend less on a firm’s accounting and reporting policies and more on the activities a firm chooses to invest in and its propensity to innovate. In practical terms, our findings alert financial statement users to the sorts of conditions where intangibles are more likely to be underestimated. For standard setters, we reveal where reforms are urgently needed to improve accounting for intangibles. On the theoretical side, our results enrich the literature with the institutional factors that influence how much of a firm’s intangibles are accounted for.
Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi niat beli dengan perceived quality sebagai variabel moderasi menggunakan pendekatan planned behavior theory
Authors: Riza Riza Ihsani , Rofiuddin Mohammad
Published: September 2024

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of lifestyle, attitude, and religiosity on purchase intention with perceived quality as a moderating variable. This type of research is a quantitative study with a population of consumers of Rocket Chicken products spread throughout the city of Salatiga. The sampling technique in this study used purposive sampling totaling 100 respondents. The analytical technique used is Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA). The statistical test results show that attitude and religiosity have a positive effect on purchase intention, Meanwhile, lifestyle hurts purchase intention. Perceived quality can moderate the influence of lifestyle, attitude, and religiosity on purchase intention.
Islamic corporate governance, profitabilitas, leverage, dan nilai perusahaan: Peran moderasi ukuran perusahaan
Authors: Rositaningrum Vinna Agustin , Soleh Mohammad
Published: September 2024

This research aimed to analyze the influence of Islamic corporate governance, profitability and leverage on company value with company size as a moderating variable in manufacturing companies listed on the BEI in the food and beverage sector for the 2018-2022 period. This research uses a quantitative type of research using regression analysis as data analysis. The research uses secondary data in panel form using annual report data for 2018-2022. This research shows that the variables of Islamic corporate governance, profitability and leverage, moderated by company size, simultaneously influence company value. In contrast, Islamic corporate governance and profitability significantly positively affect company value. Company size can moderate Islamic corporate governance on company value, while size cannot moderate profitability and leverage.
Pendapatan asli desa dan pemberdayaan masyarakat: pengaruh terhadap kesejahteraan dengan moderasi jumlah penduduk
Authors: Melathi Harum , Darmanto Darmanto , Pratiwi Desy Nur
Published: September 2024

This research examines the influence of Village Original Income and Community Empowerment on Community Welfare by considering Population as a moderating variable, using a case study in Manjungan Village, Ngawen District. This quantitative research was conducted with a population from Manjungan Village, Ngawen District, Klaten Regency. The sample was selected using the Slovin formula, with 96 respondents. Primary data was obtained through questionnaires, and data analysis was carried out using multiple linear regression. The test results show that Village Original Income and Community Empowerment significantly positively affect Community Welfare. However, population size does not strengthen the relationship between the village's original income and community welfare, while population size moderates the relationship between community empowerment and welfare.
Benjamin Franklin and the Debunking of Mesmerism
Authors: Herr Harry
Published: September 2024

Introduction In 1784, Benjamin Franklin headed a Royal Commission in France to investigate animal magnetism and its then celebrated practitioner, Franz Anton Mesmer. Mesmer believed that a universal magnetic fluid flowed through every being on earth. Illness was caused by blockage or imbalance in the fluid’s flow. Mesmer claimed he could manipulate the fluid to restore balance and health to the body. Our aim was to determine Franklin’s role in the Commission and his use of scientific principles to question the validity of a popular medical regimen. Sources and Methods We used contemporary, primary literature pertaining to Franklin, Mesmer, animal magnetism, and mesmerism during the years 1778 to 1785 in Paris, France; archives of the National Library of France; and the Benjamin Franklin archives of the Library of Congress, USA. Results Franklin and his colleagues conducted placebo-controlled, ‘blinded’, sham and real experiments on themselves and patient volunteers. The investigators concluded that any positive effect from Mesmer and ‘mesmerism’ was due to the power of suggestion rather than the effect of any physical fluid or its manipulation. Franklin condemned mesmerism in public fearing its practice could lead to quackery but privately he saw no harm if it kept patients away from more dangerous medications. Conclusions The Royal Commission’s report condemned mesmerism on scientific and moral grounds, but Franklin took a more nuanced view that psychological factors could favorably influence health. In fact, mesmerism, in some form called by other names, thrives today.
Hernias, Healing, Hagiography: Faith and Medicine in the Era of St. Artemios
Authors: Xu Jonathan , Devon Octavia
Published: September 2024

Introduction Artemios of Antioch was a Roman general and imperial prefect in the 4th century CE who was subsequently martyred under the reign of Emperor Julian and canonized in the Orthodox Church. Based on a 7th century account of miracles, St. Artemios figured prominently in early Christian incubation rituals in which individuals afflicted with specific maladies would travel to and reside within the Church of St. John the Forerunner in Oxeia waiting to be healed. Many of the healing encounters attributed to St. Artemios concerned genital maladies. We aimed to explore the circumstances surrounding the treatment of these ailments and contextualize our findings within the relationship of faith and medicine during that time. Sources and Methods Primary source material was drawn from the 7th century The Miracles of St. Artemios. A database of miraculous encounters was created including demographics of the supplicant(s), complaint(s), the medium in which the saint had manifested, and his manner of treatment. Additional secondary sources regarding St. Artemios and Byzantine incubation rituals were identified via PubMed and Google scholar and examined. Results A total of 43/45 (90%) of healing encounters compiled in The Miracles involved a urologic issue ranging from inguinal hernias and testicular pain to penile sores. Most supplicants were male, age range infant to 70 years. St. Artemios most commonly manifested himself in a dream to the afflicted or their loved one – sometimes as himself, other times in disguise. In several encounters, St. Artemios appeared as a physician. Treatments of genital maladies included medical interventions (e.g. hernia reduction) and nonmedical interventions (e.g. making a sign of the cross, votive offering). Several supplicants sought St. Artemios after failing medical treatment elsewhere. The Miracles contain commentary against contemporary medical practitioners in favor of faith-based healing. Nearly all examples of healing took place within or near the Church of St. John the Forerunner in Oxeia, Constantinople. Conclusions The Miracles of St. Artemios offer a view into the genital maladies of classical Byzantine peoples who sought relief from the divine when contemporary medical practices showed no perceived or actual benefit.
Investigating Long-Run Money Demand and Its Policy Implications for the Proposed Monetary Union in West Africa: Evidence from Macro Panel Data Techniques
Authors: Tucker Joseph Ansu
Published: September 2024

At the nucleus of the ongoing process of establishing a monetary union in West Africa are the harmonization of the institutional and operational mechanisms of monetary policy across member states and the determination of an appropriate monetary policy regime that would ensure the effective conduct of a common monetary policy. In-depth knowledge of the demand for money balances in the region is crucial in making an informed decision on the choice of the policy regime. This study investigates long-run money demand in the region and its implications for the conduct of a common monetary policy in the proposed monetary union. It employs a range of macro panel data methods, including pooled mean group (PMG), mean group (MG), and dynamic fixed effects (DFE) estimators. The baseline analysis is predicated on the common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) estimator that accommodates heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. The robustness of the results is ascertained by adopting the augmented mean group (AMG) estimator and using a higher frequency dataset. The study finds that income levels and inflation exert significant influence on people’s desire to hold money balances in the region. Recursive estimations of the panel model reveal that the money demand function exhibits instability.
Persepsi Guru dan Siswa dalam Sosialisasi Penggunaan Aplikasi Elsa Speak untuk Pembelajaran Pengucapan Bahasa Inggris di SMK Inklusi TPA Jember
Authors: Untari Dewi , Salim Helmi Agus , Hamliyah Hamliyah , Agustin Setyorini Dwi , Yuliana Siti
Published: September 2024

Pengajaran pengucapan bahasa Inggris di SMK Inklusi TPA Jember masih menghadapi tantangan signifikan, terutama dalam hal metode pengajaran yang kurang interaktif dan ketersediaan teknologi yang mendukung. Aplikasi ELSA diperkenalkan sebagai inovasi teknologi untuk membantu pembelajaran pengucapan bahasa Inggris secara efektif. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menilai persepsi guru dan siswa mengenai penggunaan aplikasi ELSA dalam pembelajaran pengucapan di SMK Inklusi TPA Jember. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif. Sampel penelitian terdiri dari 20 responden yang melibatkan guru dan siswa. Data dikumpulkan melalui kuesioner yang telah disebarkan melalui google form. Jenis pertanyaan yang digunakan adalah pertanyaan tertutup yang dirancang untuk mengeksplorasi lima tema utama: pengalaman penggunaan, kemudahan penggunaan, efektivitas pembelajaran, motivasi belajar, dan kebutuhan pelatihan. Analisis deskriptif yang digunakan adalah dengan menghitung frekuensi dan persentase jawaban untuk setiap pertanyaan dari lima tema tersebut. Kemudian data dianalisis secara deskriptif dinarasikan dan diinterpretasikan Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa mayoritas responden memiliki persepsi positif terhadap penggunaan aplikasi ELSA. Mereka menilai aplikasi ini mudah digunakan dan efektif dalam membantu meningkatkan pengucapan bahasa Inggris. Siswa merasa termotivasi untuk belajar lebih lanjut karena aplikasi ini menyediakan umpan balik langsung dan memungkinkan pembelajaran mandiri. Namun, beberapa guru dan siswa mencatat adanya keterbatasan akses teknologi di sekolah dan kebutuhan akan pelatihan tambahan untuk memaksimalkan pemanfaatan aplikasi ini. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini adalah aplikasi ELSA memiliki potensi besar untuk meningkatkan pembelajaran pengucapan bahasa Inggris di SMK Inklusi TPA Jember, namun diperlukan dukungan infrastruktur teknologi dan pelatihan lebih lanjut untuk memastikan keberhasilan implementasinya.
Data on Connection With the Natural Environment and Its Impact on Mental Health Among Allotment and Non-Allotment Owners
Authors: Haywood Leanne , Stiller James
Published: September 2024

This data file contains demographic information along with established scale scores of 515 both allotment and non-allotment owners to explore their time in nature and the impacts of this on mental health. Questions were also asked around time and activities in nature. The age range was between 18–85 years old. The data had approval from the research ethics committee. Before data collection began, full informed consent was obtained from participants as well as information sheets provided to them and all participants were debriefed afterwards. Identifying information was removed to ensure confidentiality and anonymity. The scores for scales used are included.
Chosenness-Myth-Trauma Syndrome and Hindutva’s Othering of Minorities in India
Authors: Mehdi Muhammad Kumail , Muhammad Nadeem Mirza
Published: September 2024

The political rise of Hindutva, under the tutelage of Narendra Modi, has heralded an era where the life, liberty and property of religious minorities especially Muslims are under grave threat. Modi’s India continues to lose its secular credentials. Minorities are presented as ‘them’ who can be subjected to physical attacks, state persecution and neglect with impunity. What are the root causes of this anger against the minorities and why did Hindutva construct the binaries of us and them? While employing qualitative process tracing methodology and using the lens of Chosenness-Myth-Trauma (CMT) Syndrome as a theory this study finds that the identity construction process, along the lines of Hindutva, had been set into motion even before 1947 and continued after the partition of the Subcontinent into India and Pakistan. Supporters of Hindutva presented the historical experiences and representations ─ they being ruled by the Muslims as an example of the trauma, thus ‘othering’ the Muslims, which automatically led to the creation of a sense of us versus them. They, having a substantial majority in India, constructed this myth of us being surrounded by them ─ the enemies, in this case, Muslims and other minorities. They also created the myth of a glorious age where they could transform India into a uniform Hindu society and state. The study examines that with the electoral success of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the process of identity construction started to gather steam in the late 1980s. However, the towering figure of Narendra Modi and his meteoric rise to power provided state patronage to the process. Since Modi has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), he successfully implemented its agenda of labelling minorities as ‘others’ resulting in the rise of anger that ultimately simmered into violence against minorities.
From Traditional to Humane Security Challenges — Analysing Pakistan’s Response to the Poly Crisis of Covid 19
Authors: Associate Professor Salma Malik
Published: September 2024

For Pakistan coping with the Covid-19 pandemic, came as a polycrises coupled with critical concerns including climate change and challenged governance indicators. Characteristic of a polycrisis, human lives were not the only casualty, grappling with an economic crisis marked by slow growth, high inflation and rising debt, the pandemic could not have hit Pakistan at a worst time. The comity of nations, comprising the most powerful and mighty to the least developed stood equally challenged and affected by this pandemic. Where there was a rush in the scientific community across the globe to discover at the earliest a viable cure for this virus, the pandemic brought home several sobering realisations with regards to revisiting the notion of security, the level of preparedness by the contemporary state in addressing multiple challenges and response to threat convergence. Through this paper an attempt is made to examine the impact and consequence of rising non-traditional threats, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper will further review what necessitated the early thinkers on seeking an alternative discourse on security, once realising that the classic and traditional perspective on security is no longer sufficient to answer what are now being termed faced by the state actors. Lastly, what measures and policies can be undertaken by the state at various levels of governance to incorporate and effectively deal with nontraditional security measures at a sustained level.
Semi Simple Ternary Ideals In Ternary Semi Rings
Authors: Lalitha C.
Published: September 2024

We introduce the notion of a generalized semi-ideal in a ternary semiring. Various examples to establish a relationship between ideals, bi-ideals, quasi-ideals and generalized semi-ideals are furnished. A criterion for a commutative ternary semiring without any divisors of zero to a ternary division semiring is given.
A Transitivity Analysis of the Manifestos of Two Nigerian Presidential Candidates
Authors: Agbanyo Gideon Dickson
Published: September 2024

Manifestos serve as a means for political leaders to execute their plans and to touch on an array of issues. This study examines the transitivity processes in the manifestos of two Nigerian presidential candidates. A content analysis approach is adopted in the study. The findings reveal that Peter Gregory Onwubuasi Obi uses more of the major process types (material, relational, and mental) than those of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The study has further established that Peter Gregory Onwubuasi employs the major process types to establish his inclination to liberate Nigeria, to show social solidarity with the citizens, and to call for good leadership. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, likewise, makes good use of the process types but more of the mental process as a trajectory for restoring systems, crusading for financial freedom, and establishing industries. With insight from transitivity, the study has provided a linguistic perspective on political discourse, demonstrating how linguistic choices in manifestos reflect the social and political intentions of political leaders.
Slika hrvatskih branitelja u medijima
Authors: Brgles Miriam Mary , Ježovita Josip , Plenković Mateja
Published: September 2024

Važno je i zanimljivo istraživačko pitanje uloge medija u kreiranju i održavanju (ne) povoljnog položaja branitelja u javnosti. Polazeći od teorijskih i empirijskih spoznaja o važnosti medijskog izvještavanja u oblikovanju slike branitelja, provedena je analiza sadržaja kojom je obuhvaćeno 11 849 medijskih priloga objavljenih na internetskim portalima i tiskovinama u razdoblju od 2010. do 2021. godine u Hrvatskoj. Prvo je istraživačko pitanje glasilo: Koje su dominantne teme medijskih priloga u kojima se u javnoj komunikaciji spominju hrvatski branitelji? Pokazalo se da je dominantna tema priloga isticanje različitih oblika braniteljskih udruživanja. Sljedeća su dva istraživačka pitanja glasila: Koji je dominantni sentiment prema braniteljima u odnosu na 1) vrstu i 2) autora medijskog priloga? Pokazalo se da o braniteljima prevladava pozitivan sentiment ako je riječ o intervjuima ili izjavama kao vrsti medijskih priloga, no kada se analizira prilog prema autorima, nitko se ne ističe prema iznošenju pozitivnog sentimenta. Negativan sentiment o braniteljima prevladava u komentarima i kolumnama kao vrsti priloga, dok se među autorima ističu čitatelji. Četvrto pitanje je glasilo: Kakvi se i čiji vrijednosni sudovi iznose prema različitim skupinama povezanima s braniteljima? Pokazalo se da pozitivne vrijednosne sudove uglavnom iznose članovi braniteljskih obitelji, predstavnici vjerskih zajednica i političari na vlasti. S druge strane, negativne vrijednosne sudove uglavnom iznose stručnjaci ili znanstvenici te novinari.
Abraham
rodi Izaka, Izak rodi Jakova…
Authors: Bašić Petar
Published: September 2024

U članku se raspravlja o glagolu roditi kad se njegova rekcija vezuje uz mušku osobu u nominativu. Takva je poraba toga glagola karakteristična za biblijski stil i znači dati život, stvoriti, a nalazi se u rodoslovlju Isusa Krista (Abraham rodi Izaka, Izak rodi Jakova...). U ovdje prikazanom dijakronijskom presjeku hrvatskih prijevoda Biblije utvrđeno je da je sve do nedavno glagol roditi postojano čuvao tu porabu, a tek se u nekim novijim hrvatskim prijevodima on sintaktički preoblikuje (rodi mu se, imao je, rodio se od, bio je), čime se smisao svetopisamske poruke u najmanju ruku oslabljuje.
Pravo na hranu kao izazov pravnoj kulturi
Authors: Berdica Josip
Published: September 2024

Tema je zamišljena prije svega kao problematiziranje dostupnosti hrane koja proizlazi iz druge i treće generacije ljudskih prava. Dok u drugoj generaciji govorimo o socijalnim pravima koja podrazumijevaju i »pravo na hranu«, treća generacija pretpostavlja niz osnovnih pretpostavaka za ostvarenje toga prava: pravo na zdrav okoliš i prirodne resurse i pravo na prirodne resurse. Implementacija tih prava treće generacije stvarni je izazov za suvremenu pravnu kulturu s obzirom na to da su i zdrav okoliš i prirodni resursi u određenom smislu u sveopćoj ugrozi koja se kroz različite međunarodne dokumente i nacionalne strategije/programe pokušava koliko toliko osigurati. Osobito je zapravo intrigantno razmišljati o ostvarenju prava na hranu budućih generacija kojima ćemo, po svemu sudeći, ostaviti nezdrav okoliš i zagađene prirodne resurse. Sve su to pitanja s kojima se može raspravljati o suvremenoj implementaciji »prava na hranu« u okvirima pravne kulture.
Odnos Crkve, države i politike prema dokumentima Međunarodnog papinskog teološkog povjerenstva
Authors: Pehar Marija
Published: September 2024

U radu se istražuju dokumenti papinskog Međunarodnog teološkog povjerenstva, renomiranog teološkog tijela osnovanog nakon Drugog vatikanskog koncila s nakanom plodnije suradnje teologije i crkvene hijerarhije. Za potrebe ovog rada ti su dokumenti, a riječ je o 30 dokumenata izdanih u razdoblju između 1969. i 2020. godine, analizirani pod vidom njihova doprinosa kompleksnom odnosu Crkve, države i politike, odnosno Crkve i različitih državnih uređenja. Detaljno istražujući one dokumente koji tematiziraju naznačenu problematiku, u radu se propituju aktualni teološki stavovi, argumenti i poticaji vezani uz odnos Crkve i politike, tragajući za odgovorom na pitanje o ulozi teologije u definiranju odrednica toga odnosa i njegovih ostvarenja, odnosno odgovorom na pitanje je li crkvena teologija ona koja samo apologetski argumentira postojeće stavove crkvene hijerarhije u odnosu na države i politike ili ona taj odnos kroz svoja promišljanjima i osmišljava, usmjerava i suoblikuje. Pokušava se na primjeru tih dokumenata definirati konkretan doprinos teologije u određenju i ostvarenju toga kompleksnog odnosa. Pritom se te dokumente analizira u odnosu na koncilske dokumente koji im prethode, ali također sagledavajući i kontekst vremena u kojem nastaju, te osobito u odnosu na sadržaje dokumenata crkvenog učiteljstva koji nastaju nakon njih a referiraju se na isti sadržaj.
Sanitarni kordon Papinske Države i suzbijanje širenja kuge u Splitu 1783./1784. godine
Authors: Dundović Zdenko
Published: September 2024

Na temelju dosad neobjavljenih arhivskih dokumenata pohranjenih u Državnom arhivu u Rimu (Archivio di Stato di Roma) u Italiji razmatra se odnos Papinske Države prema epidemiji kuge u Splitu, koja je izbila 1783. godine. Unatoč činjenici da je Split od rujna 1783. godine do siječnja 1785. godine živio pod režimom pune izolacije, državna tijela Papinske Države podigla su na najvišu razinu obranu od mogućega širenja zaraze s istočne obale Jadrana na svoje područje. Rad je podijeljen u dva dijela: u prvome dijelu razmotrit će se geografski obuhvat sanitarnoga kordona Papinske Države zajedno s čimbenicima uključenima u organizaciju obrane od epidemije, a u drugome dijelu prikazat će se ekonomske posljedice organizacije obrane od kuge, s osvrtom na utrošena sredstva prigodom epidemije koja se iz Istanbula proširila na Bosnu 1778. godine. Analizirani podatci stavit će se u korelaciju s dosad objavljenim rezultatima istraživanja u znanstvenoj literaturi. Cilj rada je pokazati razinu pripravnosti rimskih kongregacija zaduženih za pitanja zdravstva i njihovu sposobnost brze i učinkovite organizacije sanitarnoga kordona na području Papinske Države u 18. stoljeću, što je posljedično rezultiralo iznimno niskim udjelom proboja kuge na jadranskome priobalju Papinske Države.