bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recognition of Disability and Deafness in Hong Kong – Perspectives on Hong Kong Deaf Community
Authors: Leppänen Jan‐Eerik
Published: September 2022

This sociological article deals with the diversity of Deaf social reality in Hong Kong. The functions of disability associations, educational institutes and government service providers that can influence the socio‐cultural politics of deaf people to vary and serve as different platforms for social participation. An emblem of the Deaf community, sign language, differs in its acknowledgement in divergent everyday settings of deaf populations. This article tackles the following broad topics: Firstly, how the concept ‘deafness’ is understood – what are the examples from different approaches; secondly, what are different arenas for the Hong Kong Deaf community's participation can; and thirdly, what contemporary examples can illustrate the Deaf population and sign language in Hong Kong? The scope of the article is within Hong Kong. However, some policy level reference draws to Mainland China and global developments on the Deaf community, culture and identity.

Key Concepts

Deaf Community is a cultural and linguistic minority, where sign language is the primary language of communities including family members of a deaf person.

Hong Kong Sign Language is a natural sign language variety used within Hong Kong (SAR) region and distinguished as a self‐standing language from other varieties used in Mainland China.

The use of physical gestures to signify the grammar of a specific sign language or the textual expression of that language.

A set of values and shared institutions that are influenced by deafness, where sign language is the primary method of communication.

The approach to view deafness, where the focus is on a technical approach to deafness and oral teaching instead of sign language.

The approach to view deafness, where the focus is on sign language, histories and experiential aspects within the Deaf community.

The Asian SignBank is an online sign language database designed for the research and functional use of sign language, interpretation and teaching.

Education of students with diverse degrees of hearing loss or deafness. In Inclusive Deaf Education, students from different backgrounds learn from each other, side by side.
Claims‐Making
Authors: Lindekilde Lasse
Published: September 2022

Claims‐making refers to the process of performing or articulating claims that bear on someone else's interests. In its simplest form, an instance of claims‐making includes two actors – a subject (claimant) and an object (addressee) – and a verbal or physical action (demanding, protesting, criticizing, blaming, etc.). In the context of social movement studies and contentious politics, claims‐making has most often referred to the conscious articulation of political demands in the public sphere, thus leaving aside more private or hidden forms of political claims‐making such as voting and lobbyism.
Collective Action (Collective Behavior)
Authors: Oliver Pamela
Published: September 2022

Collective action is fundamental to social movements. People in social movements do things that promote or resist social change, and the things they do are collective action. Social movements are made up of multiple collective actions. When we focus on collective action, we focus on how each individual march or rally or riot happened, and on the general principles about how they happened.
Prefigurative Politics
Authors: Leach Darcy K.
Published: September 2022

The term “prefigurative politics” refers to a political orientation based on the premise that the ends a social movement achieves are fundamentally shaped by the means it employs, and that movements should therefore do their best to choose means that embody or “prefigure” the kind of society they want to bring about. On one level, this commitment to means–ends consistency reflects what Weber called a “value‐rational” logic of action, in which action is guided by values rather than instrumental efficiency. But a prefigurative orientation is motivated by more than a commitment to moral action in its own right; it has been pursued as an alternative to both vanguardist and structural‐reformist strategies for social change. Rather than looking to a revolutionary vanguard to seize existing power structures and implement revolutionary change on behalf of the masses or to trade unions or political parties to leverage reforms within the existing system, a prefigurative approach seeks to create the new society “in the shell of the old” by developing counterhegemonic institutions and modes of interaction that embody the desired transformation. In this sense, a prefigurative strategy is based on the principle of direct action, of directly implementing the changes one seeks, rather than asking others to make the changes on one's behalf.
Strikes in US History
Authors: Stepan‐Norris Judith , Lind Ben
Published: September 2022

Strikes are temporary and collective efforts to withhold participation from some crucial activity in order to convey a grievance or to enforce demands. Of the various types of strikes, labor strikes, or work stoppages, which occur when workers withhold their labor, are by far the most prevalent and our focus here. In labor relations, strikes are potentially the most injurious action workers can impose upon private or public employers, since their aim is to reduce or stop production or services, therefore impacting profits or the ability to deliver services. But they are also costly to workers, who experience secession of wages that are only sometimes partially regained through union strike funds.
Velvet Revolution of 1989
Authors: Kalb Don
Published: September 2022

The massive and peaceful civic eruption in Czechoslovakia in November 1989 was the first to be named “Velvet Revolution.” An accelerating wave of demonstrations and strikes, initially led by a handful of young students in the performing arts, it resulted within three weeks in the fall of the supposedly “hard‐line” socialist regime in Prague. Subsequently, the name “Velvet Revolution” was extended to include the whole sequence of peaceful (except for Romania) revolutions in 1989 that initiated the fall of state socialism in Europe.
Employers' Collective Action
Authors: Offerlé Michel
Published: September 2022

Debates about employers' collective action have remained inconclusive. Historians, sociologists, and political scientists have established that neither competition between employers, nor the secretive nature of their business practices, nor their supposed individualism, prevent them from acting together or from establishing permanent organizations of various natures. The very rich literature dealing with interest groups (including organizations representing economic interests) demonstrates this fact very convincingly. For instance, Michel Pinçon and Monique Pinçon‐Charlot have shown that when it comes to its sociabilities and its reproduction, the Frenchbourgeoisiebehaves like a “collectivist” class.
Gray Zone of Politics and Social Movements
Authors: Auyero Javier
Published: September 2022

The clandestine connections between state actors and perpetrators of collective violence define the gray zone of politics. What Tilly calls “violent specialists” – that is, actors who specialize in inflicting physical damage – play a key, though usually obscured, role in the origins and the course of the collective violence. Some of these specialists (police and soldiers, for example) are part of the state apparatus; some others (think thugs, gangs, and vigilante groups), however, enjoy important but oftentimes illicit connections with established powerholders. The notion of a gray zone of politics challenges the clear‐cut state–society distinctions that most of literature on collective action still takes for granted (among government agents, repressive forces, challengers, polity members, etc.).
Green Movement (Iran)
Authors: Rezai Hamid
Published: September 2022

Like analysts of Iran during the 1970s, current observers of Iranian politics overwhelmingly described the outbreak of massive protests in the aftermath of the controversial presidential election on 12 June 2009, known as the Green Movement, as surprising and unpredictable. Yet many actors on the ground accurately anticipated the postelection turbulence. Shortly before the election, as rumors about possible fraud spread through social media, large numbers of supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi, two presidential candidates in the race against incumbent Mahmood Ahmadinejad, cried “agar taqallob besheh Iran qiamat misheh,” or “if there has been cheating [in the election], Iran will explode.” When state officials declared Ahmadinejad as the clear winner the next day, claiming that he had received 62% of the votes, millions of Iranians poured into the streets shouting “r'aye man kojast?” or “where is my vote?” to express outrage over what they perceived to be electoral fraud. Consequently, many protesters across Iran were killed and thousands arrested. Several hundred activists left the country to escape state repression and the two presidential candidates were put under house arrest, where they have remained ever since.
Alt‐right
Authors: Futrell Robert , Simi Pete
Published: September 2022

In this entry, we review how existing studies conceptualize the US alt‐right. We then challenge explanations that describe the alt‐right as a new and distinct movement by explaining how the term represents a larger rhetorical strategy to rebrand white supremacy and related far‐right extremist elements. Rebranding conceals white supremacy's most controversial dimensions and helps adherents push extremist ideas, symbols, and practices toward the mainstream. For instance, rebranding has produced widespread confusion about alt‐right mobilization among both journalists and scholars, who tend to underemphasize continuity between the alt‐right and prior iterations of white supremacist mobilization. We conclude by discussing future directions for research on the alt‐right.
Anti‐gender Movements
Authors: Paternotte David
Published: September 2022

The expression “anti‐gender movements” designates a specific set of attacks against gender and sexual equalities that started in the mid‐2000s and blossomed in the 2010s. Today, these campaigns are waged in a large number of countries across the world, with Europe and Latin America as epicenters. These campaigns target five clusters of issues, which vary according to the political and social context: sexual and reproductive rights, LGBTQI rights, sex and gender education, laws and regulations against hate speech and discrimination, and a heterogeneous set of issues mentioning the term “gender” (gender‐based violence (especially the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence), gender studies, and gender mainstreaming).
Brexit and Social Movements
Authors: Galpin Charlotte
Published: September 2022

Social movement scholars have explored the extent to which social movements have engaged in protest targeting European Union (EU) policies. However, Brexit, a portmanteau of “British exit,” is a case of direct politicization of the EU itself, where the focus is not the shape of policies but the legitimacy of EU membership per se. Movements of this kind have been rare, with much of the history of European integration being categorized by a so‐called “permissive consensus” in which the public is assumed to support the process of European integration but leaves more detailed decisions to elites. Public opinion on the EU over the last three decades has, however, arguably created a “constraining dissensus,” in which governments are constrained in their actions at the EU level because of a more interested public. Public attitudes toward European integration, according to Hooghe and Marks, relate less to preferences on the traditional left–right economic political dimension but rather to issues of identity. Those with more inclusive national identities (where national identity is seen as compatible with other identities such as European identity or cosmopolitanism) tend to support European integration, whereas those with exclusive national identities tend to oppose it. These dimensions can be witnessed in social and political movements around Brexit. These dynamics also overlap with attitudes toward social liberal values, such as gender equality and multiculturalism, as was observed in polling data on the referendum. Thus, the case of Brexit also demonstrates the need for a consideration of race and gender in our understanding of pro‐ and anti‐EU social movement activity.
Men's Rights Activism
Authors: Carian Emily K.
Published: September 2022

Men's rights activism refers to organizing by individuals and groups that believe men are systematically disadvantaged because of their gender. The earliest men's rights groups formed during the 1970s and the movement is active in several countries today. Research does not support the men's rights movement's claim that men face gender‐based discrimination. Scholars conclude the movement is male supremacist and anti‐feminist in nature, and primarily aims to deny women resources or exclude women from male‐dominated spaces rather than to liberate men. The men's rights movement is linked to other male and white supremacist and alt‐right movements. To date, research on the men's rights movement has analyzed its historical emergence, documented its claims and tested their validity, and examined representations of masculinity in men's rights spaces.
Hierarchical Planning with Deep Reinforcement Learning for 3D Navigation of Microrobots in Blood Vessels
Authors: Yang Yuguang , Bevan Michael A. , Li Bo
Published: September 2022

Designing intelligent microrobots that can autonomously navigate and perform instructed routines in blood vessels, a crowded environment with complexities including Brownian disturbance, concentrated cells, confinement, different flow patterns, and diverse vascular geometries, can offer enormous opportunities and challenges in biomedical applications. Herein, a biological‐agent mimicking a hierarchical control scheme that enables a microrobot to efficiently navigate and execute customizable routines in simplified blood vessel environments is reported. The control scheme consists of two decoupled components: a high‐level controller decomposing complex navigation tasks into short‐ranged, simpler subtasks and a low‐level deep reinforcement learning (DRL) controller responsible for maneuvering microrobots to accomplish subtasks. The proposed DRL controller utilizes 3D convolutional neural networks and is capable of learning control policies directly from raw 3D sensory data. It is shown that such a control scheme achieves effective and robust decision‐making within unseen, diverse complicated environments and offers flexibility for customizable task routines. This study provides a proof of principle for designing intelligent control systems for autonomous navigation in vascular networks for microrobots.
Continuous inbreeding affects genetic variation, phenology, and reproductive strategy in ex situ cultivated Digitalis lutea
Authors: Sandner Tobias M. , Gemeinholzer Birgit , Lemmer Julia , Matthies Diethart , Ensslin Andreas
Published: September 2022

Premise

Ex situ cultivation is important for plant conservation, but cultivation in small populations may result in genetic changes by drift, inbreeding, or unconscious selection. Repeated inbreeding potentially influences not only plant fitness, but also floral traits and interactions with pollinators, which has not yet been studied in an ex situ context.

Methods

We studied the molecular genetic variation of Digitalis lutea from a botanic garden population cultivated for 30 years, a frozen seed bank conserving the original genetic structure, and two current wild populations including the source population. In a common garden, we studied the effects of experimental inbreeding and between‐population crosses on performance, reproductive traits, and flower visitation of plants from the garden and a wild population.

Results

Significant genetic differentiation was found between the garden population and the wild population from which the seeds had originally been gathered. After experimental selfing, inbreeding depression was only found for germination and leaf size of plants from the wild population, indicating a history of inbreeding in the smaller garden population. Moreover, garden plants flowered earlier and had floral traits related to selfing, whereas wild plants had traits related to attracting pollinators. Bumblebees visited more flowers of outbred than inbred plants and of wild than garden plants.

Conclusions

Our case study suggests that high levels of inbreeding during ex situ cultivation can influence reproductive traits and thus interactions with pollinators. Together with the effects of genetic erosion and unconscious selection, these changes may affect the success of reintroductions into natural habitats.
Precocious puberty and anal stenosis in an African patient with Rothmund–Thomson syndrome
Authors: Lorenzo Cristina , Travessa André M. , Ferreira Ana Cristóvão , Modamio‐Høybjør Silvia , Heath Karen E. , Pereira Carla
Published: September 2022

Rothmund–Thomson syndrome (RTS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a rash that progresses to poikiloderma. Other common features include sparse hair, eyelashes and eyebrows, short stature, variable skeletal abnormalities, dental defects, cataracts, hypogonadism, and an increased risk for cancer, especially osteosarcoma and skin cancer. RTS is caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in ANAPC1 (Type 1 RTS) or RECQL4 (Type 2 RTS). We present an African girl with Type 2 RTS caused by a nonsense variant and an intronic variant in RECQL4. The patient presented precocious puberty, which has not been previously reported in RTS and that was treated with a GnRH analog, and anal stenosis, which has only been reported once. This case highlights the need to consider deep intronic variants in patients with RTS when pathogenic variants in the coding regions and exon/intron boundaries are not identified and expands the phenotypic spectrum of this disorder.
A Small Organic Molecular Catalyst with Efficient Electron Accumulation for Near‐unity CO2 Photoreduction
Authors: Liu Ting , Li Yang , Fang Youting , Fu Yukang , Chen Longxin , Chao Duobin
Published: September 2022

Molecular catalysis is of great interest to CO2 photoreduction. Various transition metal complexes have been developed as efficient molecular catalysts. However, it remains a challenge to catalyze CO2 reduction by a small organic molecular photocatalyst, as the accumulation of multiple electrons in a small organic molecule is normally difficult for CO2 reduction. We report herein a small organic molecular catalyst can be used for selective reduction of CO2 to CO under visible light irradiation. The turnover number (TON) of CO formation is found to be 400±26 with near 100% selectivity in DMF/H2O medium. UV‐Vis absorption spectroscopy, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and spectroelectrochemical studies demonstrate that the organic molecular catalyst is capable of accumulating electrons through a 2e− reduced product which shows good stability and is responsible for interacting with CO2. These findings elucidate an accessible way to develop purely organic molecular catalysts for CO2 reduction by strengthening the electron accumulation.
Interagency discrepancies in tropical cyclone intensity estimates over the western North Pacific in recent years
Authors: Bai Lina , Xu Yinglong , Tang Jie , Guo Rong
Published: September 2022

This study investigates interagency discrepancies among best‐track estimates of tropical cyclone (TC) intensity in the western North Pacific, provided by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), and the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) Tokyo during 2013 to 2019. The results reveal evident differences in maximum wind speed (MSW) estimates, where linear systematic differences are significant. However, the Dvorak parameter (CI) numbers derived from the MSWs reported by the three agencies are internally consistent. Further analysis suggests that the remained CI discrepancies are related to differences in the estimation of intensity trends, initial intensities, and TC positions among these datasets. In addition, the CI estimates provided by the JTWC for TCs over the open ocean are generally higher than those reported by the CMA and RSMC. However, the estimates from CMA and RSMC tend to give higher TC intensities for the TCs in the mainland and coastal areas of China and Japan, respectively, than those over the open ocean with the same intensity in JTWC dataset. This pattern potentially reflects the extensive use of surface observations by these two agencies for landfalling and offshore TCs. These results may help the research community to get more accurate details about the TCs in WNP from the best track datasets of different agencies.
Brücke Hohenpolding – Beeinflussung der Betonspannungen durch vorgegebene Bauzustände
Authors: Niederwald Michael
Published: September 2022

Der Ersatzneubau der Brücke K‐ED 31, die die Gemeindeverbindungsstraße ED 31 bei Hohenpolding über die Bundesstraße 15 überführt, stellte aufgrund der örtlichen Randbedingungen und der Entwurfsvorgaben besondere Anforderungen an die Entwurfsplanung. Die nur in begrenztem Maß zur Verfügung stehende Querschnittshöhe machte einen außergewöhnlich schlanken Überbau erforderlich, bei dem die Dekompression im Endzustand durch einen hohen Vorspanngrad alleine nicht sichergestellt werden konnte. Durch die Anordnung von Hilfsunterstützungen für den Bauzustand und durch das Einprägen von äußeren Kräften konnten die Beanspruchungszustände derart beeinflusst werden, dass der Dekompressionsnachweis erfolgreich geführt werden konnte. Der vorliegende Beitrag beschreibt die Besonderheiten des Bauwerksentwurfs und der Bauausführung der Spannbetonrahmenbrücke.
Comparison of lithium‐ion battery cell technologies applied in the regenerative braking system
Authors: Nazir Mian Hammad , Rahil Abdulla , Partenie Eduard , Bowkett Mark , Khan Zulfiqar A. , Hussain Muhammad M. , Zaidi Syed Zohaib J.
Published: September 2022

This research presents the performance evaluation of four various types of top‐of‐the‐line commercial and prototype lithium‐ion energy storage technologies with an objective to find out the optimal cell technology, which is suitable for the development of high power battery packs for regenerative braking systems applied in next‐generation demonstrator platform vehicles. The novel porotype lithium‐ion cell technology is developed using linear combined nanofibers and microfibers battery separators laden utilizing wet nonwoven processes compared to the dry process laden multilayered porous film separators in commercial cell technologies. The performance comparison of all technologies has been conducted both at “cell‐level” and “pack level” through the study of internal performance parameters, such as capacity, resistance, self‐discharge, and battery temperature rise. This study also encompasses the differences in using external pack assembly and/or development parameters like the number of cells which are required to develop the pack, pack mass, pack volume, and pack cost. Both the internal performance parameters and external pack assembly and development parameters have revealed that novel prototype cell technology is the most optimal technology among all four cell technologies for regenerative braking systems, which have been investigated during this research. The novelty of this work is the development of novel prototype cell technology and its performance comparison with commercially available cell technologies used in regenerative braking systems of the latest hybrid/electric vehicles, which is in line with global initiatives, such as UK/EU transition to EVs and UN sustainability goals. The significance of this work in terms of high power pack development for regenerative braking of next‐generation vehicles is evident from various industrial applications. This work will influence decisions for both battery testing techniques and accurate battery comparison methods for automotive, locomotive, aerospace, battery manufacturers, and wind turbine industries.
Li intercalation in an MoSe2 electrocatalyst: In situ observation and modulation of its precisely controllable phase engineering for a high‐performance flexible Li‐S battery
Authors: Wang Yunke , Zhao Yige , Liu Kangli , Wang Shaobin , Li Neng , Shao Guosheng , Wang Feng , Zhang Peng
Published: September 2022

Sophisticated efficient electrocatalysts are essential to rectifying the shuttle effect and realizing the high performance of flexible lithium‐sulfur batteries (LSBs). Phase transformation of MoSe2 from the 2H phase to the 1T phase has been proven to be a significant method to improve the catalytic activity. However, precisely controllable phase engineering of MoSe2 has rarely been reported. Herein, by in situ Li ions intercalation in MoSe2, a precisely controllable phase evolution from 2H‐MoSe2 to 1T‐MoSe2 was realized. More importantly, the definite functional relationship between cut‐off voltage and phase structure was first identified for phase engineering through in situ observation and modulation methods. The sulfur host (CNFs/1T‐MoSe2) presents high charge density, strong polysulfides adsorption, and catalytic kinetics. Moreover, Li‐S cells based on it display capacity retention of 875.3 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 1 C and an areal capacity of 8.71 mAh cm−2 even at a high sulfur loading of 8.47 mg cm−2. Furthermore, the flexible pouch cell exhibiting decent performance will endow a promising potential in the wearable energy storage field. This study proposes an effective strategy to precisely control the phase structure of MoSe2, which may provide the reference to fabricate the highly efficient electrocatalysts for LSBs and other energy systems.
WinDRAM: Weak rows as in‐DRAM cache
Authors: Kumar Sudershan , Sinha Prabuddha , Das Shirshendu
Published: September 2022

The primary factor responsible for increasing the refresh rate is the presence of weak rows in a DRAM. They have a shorter retention time and lose charge faster than regular rows. Recently, a technique known as in‐DRAM cache was introduced in which some DRAM rows act as a separate module. The in‐DRAM cache can be used for a variety of purposes in DRAM. We present WinDRAM, an in‐DRAM cache comprised of all the DRAM's weak rows. The most recently accessed rows are copied into the in‐DRAM cache so that when the row is accessed again, both rows (original and copy) can be activated at the same time. Such simultaneous activation reduces activation time and, as a result, DRAM access latency. Dual‐row activation is the term for this concept. Because weak rows are part of the in‐DRAM cache and are frequently accessed, WinDRAM does not perform a periodic refresh on them. Existing techniques based on in‐DRAM cache do not design the in‐DRAM cache using weak rows. WinDRAM proposes a novel idea by designing the in‐DRAM cache using weak rows. Because the weak rows do not need to be refreshed, the refresh interval of the remaining rows can be increased, resulting in a refresh rate reduction of 80% to 90%. The speedup is 15% to 25% faster than standard DRAM and 12.77% faster than previous work for high memory‐intensive workloads. Overall energy consumption is also reduced by 10% to 15%.
Utility of anthesis–silking interval information to predict grain yield under water and nitrogen limited conditions
Authors: Lima Dayane Cristina , de Leon Natalia , Kaeppler Shawn M.
Published: September 2022

Delayed silking relative to pollen shed, measured as the anthesis–silking interval (ASI, the period between pollen shed and silking), is a good indicator of response to abiotic stresses in maize (Zea mays L.). This research was conducted to investigate how ASI is affected by nitrogen (N) and water availability and to assess the utility of ASI to indirectly predict grain yield (GY) under contrasting water and N treatments. Two experiments were conducted in Hancock, WI, in 2018 and 2019. One experiment (Diverse hybrids) included 302 hybrids resulting from the cross of diverse inbred lines by a single tester evaluated at four different treatment levels resulting from combining nonlimited and low N with nonlimited and low water treatments. The second experiment (NSS FAC) included a set of 408 hybrids derived from the cross of biparental doubled‐haploid lines from 13 factorial populations and evaluated under nonlimited and low N treatments. Anthesis and silk time in growing degree days, and GY (Mg ha−1) were measured. Genomic prediction was assessed using a genomic best linear unbiased prediction model, and predictive ability was calculated as the correlation between genomic predictions and adjusted means in the different treatments. Predictive ability ranged from .15 to .49 for NSS FAC and from .06 to .51 for Diverse hybrids across traits and treatments. The ASI was a good indicator of stress and showed higher heritability than GY in the limited treatments for both experiments; however, it did not improve yield predictability.
Comparison of urinary mercapturic acid excretions in users of various tobacco/nicotine products
Authors: Scherer Gerhard , Pluym Nikola , Scherer Max
Published: September 2022

Urinary mercapturic acids (MAs) are detoxification products for electrophiles occurring in the human body. They are suitable biomarkers of exposure to directly acting electrophilic chemicals or to chemicals which generate the electrophile during its metabolism. We determined the urinary excretion of 19 MAs in habitual users of combustible cigarettes (CCs), electronic cigarettes (ECs), heated tobacco products (HTPs), oral tobacco (OT), and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products, and nonusers (NUs) of any tobacco/nicotine products. The 19 MAs are assumed to be physiologically formed primarily from 15 toxicants with three of them belonging to IARC Group 1 (human carcinogen), seven to Group 2A (probable human carcinogen), four to Group 2B (possible human carcinogen), and one to Group 3 (not classifiable as carcinogen). Smoking (CC) was found to be associated with significantly elevated exposure to ethylene oxide (or ethylene), 1,3‐butadiene, benzene, dimethylformamide, acrolein, acrylamide, styrene, propylene oxide, acrylonitrile, crotonaldehyde, and isoprene compared with the other user groups and NU. Users of HTPs revealed slight elevation in the MAs related to acrolein, acrylamide, and crotonaldehyde compared with the other non‐CC groups. Vaping (EC) was not found to be associated with any of the MAs studied. In conclusion, the determination of urinary MAs is a useful tool for assessing the exposure to toxicants (mainly potential carcinogens) in users of various tobacco/nicotine products. Our data also give cause to clarify the role of vaping (EC) in urinary excretion of DHPMA (precursor: glycidol).
Z‐nucleic acids: Uncovering the functions from past to present
Authors: Tang Qiannan
Published: September 2022

Since Z‐nucleic acid was identified in the 1970s, much is still unknown about its biological functions and nature in vivo. Recent studies on adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1) and Z‐DNA‐binding protein 1 (ZBP1) have highlighted its function in immune responses. Specifically, Z‐RNAs, either endogenous or induced by viral infection, are sensed by ZBP1 and activate necroptosis. Z‐RNAs act as the stimuli that induce innate immune responses through various pathways, including melanoma differentiation‐associated protein 5 (MAD5)‐mitochondrial antiviral‐signaling protein (MAVS)‐mediated type I IFN activation and proteinase kinase R (PKR)‐dependent integrated stress response, and their immunostimulatory potential is curtailed by RNA editing conducted by ADAR1. Aberrant immune responses induced by Z‐RNAs are associated with human diseases. They also induce pathogenesis in mice. Unlike Z‐RNAs, the biological functions of Z‐DNAs were barely studied, especially in mammals. Moreover, the origin or sequence preference of Z‐nucleic acids requires further investigation. Such knowledge will expand our understanding of Z‐nucleic acids, including from which genomic loci and under which circumstances they form, and the mechanisms by which they participate in the physiological activities. In this review, we provide insights in Z‐nucleic acid research and highlight the unsolved puzzles.
Validating HiSET® Tests as High School Equivalency Tests That Improve Educational, Vocational, and Quality‐of‐Life Outcomes
Authors: Klieger David M. , Williams Kevin M. , Bochenek Jennifer L. , Ezzo Chelsea , Jackson Teresa
Published: September 2022

Results from two studies provided strong evidence for the validity of the HiSET® tests, thereby demonstrating that HiSET is a well‐developed battery of tests with passing and college and career readiness (CCR) standards that, when met, provide a pathway to postsecondary education, better employment opportunities and wages, and a better quality of life to those who are unable to experience a traditional high school education. Positive relationships exist between HiSET scores and both high school grades and ACT scores, including high levels of agreement between HiSET CCR indicators and ACT CCR indicators. Therefore, evidence supports the claim that HiSET scores are measures of high school equivalency, preparedness for middle skills jobs, and college readiness. Furthermore, there is evidence that passing the HiSET provides value to stakeholders. Passing the HiSET battery is associated with gaining academic and personal skills, college enrollment, employment gains (e.g., obtaining employment, obtaining more full‐time employment, wage increases, and improvement in a job or position), and quality‐of‐life improvements.
The weakest links in the crisis of the Spanish Savings Banks
Authors: Ruiz Juan Rafael , Stupariu Patricia , Vilariño Ángel
Published: September 2022

The bail‐out of the Spanish financial system was the largest in the Eurozone. The Spanish savings banks were the main direct recipients of public support between 2010 and 2012 and most of the bail‐out money was transferred to the savings banks after a series of mergers and acquisitions were completed among these entities. This article analyses the evolution of the savings banks in the years of economic growth preceding the crisis and their performance in the early aftermath of the 2007 crash using previously unexplored data from the annual financial statements of the 45 savings banks. We conclude it is possible to observe distinct behaviours among the savings banks during the boom years and we estimate the largest part of the bail‐out money corresponds to losses registered by a small number of savings banks that were already severely impaired before the merger process got under way.
A preponderance of gastrointestinal cancer patients transition into cachexia syndrome
Authors: Gilmore Linda Anne , Olaechea Santiago , Gilmore Brian W. , Gannavarapu Bhavani S. , Alvarez Christian M. , Ahn Chul , Iyengar Puneeth , Infante Rodney E.
Published: September 2022

Background

Cancer cachexia is frequently documented by self‐reported, single time‐point weight histories. This approach lacks the granularity needed to fully elucidate the progression of cachexia syndrome. This study aimed to longitudinally assess body weight changes pre‐ and post‐cancer diagnosis in gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients.

Methods

Body weights and relevant clinical data recorded in the electronic health record 12 months pre‐ and post‐GI cancer (colorectal, gastroesophageal, hepatobiliary and pancreatic) diagnosis were extracted. Weight loss was categorized by the International Consensus Definition for cachexia.

Results

A total of 879 patients were included in the final cohort including patients diagnosed with colorectal (n = 317), hepatocellular (n = 185), biliary (n = 72), pancreatic (n = 186) or gastroesophageal (n = 119) cancer. Stage of disease was equally distributed. Patients without cachexia at diagnosis (n = 608) remained weight stable during the 12 months pre‐diagnosis (+0.5 ± 0.5% body weight; P = 0.99). Patients with cachexia at diagnosis (n = 271) remained weight stable 6 to 12 months prior to diagnosis (+0.4 ± 0.8%; P > 0.9999) and lost 8.7 ± 0.6% (P < 0.0001) within the 6 months pre‐diagnosis. Patients without cachexia at diagnosis lost more weight post‐diagnosis (6.3 ± 0.6%) than patients with cachexia at diagnosis (4.7 ± 1.0%; P = 0.01). Pre‐diagnosis weight trajectories did not differ between primary malignancies or stage of disease in patients without or with cachexia at diagnosis (all P ≥ 0.05). Post‐diagnosis weight trajectories did differ by primary malignancy (P ≤ 0.0002) and stage (P < 0.0001). In both patients without and with cachexia at diagnosis, colorectal patients lost the least amount of weight post‐diagnosis and gastroesophageal patients lost the most amount of weight post‐diagnosis. Stage 4 patients without or with cachexia at diagnosis lost the most weight post‐diagnosis (P ≤ 0.0003). Regardless of cachexia status at diagnosis, patients lost more weight when treated with systemic therapy (7.1 ± 0.7%; P < 0.0001; n = 419) or radiation therapy (8.4 ± 1.4%; P = 0.02; n = 116) compared to those who did not. Patients who did not have surgery lost more weight post‐diagnosis (7.6 ± 1.1%; P < 0.0001; n = 355) compared to those who did have surgery. By 12 months post‐diagnosis, 83% of the surviving GI cancer patients in this cohort had transitioned into cachexia syndrome.

Conclusions

Significant weight loss in patients with GI cancer cachexia at diagnosis initiates at least 6 months prior to diagnosis, and most patients will transition into cachexia syndrome post‐diagnosis, regardless of pre‐diagnosis weight change and stage of disease. These findings punctuate the importance of weight surveillance in cancer detection and earlier palliative interventions post‐diagnosis in the GI cancer patient population.
Normalization of NPM1 mutant transcript to the wild‐type transcript
Authors: Jennings Lawrence J.
Published: September 2022

Current guidelines recommend that Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients with NPM1 mutations should be monitored for measurable residual disease by quantifying the transcripts and normalizing them to ABL1 transcripts. In this short report, a simple and highly accurate method to quantify the NPM1 mutant transcript normalized to the wild‐type NPM1 transcript is presented. The percent mutant transcript correlates very well to the corresponding mutant allele frequency as determined by DNA‐based methods allowing direct comparison of investigational studies that use RNA‐based or DNA‐based methods for monitoring NPM1 mutations.
Long peripheral catheters in children: A scoping review
Authors: Burek Alina G. , Liljestrom Tracey , Dundon Melanie , Shaughnessy Erin E. , Suelzer Elizabeth , Ullman Amanda
Published: September 2022

Background and Objectives

Long peripheral catheters (LPCs) are emerging vascular access devices used for short‐medium term vascular access needs. Literature in adults suggests LPCs have longer dwell‐times than peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVs) and lower rates of serious complications than peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs). The role of LPCs in children is less established. The objective of this scoping review is to describe and synthesize the existing literature on the effectiveness and safety of LPCs in children.

Methods

This review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA‐ScR) guidelines. Searches were done in MEDLINE (Ovid), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, CINAHL (Ebsco), and Google Scholar most recently on February 22, 2022. Studies were included if published in English on or after 2000 and included patients <18 years of age.

Results

Twenty‐one studies were included. The body of literature is variable in quality, measurements, and reported outcomes. Median dwell‐time ranged from 5 to 14 days. The rate of completion of therapy ranged from 20% to 86%. Dislodgement, occlusion, and infiltration were the most common complications reported (0%–31%). Venous thromboembolism rates ranged from 0% to 13%. The rate of catheter‐related bloodstream infection was 0% in 9 of 10 studies. Less than 50% of studies reported comparative outcomes.

Conclusion

LPCs show promising outcomes in select populations, with longer dwell‐time than PIVs and possibly lower rates of serious complications than PICCs. However, more research is needed to clarify the optimal use of LPCs in pediatrics.
Independent Component and Graph Theory Analyses Reveal Normalized Brain Networks on Resting‐State Functional MRI After Working Memory Training in People With HIV
Authors: Jia Chunying , Long Qunfang , Ernst Thomas , Shang Yuanqi , Chang Linda , Adali Tülay
Published: September 2022

Background

Cognitive training may partially reverse cognitive deficits in people with HIV (PWH). Previous functional MRI (fMRI) studies demonstrate that working memory training (WMT) alters brain activity during working memory tasks, but its effects on resting brain network organization remain unknown.

Purpose

To test whether WMT affects PWH brain functional connectivity in resting‐state fMRI (rsfMRI).

Study Type

Prospective.

Population

A total of 53 PWH (ages 50.7 ± 1.5 years, two women) and 53 HIV‐seronegative controls (SN, ages 49.5 ± 1.6 years, six women).

Field Strength/Sequence

Axial single‐shot gradient‐echo echo‐planar imaging at 3.0 T was performed at baseline (TL1), at 1‐month (TL2), and at 6‐months (TL3), after WMT.

Assessment

All participants had rsfMRI and clinical assessments (including neuropsychological tests) at TL1 before randomization to Cogmed WMT (adaptive training, n = 58: 28 PWH, 30 SN; nonadaptive training, n = 48: 25 PWH, 23 SN), 25 sessions over 5–8 weeks. All assessments were repeated at TL2 and at TL3. The functional connectivity estimated by independent component analysis (ICA) or graph theory (GT) metrics (eigenvector centrality, etc.) for different link densities (LDs) were compared between PWH and SN groups at TL1 and TL2.

Statistical Tests

Two‐way analyses of variance (ANOVA) on GT metrics and two‐sample t‐tests on FC or GT metrics were performed. Cognitive (eg memory) measures were correlated with eigenvector centrality (eCent) using Pearson's correlations. The significance level was set at P < 0.05 after false discovery rate correction.

Results

The ventral default mode network (vDMN) eCent differed between PWH and SN groups at TL1 but not at TL2 (P = 0.28). In PWH, vDMN eCent changes significantly correlated with changes in the memory ability in PWH (r = −0.62 at LD = 50%) and vDMN eCent before training significantly correlated with memory performance changes (r = 0.53 at LD = 50%).

Data Conclusion

ICA and GT analyses showed that adaptive WMT normalized graph properties of the vDMN in PWH.

Evidence Level

1

Technical Efficacy

1
Impact of intravenous fish oil on omega‐3 fatty acids and their derived lipid metabolites in patients with parenteral nutrition
Authors: Weylandt Karsten H. , Karber Mirjam , Xiao Yanan , Zhang Ingrid W. , Pevny Sophie , Blüthner Elisabeth , von Schacky Clemens , Rothe Michael , Schunck Wolf H. , Pape Ulrich F.
Published: September 2022

Background

Long‐term parenteral nutrition (PN) can lead to intestinal failure–associated liver disease (IFALD). Omega‐3 (n‐3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were shown to prevent IFALD. EPA‐derived and DHA‐derived oxylipins could contribute to this protective effect.

Methods

We analyzed the effect of parenteral fish oil on oxylipins in patients with chronic intestinal failure receiving PN (n = 8). Patients first received no fish oil for 8 weeks and then switched to PN with 25% of fat as fish oil for another 8 weeks. Fatty acid profiles of red blood cells, PUFA‐derived oxylipins generated by cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase (LOX), and cytochrome P450 (CYP) pathways, inflammatory markers, and liver function were assessed before and during fish‐oil PN.

Results

EPA plus DHA in erythrocytes (the Omega‐3 Index) was high with a median of 11.96% at baseline and decreased to 9.57% without fish oil in PN. Addition of fish oil in PN increased the median Omega‐3‐Index to 12.75%. EPA‐derived and DHA‐derived CYP‐dependent and LOX‐dependent metabolites increased significantly with fish oil in PN, with less pronounced changes in arachidonic acid and its oxylipins. There were no significant changes of inflammation and liver function parameters.

Conclusions

This study shows that fish oil–containing PN leads to primarily CYP‐ and LOX‐dependent n‐3 PUFA–derived inflammation‐dampening oxylipins arising from EPA and DHA. Within this short (16‐week) study, there were no significant changes in inflammation and clinical readout parameters.
PHLPP1 deficiency protects against age‐related intervertebral disc degeneration
Authors: Zhang Changli , Joseph Katherine M. , Khan Nazir M. , Diaz‐Hernandez Martha Elena , Drissi Hicham , Illien‐Junger Svenja
Published: September 2022

Background

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is strongly associated with low back pain and is highly prevalent in the elderly population. Hallmarks of IVD degeneration include cell loss and extracellular matrix degradation. The PH domain leucine‐rich‐repeats protein phosphatase (PHLPP1) is highly expressed in diseased cartilaginous tissues where it is linked to extracellular matrix degradation. This study explored the ability of PHLPP1 deficiency to protect against age‐related spontaneous IVD degeneration.

Methods

Lumbar IVDs of global Phlpp1 knockout (KO) and wildtype (WT) mice were collected at 5 months (young) and 20 months (aged). Picrosirius red–alcian blue staining (PR‐AB) was performed to examine IVD structure and histological score. The expression of aggrecan, ADAMTS5, KRT19, FOXO1 and FOXO3 was analyzed through immunohistochemistry. Cell apoptosis was assessed by TUNEL assay. Human nucleus pulposus (NP) samples were obtained from patients diagnosed with IVD degeneration. PHLPP1 knockdown in human degenerated NP cells was conducted using small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection. The expression of PHLPP1 regulated downstream targets was analyzed via immunoblot and real time quantitative PCR.

Results

Histological analysis showed that Phlpp1 KO decreased the prevalence and severity of age‐related IVD degeneration. The deficiency of PHLPP1 promoted the increased expression of NP phenotypic marker KRT19, aggrecan and FOXO1, and decreased levels of ADMATS5 and cell apoptosis in the NP of aged mice. In degenerated human NP cells, PHLPP1 knockdown induced FOXO1 protein levels while FOXO1 inhibition offset the beneficial effects of PHLPP1 knockdown on KRT19 gene and protein expression.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that Phlpp1 deficiency protected against NP phenotypic changes, extracellular matrix degradation, and cell apoptosis in the process of IVD degeneration, probably through FOXO1 activation, making PHLPP1 a promising therapeutic target for treating IVD degeneration.