bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of cigarette smoking on cognitive processing speed and brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Alshehri Ebtesam , Cohen Jeffrey A , Ontaneda Daniel , Nakamura Kunio , Husak Scott , Love Thomas E , Fox Robert J , Briggs Farren BS , Conway Devon S
Published: May 2023

Background:

Smoking is associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) and disability worsening. The relationship between smoking, cognitive processing speed, and brain atrophy remains uncertain.

Objective:

To quantify the impact of smoking on processing speed and brain volume in MS and to explore the longitudinal relationship between smoking and changes in processing speed.

Methods:

A retrospective study of MS patients who completed the processing speed test (PST) between September 2015 and March 2020. Demographics, disease characteristics, smoking history, and quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were collected. Cross-sectional associations between smoking, PST performance, whole-brain fraction (WBF), gray matter fraction (GMF), and thalamic fraction (TF) were assessed using multivariable linear regression. The longitudinal relationship between smoking and PST performance was assessed by linear mixed modeling.

Results:

The analysis included 5536 subjects of whom 1314 had quantitative MRI within 90 days of PST assessment. Current smokers had lower PST scores than never smokers at baseline, and this difference persisted over time. Smoking was associated with reduced GMF but not with WBF or TF.

Conclusion:

Smoking has an adverse relationship with cognition and GMF. Although causality is not demonstrated, these observations support the importance of smoking cessation counseling in MS management.
A boat’s afterlife: multiple translations of migratory debris
Authors: Finiguerra Anna
Published: May 2023

Over the past decade, images of boats crossing or sinking in the Mediterranean have become extremely familiar to European publics. What is less familiar is the processes through which those boats are re-purposed, becoming artistic or even commodified goods once they reach a port of landing. Caught between being considered waste and valuable objects, these debris have been moved and re-purposed with scarce acknowledgement of the political work that these practices perform. This paper argues that practices of translation transform objects into waste or valuables and reveal crucial fault lines in the politics of migration – such as the limits of a politics of posthumous commemoration and the de-politicisation of border deaths. Translation works through a wide variety of professional practices and the assembling of value, which informs the staging of materials as waste or as valuables. By analysing the case of the art installation Barca Nostra, this article rethinks the role of migratory debris and the multiplicity of meaning attributed to them by highlighting how they must be read simultaneously as waste and objects of value to fully understand how practices of translation contribute to the de-politicisation of border deaths, leaving state violence in the Mediterranean unchallenged.
The question of truth: how facts, space and time shape conversations in IR
Authors: Teles Fazendeiro Bernardo
Published: May 2023

Truth is as regularly invoked in International Relations (IR) as it is contested. Due to increased plurality, truth is no longer taken for granted, with some suggesting that relativism is on its way. At the same time, despite uncertainty as to the meaning of truth, research and factual verification persists, as findings remain hotly debated in IR, sometimes leading to entrenched, almost irreconcilable debates among scholars. This essay suggests that one way in which to bridge truth claims in the face of potential, albeit unwarranted, relativism is to distinguish between meaningful and factual truth. Factual truth is about assessing whether (raw) data qualifies as data at all, while meaningful truth – upon which most debates in IR are based – grounds our interpretation; it reveals reality’s various facets according to specific spatial and temporal concepts. Viewing conversations in IR as concerned with meaningful as opposed to factual truth allows scholars to lay relativism to rest. The essay also claims that conversations that confuse meaningfulness for factual verification – as in the debates between liberal institutionalists and structural realists in the 1990s – lead to scholarly entrenchment with no resolution in sight. Distinct temporal and spatial assumptions are often incompatible. As a result, such meaningful conversations are less about factual verifiability than about containing reification and enlarging the perspectives with which to exercise political judgement.
Museum exhibition co-creation in the age of data: Emerging design strategy for enhanced visitor engagement
Authors: Derda Izabela
Published: May 2023

Development and popularisation of creative technologies have resulted in changes to creative processes in the art and museum sector, and have redefined consumer and producer roles. The design practises that emerge when exhibition designers integrate new technologies to promote visitor engagement and co-creation are investigated in this article. This study delves into a novel design strategy for exhibition co-creation that acknowledges each interaction as a potential data point and involves connections between exhibition space, narrative, technology, interaction, and visitor, as well as a distinction between aware and unaware co-creation.
‘Azadi’s political until you’re pressing play’: Capitalist realism, hip-hop, and platform affordances
Authors: Sarkar Debarun
Published: May 2023

The article delves into the hip-hop scene in India, by locating its particular relationship with digital platforms, Instagram, YouTube and music streaming services such as Spotify, SoundCloud and Bandcamp. Because of hip-hop’s self-referentiality and its peculiar form of realism, discourses around platform capitalism have inadvertently entered the culture at large. Cultural artefacts produced by the scene reflect on the condition of music’s interaction with platforms and in turn, lay bare the evaluative tendencies vis-à-vis platforms. The article argues that digital platforms are productive in giving form to culture wherein the audio track is accompanied by a range of other trans-textual and trans-medial linkages of texts, audio, images and videos, that is, discourses which circulate outside of the audio form creating a crisscross of lines which come to form the cypher of hip-hop culture. It isn’t merely the offline cyphers then which are crucial in giving form to the community but also the digital platforms and their affordances.
The burden of early life stress in chronic inflammatory bowel diseases
Authors: Minjoz Séphora , Sinniger Valérie , Hot Pascal , Bonaz Bruno , Pellissier Sonia
Published: May 2023

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of early life stress (ELS) in a population with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and to estimate its burden on mental, physical, and digestive health. Ninety-three participants with IBD were asked to anonymously complete questionnaires (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form, Early Life Event Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Ways of Coping Checklist, Gastro-Intestinal Quality of Life Index questionnaire, and ad hoc questions about symptoms). The prevalence of patients with IBD who were exposed to at least one childhood abuse was 53%. Mental health and quality of life were significantly poorer in patients with IBD who were exposed to early abuse than in those who were not. Patients exposed to ELS had also more digestive perturbations and fatigue. These results suggest that early abuse should be considered a component of IBD care.
Preventing prosecution: Narratives on proactive policing
Authors: Vestby Annette
Published: May 2023

Multi-agency partnerships and intelligence-led policing are among the proactive policing strategies used to manage and prevent crime outside the criminal justice process. Drawing on narrative criminology, this article studies the co-constitution of concrete proactive policing methods and the populations and crimes that they are directed at. Further, the article illuminates the variety of distinct approaches that are understood in the studied policing context as ‘preventive’, a term found to be applicable to any police strategy or method that does not involve investigation and is not aimed at building a criminal case for prosecution. Whereas crime prevention effects are considered desirable and achievable, at least in theory, the internal organisational aim to prevent prosecution exerts an influence on how crimes as well as the crime prevention mandate are made sense of and rendered actionable.
Healthcare (im)mobilities and the Covid-19 pandemic: Notes on returning to the field
Authors: Follis Luca , Follis Karolina , Burns Nicola
Published: May 2023

This article proposes a mobilities-informed approach to social science research on healthcare and migration. It engages with evidence gathered during the Covid-19 pandemic that suggests that when confronted with a public health emergency, health systems can be responsive to the needs of mobile populations. During the Covid-19 lockdowns, health resources shifted routine services online, spurring an acceleration of telemedicine. The roll-out of these practices intersected with the phenomenon of digital exclusion, making healthcare partly or completely out of reach for those who could not connect. We argue that these efforts could have been more successful if they grew out of a recognition of healthcare's ‘sedentary bias’. National health systems are configured to serve settled populations. They are not designed for people on the move, with uncertain residential and immigration status. Yet this bias can be alleviated when health interventions are rethought from the point of view of the mobile patient.
Correcting vaccine misinformation on social media: Effect of social correction methods on vaccine skeptics’ intention to take COVID-19 vaccine
Authors: Bautista John Robert , Zhang Yan , Gwizdka Jacek
Published: May 2023

This study identifies the effect of six social correction methods on vaccine skeptics’ intention to take COVID-19 vaccine. In April–May 2021, we conducted a 3 (corrector on Twitter: ordinary person vs medical doctor vs nurse) × 2 (correction strategy: priming vs rebuttal) + 1 (control: misinformation only) between-subjects online experiment with 569 vaccine skeptics in the United States. Results show that exposure to priming-based corrections performed by a corrector, regardless of their expertise, is positively associated with intention to take COVID-19 vaccine if the information shared by the corrector is perceived to be trustworthy. This is evident among those with high or moderate vaccine skepticism. What is only evident among those with moderate vaccine skepticism is that exposure to corrections using priming (any corrector) or rebuttal (ordinary person or medical doctor) is positively associated with intention to take COVID-19 vaccine if the respondents perceived that the corrector was an expert.
Instantaneous optimum wheel slip estimation of anti-lock braking system based on extremum seeking algorithm and fuzzy method
Authors: Deylaghian Samira , Mirzaeinejad Hossein
Published: May 2023

The anti-lock braking system (ABS) adjusts the longitudinal wheel slip at its optimum value to achieve the maximum braking forces. The highest braking force capacity happens at a specific slip value and depends on the friction coefficient between the tire and the road, vertical tire force, and vehicle speed. Hence, using a fixed value for the desired longitudinal slip is not appropriate. To solve this problem, the instantaneous optimum wheel slip is determined via the sliding mode-based extremum seeking algorithm in combination with the fuzzy method to achieve the maximum possible brake deceleration. Then the nonlinear prediction-based controller is designed to find the braking torque by adjusting the longitudinal slip in the calculated desired value. In addition, a nonlinear half-vehicle model considering pitch dynamics is developed and validated with the Carsim software. The main contribution of the present work involves the combination of the optimal nonlinear predictive control method with the fuzzy extremum seeking algorithm to design a wheel slip controller. Additionally, the pitch dynamics has been taken into account in the design of the control system. The performance of the designed control system is investigated through conducted simulations in Matlab/Simulink software environment. The obtained results show an enhancement in the braking performance along with a considerable reduction in the stopping distance.
‘Learning from history is something that is important for the future’: Why Australian students think history matters
Authors: Cairns Rebecca , Garrard Kerri Anne
Published: May 2023

Research suggests young people generally do not perceive History to be a subject that is relevant to their lives and futures. Across the world, history curriculum policy regularly attracts public debate but, as it is usually dominated by political rhetoric, the students who experience it remain overlooked as policy actors with valuable perspectives. This article foregrounds the voices of Australian secondary school students by drawing on a national online survey that asked students about the relevance of History and the reasons for choosing it as a subject in the post-compulsory years. Concerned about lagging national enrolments in post-compulsory History subjects, we argue that student perspectives provide essential insights into understanding issues related to the status and sustainability of history education. Our thematic analysis demonstrates that students position the present and the future as key touchstones to measure the relevance of History. It explores how these themes relate to prevailing discursive conditions: popular discourse around the purpose of history, young people’s sense of temporality and hope during volatile times, and the futures discourse that frames the Australian curriculum policy context. The research provides impetus for innovating history curriculum policy and education policy more broadly in ways that are responsive to students.
Effectiveness of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy of Diabetic Foot Ulcers Using Periplaneta Americana (Kangfuxin Liquid) Irrigation
Authors: Sun Haojie , Yang Chengxin , Liu Xuekui , Liang Jun , Geng Houfa
Published: May 2023

This study was to evaluate the efficacy of Periplaneta Americana (Kangfuxin Liquid) relative to normal saline when applied in negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) with instillation for facilitating diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) healing. Eighty patients with Wagner grades 3 or 4 DFUs were enrolled in this retrospective study. Based on the treatment type, patients were equally assigned to either (i) an NPWT with Kangfuxin liquid instillation group (NPWT-K) or (ii) an NPWT with normal saline instillation group (NPWT-I). The primary study outcome was the wound healing rate and Kaplan-Meier survival estimate was used to examine the cumulative wound healing rate, while the secondary outcomes were the amputation rate, inpatient days, duration of antibiotic treatments, reinfection rate, new ulcer formation rate, readmission rate, and changes in the inflammatory markers (such as ESR, CRP, and PCT) and serum growth factors (including VEGF, EGF, and bFGF). The 12-week wound healing rate (31 of 40[77.5%] vs 22 of 40[55.0%], P = .033) and the cumulative wound healing rate was higher in the NPWT-K group than in the NPWT-I group ( P = .004). The wound healing time was shorter in the NPWT-K group (55 days [95% CI 50-60]) than in the NPWT-K group (64 days [95% CI 59-69], P = .016). Patients who received NPWT-K had fewer inpatient days and duration of antibiotic treatment and faced lower reinfection and readmission rates ( P < .05). After 1 week of treatment, the ESR, CRP, and PCT levels in the blood were lower in the NPWT-K group than in the NPWT-I group ( P < .05), while the VEGF, EGF, and bFGF levels in the NPWT-K group were higher than those in the NPWT-I group ( P < .001). The present study showed that NPWT with Kangfuxin liquid instillation was effective and showed significantly accelerated DFUs healing. Thus, Kangfuxin liquid is an effective instillation solution for use in the treatment of DFUs with NPWT.
Are Genetic Therapies for Epilepsy Ready for the Clinic?
Authors: Street James S. , Qiu Yichen , Lignani Gabriele
Published: May 2023

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in preclinical studies to test genetic therapies for epilepsy. Some of these therapies have advanced to clinical trials and are being tested in patients with monogenetic or focal refractory epilepsy. This article provides an overview of the current state of preclinical studies that show potential for clinical translation. Specifically, we focus on genetic therapies that have demonstrated a clear effect on seizures in animal models and have the potential to be translated to clinical settings. Both therapies targeting the cause of the disease and those that treat symptoms are discussed. We believe that the next few years will be crucial in determining the potential of genetic therapies for treating patients with epilepsy.
Charismatic Leadership Is Not One Size Fits All: The Moderation Effect of Intolerance to Uncertainty and Furlough Status During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Klein Galit , Delegach Marianna
Published: May 2023

This study aims to examine the effect of charismatic leadership on followers’ attitudinal, emotional, and well-being outcomes in a crisis setting. Combining leadership literature with Conservation of Resources and leader-follower distance theories, we propose that the effect of charismatic leadership on follower outcomes depends on the interplay between the follower's furlough status during the lockdown period and their Intolerance to Uncertainty (IU) dispositional characteristic. A cross-sectional study was conducted at two points in time: during the first lockdown (March–April 2020) and four months after the lockdown (August 2020). The final sample included 336 employees with data for both points in time ( n = 199 continued to work during the lockdown, n = 137 were on furlough). The findings confirmed the study's hypotheses and revealed that charismatic leadership significantly contributed to employee outcomes only in the case of furloughed employees with low levels of IU and of continuously-employed employees with high levels of IU. It did not make a similar contribution in the edge cases—employees with low IU levels who continued to work during the lockdown or those with high levels of IU who were furloughed. This study provides novel insights into the relationship between charismatic leadership effectiveness and follower outcomes, and informs managers how to better adjust their leadership style to their followers in a crisis setting. The findings extend our knowledge about charismatic leadership by suggesting the mutual contribution of the distance dimension and employee dispositional characteristics as a boundary condition to charismatic leadership effectiveness.
Documentary Assessment of the Abilities of Kyrgyzstan's Research Ethics Committees During Public Health Emergency and Non-Emergency Situations
Authors: Kudaibergenova Tamara , Ibrahim Muiz , Jain Nityanand , Vetra Janis
Published: May 2023

Institutional Research Ethics Committees (RECs) play crucial roles in the impartial and competent review of scientific research, particularly during public health emergencies. In this report, we examined their ability and capacity to provide this basic service during public health emergencies and non-emergency situations. Our qualitative documentary analysis revealed that there are currently no legal regulations guiding the activities of Kyrgyz RECs during public health emergencies. In addition, major policy gaps exist in how RECs should operate in non-emergency circumstances. This lack of guidance highlights the urgent need to develop and implement ethical guidelines to meet the evolving needs of such emergencies. Our findings underscore the growing urgency of supporting capacity building of RECs to respond effectively to future pandemics and other public health crises.
Principals’ achievement motives and implicit theories predict principals’ desired achievement goals for their students
Authors: Elliot Andrew J , Alzaidi Ahmed , Weissman David L , Kobeisy Ahmed Nezar M
Published: May 2023

The present research investigated principals’ achievement motives and implicit theories of intelligence as predictors of their desired achievement goals for their students. The research was highly powered and conducted in the understudied cultural context of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from 326 principals (175 female and 151 male) in single-sex elementary, middle, and high schools in the study. Results indicated that the need for achievement positively predicted all four achievement goals, whereas fear of failure positively predicted the two avoidance goals, mastery-avoidance, and performance avoidance. Incremental theory positively predicted the two approach goals, mastery-approach and performance-approach, as did entity theory; decremental theory negatively predicted mastery-approach goals. The findings were robust across principal and school characteristics. This research is novel regarding the study of principal achievement motivation and desired achievement goals for others and extends and enriches our understanding of achievement motivation.
Recognition Gaps and COVID Inequality: The Case of Immigrants in Sweden
Authors: Voyer Andrea , Barker Vanessa
Published: May 2023

In this article, we examine recognition gaps exposed by the coronavirus pandemic. We apply Lamont’s cultural processes of inequality framework to the critical case of COVID inequality during the first wave of the pandemic in Sweden – a period in which COVID-19 cases were concentrated among immigrants. We identify recognition gaps associated with five key cultural processes of inequality. Counter to the dominant narrative of Sweden as an open and equal society, our analysis uncovers cultural processes of inequality theorists have identified in other contexts: the racialization of immigrants; and the stigmatization and evaluation of immigrant spaces. We identify two additional cultural processes: resignification in which the State’s coronavirus response was directed toward ethnic Swedish people; and inversion, in which higher death rates among immigrants were relabeled as a natural and acceptable cause of COVID deaths. In addition to applying and extending the theory, we demonstrate the value of a focus on recognition for studies of health inequality. The recognition gaps we identify in this article are practical and solvable problems. In comparison with the challenges of managing large-scale economic redistribution or abolishing prejudice and stigmatization by addressing bias on a person-by-person basis, anticipating and counteracting the cultural processes of inequality is an actionable pathway to pursuing more just and equal societies.
A non-existent cemetery: The memory of Germans in today’s Belgrade
Authors: Giergiel Sabina , Taczyńska Katarzyna
Published: May 2023

This article demonstrates the post-World War II conflict of memory in Serbia, as manifested in the transformation of urban space in the post-war decades. The authors focus foremost on Zemun, a district of Belgrade which, between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, was home to a significant German population. The term ‘memoryscape’ (Sławomir Kapralski) is used to discuss changes in the urban fabric. Post-war manipulations of space, based on the ideological foundation of brotherhood and unity, and treating members of the German nation as collectively responsible for the war, resulted in the erasure of all traces of German presence in Zemun. The article describes the Zemun conflict of memory using the example of a German cemetery that was liquidated by the authorities after World War II. In the 1950s, a hospital was erected on the site of the former necropolis, and the area functions nowadays as a difficult-to-access ‘non-site of memory’ (Roma Sendyka). The tombstones from the destroyed cemetery were used to build the stairs leading to Kalwarija Park. For decades, this fact was treated as an urban legend, but its authenticity was confirmed when fragments of grave inscriptions were discovered on the slabs used in the stairs during renovation. Kalwarija Park itself constitutes a remnant of the German Catholic heritage of this area, now dominated by Orthodox residents.
The impact of temperament on functional and symptomatic relief and satisfaction after carpal tunnel release
Authors: Karaduman Mert , Bilgin Sırrı Sinan , Armangil Mehmet
Published: May 2023

The aim of this study was to compare the symptomatic, functional and satisfaction outcomes of patients with different temperaments undergoing carpal tunnel surgery by a single surgeon. Dominant temperaments of 171 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome were determined using the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A). Patients were divided into six temperament groups, and the impact of their respective group measured against preoperative and postoperative symptom severity and functional capacity using the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ] and satisfaction using the Patient Evaluation Measure (PEM). Patients in the depressive group had the largest improvement in symptoms (BCTQ score change, –2.2) as well as a significant improvement in function (BCTQ score change, –2.1), yet had the lowest postoperative satisfaction (mean PEM score 9). Determination of patient temperament before surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) may be useful as an ancillary technique to help predict postoperative satisfaction, which may in turn help guide preoperative communication and expectation setting.

Level of evidence: III
Novel Endoperoxide Steroid Derivatives Containing Thiazole Moiety as Potential Antitumor Agents: Design, Synthesis, and Cytotoxic Evaluation
Authors: Li Gang , Guo Xiaoshan , Ren Wenkang , Wang Jiafeng , Lv Zhen , Li Hongling , Sun Mingrui , Li Xiaoming , Chen Gang , Zhang Zhiguo , Zhang Wenting , Bu Ming
Published: May 2023

As part of the search for new steroid substances with potential application in oncology, a series of endoperoxide steroid derivatives (7a-n) containing a thiazole system were synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxicities in four tumor cell lines. Among them, compound 7h exhibited the most significant cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cells (IC50  =  4.54 μM), being more potent than ergosterol peroxide. Furthermore, 7h was able to promote apoptosis in HepG2 cells and decrease the mitochondrial membrane potential, accompanied by activating the expression of cytochrome c, caspase-9, caspase-3, and Bax, while Bcl-2 expression was suppressed. The molecular mechanism may refer to the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. On the whole, the above results incentivize the further study of 7h derivatives as potent anticancer agents.
Re-Imagining Research Co-Production: Dramatizing a Speculative State of the Youth
Authors: Duggan James R.
Published: May 2023

This article proposes an innovative approach for attending to and imaginatively engaging with the co-production in research co-production. Research co-production is a popular approach across diverse disciplines and national contexts but there are still questions as to what it means to co-produce research. In response to this problem, I propose we attend to and imaginatively engage with the co-production agenda’s neoliberalizing concerns, its histories, inheritances and functions, which relate to the neoliberalization of the state, society and the university. Drawing on the work of speculative and process approaches, especially A.N. Whitehead and Isabelle Stengers, the article dramatizes a co-produced research project focused on youth loneliness. Dramatization is an approach that seeks to find new stories, resources, and imaginations from which we might find a new beginning for our research practice. Four propositions drive this process of dramatization: inspire research co-production as eventful, admit that which we resist in co-production, move from contradictions to contrasts, and imagine state-like forms for research co-production. The eventful outcome is the re-imagining of co-production in relation to a speculative state-like form that is appropriate to authorize and value the collaborative knowledge that is created in collaborative research.
Risk factors and prognosis of thrombocytopenia in people living with HIV/AIDS
Authors: Lv Xiaoyan , Li Pengpeng , Yue Pengpeng , Tang Ping , Zhou Fuling
Published: May 2023

Background:

Thrombocytopenia is a common hematological manifestation in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS; PLWHA). Data on the prognostic relationship and associated factors of thrombocytopenia and HIV infection in China are limited.

Objectives:

We assessed the prevalence of thrombocytopenia, its association with prognosis, and analyzed the associated risk factors among demographic characteristics, comorbidities, hematological and bone marrow indicators.

Design:

We collected patients identified as PLWHA in Zhongnan Hospital. The patients were divided into two groups: the thrombocytopenia group and the non-thrombocytopenia group. We analyzed and compared demographic characteristics, comorbidities, peripheral blood cells, lymphocyte subpopulations, infection indicators, bone marrow cytology, and bone marrow morphology of the two groups. Then we analyzed the risk factors for thrombocytopenia and the effect of platelet (PLT) values on the prognosis of patients.

Methods:

Demographic characteristics and laboratory results were obtained from medical records. In contrast to other studies, we included bone marrow cytology and morphology in this study. Data were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression analysis. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to plot 60-month survival curves for the severe, mild, and non-thrombocytopenia groups. The value p < 0.05 was taken as statistically significant.

Results:

Among 618 identified PLWHA, 510 (82.5%) were male. Overall, thrombocytopenia was found in 37.7% [95% confidence interval (CI): 33.9–41.5%]. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that age ⩾40 years [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.869, 95% CI: 1.052–3.320], combined with hepatitis B (AOR 2.004, 95% CI: 1.049–3.826), high procalcitonin (PCT) count (AOR 1.038, 95% CI: 1.000–1.078) were risk factors of thrombocytopenia in PLWHA. An increased percentage of thrombocytogenic megakaryocytes was a protective factor, with an AOR 0.949 (95% CI: 0.930–0.967). Kaplan–Meier survival curve analysis showed that the prognosis was worse in the severe than in the mild ( p = 0.002) and non-thrombocytopenia groups ( p = 0.008).

Conclusion:

We discovered a general high pervasiveness of thrombocytopenia in PLWHA in China. Age ⩾40 years, combined with hepatitis B virus infection, high PCT, and decreased percentage of thrombocytogenic megakaryocytes indicated a higher risk for developing thrombocytopenia. A PLT count ⩽50 × 109/liter led to a worse prognosis. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of thrombocytopenia in these patients are useful.
The right-to-repair movement: Sustainability and consumer rights
Authors: Ozturkcan Selcen
Published: May 2023

The right-to-repair movement is a consumer rights movement that supports people’s freedom to repair and customize their gadgets, such as smartphones. To make diagnostic tools, repair manuals, and replacement parts available to the public, the movement continues to push for laws requiring manufacturers to do so. The movement, supported by legislation, is gaining traction as a fundamental human right. On the other hand, the right-to-repair movement received different responses from smartphone manufacturers, including Apple, Samsung, Google, and Nokia. This article describes the evolving market conditions and examines how various brands have reacted to the recent global tide. The article contributes to the efforts toward United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on several accounts since right-to-repair laws help reduce electronic waste and promote sustainable consumption.
Performance characteristics of diagnostic assays for schistosomiasis in Ontario, Canada
Authors: Lau Rachel , Makhani Leila , Omoruna Osaru , Lecce Celine , Shao Eric , Cunanan Marlou , Ralevski Filip , Cheema Karamjit , Boggild Andrea K.
Published: May 2023

Introduction:

Due to lower intensity of infection and greater intervals from last exposure, parasitologic detection methods for schistosomiasis are poorly sensitive in non-endemic areas, challenging accurate diagnosis.

Methods:

We evaluated parasitologic versus indirect detection methods for schistosomiasis. We included specimens submitted for Schistosoma serology, and stool for ova and parasite microscopy. Three real-time PCR assays targeting Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium were performed. Primary outcome measures were sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV), where both microscopy and serology were the composite reference standard against serum PCR.

Results:

Of 8168 serum specimens submitted for Schistosoma serology, 638 (7.8%) were reactive and 6705 (82.1%) were non-reactive. Of 156,771 stool specimens submitted for ova and parasite testing, 46 (0.03%) were positive for eggs of S. mansoni. Four (0.5%) urine specimens were positive for eggs of S. haematobium. Combined serum PCRs targeting S. mansoni had a sensitivity and specificity of 27.8% (95% CI = 18.3–39.1%) and 100% (95% CI = 83.9–100%), respectively, with PPV of 100% (95% CI = 100%) and NPV of 26.9% (95% CI = 24.3–29.7%). The one serum sample positive for S. haematobium was also detectable by our S. haematobium PCR. No cross-reactivity was observed for all three PCR assays.

Conclusions:

Although serology is highly sensitive, parasitologic tests signify active infection, but are limited by low population-level sensitivity, particularly in non-endemic settings. Although serum PCR offered no performance advantage over stool microscopy, its role in diagnostic parasitology should be pursued due to its high-throughput and operator-independent nature.
Knowledge, attitude, and perceived practice of sanitary workers on healthcare waste management: A descriptive cross-sectional study in Dodoma region,Tanzania
Authors: Millanzi Walter C , Herman Patricia Z , Mtangi Samweli A
Published: May 2023

Introduction:

Healthcare facilities produce a variety of trash that, if handled improperly, could endanger the environment, the health of patients and clients, healthcare personnel, and the general public. Health staff have been given training on infection control and healthcare waste management. It is not apparent whether similar initiatives are taken for sanitary personnel, though. By evaluating sanitary workers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices about healthcare waste treatment in the Dodoma region of Tanzania, this study sought to clarify the situation.

Methods:

From March to August 2022 in Dodoma, Tanzania, a descriptive cross-sectional study using a quantitative methodology was conducted on 156 randomly chosen sanitary workers. The primary data collection instruments were structured questionnaires that were conducted by interviewers and a trash checklist that the research team created. Statistical Package for Social Sciences computer software was used to conduct a descriptive analysis of the data with a 95% confidence level and a 5% level of significance.

Results:

The average age was 28 ± 6.2 years, and there were 74.4% females. Of all of the health institutions under study, 78.4% of the generated medical waste was non-infectious, whereas 21.6% of it was infectious. The share of non-infectious and infectious healthcare waste created by regional referral hospitals was 43.5% and 13.2%, respectively. While 67.8% of sanitary workers believed that handling healthcare waste was not their problem and 63.6% of sanitary workers actually displayed subpar practices of handling healthcare waste, 74.4% of sanitary workers had low understanding about handling healthcare waste. Their procedures for handling medical waste were substantially influenced by the kind of healthcare facility, sex, education, job experience, knowledge, and attitude ( p < 0.05).

Conclusion:

Sanitary staff members had limited understanding and thought they were less concerned with gathering, moving, and storing medical waste. To provide the highest level of health safety, national health policy and facility-based interventions must support and fund participatory waste management training that is tailored to the sociodemographic profiles of sanitary employees.
Digital health interventions to support family caregivers: An updated systematic review
Authors: Zhai Shumenghui , Chu Frances , Tan Minghui , Chi Nai-Ching , Ward Teresa , Yuwen Weichao
Published: May 2023

Objective

Chronic diseases are the leading causes of death and disability in the U.S., and disease management largely falls onto patients’ family caregivers. The long-term burden and stress of caregiving negatively impact caregivers’ well-being and ability to provide care. Digital health interventions have the potential to support caregivers. This article aims to provide an updated review of interventions using digital health tools to support family caregivers and the scope of the Human-Centered Design (HCD) approaches.

Methods

We conducted a systematic search on July 2019 and January 2021 in PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, ERIC, and ACM Digital Library, limiting to 2014–2021 to identify family caregiver interventions assisted by modern technologies. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation were used to evaluate the articles. Data were abstracted and evaluated using Rayyan and Research Electronic Data Capture.

Results

We identified and reviewed 40 studies from 34 journals, 10 fields, and 19 countries. Findings included patients’ conditions and relationships with family caregivers, how the technology is used to deliver the intervention, HCD methods, theoretical frameworks, components of the interventions, and family caregiver health outcomes.

Conclusion

This updated and expanded review revealed that digitally enhanced health interventions were robust at providing high-quality assistance and support to caregivers by improving caregiver psychological health, self-efficacy, caregiving skills, quality of life, social support, and problem-coping abilities. Health professionals need to include informal caregivers as an essential component when providing care to patients. Future research should include more marginalized caregivers from diverse backgrounds, improve the accessibility and usability of the technology tools, and tailor the intervention to be more culturally and linguistically sensitive.
Kinect-based objective evaluation of bradykinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease
Authors: Wu Zhuang , Gu Hongkai , Hong Ronghua , Xing Ziwen , Zhang Zhuoyu , Peng Kangwen , He Yijing , Xie Ludi , Zhang Jingxing , Gao Yichen , Jin Yue , Su Xiaoyun , Zhi Hongping , Guan Qiang , Pan Lizhen , Jin Lingjing
Published: May 2023

Objective

To quantify bradykinesia in Parkinson's disease (PD) with a Kinect depth camera-based motion analysis system and to compare PD and healthy control (HC) subjects.

Methods

Fifty PD patients and twenty-five HCs were recruited. The Movement Disorder Society-Sponsored Revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III (MDS-UPDRS III) was used to evaluate the motor symptoms of PD. Kinematic features of five bradykinesia-related motor tasks were collected using Kinect depth camera. Then, kinematic features were correlated with the clinical scales and compared between groups.

Results

Significant correlations were found between kinematic features and clinical scales ( P < 0.05). Compared with HCs, PD patients exhibited a significant decrease in the frequency of finger tapping ( P < 0.001), hand movement ( P < 0.001), hand pronation-supination movements ( P = 0.005), and leg agility ( P = 0.003). Meanwhile, PD patients had a significant decrease in the speed of hand movements ( P = 0.003) and toe tapping ( P < 0.001) compared with HCs. Several kinematic features exhibited potential diagnostic value in distinguishing PD from HCs with area under the curve (AUC) ranging from 0.684–0.894 ( P < 0.05). Furthermore, the combination of motor tasks exhibited the best diagnostic value with the highest AUC of 0.955 (95% CI = 0.913–0.997, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The Kinect-based motion analysis system can be applied to evaluate bradykinesia in PD. Kinematic features can be used to differentiate PD patients from HCs and combining kinematic features from different motor tasks can significantly improve the diagnostic value.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging-CCCFLS Scoring System: Toward Predicting Clinical Symptoms and C5 Paralysis
Authors: Wang Shunmin , Sun Jingchuan , Han Dan , Fan Jianping , Yu MM Yaping , Yang MM Haiqin , Gao Chunyan , Zhou XiaoNan , Guo Yongfei , Shi Jiangang
Published: May 2023

Study Design

A retrospective study.

Objective

To develop a new MRI scoring system to assess patients’ clinical characteristics, outcomes and complications.

Methods

A retrospective 1-year follow-up study of 366 patients with cervical spondylosis from 2017 to 2021. The CCCFLS scores (cervical curvature and balance (CC), spinal cord curvature (SC), spinal cord compression ratio (CR), cerebrospinal fluid space (CFS). Spinal cord and lesion location (SL). Increased Signal Intensity (ISI) were divided into Mild group (0-6), Moderate group (6-12), and Severe group (12-18) for comparison, and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores, visual analog scale (VAS), numerical rating scale (NRS), Neck Disability Index (NDI) and Nurick scores were evaluated. Correlation and regression analyses were performed between each variable and the total model in relation to clinical symptoms and C5 palsy.

Results

The CCCFLS scoring system was linearly correlated with JOA, NRS, Nurick and NDI scores, with significant differences in JOA scores among patients with different CC, CR, CFS, ISI scores, with a predictive model (R2 = 69.3%), and significant differences in preoperative and final follow-up clinical scores among the 3 groups, with a higher rate of improvement in JOA in the severe group ( P < .05), while patients with and without C5 paralysis had significant differences in preoperative SC and SL ( P < .05).

Conclusion

CCCFLS scoring system can be divided into mild (0-6). moderate (6-12), severe (12-18) groups. It can effectively reflect the severity of clinical symptoms, and the improvement rate of JOA is better in the severe group, while the preoperative SC and SL scores are closely related to C5 palsy.

Level of Evidence

III
Cervical Sagittal Alignment and Balance Associated With Aging Chinese Adults: A Radiographic Analysis
Authors: Jin Linyu , Liang Yan , Guo Chen , Zheng Bin , Liu Haiying , Xu Shuai
Published: May 2023

Study Design

This was a retrospective cohort radiographic study.

Objective

To determine the age- and gender-related normative values and correlation of cervical sagittal parameters in asymptomatic Chinese adults, and to explore the changes and compensating mechanisms across different age groups.

Methods

The asymptomatic subjects were divided into 6 groups according to age and then one-way analysis of variance was used to compare the multiple sets of cervical sagittal parameters among the different age groups. Independent t-tests were performed to compare the sagittal parameters among different gender and different cervical spine alignments. Relationships between each parameter were tested by Pearson’s correlation. Linear regression analysis based on T1 slope (T1S) and C2 slope (C2S) was used to provide an equation to predict normal cervical alignment.

Results

Mean values of each cervical sagittal parameter were presented based on age and gender. There were positive correlations between age and cervical lordosis (CL) (r = -.278, P < .001), T1S (r = .271, P < .001), cervical sagittal vertical axis (cSVA) (r = .218, P < .001), C2-C4 Cobb angle (r = -.283, P < .001), horacic inlet angle (TIA) (r = .443, P < .001), and neck tilt (NT) (r = .354, P < .001). Older groups (aged >50 years) had greater T1 Slope, C2S, and TIA. The C2-C4 Cobb angle maintained a steadily increasing trend and significantly increased in the older adult groups ( P < .05), while the C5-C7 Cobb angle was relatively constant. Mean values of parameters were larger in males ( P > .05). Linear regression analysis indicated a strong association between T1S and CL (R2 = .551, standard error 1.16°), T1S and C5-7 (R2 = .372; P < .001), and C2S and C2-4 (R2 = .309; P < .001).

Conclusions

Normative values of cervical sagittal parameters vary by age and sex. The CL, cSVA, and T1S, C2-4 Cobb angle changed with increasing age, and it can influence the recruitment of compensation mechanism. Normative CL of Chinese adults was predicted by the equation CL = T1S-14.7° ± 1.2°, which could serve as a reference when planning for cervical surgery.
Navigating New Terrain: First-Year Chinese Students’ Transitionary Experiences In a Sino-US Joint Venture University In China
Authors: Noman Mohammad , Kaur Amrita , Mullick Jahirul , Ran Liu
Published: May 2023

The growth of international higher education, with an increase in inbound students and the creation of foreign university branch campuses, has made quality education available globally. But this also presents challenges for academic adjustment for international students. Although there is a significant amount of literature on the struggles faced by international students studying abroad, there is limited research on the challenges faced by students attending International Branch Campuses (IBCs) within their home countries. This study aims to fill this gap by using a qualitative exploratory approach to understand the specific challenges faced by first-year university students in China at a Sino-US international branch campus. Data was collected through interviews and focus groups with 28 students, five faculty members, and three student support staff. The findings provide valuable insights into the institutional and teaching challenges faced by these students, which are different from those faced by international students studying abroad.
Inequality at the Starting Line: Underrepresentation in Gifted Identification and Disparities in Early Achievement
Authors: Long Daniel A. , McCoach D. Betsy , Siegle Del , Callahan Carolyn M. , Gubbins E. Jean
Published: May 2023

Is underrepresentation of Black students, Latinx students, English learners (EL), and students from economically challenging communities in gifted programs due to inequality in early academic achievement or bias in the gifted identification process? Using three-level multilevel logistic models, we examine the degree to which the disparities in gifted identification are due to disparities in early achievement. Our datasets include 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-grade achievement scores and demographic variables from all students in a 3rd-grade, 2011–2012 cohort across three states. Students who qualified for free/reduced-price lunch (FRPL), EL, and Black or Latinx students were between two to eight times less likely to be identified as gifted compared to non–free/reduced-price lunch, non-EL, and White or Asian students. However, between 50% and 100% of gifted identification disparities could be explained by student-level differences in early academic achievement, which is consistent with an opportunity gap explanation of underrepresentation.