bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and type of ocular disease in a population of aged captive nondomestic felids
Authors: Nguyen Laison , Boorstein Justin , Wynn Elizabeth R. , Welihozkiy Anja , Baldwin Terri , Stine Jessica M. , Miller Michau Tammy
Published: June 2021

Objectives

Report of prevalence and type of ocular disease in a captive population of nondomestic felids.

Methods

Medical records of 202 cats from 1993 to 2018 were reviewed. Species, age at diagnosis, sex, ocular examination abnormalities, systemic/physical examination abnormalities, type of examination (visual, sedated, or anesthetized), ocular structures affected, other diagnostics, therapy, and resolution of ocular disease were recorded.

Results

A total of 202 nondomestic felids including 18 different species (bobcat, caracal, cougar, Fishing cat, Geoffroy's cat, jaguar, jungle cat, leopard, leopard cat, liger, lion, lynx, ocelot, Sand cat, Savannah cat, serval, snow leopard, and tiger) from a rescue facility were evaluated. Forty‐six ocular lesions were diagnosed in 33 (16.3%) cats from 8 different species (bobcat, caracal, cougar, leopard, lion, ocelot, serval, and tiger) with a mean age of 16 ± 5.9 years at time of diagnosis. Ocular lesions included corneal disease (37%) (ulcerations, perforations, keratitis, corneal scars), cataracts (23.9%), hyphema (8.7%), lens luxation (6.5%), retinal detachment (6.5%), uveitis (4.3%), conjunctival disease (4.3%), retinal degeneration (2.1%), glaucoma (2.1%), and optic neuritis (2.1%). Therapies included medical (topical antibiotics, anti‐inflammatories, serum, etc.) and/or surgical management (enucleation, intracapsular lens extraction, corneoconjunctival transposition, and corneal burr debridement).

Conclusions

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of the prevalence of ocular disease in a population of captive nondomestic felids. It is difficult to diagnose and treat ocular disease in nondomestic cats due to challenges related to handling, diagnostics, and therapeutics in nondomestic species. Ocular disease seen in this population is similar to that found in domestic cat populations.
Systematics of the shrimp genus Atya (Decapoda, Atyidae) in the light of multigene‐based phylogenetic and species delimitation inference
Authors: de Oliveira Caio M. C. A. , Mantelatto Fernando L. , Terossi Mariana
Published: June 2021

The Atya genus classification is mostly stabilized, comprising 13 species in the Americas and West Africa. However, nearly 40 years have passed since its last revision. Some taxonomic questions remained due to morphological uncertainty, and new ones have been raised with molecular Atyidae phylogenies. The aim of this study was to conduct the first Atya molecular systematic assessment, verifying the taxonomic status of A. gabonensis, A. innocous, A. margaritacea and A. scabra. Gene fragments (16S, COI and H3) were obtained by DNA sequencing and used for genetic distance, phylogeny and species delimitation analyses (ABGD, PTP and GMYC). Our data corroborate A. gabonensis as a species with amphi‐Atlantic distribution and suggest the use of A. innocous for specimens of the Caribbean Sea. We revalidated A. tenella Smith, 1871 for specimens from Pacific. Atya margaritacea, distributed along the Pacific coast of the Americas, was considered a valid and distinct species from A. scabra, which is distributed in the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Americas and West Africa; moreover, maybe this wide distribution belongs to a distinct species, being A. scabra restricted to "Gulf of Mexico lineage". We corroborated the genus as monophyletic and highlighted remaining systematic issues. Overall, our multigene‐based phylogeny and species delimitation analyses suggest that Atya comprises 14 species. This study provides data for future studies on the biodiversity, evolution and conservation of freshwater Atyidae shrimps and Neotropical fauna.
The Profile of Female Labor Force Participation in Malaysia Based on Recursive Partitioning Analyses
Authors: Alias Abdul Hadi , Zamzuri Zamira Hasanah , Mohd Suradi Nur Riza
Published: June 2021

In determining the level of the Malaysian economy, one of the factors contributing to the economic development of the country is the availability of labour. Studies on the availability of female labour force by identifying female profiles in labor force participation were made using data from Labour Force Survey (LFS), Malaysia for reference year 1990, 2000, 2010 and the latest 2018. Referring to the latest year 2018, the recursive partitioning (RP) technique showed that four subgroup profiles of working women have been created equal to 12%, 43%, 57% and 78%, respectively (percentage of working women at the four subgroups). Majority of the working women are identified in the group of aged 20-59 and the highest certificate obtain was tertiary education (Certificate, Diploma and Bachelor’s Degree) with 78%. Comparison between year 2018 with others reference year, there was a difference in the profile of working women whose working age had increased from 54 to 59 years. There is also a difference in the highest qualification obtained from obtaining only UPSR or SRP qualification in year 1990 to Diploma and Bachelor’s degree certificate in year 2018. Therefore, efforts need to be enhanced by providing initiatives for this group so that those who are in this group or will join this group later will be motivated to join labour market.
Sending Laurion Back to the Future: Bronze Age Silver and the Source of Confusion
Authors: Wood Jonathan , Hsu Yi-Ting , Bell Carol
Published: June 2021

Silver-bearing lead ores at Laurion in Attica were considered to have been first exploited with the introduction of coinage sometime around the birth of Classical Greece. However, in the late 20th century this chronology was radically revised earlier, to the Bronze Age, largely supported by lead isotope analyses (LIA). Here, we acknowledge that lead and silver metallurgy emerged from the earliest times but we propose that any correlation between these metals in the archaeological record is not a consequence of a geological association between lead and silver in ores such as galena until the middle of the first millennium BCE. We suggest that ancient metallurgists recognised that silver minerals (such as horn silver) dispersed in host rocks could be concentrated in molten lead and that LIA signatures of Bronze Age silver artefacts reflect the use of exogenous lead to extract silver, perhaps applying processes similar to those used to acquire silver in Bronze Age Siphnos. We further propose that lead from Laurion used for silver extraction resulted in the inadvertent transfer of its LIA signature (probably aided by roving silver prospectors) to silver objects and metallurgical debris recovered around the Aegean. New compositional analyses for the Mycenaean shaft-grave silver (c. 1600 BCE) support these conclusions. We believe that reverting to the mid-first millennium BCE for the first exploitation of silver from argentiferous lead ores is consistent with the absence of archaeological evidence for centralised control over Laurion until the Archaic period, the paucity of lead slag associated with silver-processing debris at Bronze Age sites, the scarcity of silver artefacts recovered in post-shaft grave contexts at Mycenae and throughout the Early Iron Age Aegean, the few Attic silver coins with LIA signatures consistent with Laurion until after 500 BCE and a single unambiguous mention of silver in the Linear B texts.
The framing of environmental citizenship and youth participation in the Fridays for Future Movement in Finland
Authors: Huttunen Janette , Albrecht Eerika
Published: June 2021

The Fridays for Future (FFF) movement is a major climate movement on a global scale, calling for systemic change and demanding politicians act on their responsibilities. In this paper, we present and analyze original findings from a case study on the FFF movement in Finland, at a watershed moment for young climate activism. We explore the representations of young people’s environmental citizenship within the framings of the FFF movement, using an environ-mental citizenship framework analysis of the Finnish news media and Twitter discussions. We identified three frames within the media debate on the school strikes: the sustainable lifestyle frame, which focuses on the individual aspects of environmental citizenship, the active youth frame, which focuses on justifications of youth participation in politics, and the school attendance frame, which is concerned about the young people’s strike action. Our results explore the many aspects of environmental citizenship that young people express in the FFF movement. We reflect on the dominance of adult voices in the framing of this historic movement of young people for action on climate change. Our analysis contributes to a step change in the study of this important global movement, which is shaping the emergence of young people as active citizens in Finland and around the world. We argue that the FFF movement is shaping young people’s perceptions of active citizenship, and we advocate a youth-centred focus on the collective action and justice demands of young people.
An ‘inconvenient truth’? The problem of recognition of the political message – commentary to Huttunen and Albrecht
Authors: Kyroglou Georgios
Published: June 2021

This commentary reflects on Huttunen and Albrecht’s exploration of the representations of young people’s environmental citizenship within the framing of the Fridays for Future (FFF) movement in the Finnish news media and on Twitter. In particular, it problematises the issue of the recognition of young people’s agency by their adult contemporaries, at a watershed moment for global environmental activism. It argues that although young people actively bring the climate change in the forefront of political discussion aiming to shape how environmental responsibility is being understood, the success of the movement will largely depend on the acknowledgement of their political message by its intended recipients; namely their adult contemporaries and politicians.
Zines beyond a means: crafting new research process - commentary to Valli
Authors: Bagelman Jennifer
Published: June 2021

In this commentary I engage with Chiara Valli's creative zine-making in Bushwick, NYC. In keeping with the spirit of zines, this piece offers a series of (not always connected!) reactions, questions, feelings which address the key question raised by Chiara: how can research become more inclusive? Chiara provides a wonderful reflection in her commentary and I conclude by engaging on the questions of consent that she got me thinking about.
Communicating back: reflections on IBZM as participatory dissemination – commentary on Valli
Authors: Cele Sofia
Published: June 2021

dissemination as explored by Valli in this issue of Fennia. It discusses three main aspects of the approach. The first aspect relates to IBZM as being dissemination of result or an additional research method. The second focuses on the entanglements between representation and the potential tensions and conflicts that may arise when the workshop participants read interview transcripts from other members of the community. The third aspect focuses on interpretation and how to deal with the thin line between representation of research participants’ understandings of interview transcripts and the researcher’s interpretation and analysis of these.
Changing thoughts, changing future – commentary to Huttunen and Albrecht
Authors: Von Zabern Lena , Tulloch Christopher David
Published: June 2021

In response to Huttunen and Albrecht’s article in this issue of Fennia we want to focus our commentary on the two key-findings regarding the media representation of environmental citizenship in the Finnish Fridays for Future (FFF) movement: individualised lifestyle choices and a dominant adult voice. This commentary dovetails into the authors’ critical reflection on the insufficiency of individual action alone in addressing environmental issues and the potential risks of a dominant adult voice for youth agency. By doing so, we will also touch on broader ideas of change within the FFF and climate change framing and aspects of (intergenerational) climate justice.
Societal impact through lingual plurality
Authors: Kallio Kirsi Pauliina , Heikkinen Anna Marjaana , Riding James
Published: June 2021

Recent tendency towards internationalization of academic publishing has reinforced the dominant role of English language in scholarly debates and discussions. The monolinguistic development has led to several drawbacks: it risks to sustain global inequalities in knowledge production, limits the access of non-native English speakers to international publishing, and disengages place-specific knowledge from national and local contexts, not only in scholarly communities but also among decision-makers and within the civil society. In response, Fennia seeks ways towards multicultural publishing, including lingual plurality. The journal has a long history in multilingual publishing yet, in its present form – following international standards of journal publishing, with modest resources – its content is solely in English. The editorial briefly introduces this linguistic development, since 1889, and presents ideas for further activities. Fennia’s current multilingual strategy emphasizes the popularization of the peer reviewed content in different languages, which is implemented through collaboration with the online popular science forum Versus. This serves two ends in broadening the audience, beyond the academy and the primarily English-speaking world. The collaboration of Fennia and Versus has already yielded multilingual popular science articles accessible in the contexts that the research concerns and in the societies where the authors work. Based on positive experiences and feedback, we are eager to continue similar efforts promoting linguistic plurality. As achieving these aims requires notable extra effort – from authors, editors, and the publisher – we call for support and commitment from the funding agencies and academic institutions that we rely on, along with the scholarly community whose voluntary work forms the basis of all activities in Fennia.
A comprehensive spatial model for historical travel effort - a case study in Finland
Authors: Rantanen Timo , Tolvanen Harri , Honkola Terhi , Vesakoski Outi
Published: June 2021

Contributing to multidisciplinary studies of human population history, this paper presents an analysis chain to comprehensively model the historical travel environment in Finland, based on a study of spatial patterns of overall accessibility within the country. We created a spatial historical travel environment model over the whole country using high-quality terrain and landscape spatial data, combined with information from historical sources that characterize the landscape in terms of travel effort given the environmental and human-related factors current up until the late 19th century. Spatial analyses of historical travel effort based on the travel environment model indicate travel speeds for different parts of the country, ranging from 0.6 to 5.3 km/h. This is nearly a tenfold range, potentially highly significant for studies relying on historical travel effort and contacts between population groups in Finland. The results show that the overall travel effort in southern Finland is significantly smaller than in the north: almost all areas in southern Finland have average travel speeds above 3 km/h, whereas the average travel speeds below 2.5 km/h are typical in the north. A more detailed study using random 100 km transects highlights the variability of the least-cost routes in different landscapes and between different source data combinations in each cost surface. The paper identifies great potential in combining the existing spatial data archives with archaeological, linguistic, and genetic data in a GIS analysis, to study the travel effort and its impact on the observed spatial patterns of languages, genetic traits, and archaeological findings.
Participatory dissemination: bridging in-depth interviews, participation, and creative visual methods through Interview-Based Zine-Making (IBZM)
Authors: Valli Chiara
Published: June 2021

In this article, I make the case for an underexplored research practice – participatory dissemination – and reflectively introduce a new research method, IBZM (Interview-Based Zine-Making), which I developed in my fieldwork research on the gentrifying neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn, in New York City. Participatory dissemination is a practice that engages research participants in the interpretation of preliminary research findings, and through art-based methods, leads to the coproduction of visual outputs and research communication for diversified audiences, especially those beyond solely academic readers. Participatory dissemination has received little attention within academic debates thus far. The paper addresses this gap in the literature by outlining the rationale and potential for incorporating participatory processes within research dissemination, even where so-called traditional (non- or less-participatory) research methods are used. IBZM follows the technique of zine-making (that is, the practice of cutting, rearranging, and creatively pasting printed materials in a new pamphlet), but instead of using media texts and pictures as raw materials, IBZM works with transcribed texts from researcher-conducted interviews. The aim is to let the research participants (zine-makers) engage with the perspectives of the interviewees and find assonances, disagreements, and connections with their own thoughts. The output is a collectively produced zine to be further disseminated. IBZM offers a means of combining traditional detached research methods, such as interviews, with participatory and creative/visual research methods. As such, participatory dissemination can be helpful in bridging literatures and debates on participatory and traditional research methods, providing new avenues for researchers working primarily with the latter to incorporate participatory elements into their research process and outputs.
Passive Air Leakage Detection Mechanism for a Vacuum Suction Actuator
Authors: Lee Seung Ho , Oh Dong Jun , Koo Ja Choon
Published: June 2021

Recently, research on vacuum actuators for holding and transporting objects has been actively conducted. In particular, many vacuum actuators are used to hold and transport several objects at once. However, there is a possibility that a problem of reducing vacuum efficiency may occur when several vacuum actuators are used simultaneously in the process of transporting multiple objects. The first factor is that, due to the diversity of the object’s shape, the vacuum pad of some actuators may not touch the object, so that gripping may not occur. Second, some actuators’ vacuum pad touches the object, but the pad is not completely blocked, resulting in air leakage. This paper used a spring mechanism to solve this problem and developed a vacuum gripping actuator that can block airflow into the actuator that is not used for vacuum efficiency when driving the system before the system is driven. Due to the spring inside the actuator that can play the role of passive compliance, the length can be adjusted, so even if the distance to the object is not constant, it can hold and transport several objects. Furthermore, the pretension of the spring makes it possible to block air inflow initially. We have also developed a brake system using pneumatic and tendon to hold the actuators to maintain each actuator’s length when holding and moving objects. We unified the driving method for operating both systems for simplicity by receiving pneumatic pressure from a pneumatic compressor.
A Novel Application of Wiegand Effect for Generating a Reference Signal in Linear Positioning System
Authors: Lien Hung-Lin , Chang Jen-Yuan (James)
Published: June 2021

With the development of industry, the application of linear positioning system has become more and more extensive, ranging from machine tools to optical inspection, laser processing, and robots. With the increase in applications of linear positioning system, linear positioning system has higher and higher requirements for accuracy and environment. Because of errors in assembly and processing of the linear motor stage, degradation of precision accuracy is commonly observed. The common used method for improving the accuracy is with laser interferometer to measure positioning errors, from which errors the corresponding error map can be built. The error map is then stored in motion controller to real-time compensate the positioning error. Since this method requires a reference position as the starting point of for error compensation with the pre-built error map, the reference position inevitably requires high repeatability so that the error map can effectively compensate the positioning error. Although reference signal generated by optical sensors has high repeatability and narrow pulse width, but it cannot maintain performance under severe ambient conditions caused by oil, water or dust. Hall-effect sensor can be used under severe ambient conditions; however, its signal has low repeatability and wide pulse width. It is then inappropriate for high precision requirements. This research presented in this paper is on the novel application of Wiegand effect for generating a reference signal. Wiegand effect can generate sharp pulse and the triggering of the pulse is independent of drive frequency. In this research, we use experiments and simulations to examine the relationship between different designs of magnetic circuit and repeatability of Wiegand pulse, which are later used to optimize the magnetic design of the system to improve the repeatability of Wiegand pulse.
The COVID-19 Lockdown and Changes in Routine-Oriented Lifestyle Behaviors and Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Insomnia in South Africa
Authors: Davy Jonathan P. , Scheuermaier Karine , Roden Laura C. , Christie Candice J. , Bentley Alison , Gomez-Olive Francesc X. , Iacovides Stella , Lewis Raphaella , Lipinska Gosia , Roche Johanna , Todd Andrew , Zschernack Swantje , Rae Dale E.
Published: June 2021

Background: The authors assessed the impact of lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on routine-oriented lifestyle behaviors and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia in South Africans. Methods: In this observational study, 1048 adults (median age = 27 y; n = 767 females; n = 473 students) responded to an online survey on work, exercise, screen, alcohol, caffeine and sleep behaviors, depression, anxiety, and insomnia before and during lockdown. Comparisons were made between males and females, and students and nonstudents. Results: During lockdown, males reported larger reductions in higher intensity exercise and alcohol use than females, while depressive symptoms increased more among females, more of whom also reported poorer sleep quality. Students demonstrated larger delays in work and sleep timing, greater increases in sitting, screen, sleep duration, napping, depression and insomnia and larger decreases in work hours, exercise time, and sleep regularity compared with nonstudents. Conclusions: Students experienced more changes in their routine-oriented behaviors than nonstudents, coupled with larger increases in depression and insomnia. The dramatic change in their work and sleep timing suggests habitual routines that are at odds with their chronotype, with their sleep changes during lockdown likely reflecting “catch-up” sleep in response to accumulated sleep debt under usual routines.
Intermittent Hypoxia and Hypercapnia Alter Diurnal Rhythms of Luminal Gut Microbiome and Metabolome
Authors: Allaband Celeste , Lingaraju Amulya , Martino Cameron , Russell Baylee , Tripathi Anupriya , Poulsen Orit , Dantas Machado Ana Carolina , Zhou Dan , Xue Jin , Elijah Emmanuel , Malhotra Atul , Dorrestein Pieter C. , Knight Rob , Haddad Gabriel G. , Zarrinpar Amir
Published: June 2021

People with obstructive sleep apnea, identified by loud snoring and breathing irregularly while sleeping, are at a higher risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiac arrhythmias, stroke, and sudden cardiac death. We wanted to understand whether the gut microbiome changes induced by obstructive sleep apnea could potentially explain some of these medical problems.
Effects of mechanical circulatory support devices in patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing stent implantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Authors: Shi Yunmin , Wang Yujie , Sun Xuejing , Tang Yan , Jiang Mengqing , Bai Yuanyuan , Liu Suzhen , Jiang Weihong , Yuan Hong , Lu Yao , Cai Jingjing
Published: June 2021

Objective

The survival benefit of using mechanical circulatory support (MCS) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is still controversial. It is necessary to explore the impact on clinical outcomes of MCS in patients with AMI undergoing stenting.

Design

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data sources

Embase, Cochrane Library, Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov and Clinicaltrialsregister.eu databases were searched from database inception to February 2021.

Eligibility criteria

Randomised clinical trials (RCTs) on MCS use in patients with AMI undergoing stent implantation were included.

Data extraction and synthesis

Data were extracted and summarised independently by two reviewers. Risk ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs were calculated for clinical outcomes according to random-effects model.

Results

Twelve studies of 1497 patients with AMI were included, nine studies including 1382 patients compared MCS with non-MCS, and three studies including 115 patients compared percutaneous ventricular assist devices (pVADs) versus intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP). Compared with non-MCS, MCS was not associated with short-term (within 30 days) (RR=0.90; 95% CI 0.57 to 1.41; I2=46.8%) and long-term (at least 6 months) (RR=0.82; 95% CI 0.57 to 1.17; I2=37.6%) mortality reductions. In the subset of patients without cardiogenic shock (CS) compared with non-MCS, the patients with IABP treatment significantly had decreased long-term mortality (RR=0.49; 95% CI 0.27 to 0.90; I2=0), but without the short-term mortality reductions (RR=0.51; 95% CI 0.22 to 1.19; I2=17.9%). While in the patients with CS, the patients with MCS did not benefit from the short-term (RR=1.09; 95% CI 0.67 to 1.79; I2=46.6%) or long-term (RR=1.00; 95% CI 0.75 to 1.33; I2=22.1%) survival. Moreover, the application of pVADs increased risk of bleeding (RR=1.86; 95% CI 1.15 to 3.00; I2=15.3%) compared with IABP treatment (RR=1.86; 95% CI 1.15 to 3.00; I2=15.3%).

Conclusions

In all patients with AMI undergoing stent implantation, the MCS use does not reduce all-cause mortality. Patients without CS can benefit from MCS regarding long-term survival, while patients with CS seem not.
Evaluation of the IgG antibody response to SARS CoV-2 infection and performance of a lateral flow immunoassay: cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis over 11 months
Authors: Robertson Louise J , Moore Julie S , Blighe Kevin , Ng Kok Yew , Quinn Nigel , Jennings Fergal , Warnock Gary , Sharpe Peter , Clarke Mark , Maguire Kathryn , Rainey Sharon , Price Ruth K , Burns William P , Kowalczyk Amanda M , Awuah Agnes , McNamee Sara E , Wallace Gayle E , Hunter David , Sager Steve , Chao Shern Connie , Nesbit M Andrew , McLaughlin James A D , Moore Tara
Published: June 2021

Objective

To evaluate the dynamics and longevity of the humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and assess the performance of professional use of the UK-RTC AbC-19 Rapid Test lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) for the target condition of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein IgG antibodies.

Design

Nationwide serological study.

Setting

Northern Ireland, UK, May 2020–February 2021.

Participants

Plasma samples were collected from a diverse cohort of individuals from the general public (n=279), Northern Ireland healthcare workers (n=195), pre-pandemic blood donations and research studies (n=223) and through a convalescent plasma programme (n=183). Plasma donors (n=101) were followed with sequential samples over 11 months post-symptom onset.

Main outcome measures

SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels in plasma samples using Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgA/IgM, Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG and EuroImmun IgG SARS-CoV-2 ELISA immunoassays over time. UK-RTC AbC-19 LFIA sensitivity and specificity, estimated using a three-reference standard system to establish a characterised panel of 330 positive and 488 negative SARS-CoV-2 IgG samples.

Results

We detected persistence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies for up to 10 months post-infection, across a minimum of two laboratory immunoassays. On the known positive cohort, the UK-RTC AbC-19 LFIA showed a sensitivity of 97.58% (95.28% to 98.95%) and on known negatives, showed specificity of 99.59% (98.53 % to 99.95%).

Conclusions

Through comprehensive analysis of a cohort of pre-pandemic and pandemic individuals, we show detectable levels of IgG antibodies, lasting over 46 weeks when assessed by EuroImmun ELISA, providing insight to antibody levels at later time points post-infection. We show good laboratory validation performance metrics for the AbC-19 rapid test for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein IgG antibody detection in a laboratory-based setting.
Changes in life expectancy and lifespan variability by income quartiles in four Nordic countries: a study based on nationwide register data
Authors: Brønnum-Hansen Henrik , Östergren Olof , Tarkiainen Lasse , Hermansen Åsmund , Martikainen Pekka , van der Wel Kjetil A , Lundberg Olle
Published: June 2021

Objectives

Levels, trends or changes in socioeconomic mortality differentials are typically described in terms of means, for example, life expectancies, but studies have suggested that there also are systematic social disparities in the dispersion around those means, in other words there are inequalities in lifespan variation. This study investigates changes in income inequalities in mean and distributional measures of mortality in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden over two decades.

Design

Nationwide register-based study.

Setting

The Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish populations aged 30 years or over in 1997 and 2017.

Main outcome measures

Income-specific changes in life expectancy, lifespan variation and the contribution of ‘early’ and ‘late’ deaths to increasing life expectancy.

Results

Increases in life expectancy has taken place in all four countries, but there are systematic differences across income groups. In general, the largest gains in life expectancy were observed in Denmark, and the smallest increase among low-income women in Sweden and Norway. Overall, life expectancy increased and lifespan variation decreased with increasing income level. These differences grew larger over time. In all countries, a marked postponement of early deaths led to a compression of mortality in the top three income quartiles for both genders. This did not occur for the lowest income quartile.

Conclusion

Increasing life expectancy is typically accompanied by postponement of early deaths and reduction of lifespan inequality in the higher-income groups. However, Nordic welfare societies are challenged by the fact that postponing premature deaths among people in the lowest-income groups is not taking place.
Preoperative contingency management intervention for smoking abstinence in cancer patients: trial protocol for a multisite randomised controlled trial
Authors: Rojewski Alana M , Fucito Lisa M , Baker Nathaniel L , Palmer Amanda M , Foster Madeline G , Warren Graham W , Bernstein Steven L , Toll Benjamin A
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Continued smoking following a cancer diagnosis has substantial health risks including increased overall and cancer-specific mortality, risk of secondary malignancies, cancer treatment toxicity and risk of surgical complications. These risks can be mitigated by quitting smoking. The preoperative period represents a prime opportunity in which to administer robust smoking cessation treatment to both improve health and support and improve surgical outcomes. We will conduct a randomised clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of financial incentives delivered contingent on biochemically verified smoking abstinence (contingency management (CM)) in patients with cancer undergoing surgery.

Methods and analysis

The study will take place across two study sites, and participants (N=282) who smoke, are diagnosed with or suspected to have any type of operable cancer and have a surgical procedure scheduled in the next 10 days to 5 weeks will be randomised to receive standard care plus Monitoring Only or CM prior to surgery. All patients will receive breath carbon monoxide (CO) tests three times per week, nicotine replacement therapy and counselling. The CM group will also earn payments for self-reported smoking abstinence confirmed by CO breath test ≤4 ppm on an escalating schedule of reinforcement (with a reset if they smoked). Point prevalence abstinence (PPA) outcomes (self-report of 7-day abstinence confirmed by CO≤4 ppm and/or anabasine ≤2 ng/mL) will be assessed on the day of surgery and 6 months after surgery. The effect of CM on 7-day PPA at the time of surgery and 6-month follow-up will be modelled using generalised linear mixed effects models.

Ethics and dissemination

This study has been reviewed and approved by the Medical University of South Carolina Institutional Review Board. We will disseminate our scientific results through traditional research-oriented outlets such as presentations at scientific meetings and publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Trial registration number

NCT04605458.
Telenursing home care and COVID-19: a qualitative study
Authors: Kord Zeynab , Fereidouni Zhila , Mirzaee Mohammad Saeed , Alizadeh Zeinab , Behnammoghadam Mohammad , Rezaei Malihe , Abdi Naeem , Delfani Fatemeh , Zaj Parisa
Published: June 2021

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to many challenges such as increased number of patients and the risk of the disease progress in the world’s healthcare systems, especially nursing. The capacity of technology can help nursing in such conditions. The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of patients with COVID-19 with home care by using telenursing.

Methods

The present study is a qualitative research conducted using the descriptive phenomenological method. The participants were selected using purposive sampling method and considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. After obtaining ethical approval, data were collected through semistructured interviews. Open-ended questions and follow-up were used in the interviews. The interviews were conducted using Skype application and telephone. All data were recorded, and MAXQDA software was used to manage the data. Data analysis was performed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method. Lincoln and Guba’s criteria were used to evaluate the trustworthiness of the data.

Results

The main themes and their subthemes included ‘facilitators’ (improvement of relationships, adequate education and counselling, adequate care and support, improvement and promotion of health) and ‘barriers’ (lack of previous knowledge and experience, infrastructure problems, confusion in hospital programmes and the pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic).

Conclusion

Given the potential capacity of telenursing, strong field studies are recommended to be conducted in this area. The results of such studies can contribute to the rapid and serious use of telenursing in the area of care, education, support, follow-up and counselling of patients.
Spatially integrated modelling of data-limited orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) using environmental covariates
Authors: Edwards Charles T.T. , Roux Marie-Julie , Clark Malcolm R.
Published: June 2021

Spatial stock assessment models are recognised as increasingly important for estimation of stock status and a sustainable exploitation rate. The inclusion of movement between spatial units within a model is difficult because the data requirements are high. However, for populations with low levels of spatial exchange it is possible to reduce the data requirements by distributing information on biological parameters between neighbouring units, or units with shared environmental conditions. This can allow spatial modelling to be applied even in data-limited situations. We develop this approach here through application to orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) subpopulations inhabiting neighbouring seamounts in the South Pacific. Despite limited data for each seamount, we were able to simultaneously fit multiple, localised, process-based models of the depletion dynamics. This was achieved by sharing information on the unexploited population size via known environmental covariates, with the relationship estimated in a hierarchical and integrated manner during the model fit. Cross-validation demonstrated that this approach can compensate for a lack of seamount-specific abundance data and improve ability of the model to estimate localised depletions.
Quantum theory of redshift in de Sitter expanding universe
Authors: Cotăescu Ion I.
Published: June 2021

The quantum theory of the Maxwell free field in Coulomb gauge on the de Sitter expanding universe is completed with the technical elements needed for building a coherent quantum theory of redshift. Paying special attention to the conserved observables and defining the projection operator selecting the detected momenta it is shown that the expectation values of the energies of the emitted and detected photons comply with the Lemaître rule of Hubble’s law. Moreover, the quantum corrections to the dispersions of the principal observables and new uncertainty relations are derived.
An Exploratory Analysis of Possible Effects of “Nudge” On Public Policies to Support Innovation in Brazil: The Case of Inovar-Auto Program
Authors: Sanches Eder Angelo , Macêdo Barbalho Sanderson César , Regina Martin Adriana
Published: June 2021

This study presents a proposal to improve public policies for supporting innovation in Brazil’s automotive industry by using a conceptual model with incremental benefits based on nudge concepts. This new model aims to reduce the complexity of the current fiscal mechanism. It makes the tax incentive mechanism more dynamic and stimulates innovative companies to improve their innovative performance. For this, a qualitative comparative analysis of the effects (empirical and simulated) of a public innovation policy — an automotive policy called Inovar-Auto — compares a consolidated traditional tax incentive mechanism with the new model. It is concluded that the incremental scale of benefits stimulates the companies-government interaction more safely and effectively, reducing the complexity of the current tax incentive mechanism and offering new paths and choice possibilities. This study contributes to the literature by presenting an innovative tax incentive mechanism, a “nudge” for changing companies’ behavior, which can be applied in other countries.
Nuclear Dynamics and Reactions in the Ab Initio Symmetry-Adapted Framework
Authors: Launey Kristina D. , Mercenne Alexis , Dytrych Tomas
Published: June 2021

We review the ab initio symmetry-adapted (SA) framework for determining the structure of stable and unstable nuclei, along with related electroweak, decay, and reaction processes. This framework utilizes the dominant symmetry of nuclear dynamics, the shape-related symplectic [Formula: see text] symmetry, which has been shown to emerge from first principles and to expose dominant degrees of freedom that are collective in nature, even in the lightest species or seemingly spherical states. This feature is illustrated for a broad scope of nuclei ranging from helium to titanium isotopes, enabled by recent developments of the ab initio SA no-core shell model expanded to the continuum through the use of the SA basis and that of the resonating group method. The review focuses on energies, electromagnetic transitions, quadrupole and magnetic moments, radii, form factors, and response function moments for ground-state rotational bands and giant resonances. The method also determines the structure of reaction fragments that is used to calculate decay widths and α-capture reactions for simulated X-ray burst abundance patterns, as well as nucleon–nucleus interactions for cross sections and other reaction observables.
Research on Sports Training Action Recognition Based on Deep Learning
Authors: Wang Peng
Published: June 2021

With the rapid development of science and technology in today’s society, various industries are pursuing information digitization and intelligence, and pattern recognition and computer vision are also constantly carrying out technological innovation. Computer vision is to let computers, cameras, and other machines receive information like human beings, analyze and process their semantic information, and make coping strategies. As an important research direction in the field of computer vision, human motion recognition has new solutions with the gradual rise of deep learning. Human motion recognition technology has a high market value, and it has broad application prospects in the fields of intelligent monitoring, motion analysis, human-computer interaction, and medical monitoring. This paper mainly studies the recognition of sports training action based on deep learning algorithm. Experimental work has been carried out in order to show the validity of the proposed research.
Study on Broken Floor Rock Mass by Mining Underground Pressure
Authors: Sun Ming , Guo Chen , Zheng Wenxiang , Duan Huiqiang
Published: June 2021

As the dangerous level of floor water inrush in Chinese coal field is becoming more and more serious annually, the widely used formulas of broken floor rock mass are belonged to nonlinear type or empirical type. However, they are not well conformed to the practical situation and including mining underground pressure. The biggest depth of broken floor rock mass and the length of gob-floor or mining-floor until the maximum broken floor location are expressed by theoretical formulas on integrity theory. Taking a mining face in Chinese Anhui Province as the object, the relationship between broken floor rock mass and mining underground pressure is studied by numerical simulation, the theoretical analysis, and the DC exploration. The peak and scope of broken floor rock mass will enlarge until reaching limit value with the increasingly advanced distance. The mining gob stress contour is saddle-shaped, and its growing speed is becoming slower, so the 180 m coal mining face has reached the sufficient mining stage. Wave velocity of broken floor rock mass from 0 m to 16 m is greatly decreased by the mining disturbance, and it is basically conformed to theoretical formula and practical situation. The results can be relatively better used in the pressure mining of the Ordovician limestone, because it can provide some safe guarantee for mining deep coal seam.
Analysis of Obata’s Differential Equations on Pointwise Semislant Warped Product Submanifolds of Complex Space Forms via Ricci Curvature
Authors: Ishan Amira A.
Published: June 2021

The present paper studies the applications of Obata’s differential equations on the Ricci curvature of the pointwise semislant warped product submanifolds. More precisely, by analyzing Obata’s differential equations on pointwise semislant warped product submanifolds, we demonstrate that, under certain conditions, the base of these submanifolds is isometric to a sphere. We also look at the effects of certain differential equations on pointwise semislant warped product submanifolds and show that the base is isometric to a special type of warped product under some geometric conditions.
An Updated Review of Computer‐Aided Drug Design and Its Application to COVID‐19
Authors: Gurung Arun Bahadur , Ali Mohammad Ajmal , Lee Joongku , Farah Mohammad Abul , Al-Anazi Khalid Mashay
Published: June 2021

The recent outbreak of the deadly coronavirus disease 19 (COVID‐19) pandemic poses serious health concerns around the world. The lack of approved drugs or vaccines continues to be a challenge and further necessitates the discovery of new therapeutic molecules. Computer‐aided drug design has helped to expedite the drug discovery and development process by minimizing the cost and time. In this review article, we highlight two important categories of computer‐aided drug design (CADD), viz., the ligand‐based as well as structured‐based drug discovery. Various molecular modeling techniques involved in structure‐based drug design are molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation, whereas ligand‐based drug design includes pharmacophore modeling, quantitative structure‐activity relationship (QSARs), and artificial intelligence (AI). We have briefly discussed the significance of computer‐aided drug design in the context of COVID‐19 and how the researchers continue to rely on these computational techniques in the rapid identification of promising drug candidate molecules against various drug targets implicated in the pathogenesis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). The structural elucidation of pharmacological drug targets and the discovery of preclinical drug candidate molecules have accelerated both structure‐based as well as ligand‐based drug design. This review article will help the clinicians and researchers to exploit the immense potential of computer‐aided drug design in designing and identification of drug molecules and thereby helping in the management of fatal disease.
Virtue in the “Book of Changes”
Authors: Schilling Dennis
Published: June 2021

The present paper gives a systematic account of the concept of virtue represented by de 德 in the “Book of Changes.” It starts with a short summary of the impact of this concept on later Song dynasty philosophy. In this traditional view, “virtue” is considered to be a natural entity which contains intrinsic dynamics. This naturalistic view of morality is later contrasted with earlier notions of de or “virtue” in the canonized edition of the “Changes.” The paper first examines its meaning in the oracle sayings and then moves on to the “Traditions of the Changes,” Yizhuan 易傳. Placed in its own historical context, the concept of “virtue” goes together with ideas of destiny, political authority and spirit-like efficacy.
De 德 Ethics in the Four Books
Authors: Yao Xinzhong
Published: June 2021

Through a detailed analysis of de德 as used in the Four Books (Sishu 四書), this article is intended to examine the unity between two kinds of virtue manifested respectively through cultivating an admirable character in one’s self (moral agent) and enabling aretaic activities in the public sphere (political agent). By investigating how early Confucian masters integrate internal goodness and virtuous governance as the moral reasons for the common good and the flourishing of human community, we seek to reconstruct the ethics in the Four Books that is focused on de as the gravity center. This leads in turn to an account of a particular kind of “virtue ethics” or better, de ethics, which has underpinned all Confucian discourses on personal character and political practices.