bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multivalent masculinity and #MeToo
Authors: Rambob Rajeev
Published: June 2020

The deadly combination of male supremacy and toxic masculinity (MSTM) systemically and culturally promotes, supports, and defends violence against women, girls, femmes, and “lesser” men. This article provides working definitions for male supremacy and toxic masculinity and explores the damage they can do on their own and when combined. Multivalent masculinity offers a new way to navigate gender identity and expression by allowing for a spectrum of experiences. The infographic of the gender unicorn, developed by Trans Student Educational Resources, is a useful tool for “men’s” groups to employ as they seek to cultivate multivalent masculinity. The most important work of multivalent masculinity is: (i) to break open the definition, understanding, and recognition of what it means to “be a man”; (ii) to be painfully cognizant of the harm done by MSTM; and (iii) actively to resist being shackled or defined by MSTM.
Tamar says #MeToo: Reading Genesis 38 through the lens of gender justice
Authors: Snow Flesher LeAnn
Published: June 2020

The Genesis 38 story of Judah’s engagement with his daughter-in-law Tamar, who had disguised herself as a common prostitute ( zonah), speaks to the opaque nature of patriarchal oppression of women throughout the ages, an oppression that often leads to sexual harassment, abuse, and violence. Women often suffer silently through the indignities of these violations in order to achieve personal and professional goals that lead to the establishment and sustainability of jobs, careers, and stable environments for their children. The story of Tamar’s brave, strategic action combined with Judah’s confession of wrongdoing speaks into the twenty-first century’s international struggle for gender justice as evidenced by the #MeToo movement.
“And the word became . . . gossip?” Unhinging the Samaritan woman in the age of #MeToo
Authors: Parker Angela N.
Published: June 2020

This article examines the Samaritan woman’s speech in John 4. More specifically, this article employs a womanist hermeneutic of “unhinging” to argue that the Samaritan woman serves as an example for women who struggle with issues of testimonial authority in the midst of silence and shame at the hand of their communities. Thinking through the dynamic of the #MeToo movement and issues of power, testimonial authority, and trauma, this article interrogates the phrases dia ton logon (“because of the word”) and dia tēn sēn lalian (“because of your gossip”) to argue that, although the Samaritan woman possesses agency and voice with the power to engage Jesus in theological discussions, interpreters of her story still interrogate her for perceived sexual indiscretions to the point of her continued silence and shame in the history of interpretation. This article wrestles with both the Johannine author’s and the Samaritan community’s reducing her agency and voice to the point that readers live in ambiguity regarding her status. Concluding thoughts imagine what “living in ambiguity” looks like as a way to unhinge not only the Samaritan woman but contemporary African American church women from the experiences of silence and shaming in the age of #MeToo.
The body as the space in which power operates: Sexual violence of clergymen in the Korean church
Authors: Han Hye Hyun
Published: June 2020

The Korean version of the #MeToo movement has greatly influenced Korean society, and the new social awareness of sexual assault became a hot topic in the field of religion, especially in Korean Christianity. Various hidden cases have been publicized, and victims have begun to raise their once-muted voices. One noticeable factor in sexual harassment in Korean Christianity is the imbalance of power between offenders and victims. The abusers are mostly male pastors who hold absolute authority in their congregation and use this power to force victims to hide the truth. This article presents three main causes that lead to sexual harassment and sexual abuse in Korean churches—the absolute authority of pastors in Korean congregations, the coerced silence of the victims, and the sexual grooming caused by the imbalance of power between the abuser and victim—along with reasons why we stand with the victims.
Cutting speed follow-up adjusting system of bidirectional electric drive side cutter for rape combine harvester
Authors: Guan Zhuohuai , Wu Chongyou , Li Ying , Mu Senlin , Jiang Lan
Published: June 2020

In rape combine harvester, side cutter must be equipped to cut off tangled rapeseed twigs. Inappropriate cutting speed would increase the repeated cutting and missing cutting of side cutter, which lead to serious header loss. In allusion to the problems mentioned above, bidirectional electric drive side cutter and a cutting speed follow-up adjusting system were proposed. The kinematic law of side cutter blades was analyzed. The trajectory, velocity, and acceleration of the two blades were the same, but the phase difference is π. Numerical simulation of cutting areas at different cutting speed ratios was carried out and the best cutting speed ratio was determined to be 1.1. Cutting speed follow-up adjusting system was designed based on matching relationship between combine harvester forward speed and side cutter cutting speed. Cutting speed follow-up adjusting system was designed with proportional–integral–derivative (PID) algorithm. The control parameters were determined to be Kp = 1.3, Ki = 4.3, Kd = 0.007. Simulation showed that the maximum overshoot of the system was 4.3%, steady-state error was 0.24%, and the rise time was 0.036 s. The cutting speed follow-up adjusting system was applied to the 4LZ-6T-type rape combine harvester. Experimental results showed that the side cutter cutting speed error was within 1.5%. When forward speed changed, the cutting speed response delay time was 1.5 s. The rape combine harvester header average loss was 2.96% and side cutter average loss was 0.81%. Compared to the fixed speed cutting, header loss was reduced by 14.05% and side cutter loss was reduced by 34.76%. The research can reduce the loss of rapeseed combine harvester and provide theoretical basis for the design of rapeseed combine harvester.
Where the Fault Lies: Representations of Addiction in Audience Reactions to Media Coverage of the Opioid Epidemic
Authors: Russell David , Thames Kelly M. , Spence Naomi J. , Koeval Callie M.
Published: June 2020

The unprecedented number of deaths in the U.S. attributed to opioids has been referred to as an “epidemic of addiction.” Media coverage of the epidemic has stoked public discussion of addiction on social media platforms. This article describes how addiction is represented in comments on media coverage of the “opioid epidemic” and examines the relationship between media framing and audience representations of addiction. Content analysis methods were applied to data obtained from news posts ( n = 397) and comments ( n = 2,836) on the Facebook pages of 42 newspapers in Ohio, where overdose deaths are among the highest in the U.S. Eleven percent of comments were identified as referencing addiction ( n = 319). These comments were classified into two overarching categories: (1) support, disease, and contributing factors expressed support for persons affected by the epidemic, represented addiction as a disease requiring treatment, and highlighted social and structural factors seen as contributing to the epidemic (61.1% of comments referencing addiction); and (2) misdirected attention and individual blame questioned the media focus on addiction and overdose deaths, highlighted individual choices to misuse opioids, and suggested that media coverage of the epidemic diverts attention away from other social problems viewed as being more worthy of public attention (38.9% of comments). Representations of addiction in comments were found to be independent of (not associated with) frames in media coverage ( p = .945). Together, these results suggest that while a majority of commenters represent addiction as a legitimate social problem that warrants intervention and support, a substantial minority are dismissive of the epidemic, express anger and disdain for persons who use opioids, and seek to counter popular narratives of social and structural factors contributing to addiction.
Sliding mode observer based hysteresis compensation control for piezoelectric stacks
Authors: Hu Jiaming , Zhu Xiaojin , Fang Yubin , Gao Zhiyuan , Zhou Yijia
Published: June 2020

Piezoelectric stacks (PS) are wildly used as actuator mechanism for precise instrument in practical engineering. Nevertheless, hysteretic effect that is carried by the piezoelectric materials can degrade the control performance dramatically. For the purpose of improving the control precision, the problem of hysteresis compensation control for PS system is investigated in this paper. First, in order to compensate the hysteretic effect, two kinds of observers are proposed. The design of the observers has considered external disturbance and the creep effect in PS system. By utilizing Lyapunov function and linear matrix inequalities (LMI) technique, the observers can asymptotically estimate the hysteretic output with [Formula: see text] performance. Second, a hysteresis-compensation based back-stepping controller is established. The design of the controller has considered the observation error, and it has a certain robustness. At last, numerical and experimental simulations are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
A fast alignment of marine strapdown inertial navigation system based on adaptive unscented Kalman Filter
Authors: Rahimi Hossein , Nikkhah Amir Ali , Hooshmandi Kaveh
Published: June 2020

This study has presented an efficient adaptive unscented Kalman filter (AUKF) with the new measurement model for the strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) to improve the initial alignment under the marine mooring conditions. Conventional methods of the accurate alignment in the ship’s SINS usually fail to succeed within an acceptable period of time due to the components of external perturbations caused by the movement of sea waves and wind waves. To speed up convergence, AUKF takes into account the impact of the dynamic acceleration on the filter and its gain adaptively tuned by considering the dynamic scale sensed by accelerometers. This approach considerably improved the corrections of the current residual error on the SINS and decreased the influence due to the external perturbations caused by the ship’s movement. Initial alignment algorithm based on AUKF is designed for large misalignment angles and verified by experimental data. The experimental test results show that the proposed algorithm enhanced the convergence speed of SINS initial alignment compared with some state-of-the-art existing approaches.
Some notes on language, memory and bilingualism
Authors: Guasti Maria Teresa
Published: June 2020

In this commentary on the Special Issue, I will address the question of what memory spans measure concerning language, as language has, at least, a linear and a hierarchical dimension. I suggest that if anything what is measured has to do with the linear dimension. Then, I will discuss the welcome results on bilingual children with language problems and reflect on what it means that working memory measures seem to be more relevant for bilingual children than for monolingual ones. I will tentatively suggest that what is at stake is not memory per se, but inhibitory skills.
Learning strategies in Russian ordinal acquisition
Authors: de Vries Heleen , Meyer Caitlin , Peeters-Podgaevskaja Alla
Published: June 2020

This study reports the results of a Give-X task investigating the comprehension of ordinal and cardinal numbers in monolingual Russian-speaking children. Data collected from 36 children between the ages of 4;06 and 5;10 provided evidence that Russian learners follow the well-attested pattern for cardinal acquisition, but that children use a language-specific approach to ordinal acquisition. Lower ordinals elicited more correct responses than higher ordinals, and several cardinal subset-knowers comprehended the irregular lower ordinals vtoroj ‘second’ and tretij ‘third’. This suggests that Russian-speaking children initially learn ordinals lexically, unlike English- and Dutch-speaking children, who have previously been shown to use a rule-based approach. The authors argue that this is explained by the irregularity of the Russian ordinal system, which makes the threshold for rule-learning too high for an initial rule-based approach. Future research should clarify whether lexical learning of ordinals leads to the same underlying knowledge of ordinals as rule-based learning does.
Accounting Conservatism and Bankruptcy Risk
Authors: Biddle Gary C. , Ma Mary L. Z. , Song Frank M.
Published: June 2020

For a large sample of U.S. listed firms, we find that unconditional and conditional accounting conservatism help lower bankruptcy risk. We further find that the mitigating effect of accounting conservatism on bankruptcy risk functions via cash enhancement and earnings management mitigation channels. This evidence is relevant to accounting standards setting, financial regulation, financial risk management, and helps explain conservatism’s long-standing presence as a pervasive feature of financial accounting.
Active Aging Index in Vietnam Relative to China, South Korea, Taiwan, and 28 European Union Countries
Authors: Pham Tuan-Vu , Hsu Hui-Chuan , Zaidi Asghar , Chen Ya-Mei
Published: June 2020

Objectives

This study constructed an Active Aging Index (AAI) for Vietnam and compares Vietnam’s AAI with those of China, Korea, Taiwan, and 28 countries in the European Union.

Methods

A survey of 1,105 people aged 55 or above in three provinces from the northern, central, and southern parts of Vietnam was conducted. Active aging was measured using the AAI; its 22 indicators were grouped into four domains: employment, social participation, independent/healthy/secure living, and enabling environments.

Results

Of the 32 countries reviewed, Vietnam ranked 11th. It ranked high for employment (1st) and social participation (5th) but low for independent/healthy/secure living (32nd) and enabling environments (26th).

Conclusion

Three policy priorities were identified: maintaining a high preference-driven social and workforce participation rate among older adults; promoting medical care and healthy behaviors among older adults; and improving other poorly performing aspects of active aging, including voluntary activities, poverty risk, Internet usage, and lifelong learning.
“En Christō” as Pauline Argument against Synoptic Demonology: Implications for the Church in Africa
Authors: Onyenali Rowland
Published: June 2020

There is no doubt that exorcism of demons is a central feature in the synoptic presentation of the works of the earthly Jesus. This central issue among the synoptic writers is absent in the gospel according to John and in the writings of St Paul. This article argues that a plausible explanation of this absence is that the issue of demonic possession was not important to the communities founded among the Hellenistic Christians of Asia Minor. Instead of presenting the encounters between Jesus and the demons, Paul presents the incorporation into Christ as a definitive victory over the forces of sin and evil. The Christian incorporated “in Christ” has won the battle over the devil. Understanding and implementing this Pauline vision among African Christians is a better missionary approach than the current chasing after demons that characterize contemporary Christianity in Africa.
Bottom-Up or Top-Down Local Service Delivery? Assessing the Impacts of Special Districts as Community Governance Model
Authors: An Brian Y.
Published: June 2020

This article assesses the impacts of bottom-up local governing institutions relative to top-down bureaucracies in local service delivery. Community services districts (CSDs) in California, a class of special districts that provides various neighborhood-level services, are examined to answer this question. An innovative characteristic of this institutional form is that it is residents who create them through a grass-root collective action to achieve a bottom-up governance structure, after opting out from a county service system. With changes in residential property values as performance metrics, the quantitative analysis utilizes district formation events and features a hedonic difference-in-difference regression. The results show that the creation of CSDs produces more significant impacts on property values than county authorities do. Yet, the effects are heterogeneous across the communities when the analysis is further drilled down to each district. The exploratory qualitative case study then uses interview data with district managers and document analysis to unveil what administrative factors explain the success and failure trajectory of bottom-up institution management. The case study identifies such factors as critical codeterminants, including managerial and board leadership, clarity of a problem statement, public support, and intergovernmental coordination with county and state agencies.
Retrospective Evaluation of the Bifractionated Scheme in Utero-Vaginal Brachytherapy in the Treatment of Cervical Cancer : Experience of the Radiotherapy Oncology Service at Marrakech University Hospital
Authors: Zayane A , Elanigri M , Abourrazek H , Bouchabaka Y , Lalya I , Elomrani A , Khouchani M
Published: June 2020

Objective:

To retrospectively report the results in terms of local control and toxicities, of the 2 x 9 Gy fractionation used in our service, in high dose rate brachytherapy, during the treatment of locally advanced cervical cancer, preceded by a concomitant chemotherapy radiotherapy association.

Material and method:

Report and analyze data from 106 patients treated in our center between 2015 and 2018, for cervical cancer stage IIB and IIIB according to the FIGO classification.

Results:

The median follow-up was 29 months. Among the 106 patients analyzed, 75.5% had good local control at 3 years against 7.5% who had local progression, while 9.5% had local relapse and 7.5% had metastatic relapse. The average time for the occurrence of an event (progression, local or remote relapse) was 8 months. Most patients (90.6%) did not have acute toxicity. As for chronic toxicities, 66% had good long-term tolerance, while 27.4% had synechiae or even vaginal stenosis. The other toxicities were in the minority.

Conclusion:

Despite the considerable advantage of 2 x 9 Gy fractionation in uterovaginal brachytherapy in terms of reduction in treatment time, it is not the ideal choice in terms of local control and toxicity and the 3 x 8 Gy scheme seems a good alternative.
Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients
Authors: Maksimov D.A. , Aseev A.V. , Evstifeeva E.A. , Filippchenkova S.I. , Murashova L.A. , Suleymanova O.O.
Published: June 2020

Introduction:

Breast cancer (BC) is the leading pathology in the mortality structure of the female population in the world, reduces the quality of life (QOL), affecting all aspects of life.

Objective:

To study the features of the QOL associated with health, the level of reflexivity and existence women with BC.

Materials and Methods:

On the basis of TSMU a study of patients with BC who are being treated in the Tver Regional Clinical Oncology Center. The sample included 138 patients aged 30 to 80 years old with a confirmed diagnosis of BC of stages IA – IIIC, who underwent complex treatment. The volume of surgical treatment was not considered. We used the methods of SF-36, existential scaling A. Lange and K. Orgler, reflexivity questionnaires A. Karpov. The reliability of the results is provided by SPSS Statistics 22.

Results and Discussion:

The QOL associated with health patients with BC is formed by indicators of physical functioning (63.3 ± 23.0), role functioning (26.9 ± 36.9) and pain intensity (20, 4 ± 22.2), general health (60.9 ± 14.0), vitality (60 ± 13.1), social functioning (50.5 ± 26.5), emotional functioning (43.4 ± 39, 9) and self-esteem of mental health (56.5 ± 14.4). A study of the level of reflexivity showed that 25% have low rates and average - 75%. Patients with a high level were not identified. The study of existence showed that self-distance (33.5 ± 7.9) has a high degree of severity in 38%, low - in 17%. Self-transcendence (65.1 ± 13.1) in a high degree of severity in 53%, low - in 6%. Freedom (39.1 ± 6.9) has a high level in 8%, low - in 15%. Responsibility (53.6 ± 14.7) in a high level was recorded in 26%, low - in 7%.

Conclusions:

Patients with BC rate their own overall health, vitality, social functioning, and psychological health quite low. Such QOL indicators as physical, role and emotional functioning have an average level of ratings. Respondents highly rate their own experience of pain. Patients suffer physical and mental health components, which significantly increases the risk of complications in the postoperative period.
Incidence and Survival Rates of Gynecological Malignancies in The United States Before and After the HPV Vaccine
Authors: Talibova N , Sohaib A , Gouda M , Gunaldi M
Published: June 2020

Intoduction:

Gynecological malignancies are one of the most common cancers in women and have high mortality rates in the United States. In this study, we aimed to analyze the incidence and mortality rates of gynecological malignancies in 2011-2015 and compare these data with the corresponding parameters of 2001-2005. We chose these intervals of years for contrasting, as HPV vaccines have been actively used since 2006. HPV vaccine is known to prevent cervical cancer but has unknown impact on other gynecological malignancies. The aim of the is study is to check if incidence and survival of gynecological malignancies has changed before and after application of HPV vaccine

Material and Methods:

The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) cancer registry 2005-2011 and 2011-2015 database was investigated and patients with gynecological malignancy were identified. Data were obtained using SEER*Stat version 8.3.5. A statistical analysis on the incidence rate and mortality rate was performed. Data were exported using case-listing session in SEER*Stat and were analyzed using SPSS version 25.

Results:

Overall 125,357 cases with a gynecological malignancy were identified in 2011-2015 in comparison with 102,534 cases in the period of 2001-2005. The incidence of cervical cancer decreased in the period of 2011-2015 compared with the period from 2001 to 2005 (median incidence rates 3.9 and 4.3 per 100.000 persons, respectively, p < 0.05), while incidence of uterine (15.3 and 12.0 per 100.000 persons persons, respectively) and vulvar (1.55 and 1.86 per 100.000 persons, respectively) has increased ( p < 0.05). There was no change in the incidence rate of ovarian cancer (7.28 and 7.19 per 100.000 persons). Survival rates for cervix, uterine, ovarian and vulva cancer have increased. However, zero time error couldn’t be avoided in statistical analysis.

Conclusion:

As a result of widespread screening with Pap smear test and availability of human papilloma virus vaccine the incidence of cervix cancer has declined. Increase in vulvar and uterine cancer incidence may be attributed to lack of effective screening program for early detection of these type of cancers and most probably HPV vaccine has no effect on their incidence. Survival of gynecological malignancies has increased over years which may be explained by better treatment options or earlier detection.
Is Survival with Conservative Breast Therapy becoming Superior to that with Modified Radical Mastectomy alone for the Treatment of Early Breast Cancer in this Era?
Authors: Sayed Mona M
Published: June 2020

Purpose:

This study aims to assess survival rates in early breast cancer patients treated by Conservative breast therapy (CBT), including radiotherapy, compared to those treated by modified radical mastectomy (MRM) alone.

Methods:

The South Egypt Cancer Institute and the Assiut University Oncology Department patients’ records, from January 2010 to December 2017, were searched for T1-2N0-1M0 breast cancer patients treated by CBT or MRM. Patients who didn’t receive chemotherapy were excluded to reduce the treatment variation.

Results:

The five-year locoregional disease free survival (LRDFS) was 97.3% for the CBT patients was and 98.0% for the MRM patients (P=.675). The five-year distant disease free survival (DDFS) was 93.6% for CBS and 85.7% for MRM (P=0.033). The DFS was 91.9% for the BCT patients and 85.3% for the MRM patients (P=0.045). The five-year OS was 98.2% for the CBT patients and 94.3% for the MRM patients, (P=0.02). By Cox regression analysis, the CBT resulted in significantly better OS, (p=0.018) and the (HR=0.350, 95% CI 0.146-0.837). The adjusted OS, estimated by the propensity-score based weights, remained superior in CBT than in MRM patients (p < 0.001).

Conclusion:

CBT resulted in better DDFS, DFS and OS than MRM. Future randomized trials are needed to confirm these findings and determine the cause.
Role of Uterine Artery Embolization in Management of Uterine Lesions with Abnormal Uterine Bleeding
Authors: Hammad MF , Alwaraky MS , Maaly MA , Kamel MA , Hamza HA
Published: June 2020

Introduction:

Abnormal uterine bleeding is one of the most frequent gynecological and obstetrics problems. Till the recent decades, myomectomy and hysterectomy were the only treatment options available to control uterine bleeding regardless the morbidity and mortality. Over the past decade, uterine artery embolization (UAE) has become a popular alternative treatment. Our study aim is to evaluate the efficacy of UAE for the treatment of uterine bleeding of different etiologies as Fibroids & uterine arterio-venous malformation (AVM).

Material & Methods:

Thirty patients were enrolled in the study: 28 patients with fibroids & 2 patients with AVM, all underwent UAE by PVA for fibroid & Hystroacryl with lipidol & coils for AVM. Bleeding as an end point was Followed up for 6 months.

Results:

Cessation of bleeding with no recurrence through the 6 months of follow up. UAE significantly decreased the bleeding towels from 4.4 to 2 towels after 6 months. As well, the menstrual duration was reduced from 7.6 to 4.4 days (p < 0.05*). Hemoglobin level was boosted from 10.7 to 11.4 gm/dl after 6 months (p=0.001*). As well, the fibroid size was significantly reduced from 314.7 to 70.4 cm3 after 6 months (p < 0.05*). The AVM cases have completely recovered & one of them got pregnant with delivery of normal fetus with no reported complication. The majority of our patients showed high level of satisfaction with the obtained outcomes.

Conclusion:

UAE, either unilateral or bilateral, is a safe and effective technique for management of abnormal uterine bleeding of fibroids & AVM origin. A high clinical success rate and fibroid volume with the mean menstrual duration& amount reduction can be achieved.
Local and Systemic Inflammatory Markers as Prognostic and Predictive Markers In Locally Advanced Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Authors: Mohamed Lamiss , Elsaka Aymn , Zamzam Yomna
Published: June 2020

Local inflammatory markers have been defined as prognostic and predictive markers in triple negative markers as proved by many studies. The prognostic and predictive value of systemic inflammatory markers such as neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and lymphocyte monocyte ratio (LMR) remain to be elucidated.

Aim of study:

To evaluate pathological complete response (PCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced cancer breast in relation to tumor infiltrating lymphocytes(TILs), neutrophil lymphocyte ratio and lymphocyte monocyte ratio as well as overall survival and disease free survival.

Patients and methods:

In Tanta university Hospital, oncology department form January 2012 to December 2013, 67 patients with locally advanced TNBC stage IIB, IIIB 0r IIIC using TNM 8t h edition . All patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the form of dose dense AC followed by paclitaxel (adriamycin & cyclophosphamide 60 mgm/m2 & 600 mgm/m2 respectively the cycle is repeated every 2 weeks for 4 cycles followed by paclitaxel 175mgm/m2 every 2 weeks for 4 cycles). All cycles with G-CSF support. Pre treatment TILs, NLR and LMR were evaluated with PCR and as prognostic factor of survival.

Results:

Low NLR has been detected in 74.6% of cases and has been associated with high TILs and this was statistically significant (p value=0.03). High LMR was observed in 80.6% of cases and correlated significantly with TILs (p value =0.003). Pathological CR was found to be associated with high TILs, low NLR and high LMR. In our study we evaluated the pre neoadjuvant systemic and local inflammatory markers as prognostic marker we found that in multivariate analysis, the lymphocyte monocyte ratio maintained their statistical significance with overall survival. While tumor infiltrating lymphocyte maintained their statistical significance as prognostic factors with overall survival and disease free survival.

Conclusion:

Systemic inflammatory markers can be used as marker of pathological complete response in locally advanced triple negative breast6 cancer with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Expression of L1CAM and KI-67 in Endometrial Cancer of Egyptian Females: Clinical Impact and Survival
Authors: Gharib Fatma , Abd elaziz mohamed Dareen , Amer Basma Saed
Published: June 2020

Introduction:

Endometrial adenocarcinoma is characterized by a good prognosis. However, the disease response shows a significant heterogeneity. Treatment of endometrial cancer (EC) is still based on clinico-pathological parameters, which have limited role in risk stratification. There is a need for more determinant markers, such as L1 Cell Adhesion Molecule (L1CAM), to identify patients at higher risk of relapse and tailor a more convenient treatment. L1CAM has a capacity to enhance cell motility and promote tumor invasion in different malignancies. In Egypt, the incidence rate of EC is growing over time. Especially in Elgharbiah governorate (home of this study). L1CAM expression and Ki-67 was reported and compared with other clinico-pathological criteria.

Method:

Seventy-six female patients of endometrial carcinomas were involved in this prospective study. The patients were treated and followed up at Tanta University Hospitals in the period between January 2015 to April 2019. L1CAM expression and Ki-67 was detected by immuno-histochemical exam and compared with other clinico-pathological criteria. Survival was assessed and compared by Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test.

Results:

Positive L1CAM expression was detected in 17 patients (22.4%) and was significantly correlated with unfavorable prognostic factors such as higher stage and grade ( P= 0.021 and P =0.001 respectively), lympo-vascular invasion ( P <0.001), non-endometroid type ( P <0.027) and Ki-67 ( P= 0.003). Univariate analysis revealed that: positive L1CAM; higher tumor grade; high stage; and non-endometrioid type were significantly associated with shorter disease-free survival (DFS) but no significant correlation was detected between Ki-67 and DFS. In multivariate analysis, positive L1CAM remained statistically significant with DFS [P =0.045; 95%CI (1.028:11.17); HR=3.38].

Conclusion:

Our study indicates that L1CAM expression and Ki-67 are significantly associated with poor tumor characteristics. L1CAM is significantly associated with shorter disease-free survival and may be a helpful tool as a part of a simple clinical molecular classification for EC.
Ratio of maximum to minimum tumor diameter can predict the pathology type of renal cell carcinoma before surgery
Authors: Jiang Weixing , Wang Dong , Shi Hongzhe , Shang Bingqing , Wen Li , Zhang Lianyu , Zhang Jin , Zhang Huijuan , Zheng Shan , Shou Jianzhong
Published: June 2020

Introduction:

Previous reports have described several methods and markers used to distinguish pathologic subtypes of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). This study aimed to evaluate the utility of the ratio of maximum to minimum tumor diameter (ROD) in predicting pathologic subtypes of RCC.

Methods:

Data from patients with RCC who underwent surgery between January 2015 and December 2019 were reviewed retrospectively. The cutoff value for ROD was calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

Results:

In the clear cell RCC (ccRCC) and non-ccRCC groups, the optimal ROD cutoff value to predict ccRCC was determined to be 1.201 (sensitivity, 90.7%; specificity, 76.1%; area under the ROC curve [AUC], 0.827; p < 0.001). In the non-ccRCC group, the cutoff value for ROD in predicting papillary RCC was 1.092 (sensitivity, 87.9%; specificity, 40.5%; AUC, 0.637; p = 0.003). Compared with patients with ROD <1.201, more patients in the ccRCC group exhibited tumors with an ROD ⩾1.201 (14.2% versus 85.8%, respectively; p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis of preoperative features revealed that ROD ⩾1.201 was an independent predictive factor for ccRCC. In addition, patients with ROD ⩾1.201 had higher percentages of Fuhrman grade III/IV (91.2% versus 8.8%; p = 0.014), tumor necrosis (86.7% versus 13.3%; p = 0.012) and sarcomatoid differentiation (90.6% versus 9.4%; p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

ROD was a novel indicator for preoperatively predicting histologic type in patients with RCC. ROD cutoff values of 1.201 and 1.092 were the most discriminative for ccRCC and papillary RCC, respectively. Moreover, ROD ⩾1.201 was associated with high Fuhrman grade, sarcomatoid features, and tumor necrosis.
Who’s afraid of Ebola? Epidemic fires and locative fears in the Information Age
Authors: Shrum Wesley , Aggrey John , Campos Andre , Pamplona da Costa Janaina , Joseph Jan , Kreimer Pablo , Kroeger Rhiannon , Rodriguez Medina Leandro , Miller Paige , Palackal Antony , Pandal de la Peza Ana , Traore Abou
Published: June 2020

Epidemics have traditionally been viewed as the widespread occurrence of infectious disease within a community, or a sudden increase above what is typical. But modern epidemics are both more and less than the diffusion of viral entities. We argue that epidemics are ‘fire objects’, using a term coined by Law and Singleton: They generate locative fears through encounters that focus attention on entities that are unknown or imprecisely known, transforming spaces and humans into indeterminate dangers, alternating appearance and absence. The Ebola epidemic of 2014 had more complex impacts than the number of infections would suggest. We employ multi-sited qualitative interviews to argue that locative fear is the essence of modern global epidemics. In the discussion we contrast Ebola with both the Zika epidemic that followed and the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Effect of ultrasonic post-treatment on anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic waste
Authors: Boni Maria Rosaria , Polettini Alessandra , Pomi Raffaella , Rossi Andreina
Published: June 2020

This paper evaluates the effects of ultrasonication (US) applied, individually or in combination with a mechanical treatment, to the effluent of anaerobic digestion (AD) of lignocellulosic waste, on methane (CH4) production. US of the substrate downstream of AD is a relatively novel concept aimed at improving the degradation of recalcitrant components in order to enhance the overall energy efficiency of the process. US tests were carried out on real digestate samples at different energies (500−50,000 kJ/kg total solids (TS), corresponding to sonication densities of 0.08−0.45 W/ml). AD tests were performed on mixtures of sonicated (Sus) and untreated (S) substrate at two different Sus: S ratios (25:75 and 75:25 w/w), simulating post-sonicated material recycling to the biological process. The US effect was estimated through the solubilization degree of organic matter, as well as the CH4 production yield and kinetics, which were all found to be enhanced by the treatment. At Sus: S = 75:25 and Es ≥ 20,000 kJ/kg TS (0.25 W/ml), CH4 production improved by 20% and the values of the kinetic parameters increased by 64–82%.
“Business as Usual”: Child Protective Services Workers’ Perceptions and Experiences of and Responses to Client-Perpetrated Violence
Authors: Radey Melissa , Langenderfer-Magruder Lisa , Schelbe Lisa
Published: June 2020

Client-perpetrated violence (CPV) against child protective services (CPS) workers is prevalent and problematic for workers and clients leading to psychological distress, physical injury, and compromised service delivery. With accumulating evidence of prevalence and detrimental consequences, few studies examine the characteristics of violent incidents among CPS workers. This study explores how CPS workers perceive CPV through exploring characteristics of incidents that they experienced. We applied components of the stress process model to consider the importance of workers’ perspectives when interpreting violence and its effects. We used inductive, thematic analysis to analyze interview data focused on workers’ experiences with CPV during their first 3 years as CPS workers. The qualitative subsample ( N = 34) was drawn from the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families (FSPSF), a statewide, longitudinal sample of recently hired frontline child welfare workers. With few exceptions, workers experienced a variety of physical and nonphysical violence. Some experienced more frequent exposure than others, particularly those who defined yelling as violent. Workers identified predictable patterns of violent circumstances and people, and commonly felt that their agencies treated violence as “business as usual.” The high prevalence of violence, often predictable, indicates the importance of promoting a violence-free workplace through agency culture and responding to workers’ reports of CPV with empathy and support. In addition, given workers’ diverse perceptions of CPV, a manual could provide definitions of CPV, procedures to increase worker safety, and procedures to respond effectively to violence. Skill-based trainings can support workers at all levels to minimize, yet prepare for and handle, violence.
Triarchic Model Traits as Predictors of Bullying and Cyberbullying in Adolescence
Authors: Baroncelli Andrea , Perkins Emily R. , Ciucci Enrica , Frick Paul J. , Patrick Christopher J. , Sica Claudio
Published: June 2020

The triarchic model of psychopathy includes a disinhibition dimension related to externalizing outcomes, a meanness dimension pertaining to callous-unemotional traits, and a boldness dimension referring to emotional stability and high confidence in peer relationships. Some dimensions of psychopathy have been extensively investigated in samples of children and adolescents; in particular, the callous-unemotional (meanness) dimension has been associated with aggression and bullying in numerous studies. However, the other dimensions of the triarchic model have been relatively unexplored in samples of adolescents. Thus, we tested for associations between the triarchic dimensions and bullying and cyberbullying behaviors (i.e., proactive, goal-directed, and repetitive aggressive behaviors) in a sample of 580 high school students aged 14 to 19 years. Logistic regression analyses showed that (a) meanness and disinhibition scores were uniquely associated with traditional bullying, whereas only meanness was uniquely associated with cyberbullying; (b) boldness scores moderated the relationship between disinhibition and cyberbullying, such that disinhibition was related to cyberbullying only at low levels of boldness; and (c) these patterns were maintained when accounting for overall levels of conduct problems and were not moderated by the experience of victimization. Our findings suggest that the triarchic model of psychopathy can contribute to an understanding of youth engagement in bullying and cyberbullying.
Beyond Outrage: Approaching Arts Controversy in Postcommunist Poland
Authors: Pluwak Anita
Published: June 2020

In recent decades, public disagreements over artistic expression have emerged as a key feature of contemporary democratic culture. This has also been the case in the formerly communist countries of East and Central Europe such as Poland where persistent arts controversy has become a central component of the postcommunist era. This article explores the characteristics of postcommunist Poland’s arts conflicts, how they relate to other models of contemporary arts controversy, and what might be deemed their specific “postcommunist” qualities. It also looks into the evolution of how arts controversy has been understood and interpreted in Poland after 1989—from the 1990s’ scandalous outrage with mostly visual arts, through the decisive cultural and political turning points of the following decade, up to the debates of recent years about controversial theatre productions like Golgota Picnic (2014), the public sphere and the outcomes of postcommunist transformation.
Improvement of warpage prediction through integrative simulation approach for thermoplastic material
Authors: Divekar Mahesh , Gaval Vivek R , Wonisch Andreas
Published: June 2020

In the injection-molded parts, prediction of accurate warpage at initial level becomes mandatory to avoid iterative work of mold modifications. Simulation teams of many organizations are using existing commercial programs for process simulations. Material models in existing simulation technologies are having certain limitations and assumptions, which can regularly result in up to 50% variation of warpage results as compared to the actual physical warpage measurement. The commonly used Moldflow simulation model, for example, ignores temperature-dependent mechanical properties and the stress relaxation spectrum for viscoelastic materials. These assumptions affect the accuracy of the warpage prediction results significantly. To decrease these kinds of variations, BASF extended its Ultrasim® tool which is based on integrative simulation technology. Recently, a newly developed thermomechanical material model with temperature-dependent nonlinear mechanical properties and stress relaxation behavior was added in the Ultrasim. This model has been used in this work to consider the complete transient description of the warpage, which starts at packing phase of the part inside the mold, followed by actual cooling and ejection. In this article, unreinforced semicrystalline polybutylene terephthalate polymer material (Ultradur® B4520) is considered for warpage correlational study. The accuracy of the warpage prediction is compared between the integrative simulation approach, existing warpage simulation method, and the actual experimental inspection results. The result exhibits that the accuracy of the integrative simulation (Ultrasim)-based warpage simulation is relatively better than existing simulation technologies and closer to the actual measurement.
Synthesis and characterization of divinylbenzene-based cyanate resin and its quartz fiber-reinforced composite
Authors: Wei Yunzhao , Shen Dongliang , Wu Jianwei , Zhao Yuyu , Wang Guan , Fu Gang , Kuang Hong
Published: June 2020

Cyanate ester (CE) resins are important polymeric materials with excellent dielectric properties, low moisture absorption, and good heat resistance, which have shown great superiority for use in electronic and aerospace industries. In this article, a novel CE resin was designed and synthesized from divinylbenzene. The proposed structures were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, and mass spectrometry. The chemical reaction activity, heat resistance, dielectric properties, and water adsorption of the synthesized CE derived from divinylbenzene (DVBCy) were examined and compared with the traditional bisphenol A and bisphenol M (4,4′-[1,3-phenylenebis(1-methyl-ethylidene)]bisphenol)-based CE. The DVBCy resin exhibits a glass transition temperature ( T g) of 162.7°C, a dielectric constant of 2.61, a dielectric loss tangent angle of 0.0035 at about 10 GHz, and a lower water absorption of 0.77%. Compared with the bisphenol M type CE, DVBCy resin provides slightly superior dielectric properties, higher mechanical properties, more favorable process technology for prepreg construction, and lower costing. The DVBCy blend resin modified with bisphenol A-based CE and core–shell particles possesses suitable rheological properties, and the corresponding quartz fiber-reinforced composite exhibits excellent mechanical as well as dielectric properties.
The dangerous tendency to essentialize cultural categories in academic psychology
Authors: Hinton Perry R.
Published: June 2020

This commentary welcomes Held’s (2020) article on epistemic violence in psychological science. When psychologists employ social categories, such as “Black people” or “the Japanese” as “fixed factors” in their experiments, they may ignore the social construction of these categories within a cultural context. This can lead to cultural conceptions being enshrined in a methodology that has a tendency to essentialize social categories, with their inferred psychological attributes simply becoming a question of their “accuracy” or “inaccuracy” and not about the history and ideologies within which they are formed. Cultural psychology and Indigenous psychologies challenge this ideological neutrality of social categories, which is illustrated by Hinton’s cultural model of stereotypes. Ignoring the evidence that traditional academic psychology is a cultural psychology (rather than an objective science) simply maintains the dominant ideological structures of epistemic violence within it.
Hegemonic categorization of the other contributes to epistemological violence
Authors: Sundararajan Louise
Published: June 2020

Held (2020) missed one central concern of Indigenous psychology (IP), namely that hegemony of knowledge production in mainstream psychology (MP) is to be resisted. In this commentary, I identify two prevalent assumptions in MP that warrant resistance: first, to gain knowledge of the other is to categorize them; second, the use of neutral categories can reduce epistemic violence against the culturally different other. My critique is based on a cultural analysis of strong-ties versus weak-ties rationalities.
When something dehumanizes, it is violent but when it elevates, it is not violent
Authors: Oppong Seth
Published: June 2020

Epistemological violence is alive and problematic. There is no gainsaying that it dehumanizes members of non-Western societies or persons who differ from the Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) Whites. Psychology has a white, affluent, Western skew as the values of the middle-class, Western, Christian, male, Whites (MWCMW) are held as the frame of reference. In this commentary, I first show how Held’s (2020) “true-for and true-about prepositional” frame is useful for understanding the findings that Africans tend to attribute mental disorders to spiritual causes. However, I respond to her major thesis by clarifying the concept of epistemological violence and addressing the concept of “othering” as a form of linguistic violence. I further argue that interpretations of group differences that do not harm the members of the comparison group are not violent; if something promotes social justice, it is no longer violent but an instance of epistemological “positive peace.”
Some clarifications on critical and Indigenous psychologies
Authors: Teo Thomas , Wendt Dennis C.
Published: June 2020

This comment responds to Held’s (2020) analyses of Indigenous and critical psychologies, not by providing line-for-line refutations of arguments, but by laying out some of the larger issues in those areas of research and practice. The argument clarifies assumptions and misunderstandings by looking at the relationship between critical and Indigenous psychologies, power and violence, objectivity, and the regulative role of prepositions. It is hoped that a clearer and broader understanding of those psychologies can emerge.