bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effect of the geometric structure of the modified slot die on the air field distribution in the meltblowing process
Authors: Wang Yudong , Qiu Yiping , Ji Changchun , Wang Xinhou , Guan Fuwang
Published: August 2021

In order to reduce the fiber diameter and the energy consumption in the meltblowing process, a modified slot die with two blocks was designed in this article. The numerical calculation and the experimental verification of the airflow field under the modified slot die were carried out, and the effect of the block structure parameters on the air field was investigated. The research results indicate that compared to the common slot die, the modified slot die with the blocks could increase the velocity on the spinning line and reduce the rate of the temperature decay on the spinning line. When the block width and the block inclination angle lower, and the block height expands, it could increase the peak of the air velocity, the temperature and the turbulence intensity on the center line of the air field under the modified slot die. The average velocity on the spinning line of the modified die under the conditions of block width = 20 mm, block height = 30 mm and block inclination angle = 60° is the highest.
What About the Kids? Examining the Visitation-Recidivism Relationship Among Incarcerated Juveniles
Authors: Young Brae , Turanovic Jillian J.
Published: August 2021

Although the visitation-recidivism relationship has been studied extensively among adult correctional populations, it has received little attention among incarcerated juveniles. In this study, we use a diverse sample of youth released from confinement in Florida ( N = 7,296) to examine the effects of visitation and visitation consistency on two measures of recidivism—re-arrest and re-adjudication. We also consider whether the visitation-recidivism relationship varies depending upon youths’ risk for reoffending (as determined by sociodemographic, offense history, and family risk factors). The results indicate that, for the average juvenile, visitation is associated with a marginal reduction in the likelihood of recidivism, and that the effects are more pronounced for high-risk youth. These results underscore the importance of targeting the most at-risk youth for programming options within correctional facilities and suggest the need for continued availability of visitation programming generally.
Book review: S. Narayan, The Dravidian Years. Politics and Welfare in Tamil Nadu
Authors: Narayan Swati
Published: August 2021

S. Narayan, The Dravidian Years. Politics and Welfare in Tamil Nadu. New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2018, xxii + 262 pp., ₹650. ISBN: 9780199488179 (Hardback).
Black Psychology and Whiteness: Toward a Conceptual Model of Black Trauma through the Prism of Whiteness
Authors: Tyler Kenneth M. , Stevens-Watkins Danelle , Burris Jennifer L. , Fisher Sycarah D. , Hargons Candice N.
Published: August 2021

The main objective of this article is to introduce and examine whiteness as a source of trauma for Black people. We explore Black psychology scholarship to conceptually ground whiteness as the impetus for racism, while identifying it as an interpersonal, psychosocial, and contextual phenomenon that informs the race-based traumatic experiences of Black people. The primary factors constituting whiteness are ethnocentric monoculturalism, White standardization, ontological expansiveness, White emotions, attitudes, reactions to race, and White privilege. While racism operates through oppression and exclusion to produce trauma among Black people, we argue that whiteness operates similarly to produce race-based traumatic stress. With this premise, we offer and explain a conceptual model to promote empirical research that identifies and operationalizes whiteness and its components as observable contributors to the traumatic experiences of Black persons.
Learning from patient safety incidents involving acutely sick adults in hospital assessment units in England and Wales: a mixed methods analysis for quality improvement
Authors: Urquhart Alexandra , Yardley Sarah , Thomas Elin , Donaldson Liam , Carson-Stevens Andrew
Published: August 2021

Objective

Six per cent of hospital patients experience a patient safety incident, of which 12% result in severe/fatal outcomes. Acutely sick patients are at heightened risk. Our aim was to identify the most frequently reported incidents in acute medical units and their characteristics.

Design

Retrospective mixed methods methodology: (1) an a priori coding process, applying a multi-axial coding framework to incident reports; and, (2) a thematic interpretative analysis of reports.

Setting

Patient safety incident reports (10 years, 2005–2015) collected from the National Reporting and Learning System, which receives reports from hospitals and other care settings across England and Wales.

Participants

Reports describing severe harm/death in acute medical unit were identified.

Main outcome measures

Incident type, contributory factors, outcomes and level of harm were identified in the included reports. During thematic analysis, themes and metathemes were synthesised to inform priorities for quality improvement.

Results

A total of 377 reports of severe harm or death were confirmed. The most common incident types were diagnostic errors ( n = 79), medication-related errors ( n = 61), and failures monitoring patients ( n = 57). Incidents commonly stemmed from lack of active decision-making during patient admissions and communication failures between teams. Patients were at heightened risk of unsafe care during handovers and transfers of care. Metathemes included the necessity of patient self-advocacy and a lack of care coordination.

Conclusion

This 10-year national analysis of incident reports provides recommendations to improve patient safety including: introduction of electronic prescribing and monitoring systems; forcing checklists to reduce diagnostic errors; and increased senior presence overnight and at weekends.
Coaching Virtually to Support Professional Learning
Authors: Rowland Amber , Myers Suzanne , Elford Martha D. , Smith Sean J.
Published: August 2021

Virtual coaching is emerging as a feasible method of providing ongoing, job-embedded, personalized professional learning to educators. This manuscript details how virtual coaching is different from on-site coaching in education. It describes field-tested strategies and technologies a coach can use to be successful when coaching virtually. There are key steps in the process for fully understanding an educator’s context, the students they support, building relationships, identifying locus of control, setting goals, choosing interventions, implementing change, tracking data, and engaging in reflection that are unique to coaching online. Specific technology tools can help facilitate each of these steps in the process. In this manuscript, we describe technology tools that virtual coaches used in their literacy coaching work. We organize these tools around a virtual coaching model, which was built specifically to coach educators in virtual spaces. We include a description of each phase, the technology that can be used to facilitate progress, a field-based example of its use, the time typically spent in each phase, and sample questions coaches may ask educators to support progression through the phases. In addition, we highlight current research on professional learning and virtual coaching.
Change in Loneliness Experienced by Older Men and Women Living Alone and With Others at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Wilson-Genderson Maureen , Heid Allison R. , Cartwright Francine , Collins Amy L. , Pruchno Rachel
Published: August 2021

Building on theory suggesting that loneliness is distinct from living arrangements, social isolation, and perceived social support, we examined change in loneliness for older people at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzing 14-years of data with multilevel mixed-effects models, we found higher levels of loneliness among people living alone, people more socially isolated, and people with less perceived support. Gender affected changes in loneliness, controlling for social isolation, perceived support, living arrangements, age, education, income, health, and marital status. Women, whether living alone or with others, experienced increases in loneliness; women living alone reported the greatest increase in loneliness. Men living alone reported high levels of loneliness prior to the pandemic, but only a slight increase over time. These analyses, which demonstrate that loneliness changed at the onset of the pandemic as a function of gender and living arrangement identify older people most likely to benefit from intervention.
Painting for Fools
Authors: Soussloff Catherine M.
Published: August 2021

Manuscripts and notes by Michel Foucault on the visual arts recently deposited at the Bibliothèque Nationale reveal a reliance on canonical oil paintings by the ‘old masters’; a respect for the primary sources in the history of European art; an understanding of the necessity of research in both literary and visual sources, particularly self-portraits; and a sense of the value that a certain philosophical milieu – beginning with Sade and Nietzsche and expanding to his near contemporaries, Bataille, Blanchot, and Klossowski – could offer to an understanding of paintings. The essay argues that Pierre Klossowski’s monumental drawing La Nef des fous (1990) provides an essential key for understanding the place of Hieronymus Bosch’s painting of the same title in History of Madness and the centrality of theories of similitude to Foucault’s thinking about visuality ca. 1960–74. The later significance of the figure of the artist for Foucault can be traced to these earlier writings on painting and madness.
“Will wait for the government pension here”: Structural factors impacting on day labourers’ access to employment in East London, South Africa
Authors: Xweso Mzukisi , Schenck Catherina , Blaauw Derick
Published: August 2021

The study investigated barriers and enablers that day labourers in East London, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, experience while attempting to access temporary employment opportunities. The focus was on the constraints and enablers of the structures in East London’s local economy. The research adopted a sequential exploratory design, utilising a three-phase approach. The first phase of the study was a quantitative process to determine the socio-economic profile of the day labourers. The second and third phases were qualitative. In phase 3, semi-structured interviews were conducted with day labourers at three selected hiring sites. Political interference, lack of access to information, insufficient skills and skills accreditation, a difficult local business environment and limited access to the Extended Public Works Programme as a result of age and gender are the key endogenous and exogenous constraints and structures at play in the day labour market in East London. These structures render day labourers structurally vulnerable despite the agency and resilience displayed through their daily endeavours. The COVID-19 pandemic illustrates this vulnerability vividly. It is imperative that the government revisits relevant policies to accommodate the ‘missing middle’ still on the margins and outside the catchment area of protective measures.
Missing power: Nostalgia and disillusionment among Southern California water engineers
Authors: Randle Sayd
Published: August 2021

California’s sprawling network of aqueducts and dams is often cited as the embodiment of a high-modernist approach to resource management. But while once widely celebrated, in recent decades this infrastructural system and the institutions that manage it have been the subject of growing criticism and shrinking funding streams. Based on ethnographic research among employees at several California water agencies, this article explores the sense of nostalgia and diminished power experienced by the workers tasked with overseeing these networks. These emic perspectives are frequently articulated in the form of unfavorable comparisons to an imagined past, when the workers believe that their agencies were better resourced and civil engineers’ technical expertise was more respected by the public that they served. Analyzing these stories of declining influence and capacity, the article shows how understandings of individual and institutional power can be conditioned by past paradigms of regional development and technocratic statecraft.
The State’s Attitude and Response to the Threat Posed by Tobacco Smuggling in Ireland 1780–1850
Authors: Whitney Seán M.
Published: August 2021

Tobacco as one of the ‘old reliables’ has presented governments with a steady and lucrative revenue stream that continues to this day. The enormous difference between tobacco’s prime cost and that paid by the consumer is due to the imposition of government duties. This revenue was particularly threatened in the period in question by smugglers and their land-based accomplices who were attracted by the considerable profit to be made because of such a differential in price. The state response to this threat included largely ineffectual legislation and the expensive establishment of state agencies to combat this threat. This approach was maintained despite ongoing appeals from economic commentators and members of the tobacco trade for a reduction in duty which they felt would make it uneconomical for smuggling to continue.
Developing future-ready school libraries through design thinking: A case study
Authors: Loh Chin Ee , Hamarian Elia Binte M. , Qi Lisa Lim Yu , Lim Qianwei , Zee Skyler Ng Ynn
Published: August 2021

School libraries around the world need to revitalise their spaces, collections and programming to continue to be relevant for teachers and students living and learning in an information-saturated technological global age. Efforts in the rethinking of library usage and design are most effective when they are contextualised and localised, based on user needs and country or school budgets. Design thinking is a useful approach for schools to understand the needs of their populations and design targeted improvements for their libraries’ specific users. This article explains how one secondary school collaborated with university researchers to use design thinking to re-envision the role and functions of its school library. The evidence collected through the process was integrated into the redesign of an improved library for the students. This article provides a model for evidence-driven school library improvement projects.
Comparison of mini-PCNL and retrograde intrarenal surgery in the treatment of kidney stone over 50 years old patients
Authors: Erkoc Mustafa , Bozkurt Muammer , Danis Eyyüp , Can Osman
Published: August 2021

Mini-Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (M-PCNL) and Retrograde Intrarenal Surgery (RIRS) are commonly used methods in treatment of kidney stones. The aim of our study is to compare the efficacy and safety of M-PCNL and RIRS in kidney stone treatment over 50 years old patients. A total of 125 patients, 65 of whom had RIRS, and 60 of whom had M-PCNL, were included in the study. Age, gender, BMI (Body-Mass Index), ASA (American Society of Anesthesiology) scores of the patients; stone size, stone location, operation side, ESWL history, HU (Hounsfield Unit) values, hospital stay durations, SFR, complication rates according to Clavien modification system, postoperative hemoglobin loss, postoperative transfusion rates, and patients who needed a secondary operation were recorded. SFR values were calculated in the postoperative third and sixth months. The data between the two groups had similar characteristics in terms of age, gender, BMI, HU, stone size, operation side, stone location, ESWL history, operation time, postoperative transfusion rate, postoperative Clavien complications ( p > 0.05). When the ASA categories were evaluated, the mean ASA scores, ASA I, and ASA II data had similar characteristics in both groups ( p > 0.05). When the ASA 3 scores were evaluated, the number of ASA III patients in the RIRS group was statistically significantly higher ( p < 0.05). When hospital stay duration and postoperative hemoglobin loss were examined, RIRS group was found to be advantageous ( p < 0.05). Postoperative third month SFR and Postoperative sixth month values were statistically significantly higher in M-PCNL group ( p < 0.05). M-PCNL and RIRS are methods that can be used safely and effectively over 50 years old patients in kidney stone surgery. M-PCNL has been found to be more advantageous in terms of SFR rates and as it requires less secondary intervention. RIRS is advantageous in terms of short hospital stay, postoperative hemoglobin loss, and applicability to patients who are not suitable for the prone position.
Policy Support for Smoke-Free and E-Cigarette Free Multiunit Housing
Authors: Patel Minal , Donovan Emily M. , Liu Michael , Solomon-Maynard Morgan , Schillo Barbara S.
Published: August 2021

Purpose:

Estimate public support for prohibiting multiunit housing (MUH) e-cigarette and cigarette use.

Design:

Cross-sectional study.

Setting:

Data from an online panel survey.

Sample:

A Fall 2018 nationally representative sample of 3,415 (99.3% response rate) United States (US) adults 18-64 years old.

Measures:

Policy support for prohibiting MUH smoking and e-cigarette use, sociodemographics, and tobacco perceptions and behaviors.

Analysis:

Weighted multivariate logistic regression examined predictors of support for prohibiting 1) cigarette use and 2) e-cigarette use in MUH.

Results:

Most respondents expressed support for prohibiting smoking (76.9%) and e-cigarette use (74.0%) in MUH. About 17% (n = 588) of the sample lived in MUH, and living in MUH was not predictive of support for either policy. For both cigarette and e-cigarette policies, current smokers (n = 630; OR = 0.44, p < 0.001; OR = 0.59, p < 0.01) and current e-cigarette users (n = 305; OR = 0.42, p < 0.001; OR = 0.22, p < 0.001) had lower odds of support. Notably, while most smokers supported prohibiting cigarette (51.4%) and e-cigarette use in MUH (51.1%), there was less support among current e-cigarette users for prohibiting cigarette (48.1%) and e-cigarette use in MUH (34.5%).

Conclusion:

Majority support for prohibiting smoking and e-cigarette use in MUH is promising for policy adoption; however, lower support of both policies among e-cigarette users needs to be examined, as increasing use of e-cigarettes may be shifting social norms away from support for smoke free housing policies.
The Effects of Individualized Music Listening on Affective, Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sundowning Symptoms of Dementia in Long-Term Care Residents
Authors: Lineweaver Tara T. , Bergeson Tonya R. , Ladd Kendall , Johnson Heather , Braid Donald , Ott Monica , Hay Donald P. , Plewes John , Hinds Mary , LaPradd Michelle L. , Bolander Hannah , Vitelli Sarah , Lain Mikala , Brimmer Tim
Published: August 2021

Objectives

This study aimed to replicate music’s positive effects on dementia-related symptoms, determine whether a 6-month intervention would lead to greater positive outcomes than typical 3- to 4-month interventions, and examine changes in sundowning symptoms after music listening.

Methods

282 nursing home residents with dementia listened to personalized music playlists 1–3 times weekly for 30 minutes across 6 months. Standardized assessments of affect, behavior, and cognition and direct observations of sundowning symptoms comprised the outcomes.

Results

Results documented significant improvements in residents’ general neuropsychiatric symptoms, agitation, and depression across the first 3 months, but no additional improvements across the subsequent 3 months. Seven sundowning symptoms significantly improved following music listening, with some (e.g., disengagement) being more amenable to music than others (e.g., aggression).

Discussion

Results support short-term individualized music listening as an effective non-pharmacological approach for improving dementia-related symptoms in nursing home residents and suggest new applications of music-related interventions.
Base attitude disturbance minimizing trajectory planning for a dual-arm space robot
Authors: Zhou Qing , Liu Xiaofeng , Cai Guoping
Published: August 2021

Space robots are playing an increasingly important role in on-orbit services. Affected by the coupling of dynamics, the base attitude of a space robot will deflect with the motion of its manipulators, which leads to unfavorable effect to the success of the mission. The trajectory planning problem for base attitude disturbance minimization of a dual-arm space robot will be studied in this article. Along the planned trajectory, the attitude of the base will keep unchanged when the end effectors of the manipulators arrive at the desired position. First, the dynamic equation of the dual-arm space robot is given, and the direct-inverse mixed dynamic equation is also derived. Then, the rotation trajectory of the manipulator joints is parameterized, and the attitude deflection of the base with respect to the given parameters is calculated based on the direct-inverse mixed dynamic equation. The particle swarm optimization algorithm is utilized to obtain the optimal trajectory. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the method proposed in this article. Four cases are included, considering symmetrical or asymmetrical initial configuration and synchronous or asynchronous start of the dual arms. The simulation results show that, in each case, the method proposed can effectively plan the trajectory along which the base attitude will keep nearly unchanged before and after the motion of the dual arms.
The direction, planning, and implementation of the Operation Iraqi Freedom air campaign, 19 March–2 May 2003
Authors: Stubbs David
Published: August 2021

America’s leaders, who anticipated that Operation Iraqi Freedom would end Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime, wanted to leverage technological advances to wage a ‘light-footprint’ ground war. This expectation obliged air, land, and naval planners to balance their strategic and tactical targeting options and to concentrate their activities on tactical support to ground forces, delivered at a speed designed to undermine the ability of the Iraqi forces to offer a coherent defence. The air campaign plan that emerged has often been misunderstood and misinterpreted as a blunt instrument, but it was actually underpinned by the desire to minimise civilian casualties.
Examining the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Online Education: Reviewing the Indian Schooling System Based on the Perspective of Major Indian E-tutoring Platforms
Authors: Suneja Vivek , Bagai Shabani
Published: August 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has halted the typical schooling methodology and forcibly shifted the mode of learning online. This article investigates into the inherent concerns faced by the Indian education system and strategizes ways in which online methods could plug the gaps in India. The spiralling growth witnessed by the major supplemental educational providers testifies the acceptability of a blended approach in India. The literature review highlights how the education process could be more effective based on their strategies, perspectives and benefits.
Digging deeper: German academics and universities under Nazi tyranny – A comment
Authors: Fülbier Rolf Uwe
Published: August 2021

In their interesting case study about Handelshochschule Leipzig under the Nazi regime, published 2020 in Accounting History, Detzen and Hoffmann focus on inaugural speeches and other material that emphasize the more formal and political perspective of the business school’s management. They identify an increasing political pressure and influence of Nazi ideology with impact on several accountability dimensions. This case study also provides useful starting points for further and deeper research efforts. There is more to say about German academics and universities during that time in general, and about Handelshochschule Leipzig in particular. In this comment, I raise more thoughts and open questions especially with regard to the individual situation of professors, the impact on teaching and research, the role of other university groups such as students, as well as further accountability issues with the question of complicity at an individual as well as institutional level. I provide a set of complementary missing pieces that qualify as suggestions for future research in this important and still relevant topic area.
The West, Russia and European security: Still the long peace?
Authors: Cottey Andrew
Published: August 2021

Against the background of increased tensions between the West and Russia, this article assesses the prospects for continued peace in Europe. The end of the East-West conflict upended the Cold War rules of the game in Europe’s east, creating an enduring source of conflict. Balanced against this, however, are a range of factors which act as powerful bulwarks against war: a European balance of power best characterised as modified bipolarity, the continued pacifying effect of nuclear weapons, energy interdependence between Russia and Europe, the deterrent effect of the likely consequences of any extended conventional war, and the continuing impact of the post-1945 satellite reconnaissance revolution. Post-Cold War Western and Russian crisis behaviour also suggests important elements of restraint and mutual communication. Despite the downturn in Russo-Western relations, one can be cautiously optimistic that the long peace in Europe will continue.
Classics and classicality: JCS after 20 years
Authors: Susen Simon , Turner Bryan S
Published: August 2021

This article provides an introduction to the 20th Anniversary Special Issue of the Journal of Classical Sociology. It begins with some brief observations on the key developments that have shaped the disciplinary core of sociology over the past decades. It goes on to reflect on the role of classical sociology in Europe and beyond, drawing attention to its continuing presence in British and Anglo-American intellectual circles. Far from existing in a bubble of academic ivory towers, the paradigms emerging from disputes in the social sciences in general and in sociology in particular are profoundly shaped by wider historical trends – notably those influenced by different forms of collective action, as illustrated in the impact of social movements on the university sector in the late 1960s. In light of recent calls for ‘the decolonization of academia’, we ask to what extent sociology can, and should, strive to go beyond the hegemony of the ‘Western’ canon. Having given a succinct overview of the 20-year history of JCS, we elucidate the different formats of the material published in the journal, stressing the importance of editorial flexibility. On a more substantive note, we point out that the thematic scope of the work published in JCS has been wide-ranging and inclusive – not only because of its editors’ broad conception of ‘classics’ and ‘classicality’, but also because of the interdisciplinary spirit permeating the journal. This commitment, as we explain, manifests itself in the wide range of thinkers and topics discussed – from a multiplicity of perspectives – in the journal. We also grapple with noteworthy challenges posed by the academic publishing industry in the early 21st century, including the difficulties arising from peer-review processes. Finally, we express our gratitude to those who have contributed to this 20th Anniversary Special Issue and emphasize the journal’s commitment to defending the legacy of classical sociology.
Optimal interstage liner design: A parametric study
Authors: Maldonado Ana Luisa P , Astley R Jeremy
Published: August 2021

The current trends for next generation turbofan engines are towards shorter nacelles and increased distances between the fan and the outlet guide vanes. This leads to an overall reduction in lined surface areas as well as an increase in the relative importance of the interstage liner, which is the liner placed between the rotor blades and the stator vanes. So far most of the efforts have been on liners for intakes and bypass ducts. The interstage is different in that the liner is subject to a mean flow with a strong swirl component and shear. The focus of this paper is on the effect of swirling flow on optimal liner attenuation in the interstage region. A broadband source downstream at the Outlet Guide Vanes (OGV) consisting of all propagating modes with equal power in each mode is used. Optimum impedance plots are generated for approach and take-off mean flow conditions. The effect of swirl on liner optimum resistance and reactance and optimum insertion loss is observed for a frequency range characteristic of real turbofan engines.
Spontaneous regression of a symptomatic developmental venous anomaly with capillary stain
Authors: Hirata Takeru , Miyawaki Satoru , Koizumi Satoshi , Teranishi Yu , Ishikawa Osamu , Saito Nobuhito
Published: August 2021

Background

Developmental venous anomalies are considered benign lesions; however, they can become symptomatic. A capillary stain, which is an atypical angiographical feature of developmental venous anomalies, is reported to be relevant to symptomatic developmental venous anomalies.

Case description

A 20-year-old man with no pertinent medical history had an epileptic seizure. Magnetic resonance imaging showed severe focal oedema and gadolinium contrast enhancement in the right precentral gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus adjacent to the Sylvian fissure, indicating venous congestion; these presentations had not been observed on magnetic resonance imaging 8 months before. Digital subtraction angiography revealed a developmental venous anomaly with capillary stain. After conservative treatment, the brain oedema resolved spontaneously and contrast enhancement of the lesion reduced significantly.

Conclusion

We report a rare case of a symptomatic developmental venous anomaly with unique radiological characteristics and its natural and clinical evolution. Despite the presence of a capillary stain, our patient exhibited temporary exacerbations and spontaneous regression, suggesting that the capillary stain was associated with a reversible condition. This is the first report to detail the spatiotemporal changes of a developmental venous anomaly with capillary stain through imaging, suggesting that regular follow-up imaging is warranted in the management of patients with developmental venous anomalies.
Language of Desire: A Methodological Contribution to Overcoming Gender Violence
Authors: Melgar Alcantud Patricia , Puigvert Lidia , Rios Oriol , Duque Elena
Published: August 2021

Previous research has generally found that providing specific research evidence about concrete improvements in the development of field work promotes the achievement of social impact during the research process itself ( Aiello et al., 2021 ). This result opens as a prospective for further research to specify which scientific evidences can promote this impact in the different research topics, as well as the methodological aspects that will facilitate it. In research on gender violence, some of these evidences have already been identified—for example, the mirage of upward mobility ( Oliver, 2010-2012 ). However, the methodological aspects that will determine, when exposing such evidence, the social impact obtained during the research process have not been analyzed. In this sense, in the FREE TEEN DESIRE project, sharing this evidence with the participants using the language of desire has promoted transformations. This language of desire must be incorporated from its reality, being the result of a construction between the researcher and the participants. Its incorporation is enhanced if it is done in the context of Dialogic Feminist Gatherings (DFG). And, throughout the process, the researcher must adopt a role in which, among other things, she or he makes visible any attitude linked to violence when it becomes unattractive, as well as making visible the language of desire that is being constructed with respect to egalitarian relationships. The social impact of this research methodology was evidenced by the fact that after participating in DFG on the mirage of upward mobility, the girls’ intention to have a sporadic relationship with a boy with violent attitudes decreased ( Puigvert, 2016 ).
Five MDM4 gene polymorphisms on cancer risk: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Wang Yaxuan , Yang Zhan , Chang Xueliang , Li Jingdong , Han Zhenwei
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The study aims to provide a comprehensive account of the association of five MDM4 gene polymorphisms (rs1380576, rs1563828, rs10900598, rs11801299, and rs4245739) with susceptibility to cancer.

Methods

A literature search for eligible candidate gene studies published before 27 February 2021 was conducted in PubMed, Medline and Web of Science. The following combinations of main keywords were used: (MDM4 OR MDMX OR HDMX OR mouse double minute 4 homolog) AND (polymorphism OR mutation OR variation OR SNP OR genotype) AND (cancer OR tumor OR neoplasm OR malignancy OR carcinoma OR adenocarcinoma). Potential sources of heterogeneity were sought out via meta-regression, subgroup and sensitivity analysis.

Results

Overall, a total of 15 articles with 21,365 cases and 29,280 controls for five polymorphisms of the MDM4 gene were enrolled. In the stratified analysis of rs1380576, we found that Asians might have less susceptibility to cancer. We found that rs4245739 was correlated with a decreased risk of cancer for Asians and breast cancer susceptibility. However, for other polymorphisms, the results showed no significant association with cancer risk.

Conclusion

MDM4 rs1380576 polymorphism is negatively associated with the risk of cancer in the Asian population. MDM4 rs4245739 polymorphism is inversely associated with cancer risk for Asians and breast cancer susceptibility.
Manual training of mental rotation performance: Visual representation of rotating figures is the main driver for improvements
Authors: Jost Leonardo , Jansen Petra
Published: August 2021

Studies have demonstrated that manual and mental rotation show common processes. Training studies have shown that a manual and concurrent visual rotation improves mental rotation performance. In this study, we separated the visual rotation from the manual rotation. In all, 121 participants were randomly assigned to visual training, manual rotation training, or manual training without rotational movement. Before and after the training session of 30 min, they had to solve a chronometric mental rotation test. Data were analysed with linear mixed models and showed an improvement in mental rotation performance for all groups. However, this improvement did not differ between groups. Due to the independence of the form and occurrence of the manual activity, this suggests that it is not the motor activity, but the concurrent visual rotation that leads to improvements in mental rotation tasks. Therefore, the visual component in mental rotation tasks has to be investigated in more detail.
Working memory training does not improve executive functioning or fluid intelligence
Authors: Rodas Jose A , Greene Ciara M
Published: August 2021

Several studies have reported that cognitive training can lead to improvements of complex mental skills such as intelligence. However, attempts to replicate these findings have not been very successful with many studies reporting lack of transferable effects on cognitive processes unrelated to the training task. On the contrary, transfer effects on cognitive processes closely related to the training task have been more commonly reported. In this study, we investigated the effects of a frequently used working-memory training programme on fluid intelligence and specific executive functions (updating, inhibition, switching, the focus of attention, and sustained attention). We remedied common issues with previous training studies by using an active control group, using more than one instrument to assess each function, and including a larger sample size. The experimental group showed significant improvement in the training task, indicating strong practice effects. However, no evidence of training-specific transfer was found in any of the variables investigated, and we could not find any of the previous improvements reported. Participants in both the training and control groups showed post-training improvements in most of the outcome variables, suggesting that practice effects can be found even when a task is only performed twice. We conclude by discussing possible explanations for the differences between our results and those reported in prior studies and recommend that any claims of improvement should be supported by studies capable of replicating them.
The association of basic numerical abilities and math achievement: The mediating role of visuospatial and arithmetical abilities
Authors: Rebholz Franziska , Golle Jessika , Moeller Korbinian
Published: August 2021

Basic numerical abilities such as number line estimation have been observed repeatedly to be associated with mathematical achievement. Recently, it was argued that the association between basic numerical abilities and mathematical achievement is fully mediated by visuospatial abilities. However, arithmetical abilities have not yet been considered as influencing this association, even though solution strategies in number line estimation as well as mathematical achievement often involve arithmetical procedures. Therefore, we investigated the mediating role of arithmetical and visuospatial abilities on the association between number line estimation and mathematical achievement in a sample of n = 599 German elementary school students. The results indicated that arithmetical abilities as well as visuospatial abilities mediated the association between number line estimation and mathematical achievement. However, neither visuospatial nor arithmetical abilities fully mediated the association between number line estimation and mathematical achievement when considered in isolation. This substantiates the relevance of the intertwined development of visuospatial and arithmetical abilities as well as basic numerical abilities such as number line estimation (i.e., the combination of domain-specific numerical and domain-general abilities) driving mathematical achievement.
Probiotics use is associated with improved clinical outcomes among hospitalized patients with COVID-19
Authors: Zhang Lina , Han Huanqin , Li Xuan , Chen Caozhen , Xie Xiaobing , Su Guomei , Ye Shicai , Wang Cuili , He Qing , Wang Fang , Huang Fang , Wang Zhaoqin , Wu Jiayuan , Lai Tianwen
Published: August 2021

Background and aims:

Currently, there are no definitive therapies for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Gut microbial dysbiosis has been proved to be associated with COVID-19 severity and probiotics is an adjunctive therapy for COIVD-19. However, the potential benefit of probiotics in COVID-19 has not been studied. We aimed to assess the relationship of probiotics use with clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19.

Methods:

We conducted a propensity-score matched retrospective cohort study of adult patients with COVID-19. Eligible patients received either probiotics plus standard care (probiotics group) or standard care alone (non-probiotics group). The primary outcome was the clinical improvement rate, which was compared among propensity-score matched groups and in the unmatched cohort. Secondary outcomes included the duration of viral shedding, fever, and hospital stay.

Results:

Among the propensity-score matched groups, probiotics use was related to clinical improvement rates (log-rank p = 0.028). This relationship was driven primarily by a shorter (days) time to clinical improvement [difference, −3 (−4 to −1), p = 0.022], reduction in duration of fever [−1.0 (−2.0 to 0.0), p = 0.025], viral shedding [−3 (−6 to −1), p < 0.001], and hospital stay [−3 (−5 to −1), p = 0.009]. Using the Cox model with time-varying exposure, use of probiotics remained independently related to better clinical improvement rate in the unmatched cohort.

Conclusion:

Our study suggested that probiotics use was related to improved clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Further studies are required to validate the effect of probiotics in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
Autopsies and quality of cause of death diagnoses
Authors: Rosendahl Anders , Mjörnheim Berit , Eriksson Lennart C
Published: August 2021

Objective:

The consequences of a low autopsy rate are not considered in determining the cause of death.

Method:

We have analyzed the Cause of Death Register of the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare since it started 1969 to and including 2016 to visualize the decline in the frequency of clinical autopsies over time and evaluated the effect on the quality of the cause of death diagnoses.

Results:

Over the five decades studied, the frequency of clinical autopsies declined from almost 40% to less than 5%. The rate of decline was not even. Political decisions and changes of healthcare organization in Sweden affected the slope of decline of autopsies superimposed on a linear decline over time reflecting changes in clinical routines. A request of clinical autopsies was highly dependent on the level of care at the time of death, with the lowest number of requests for persons who died in nursing homes. The age at the time of death was a major factor affecting the number of autopsies, resulting in an autopsy rate of less than 1% in the ages where most persons die. Although men were autopsied more often than women, a gender-specific difference was not seen after correction for the age of death. We also found a higher rate of unspecific and irrelevant diagnosis in the cases not autopsied and we know from earlier studies by us and other authors that the cause of death diagnoses were missed in between 30% and 50% of the cases not autopsied.

Conclusion:

The decline in the clinical autopsy rate reduced the value of the death certificate register. An increase in the number of autopsies performed will improve the understanding of disease and cause of death, as well as to better inform next of kin.
Heritage transformations
Authors: Bonacchi Chiara
Published: August 2021

This special theme examines the dynamic relationships between production, availability, and usage of Big Data, laying out a research agenda for digital heritage at the time of the ‘data turn’. Over the past 15 years, a proliferation of heritage data has been generated by ‘ecosystems of distributed practices’ enacted by the co-working of bodies, cultural identities, organisational workflows, software, application programming interfaces, etc. The authors of research articles and commentaries in this collection explore the three macro-dimensions along which we can map transformations of and by heritage in Big Data ecologies: (a) ontologies or heritage as datified resources, (b) interactions and (c) methodologies and epistemologies.
Nurses’ Experience With Type II Workplace Violence and Underreporting During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Byon Ha Do , Sagherian Knar , Kim Yeonsu , Lipscomb Jane , Crandall Mary , Steege Linsey
Published: August 2021

Background

Type II (customer-on-worker) workplace violence (WPV) against nurses and its underreporting are ongoing safety and health challenges in health care. The COVID-19 pandemic has strained patients and nurses and, in turn, may have increased WPV. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to describe and compare a sample of nurses’ reported prevalence of Type II WPV and their reporting of these events during the pandemic.

Methods

Data from an online survey of registered nurses ( N = 373) working in hospitals were included. Prevalence was calculated for physical violence and verbal abuse, and their reporting of these events, including the experience of violence between nurses who did and did not care for patients with COVID-19.

Findings

Overall, 44.4% and 67.8% of the nurses reported experiencing physical violence and verbal abuse, respectively, between February and May/June 2020. Nurses who provided care for patients with COVID-19 experienced more physical violence (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.30, 3.67]) and verbal abuse (aOR = 2.10, 95% CI = [1.22, 3.61]) than nurses who did not care for these patients. One in 10 nurses felt reporting the incident was more difficult during the pandemic.

Conclusion/Application to Practice

A significant proportion of nurses who cared for patients with COVID-19 experienced more physical violence and verbal abuse, and more difficulty in reporting to management. As the pandemic continues, health care organizations need to recognize that workers may be at an elevated risk for experiencing WPV and may be less likely to report, resulting in an urgent need for prevention efforts on their part.
Human pluripotent stem cells for the modelling and treatment of respiratory diseases
Authors: Goldsteen Pien A. , Yoseif Christina , Dolga Amalia M. , Gosens Reinoud
Published: August 2021

Respiratory diseases are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, representing a major unmet medical need. New chemical entities rarely make it into the clinic to treat respiratory diseases, which is partially due to a lack of adequate predictive disease models and the limited availability of human lung tissues to model respiratory disease. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) may help fill this gap by serving as a scalable humanin vitromodel. In addition, humanin vitromodels of rare genetic mutations can be generated using hPSCs. hPSC-derived epithelial cells and organoids have already shown great potential for the understanding of disease mechanisms, for finding new potential targets by using high-throughput screening platforms, and for personalised treatments. These potentials can also be applied to other hPSC-derived lung cell types in the future. In this review, we will discuss how hPSCs have brought, and may continue to bring, major changes to the field of respiratory diseases by understanding the molecular mechanisms of the pathology and by finding efficient therapeutics.
Increased abundance of secreted hydrolytic enzymes and secondary metabolite gene clusters define the genomes of latent plant pathogens in the Botryosphaeriaceae
Authors: Nagel Jan H. , Wingfield Michael J. , Slippers Bernard
Published: August 2021

Background

The Botryosphaeriaceae are important plant pathogens, but also have the ability to establish asymptomatic infections that persist for extended periods in a latent state. In this study, we used comparative genome analyses to shed light on the genetic basis of the interactions of these fungi with their plant hosts. For this purpose, we characterised secreted hydrolytic enzymes, secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters and general trends in genomic architecture using all available Botryosphaeriaceae genomes, and selected Dothideomycetes genomes.

Results

The Botryosphaeriaceae genomes were rich in carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), proteases, lipases and secondary metabolic biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) compared to other Dothideomycete genomes. The genomes of Botryosphaeria, Macrophomina, Lasiodiplodia and Neofusicoccum, in particular, had gene expansions of the major constituents of the secretome, notably CAZymes involved in plant cell wall degradation. The Botryosphaeriaceae genomes were shown to have moderate to high GC contents and most had low levels of repetitive DNA. The genomes were not compartmentalized based on gene and repeat densities, but genes of secreted enzymes were slightly more abundant in gene-sparse regions.

Conclusion

The abundance of secreted hydrolytic enzymes and secondary metabolite BGCs in the genomes of Botryosphaeria, Macrophomina, Lasiodiplodia, and Neofusicoccum were similar to those in necrotrophic plant pathogens and some endophytes of woody plants. The results provide a foundation for comparative genomic analyses and hypotheses to explore the mechanisms underlying Botryosphaeriaceae host-plant interactions.