bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1: a potential therapeutic target for neurological disorders
Authors: Loix Melanie , Vanherle Sam , Turri Marta , Kemp Stephan , Fernandes Karl J. L. , Hendriks Jerome J. A. , Bogie Jeroen F. J.
Published: November 2024

Disturbances in the fatty acid lipidome are increasingly recognized as key drivers in the progression of various brain disorders. In this review article, we delve into the impact of Δ9 fatty acid desaturases, with a particular focus on stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1), within the setting of neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and brain repair. Over the past years, it was established that inhibition or deficiency of SCD1 not only suppresses neuroinflammation but also protects against neurodegeneration in conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. This protective effect is achieved through different mechanisms including enhanced remyelination, reversal of synaptic and cognitive impairments, and mitigation of α-synuclein toxicity. Intriguingly, metabolic rerouting of fatty acids via SCD1 improves the pathology associated with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, suggesting context-dependent benign and harmful effects of SCD1 inhibition in the brain. Here, we summarize and discuss the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying both the beneficial and detrimental effects of SCD1 in these neurological disorders. We explore commonalities and distinctions, shedding light on potential therapeutic challenges. Additionally, we touch upon future research directions that promise to deepen our understanding of SCD1 biology in brain disorders and potentially enhance the clinical utility of SCD1 inhibitors.
The impact of enhanced cleaning on bacterial contamination of the hospital environmental surfaces: a clinical trial in critical care unit in an Egyptian hospital
Authors: Hamed Nermine Mahmoud Hassan , Deif Osama Ahmed , El-Zoka Aleya Hanafy , Abdel-Atty Magda Mohamed , Hussein Mohamed Fakhry
Published: November 2024

Background

Contaminated environmental surfaces play an important role in the transmission of pathogens that cause healthcare acquired infection (HAI). The present study aimed to assess the effect of enhanced cleaning techniques on bacterial contamination in high-touch areas compared to routine cleaning at the intensive care units (ICU) of the neurosurgery department of Alexandria Main University Hospital, Egypt.

Methods

The assessment of the knowledge and practices of healthcare cleaning workers and nurses was conducted through a questionnaire and an observational checklist. An educational program about enhanced cleaning was carried out for healthcare cleaning workers and nurses in one room of the ICU unit. Environmental surface swabs were taken from the two rooms of the ICU before and after cleaning (room A and room B). Room A was selected to apply the enhanced cleaning, and room B was selected for routine cleaning.

Results

A significant decrease in bacterial counts in the high-touch areas around the patients after the application of enhanced cleaning compared to routine cleaning (p < 0.001) was observed. Gram-negative bacteria isolated from high-touch areas accounted for 45.6% of the samples collected before enhanced cleaning, and they became 16.3% after enhanced cleaning (p < 0.001), while they accounted for 40% after routine cleaning. The enhanced cleaning intervention in Room A resulted in a significant reduction in total infections, decreasing from 18 cases in the six months prior to the intervention to 11 cases in the six months following its implementation. (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The effect of enhanced cleaning was evident in decreasing bacterial counts in the high-touch areas around the patient and consequently in the records of the HAI rate inside the ICU.

Clinical trial registration number

PACTR202402531001186, date: 15 February 2024, ‘retrospectively registered’.
An innovation potential and organizational performance: an integrative role of company’s dynamic capabilities
Authors: Fainshtein Elizaveta , Chkoniya Valentina , Fiore Mariantonietta , Serova Elena
Published: November 2024

The restaurant business plays a crucial role in the food economy and, like many industries, faces numerous challenges due to the rapid pace of change, driven by consumer trends and shifting demographics. In response to the pressure on businesses to adapt to these changing circumstances, new restaurant concepts, organizational structures and technologies have emerged in the hope of finding methods that are more agile during unpredictable times. The development of dynamic capabilities is a critical issue for both academics and practitioners, as it can enhance competitive advantages and improve organizational performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of dynamic capabilities on innovative potential and organizational performance. Through a literature review and the dynamic capability view, a theoretical model is proposed. This model was validated using the PLS-SEM technique, based on responses from 143 restaurants across eight of the largest Russian cities. The results indicate that dynamic capabilities related to the value proposition serve as a complete mediator in the relationship between a company's innovative potential and its performance in a highly volatile context. The proposed theoretical model is both unique and effective, demonstrating high explanatory power. This study enriches the existing literature on dynamic capabilities by addressing empirical research gaps and elucidating the mechanisms through which dynamic capabilities influence organizational performance.
Ganet: graph attention based Terracotta Warriors point cloud completion network
Authors: Gao Jian , Zhang Yuhe , Shiqin Gaoxue , Zhou Pengbo , Wen Yue , Geng Guohua
Published: November 2024

Point cloud completion technology is used to address incomplete three-dimensional point cloud data, predicting and reconstructing the original shape and details to achieve virtual restoration. While existing learning-based methods have made significant progress in point cloud completion, they still face challenges when dealing with noise and invisible data. To address these issues, this paper proposes a multi-layer upsampling network based on a graph attention mechanism, called GANet. GANet consists of three main components: (1) feature extraction; (2) seed point generation; (3) State Space Model-based Point Cloud Upsampling Layer. GANet demonstrates exceptional robustness in handling noise and invisible data. To validate the effectiveness of GANet, we applied it to Terracotta Warrior data. The Terracotta Warriors, as important cultural heritage, present a challenging test case due to damage and missing parts caused by prolonged burial and environmental factors. We trained and tested GANet on both the PCN dataset and Terracotta Warrior data, comparing it with several recent learning-based methods. Experimental results show that GANet can effectively reconstruct missing or damaged parts of 3D point clouds, providing more detailed and structurally accurate completion results. These completion models not only validate GANet’s effectiveness but also offer valuable references for cultural heritage restoration work.
Predictive biomarkers in daily anatomic pathology – is there something ready for sarcomas? A review and insights for future directions
Authors: Gallas Luiza Fadul , Pacca André Morales , de Andrade Natal Rodrigo
Published: November 2024

Sarcomas are tumors of mesenchymal origin that remain with poor prognosis. This review highlights some emerging predictive biomarkers that could drive personalized therapy, focusing on KIT, TP53, MDM2, CDK4 mutations, PRAME, INI1 and NF1. Research shows that there is a role for imatinib in some gastrointestinal stromal tumors with KIT mutations, and the TP53 mutation may someday serve as a biomarker to assist decision-making for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Amplifications of MDM2 and CDK4 are currently targets for new therapeutical drugs. For PRAME, there is perspective for tumors with high CTA expression with some T-cell mediated therapies. INI1 loss can be a target for tazemetostat treatment in patients with advanced epithelioid sarcoma, and studies have shown a role for Selumetinib in patients with NF1 mutations related tumors.
Inertial effects in discrete sampling information engines
Authors: Archambault Aubin , Crauste-Thibierge Caroline , Ciliberto Sergio , Bellon Ludovic
Published: November 2024

We describe an experiment on an underdamped mechanical oscillator used as an information engine. The system is equivalent to an inertial Brownian particle confined in a harmonic potential whose center is controlled by a feedback protocol which measures the particle position at a specific sampling frequency

. Several feedback protocols are applied and the power generated by the engine is measured as a function of the oscillator parameters and the sampling frequency. The optimal parameters are then determined. The results are compared to the theoretical predictions and numerical simulations on overdamped systems. We highlight the specific effects of inertia, which can be used to increase the amount of power extracted by the engine. In the regime of large τ, we show that the produced work has a tight bound determined by information theories.
Life satisfaction and school adaptation in children with special educational needs and those with typical development living in institutions
Authors: Καραγκούνη Φανή
Published: November 2024

Η διατριβή εξετάζει την ικανοποίηση από τη ζωή και τη σχολική προσαρμογή των παιδιών με ειδικές εκπαιδευτικές ανάγκες σε εκείνα με τυπική ανάπτυξη που ζουν σε ιδρύματα. Το δείγμα αποτελείται από 148 μαθητές με ειδικές εκπαιδευτικές ανάγκες και 100 με τυπική ανάπτυξη (σύνολο 248 μαθητές) ηλικίας 6 έως 18 ετών χωρισμένοι σε 6 ηλικιακές ομάδες. Η διατριβή δομείται σε μια εισαγωγή, τρία κεφάλαια, ένα συμπέρασμα, επιστημονικές συνεισφορές, αναφορές και παραρτήματα. Στο πρώτο κεφάλαιο της διατριβής παρουσιάζεται μια θεωρητική επισκόπηση των βασικών δομών που σχετίζονται με το αντικείμενο της διπλωματικής εργασίας. Το επιστημονικό πλαίσιο περιλαμβάνει αποσαφήνιση της έννοιας της ικανοποίησης από τη ζωή, της έννοιας της σχολικής προσαρμογής, πληροφορίες για την ανάπτυξη του παιδιού και την εννοιολόγηση των αναπηριών και την ειδική παιδαγωγική. Το δεύτερο κεφάλαιο της διατριβής αντικατοπτρίζει το σκηνικό και το σχεδιασμό της εμπειρικής μελέτης, συμπεριλαμβανομένων του σκοπού, των εργασιών, των υποθέσεων, της μεθοδολογίας και της στατιστικής επεξεργασίας δεδομένων της ψυχολογικής έρευνας που διεξήχθη. Το τρίτο κεφάλαιο παρουσιάζει τα αποτελέσματα με βάση την ανάλυση συχνότητας, την ανάλυση διακύμανσης ενός παράγοντα (ANOVA) και το Τ-test για ανεξάρτητα δείγματα. Τα αποτελέσματα απεικονίζονται μέσω πινάκων και γραφημάτων. Το συμπέρασμα παρουσιάζει τις κανονικότητες που αποκάλυψε η έρευνα σχετικά με την επίδραση των ειδικών εκπαιδευτικών αναγκών στην ικανοποίηση από τη ζωή και τη σχολική προσαρμογή των παιδιών σε σχέση με τη διάρκεια παραμονής στο ίδρυμα, καθώς και σε σχέση με την ηλικία και το φύλο των παιδιών. Επισημαίνεται η ανάγκη συνέχισης της μελέτης σε παιδιά από άλλα ιδρύματα στην Ελλάδα.
Development of cutting-edge methodologies for the systematic monitoring of emerging contaminants in biota samples using complementary high resolution mass spectrometry techniques
Authors: Γκότσης Γεώργιος
Published: November 2024

Η περιβαλλοντική ρύπανση σήμερα παραμένει ένα από τα πιο δύσκολα ζητήματα παγκοσμίως, καθώς τα υδάτινα, χερσαία και ατμοσφαιρικά οικοσυστήματα εκτίθενται καθημερινά σε ένα ποικίλο και δυναμικά μεταβαλλόμενο μείγμα χημικών ουσιών ανθρωπογενούς προέλευσης. Αυτές οι χημικές ουσίες, γνωστές ως οργανικοί ρύποι, κατανέμονται στα διάφορα περιβαλλοντικά τμήματα και ενδέχεται να προκαλέσουν αρνητικές επιπτώσεις στους οργανισμούς και, συνεπακόλουθα, στην ανθρώπινη υγεία. Οι μελέτες βιοπαρακολούθησης χρησιμοποιώντας άγρια ζωή αποτελούν προαπαιτούμενο για την αξιολόγηση της χωροχρονικής κατανομής των χημικών ουσιών, της αποτελεσματικότητας των καθιερωμένων μέτρων μετριασμού και, τελικά, για την κατανόηση της πραγματικής περιβαλλοντικής ρύπανσης και της ποιότητας των οικοσυστημάτων. Παρόλο που υπάρχουν δεδομένα παρακολούθησης σχετικά με την εμφάνιση νομοθετημένων ρύπων σε οργανισμούς, οι πληροφορίες σχετικά με την παρουσία και τη συμπεριφορά των αναδυόμενων ρύπων και των σύνθετων χημικών μειγμάτων στη διαθέσιμη βιβλιογραφία είναι περιορισμένες. Η υψηλή πολυπλοκότητα των οργανισμών, ο συνεχώς αυξανόμενος αριθμός οργανικών ρύπων και τα χαμηλά επίπεδα συγκέντρωσής τους στα περιβαλλοντικά διαμερίσματα αποτελούν τις κυριότερες προκλήσεις για την αναλυτική χημεία. Ως εκ τούτου, η ανάπτυξη ολοκληρωμένων αναλυτικών πρωτοκόλλων, η καθιέρωση μεθοδολογιών επεξεργασίας δεδομένων και διαδικασιών εκτίμησης κινδύνου είναι απαραίτητες.Ο κύριος στόχος της παρούσας διδακτορικής διατριβής ήταν η ανάπτυξη ενός ολιστικού αναλυτικού πρωτοκόλλου για την ολοκληρωμένη παρακολούθηση οργανικών ρύπων σε οργανισμούς από διαφορετικά τροφικά επίπεδα. Τα δεδομένα σχετικά με την παρουσία αυτών των χημικών ουσιών αποσκοπούν στην υποστήριξη των κανονιστικών αρχών στη λήψη τεκμηριωμένων αποφάσεων για την προστασία του περιβάλλοντος, της βιοποικιλότητας και της ανθρώπινης υγείας, ευθυγραμμιζόμενα με τις αρχές της πρωτοβουλίας Ενιαία Υγεία.Σε αυτό το πλαίσιο, η ανάπτυξη μιας προηγμένης αναλυτικής πλατφόρμας (LC- και GC-HRMS) επέτρεψε την ολοκληρωμένη παρακολούθηση των νομοθετημένων και αναδυόμενων ρύπων, καθώς και των μεταβολιτών και προϊόντων μετασχηματισμού τους, σε κορυφαίους θηρευτές και τα θηράματά τους από σημαντικά οικοσυστήματα σε όλη την Ευρώπη (Κεφάλαια 3 και 4). Επιπλέον, αξιοποιώντας τις δυνατότητες της τεχνικής LC-TIMS-HRMS και εφαρμόζοντας στοχευμένη σάρωση ευρείας εφαρμογής και μη στοχευμένη σάρωση, με χρήση προηγμένων εργαλείων επεξεργασίας για την ανάλυση δεδομένων 4-D, αποκαλύφθηκε το χημικό αποτύπωμα των PFAS σε οργανισμούς (Κεφάλαιο 5).
Governmental expenditure and National development of Nigeria, 1990-2020: an empirical review
Authors: Atobatele Abolaji , Moliki Ahmed , Olaoye Olusegun , GBEREVBIE Daniel , Dele-Dada Moyosoluwa
Published: November 2024

Background One of the main goals of the government is to ensure a development that would enhance the living standard of the people in the society. In this regard, capital expenditure that would promote infrastructure is most desired. However, in Nigeria, the government spends more on administrative cost (recurrent expenditure) than capital expenditure. Under such condition, contributions to economic growth and national development become an illusion. Methods This study employed Augmented Dickey Fuller Test (ADF) with Bound testing procedure, time series data that covers the period from 1990 to 2020 in Nigeria were used. Results The result from the analysis showed that governmental expenditure has a significant effect on the national development of Nigeria. All the variables have a long-run relationship with economic growth (RGDP), according to the ARDL model’s results. If the government poor policies on education, health services, and infrastructure etc. are addressed, in the long-run, Nigeria will achieve monumental development. Conclusion The study adopted indices such as expenditure on Social and Community Services, Economic Services and Administrative Services to reflect the dynamics of government expenditure coupled with the yearly data garnered from the Central Bank of Nigeria spanning from 1990 to 2020.
Georg Markus Knoch (1695–1759). Gdański księgarz i nakładca
Authors: Imańska Iwona
Published: November 2024

This is the first comprehensive study of the bookselling and publishing activities of Georg Markus Knoch (1695–1759). […] In this publication, the author has deepened knowledge about the Koch bookshop and was the first person to sort out the publishing output of this publisher as well as to characterise its profile, the editorial side of works, their distribution and the scope of influence. Based on archival sources, she has supplemented the biography of Georg Markus Koch and the book institution in Gdańsk. The wealth and diversity of the sources used and the multilingual studies, subjected to critical analysis, allowed the author to achieve the ambitious goal of taking a complex approach to the activities of the outstanding bookseller and publisher from Gdańsk in the Enlightenment period. The publication introduces into the scientific circulation a lot of new information and issues important for the culture of Gdańsk and the Republic of Poland in the Enlightenment. It will inspire further research, not only by those who are concerned with the development of the book institution and its life. Excerpt from the review
Metody i narzędzia budowania społecznej odporności na dezinformację: od fact-checkingu po edukację medialną
Authors: Pamuła Natalia , Krysiński Przemysław , Kowalska-Chrzanowska Małgorzata
Published: November 2024

This book raises the issue of disinformation, long-term ways of fighting against it, as well as strategies, methods and tools used in this process. The publication is embedded in the field of information science, but the considerations also include pedagogy, social psychology and computer science.  In order to reflect the complex nature of the phenomenon of disinformation, the book discusses models for recognising disinformation, methodologies for verifying information used by selected fact-checking organisations around the world, and technological tools supporting the recognition and verification of information. In addition to immediate methods of combating fake news (fact-checking), the book also presents aspects related to long-term educational activities. For this purpose, initiatives concerning information education in various EU countries are compared, and selected educational initiatives supporting the fight against disinformation in Poland and around the world are characterised. A set of recommendations for designers of e-learning courses related to defense against disinformation is also proposed.
Pogoda ducha – przejaw przezwyciężenia zniechęcenia, rozpaczy i nihilizmu. Spuścizna księdza Franciszka Blachnickiego
Authors: Żywczok Alicja
Published: November 2024

Artykuł stanowi rekonstrukcję biograficzną oraz propozycję interpretacji tej części dziedzictwa księdza Franciszka Blachnickiego, która dotyczy problematyki felicytologicznej, a zwłaszcza jednej z jej kategorii – pogody ducha. Zaprezentowaniu wyników badań służy odpowiednia struktura artykułu. W jego części początkowej sprecyzowano zasadnicze pojęcia, podano założenia metodologiczne, a także nakreślono wizerunek księdza Blachnickiego jako człowieka pogodnego po to, by fakty biograficzne usytuować w szerszym kontekście. Następnie dokonano uściśleń, w wyniku których ukazano jego pojmowanie pogody ducha i sposobów jej osiągania m.in. dzięki odpowiedniemu procesowi edukacyjnemu. Wyodrębniono oraz opisano przeciwieństwa pogody ducha, takie jak: smutek, przygnębienie, defetyzm, rozpacz, odnalezione w dorobku Blachnickiego. Przekaz ten wzbogacono wskazówkami, które można uznać za sugestie etyczne, społeczne i wychowawcze Blachnickiego skierowane do współczesnych ludzi. Spuścizna ta stanowi oryginalne, inspirujące studium duchowe, dlatego warto zadbać o odpowiednie odczytywanie przez kolejne pokolenia zawartego w nim pouczenia oraz przesłania.
Revitalising Rural and Township Youth Ministry in South Africa through Digital Innovation
Authors: Ntsanwisi Samuel
Published: November 2024

This article explores the potential of digital innovation in revitalising rural and township youth ministry in South Africa, acknowledging the challenges churches face in engaging their youth in the evolving digital landscape. The study advocatesfor integrating digital platforms to complement physical interactions, emphasising the need for strategies resonating with digitally connected youth. Public theology is introduced as a paradigm encouraging the intertwining of faith with societal needs. Whilerecognising the promise of digital engagement, the article addresses unique challenges in rural areas, proposing solutions such as community access points and partnerships for inclusivity. The collaborative model envisions a hybrid approach, blending physical and virtual interactions through a game-like platform. The methodology involves a comprehensive literature review and cross-sectional analysis of successful digital engagement initiatives, informing a dynamic model. In conclusion, the article arguesthat embracing digital innovation and public theology can bridge traditional and techsavvy preferences, fostering a vibrant youth community with spiritual growth and meaningful societal impact.
Prawicowy populizm jako wyzwanie dla edukacji religijnej w Polsce
Authors: Chrostowski Mariusz
Published: November 2024

Prawicowi populiści w Polsce od lat poddają instrumentalizacji Kościół katolicki i religię chrześcijańską. Czynią to, aby możliwie skutecznie osiągnąć założone plany polityczne za pomocą licznych manipulacji i kłamstw, a także potęgując dychotomie społeczne i postawy ksenofobiczne w polskim społeczeństwie. Owe problematyczne zjawiska szerzą się dziś szczególnie wśród młodych Polaków i należy je tym samym uznać za naglące wyzwanie dla szkolnej edukacji religijnej. W tym kontekście celem niniejszego artykułu jest nie tylko teoretyczna analiza zjawiska prawicowego populizmu w Polsce, z uwzględnieniem jego oddziaływania na demokrację, Kościół katolicki, młodych ludzi, jak i samą edukację religijną, lecz także, w efekcie, zaproponowanie koncepcyjnych i praktycznych implikacji przeciwdziałania prawicowemu populizmowi.
Code and Data Repository for A Data-Driven Optimization Framework for Static Rebalancing Operations in Bike Sharing Systems
Authors: Liu Junming , Chen Weiwei , Sun Leilei
Published: November 2024

This repository provides an end-to-end solution to the static rebalancing operations in bike sharing systems. The study uses the raw data of bike demand and station inventory status to generate the optimal rebalancing routes that reallocate system-wide bike inventories among stations during the night to maintain a high service level while minimizing demand loss due to stockout or overcapacity. The repository reports the raw data, algorithms, and extensive numerical experiments reported in the paper, using real-world data from New York City Citi Bike.
Conditional Approval and Value-Based Pricing for New Health Technologies
Authors: Yapar Özge , Chick Stephen E. , Gans Noah
Published: November 2024

Health technology assessments often inform decisions made by public payers, such as the UK’s National Health Service, as they negotiate the pricing of companies’ new health technologies. A common assessment mechanism compares the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of the new health technology, relative to a standard of care, to a maximum threshold on the cost per quality-adjusted life year. In much research and practice, these assessments may not distinguish between cost-per-patient and negotiated price, effectively ignoring the value-based-pricing principle that better health outcomes merit higher prices. Other research makes this distinction, but it does not account for uncertainty in the ICER associated with clinical trial data that are limited in size and scope. This paper models the strategic behavior of a payer and a company as they price a new health technology, and it considers the use of conditional approval (CA) schemes whose post-marketing trials reduce ICER uncertainty before final pricing decisions are made. Analytical results suggest a very different view of the value-based pricing negotiations underlying these schemes: interim prices used during CA post-marketing trials should reflect cost-sharing for the CA scheme, not just cost-effectiveness goals for a treatment. Moreover, the types of caps on interim prices used by entities such as the UK Cancer Drugs Fund may hinder the development of new technologies and lead to suboptimal CA designs. We propose a new risk-sharing mechanism to remedy this. Numerical results, calibrated to approval data of an oncology drug, illustrate the issues in a practical setting.

This paper was accepted by Stefan Scholtes, healthcare management.

Funding: Financial support from the Mack Institute for Innovation Management at the Wharton School to the authors and the support of Dr. Simba Gill and Sabi Dau to the INSEAD Healthcare Management Initiative are gratefully acknowledged.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.03628 .
Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis triggered by cytomegalovirus reactivation in an immunosuppressed patient with pauci-immune glomerulonephritis
Authors: Docquier Léa , Beklevic Ishak , Treille de Grandseigne Serge , Guillaume Benoit , Pourcelet Aline
Published: November 2024

We report on a 67-year-old male patient admitted to the Internal Medicine department for fever, joint pain and exertional dyspnoea. Two months before his admission, the patient had been diagnosed with pauci-immune necrotising glomerulonephritis, for which he had been treated with rituximab and corticosteroids. Upon admission the patient was stable, but within a few hours he became unstable as liver failure and acute cytopaenia occurred. Blood investigations revealed cytopaenia, altered coagulation tests, high ferritin, triglycerides, lactate dehydrogenase and C-reactive protein levels, and severe cytocholestasis. A liver echography was normal. The patient had been transferred to the intensive care unit to receive supportive support when the cytomegalovirus polymerase chain reaction (CMV-PCR) test came back positive. The diagnosis of haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis associated with a CMV infection and/or reactivation in an immunosuppressed patient was made. Specific treatment was administrated, along with symptomatic treatment. The patient clinically improved during hospitalisation with complete resolution of symptoms.
Clinical digest
Authors: Batas Renata
Published: November 2024

A brief overview of recently published articles on wound, ostomy and continence care
Suite success
Authors: Harvey Bill
Published: November 2024

Bill Harvey tries out the latest suite of dry eye assessment and management tools from Essilor Instruments and suggests it represent an excellent initial investment for those wishing to set up a dedicated dry eye management service
Sourcing solutions
Authors: McClean Andrew
Published: November 2024

Alex Stewart tells Andrew McClean about his switch from DO to CLO then OO
Blur sensitivity interactive
Authors: Harvey Bill , Mallen Edward
Published: November 2024

Bill Harvey and Professor Edward Mallen offer an overview of your responses to the interactive CPD exercise based upon the two-part series which considered the concept of blur sensitivity and how it might impact on eye care (C103740, suitable for logging as one interactive CPD point for optometrists and dispensing opticians)
CPD: What advice about supplementation should eye care practitioners provide to dry eye patients?
Authors: Yadana Tun Khin
Published: November 2024

Khin Yadana Tun reviews the published scientific evidence regarding the efficacy of nutritional supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids in treating dry eye disease and suggests what eye care practitioners should advise their patients. This is an edited version of the 2022 City University/Optician Best Dissertation prize-winner. (C104332, suitable for logging as one provider-led distance learning CPD point for optometrists, contact lens opticians and dispensing opticians)
Dry eye disease: a soap opera?
Authors: Farrant Sarah
Published: November 2024

Sarah Farrant describes a recent case of dry eye disease exhibiting signs of saponification, a sign that is all too often overlooked
Faces of the signed Birkhoff polytopes
Authors: Chen Zhi , Zhu Kebin
Published: November 2024

We study faces of the signed Birkhoff polytopes, denoted by $\Omega_n^{\pm}$. We describe its nonempty faces, $1$-dimensional faces, $2$-dimensional faces, and facets. Moreover, we study the diameter and Hamiltonian connectivity of the graph of $\Omega_n^{\pm}$. In the end, we show that the reduced Gröbner basis of the toric ideal of the signed Birkhoff polytope $\Omega_n^{\pm}$ with respect to the graded reverse lexicographic order induced by rank orders has square-free initial monomials of degree $\leq n$.
Variations in Site Conditions and Blast Geometry on The Formation of Toxic Gas (Fumes) in Open-Pit Coal Mining
Authors: Hartami* Pantjanita Novi , Maulana Yuga , Purwiyono Taat Tri , Tuheteru Edy Jamal , Marmer Handoyo
Published: November 2024

The blasting activity generates one of the effects in the form of toxic gases (fumes) that can disturb living beings around them. Fumes formation is formed by the reaction of the explosive material not in a zero oxygen balance condition, and is influenced by several factors including the condition of the blast hole, rock moisture content, blast hole temperature and relative humidity, sleep blast, explosive material ratio, and poor confinement stemming. This study investigates the variations in site condition and blast geometry on the formation fumes in open-pit coal mining. This research was conducted at the coal mine of Kaltim Prima Coal (PT KPC) to quantitatively measure the levels of toxic gas (fumes) resulting from blasting activities. In-situ measurements were conducted using a gas detector suspended above a drone. From the measurement results, it was found that blasting activities at the PT KPC coal mine produce CO and NO2 gases in toxic gas visual conditions at Levels 0 and 1A. The CO gas levels resulting from blasting activities ranged from 60.34 to 324.79 ppm, and the NO2 gas levels ranged from 0.3 to 2.11 ppm. From the trial results, by altering the explosive material ratio, toxic gas visual conditions were observed at Level 2A with CO gas levels of 360.29 ppm and NO2 gas levels of 3.16 ppm. The formation of CO and NO2 gases from blasting is influenced by the blast hole temperature and humidity, as well as differences in explosive material ratios. Based on the gas CO and NO2 level measurements, according to the threshold values with the maximum exposure level for humans over a 15-minute period for both gases, it was determined that workers could safely return to the blasting site in less than 1 minute.
Freedom of Choice: Re-reading Catherine Maria Sedgwick’s Hope Leslie
Authors: Carithers David
Published: November 2024

Abstract: Catherine Maria Sedgwick’s 1827 novel Hope Leslie can be read as one of the first pieces of serious American literature to afford full respect and humanity to Native American characters. The novel’s ending suggests that the whole is about a woman’s right to choose, especially when the choice stands in direct conflict with prevailing authority and tradition. In this light, Hope Leslie can inspire rich conversations about today’s political culture and, as such, deserves a place in the contemporary classroom.
Tenderness, and: Eclipse, and: Phoenix
Authors: Berta Katie
Published: November 2024

Abstract: “Tenderness”: In this poem, the speaker thinks about the ways that her value is not reflected by her labor and goes to the dentist. “Eclipse”: In this poem, the speaker compares the moon to a glass of vodka. “Phoenix”: In this poem, the speaker reflects on the ways the place she lives is inhospitable to life.
As It Is, and: This Way, and: On Love, and: Another Way to Say Dying
Authors: Hughes E.
Published: November 2024

Abstract: “As It Is”: This poem explores the precarity of new love and the landscape of new sexual experience. “This Way”: This poem thumbs the relationship between trauma and sex—and how they complicate new experiences of love. “On Love”: This poem surveys the way one contends with the pain inflicted by a parent and the reality of caring for that ill parent.
Settler Colonialism and Infrastructural Decay: A Historical Perspective
Authors: Ylivuori Soile
Published: November 2024

Abstract: This essay provides an overview of analytical possibilities provided by a historical investigation of infrastructure's temporal fragility within a settler colonial context. Since infrastructure was a tool for forging white supremacy through the creation of a capitalist and exploitative plantationoscene, the essay suggests that the tropicality-induced accelerated decay of plantation works, dwellings, and roads worked to both entrench and subvert colonial power relations. Examining infrastructure as assemblages of human and non-human animals, matter, space, labor, and emotion can bring out the tensions embedded in Enlightenment racial thought, European imperial power, and economic, ecological, and epistemological subjugation of colonized space. Moreover, the essay concludes, such analyses can help us shift our analytical gaze towards less anthropocentric actors, agencies, and histories.
Moral Economy, Mixed Economy, and the Biohazardous Shaping of Health Infrastructure in Eighteenth-Century London
Authors: Siena Kevin
Published: November 2024

Abstract: This study analyzes London workhouse infirmaries in the eighteenth century to explore how medical infrastructure was produced and administered through negotiated contestation between local elites and the poor they governed. It shows how workhouse infirmaries manufactured and reinforced social arrangements at a time of transition when advancing capitalism fractured elements of the traditional caring economy. Yet, the codifying of customary social obligations in the Old Poor Law afforded the sick poor considerable traction in their demands for medical care, demands that resulted in tangible changes to the structure and purpose of medical infrastructure during the early stages of industrialization.
Infrastructure, Modernity, and Periodization
Authors: Nemser Daniel
Published: November 2024

Abstract: Scholars of the infrastructural turn have generally described infrastructure in relation to modernity, and modernity in terms of the Enlightenment, highlighting the association between circulation and progress in Enlightenment thought as infrastucture's conceptual ground. This essay questions this periodization of infrastructural modernity by exploring the case of a late-sixteenth-century road project in colonial Mexico, which formed part of a global assemblage of infrastructures that wove together the emerging racial capitalist world system. Building on the work of Nancy Fraser, it proposes an alternative approach to periodizing infrastructural modernity that can distinguish and track transformations between historical regimes of accumulation.
Ecumenical Similarities between Ignatian and Quaker Dialogic Leadership Principles, Processes, and Application within Large Secular University Contexts
Authors: Nielsen Richard P.
Published: November 2024

precis: This essay seeks to articulate the relationships between Ignatian and Quaker "seeking that of Go[o]d in all things" and the "servant leadership" method, and between "communal discernment" and the "service-based participative group decision-making" process methods. These core principles and processes are related to what has been termed "wider ecumenism," "bottom-up ecumenism," and "tactical ecumenism." Large Jesuit and Quaker universities have experienced similar marginalization and even the disappearance of meaningful Ignatian and Quaker presence and mission. These process methods can incorporate the key ecumenical principles within large secular university contexts and help preserve, adapt, harmonize, and partner with core cross-tradition and ecumenical foundations, even when the core principles are at some disconnect from contemporary secular organizational cultures and systems.
What Participatory Research and Methods Bring To Ethics: Insights From Pragmatism, Social Science, and Psychology
Authors: Racine Eric
Published: November 2024

ABSTRACT: Ethics can be envisioned as a process where human beings move from a more passive stance in their moral lives to a more active one, in which the moral aspects of their lives become the basis of a project to best live one's life. Participatory research and methods would appear essential to ethics in this light, yet they remain rather marginally used in bioethics. In this article, I argue that participatory research methods are particularly compelling means of ethical enactments because of their ability—when carried out properly—to help promote self-actualization. Although I cannot review in detail the vast array of participatory research undertaken in management, education, communication, and so on, I pinpoint the advantages of this orientation to research, especially in light of a pragmatist and deliberative form of ethics that aims to help understand and enact human flourishing. These advantages include: (1) the co-understanding and co-reconstruction of problem situations and responses; (2) the importance attributed to meaning and intersubjectivity; (3) mutual learning (moral co-learning); (4) empowerment for effective eudemonistic change; and (5) opening the evaluation of outcomes to human flourishing. I also explain that these attributes of participatory research and methods do not preclude the use of non-participatory methods and approaches in ethics.
Three Revisionary Implications of Buddhist Animal Ethics
Authors: Baker Calvin
Published: November 2024

Abstract: Many accept the following three theses in animal ethics. First, although animal welfare should not be—or at least, need not be—our top moral priority, it is not a trivial one either. Second, if an animal is sentient, then it is a moral patient. Third, the extinction of an animal species is a tragic outcome that we have moral reason to prevent. I argue that a traditional (i.e., pre-modern) Buddhist perspective pushes against the first thesis and that a naturalized Buddhist perspective is inconsistent with the latter two.
Calligraphy as a Symbol System
Authors: Ravasio Matteo , Liu Jiachen , Zhu Ye
Published: November 2024

Abstract: We apply to the art of calligraphy some of the semiotic concepts developed by Nelson Goodman. While this framework cannot describe everything that is interesting and valuable about specific calligraphic traditions, we argue that it can nonetheless elegantly capture some distinctive features of calligraphy and of its position among other major art forms.
Mirror-symmetry-protected metasurfaces enable ultra-broadband tailored transmission with invariant reflection
Authors: Ma Xiaoxuan , Chu Hongchen , Li Xiangteng , Lai Yun
Published: November 2024

In this work, we demonstrate a unique class of ultra-broadband mirror-symmetry-protected metasurfaces capable of achieving independent control over transmission and unaffected specular reflection. By leveraging mirror symmetry between two metaatoms, they are capable of generating out-of-phase transmission and in-phase reflection with different polarizations in an ultra-broad spectrum. This enables the flexible control of the transmission via designing the arrangement of the meta-atoms while, at the same time, retaining the same specular reflection regardless of the arrangement. Through microwave experiments, we have verified the functionalities of the mirror-symmetry-protected metasurfaces in a broad spectrum, such as beam splitting and diffusing in transmission, with undistorted specular reflection. This function, strictly protected by the mirror symmetry between the meta-atoms, is independent of detailed structure, material loss, and frequency. Extension to higher frequencies, like the infrared regime, has also been verified by simulations. Our work paves a road towards ultra-broadband metasurfaces, offering unprecedented broadband asymmetric control of electromagnetic waves.
Polymerization-induced modification of the switching process of a nematic liquid crystal
Authors: Kajkowska Marta , Chychłowski Miłosz , Budaszewski Daniel , Lesiak Piotr
Published: November 2024

In this paper we demonstrate a method for modification of liquid crystal’s switching process by utilizing selective photopolymerization of a nematic liquid crystal-based composite. The proposed method is based on point-by-point irradiation of a uniformly oriented nematic with high intensity blue laser to create short polymer chains. Obtaining such short chains, instead of a typical polymer network, is possible thanks to irradiation of the composite only at one small point at a time and heating of the material resulting from absorption of radiation. Consequently, the polymerized pattern is visible only during reorientation of liquid crystal.
Efficient modelling of infectious diseases in wildlife: A case study of bovine tuberculosis in wild badgers
Authors: Konzen Evandro , Delahay Richard J. , Hodgson Dave J. , McDonald Robbie A. , Brooks Pollock Ellen , Spencer Simon E. F. , McKinley Trevelyan J.
Published: November 2024

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) has significant socio-economic and welfare impacts on the cattle industry in parts of the world. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, disease control is complicated by the presence of infection in wildlife, principally the European badger. Control strategies tend to be applied to whole populations, but better identification of key sources of transmission, whether individuals or groups, could help inform more efficient approaches. Mechanistic transmission models can be used to better understand key epidemiological drivers of disease spread and identify high-risk individuals and groups if they can be adequately fitted to observed data. However, this is a significant challenge, especially within wildlife populations, because monitoring relies on imperfect diagnostic test information, and even under systematic surveillance efforts (such as capture-mark-recapture sampling) epidemiological events are only partially observed.

To this end we develop a stochastic compartmental model of bTB transmission, and fit this to individual-level data from a unique > 40-year longitudinal study of 2,391 badgers using a recently developed individual forward filtering backward sampling algorithm. Modelling challenges are further compounded by spatio-temporal meta-population structures and age-dependent mortality. We develop a novel estimator for the individual effective reproduction number that provides quantitative evidence for the presence of superspreader badgers, despite the population-level effective reproduction number being less than one. We also infer measures of the hidden burden of infection in the host population through time; the relative likelihoods of competing routes of transmission; effective and realised infectious periods; and longitudinal measures of diagnostic test performance. This modelling framework provides an efficient and generalisable way to fit state-space models to individual-level data in wildlife populations, which allows identification of high-risk individuals and exploration of important epidemiological questions about bTB and other wildlife diseases.
A novel statistical framework for meta-analysis of total mediation effect with high-dimensional omics mediators in large-scale genomic consortia
Authors: Xu Zhichao , Wei Peng
Published: November 2024

Meta-analysis is used to aggregate the effects of interest across multiple studies, while its methodology is largely underexplored in mediation analysis, particularly in estimating the total mediation effect of high-dimensional omics mediators. Large-scale genomic consortia, such as the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program, comprise multiple cohorts with diverse technologies to elucidate the genetic architecture and biological mechanisms underlying complex human traits and diseases. Leveraging the recent established asymptotic standard error of the R-squared (R2)-based mediation effect estimation for high-dimensional omics mediators, we have developed a novel meta-analysis framework requiring only summary statistics and allowing inter-study heterogeneity. Whereas the proposed meta-analysis can uniquely evaluate and account for potential effect heterogeneity across studies due to, for example, varying genomic profiling platforms, our extensive simulations showed that the developed method was more computationally efficient and yielded satisfactory operating characteristics comparable to analysis of the pooled individual-level data when there was no inter-study heterogeneity. We applied the developed method to 5 TOPMed studies with over 5800 participants to estimate the mediation effects of gene expression on age-related variation in systolic blood pressure and sex-related variation in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. The proposed method is available in R package MetaR2M on GitHub.
Application of alkaline phosphatase-to-hemoglobin and lactate dehydrogenase-to-hemoglobin ratios as novel noninvasive indices for predicting severe acute pancreatitis in patients
Authors: Chen Sha-Yan , Song Xue-Jing , Lu Jiong-Tang , Liang Jian-Xin , Ouyang Hao , Zheng Wei-Hua , Chen Jian-Jun , Yin Zheng-Gang , Li Hui-Min , Zhou Yong
Published: November 2024

Preventing the progression of acute pancreatitis (AP) to severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is crucial for AP patients. The use of clinical parameters in laboratory facilities for predicting SAP can be rapid, efficient, and cost-effective. This study aimed to investigate the predictive and prognostic value of collected clinical detection parameters, such as serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, and their ratios, such as ALP-to-hemoglobin (Hb) and LDH-to-Hb ratios, for the prediction of SAP occurrence, complications, and mortality. In all, 50 healthy controls (CON), 455 patients with mild acute pancreatitis (MAP), 127 patients with moderately severe acute pancreatitis (MSAP), and 93 patients with SAP were included in the study. Thirty clinical parameters were collected, measured, compared, and analyzed. The ratios of ALP/Hb and LDH/Hb were subsequently calculated and evaluated with respect to gender and age and whether they could predict SAP occurrence, complications, and mortality. The results revealed that 15 parameters were significant for the prediction of AP. Furthermore, the following 6 indicators are associated with the occurrence of SAP: ALP, ALP/Hb, LDH, LDH/Hb, CRP, and blood glucose. Among these parameters, the predictive abilities of ALP/Hb and LDH/Hb for SAP were most effective. However, they fail to differentiate between MAP and MSAP or gender in SAP patients. Positive correlations were only observed between the levels of these indicators and age at onset of SAP. In addition, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to predict SAP incidence rates, complications, and mortality. The area under the curve (AUC) values for the ALP/Hb ratio ranged from 0.7097 to 0.7837, whereas those for the LDH/Hb ratio ranged from 0.5043 to 0.7778. These findings suggest that ALP and LDH alone or in combination with Hb possess unique predictive characteristics that may serve as independent factors for predicting SAP occurrence, complications, and mortality; of these, the ALP/Hb ratio is especially predictive of SAP mortality.