bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Agent-Based Modelling for Strategy
Authors: Knudsen Thorbjørn
Published: February 2024

Agent-based modelling (ABM) in strategic management research has emerged as a powerful tool for investigating micro-to-macro linkages in organizational behaviour, allowing for increased complexity, realism, and examination of behaviours that exhibit bounded rationality. This bottom-up approach is foundational for understanding emergent phenomena in strategic management, such as how transactive memory systems influence knowledge exchange and performance. ABM facilitates a more realistic representation of firm and industry behaviours, offering dynamic exploration into processes like mutual learning, cultural transmission, and the interplay between artificial intelligence (AI) and human actors. It also serves as a valuable complement to laboratory experiments. However, ABMs present inherent challenges, including modelling complexity, substantial computational overhead, difficulty in interpretation, and the potential danger of overreliance on this method. The chapter underscores ABM’s potential applicability in studying various strategic management phenomena, including the behaviour in hyperconnected ecosystems, complex mergers, and acquisitions, and the role of AI in strategic decision-making. A significant future trajectory in this field is the confluence of ABM and AI in applications that capture real-time decision-making and strategy execution within firms. Such developments pose challenges, including the application of protocols steering interactions between people and AI, ensuring alignment with strategic imperatives.
O-Platz in Berlin
Authors: Perolini Marco
Published: February 2024

This chapter examines O-Platz, the protest camp that migrant activists set up on Oranienplatz, in the Berlin neighbourhood of Kreuzberg, between 2012 and 2014. It explores the significance of the camp in the years that followed, up to the COVID-19 pandemic. Firstly, it contends that the harshening of border regimes after 2015–2016, when the German government momentarily gave in to the pressure exercised by migrants on their borders, is crucial to understand the construction of O-Platz as a key phase of migrant resistance. Secondly, it argues that the protest camp is an example of pre-figurative abolitionist politics, in which migrants experimented with social relationships and living modes that they aspire to achieve in a future. O-Platz challenged the isolation and invisibility that migrants experienced because of the policy of encampment, which prevented them from freely moving within Germany. In contrast, the protest camp gave prominence to migrant political agency, by placing migrants closer to the centre, both geographically and politically.
Corruption in Republican Thought
Authors: Fezzi Luca
Published: February 2024

In associated life, corruption is one of the greatest problems of all time. In analysing the phenomenon, one can introduce a tripartition, not so much theoretical as functional: the corruption of a system, the corruption of rulers and the corruption of citizens, individually or as a whole. All three aspects are closely interrelated; the focus on the former—particularly accentuated in ancient Greek and Roman thought—only diminished in the age of revolutions, when political change lost its negative connotation. For thinkers of the ancient world and later for republicans, the main problem of corruption was and remains the drainage of resources at the expense of civic virtue and the public good. This chapter identifies the development of the idea of corruption from the Greek to the Roman world, to Machiavelli, Harrington, Sidney, Rousseau, and from the nineteenth-century separation between ‘ancients’ and ‘moderns’ to their partial historiographical reunion through late 20th and early 21st century interpretations that re-evaluate the role of ‘civic humanism’ and especially the ‘neo-Roman theory of free states’.
Domination
Authors: Gädeke Dorothea
Published: February 2024

The republican concern with domination takes domination to refer to the denial of equal status as a free person. Yet, in contemporary republican debates this status-based core of the republican concern with domination has been curiously neglected. The earlier freedom-based and the more recent power-based approaches to conceptualizing domination tend to misconceive domination as an interactional wrong, thus jeopardizing the normative distinctiveness and the social-analytical potential of republicanism. This neglect of the status-based core of domination is rooted in a conceptual ambivalence of Pettit’s seminal account that can be remedied by reconceiving domination as a structurally constituted form of power. This reconceptualization not only takes the status-based core of republicanism seriously, it thus also helps address the most pertinent challenges that have been raised against the republican concern with domination, including the charges of being insufficiently distinct from the liberal concern with interference and of being too indiscriminate, making domination ubiquitous and non-domination impossible. The modified conception shows how domination is distinct, normatively speaking, expressing an ideal of the free person rather than free choice. And it captures the distinct social reality of domination: domination is more specific than merely being exposed to any random capacities to interfere; it refers to structurally constituted forms of power that establish asymmetry in standing.
Republican Criminal Justice
Authors: Layman Daniel
Published: February 2024

Republicans endorse the ideal of non-domination, or freedom from arbitrary power. On the face of it, criminal punishment challenges this ideal; if all republican citizens are equally free and independent, by what right may the republic lock any of them in prisons and subject them to rule by wardens and police? Any republican theory of freedom and government that counts at least some criminal punishment as legitimate must explain the grounds and limits of the republic’s right to punish. Philip Pettit and Richard Dagger have each developed a comprehensive account of criminal justice. However, neither of their theories is wholly successful, as both are based on a flawed foundation. To develop an acceptable account of republican criminal justice, we need to lay republican foundations in individual rights based on equal moral dignity. With these foundations in place, we will see how and why republican criminal punishment is both desert-oriented and non-consequentialist.
Republican Political Economy
Authors: Lovett Frank
Published: February 2024

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, as the industrial revolution and rise of the working classes upended well-worn debates about sovereignty, the separation of powers, representative government, and so forth, political economy was becoming a central area of concern amongst the early modern or ‘classical’ republicans. Unfortunately, it was precisely around this time that the republican tradition fell into decline. As a result, classical republicans failed to produce a comprehensive account of political economy. It has largely fallen to contemporary republicans, reviving the tradition after a century and a half of relative neglect, to develop a republican theory of political economy. This chapter suggests what a republican political economy at its best and most persuasive might look like, illustrating how it represents a natural development from various suggestive hints left by classical republicans. Thus, contemporary republican political economy offers something similar to what the classical republicans might themselves have produced.
Transnational Justice in Europe
Authors: Weinke Annette
Published: February 2024

Many transitional justice experts associate the birth and rise of their subdiscipline closely with the extreme and turbulent history of Europe in the “short” twentieth century. However, the “Europe” in question and the “European” characteristics of the field tend to remain vague in scholarly discourse of transitional justice. This chapter starts with discussing the paradox of how this understanding of Europe as advanced in transitional justice—which is above all a phenomenon of the post-1989 era—has its political-ideological roots in the Cold War era and associated conservative narratives of foundation and modernizations. The second section will then seek to unfold the evolution of transitional justice in twentieth-century Europe in a long durée perspective andby focusing on four selected conjunctures (set in the 1920s, 1940s, 1970s, and 1990s).
Regional Human Rights Arrangements
Authors: Baik Tae-Ung
Published: February 2024

Many Asian states have demonstrated their commitment to human rights at both a domestic and international level. Yet Asia is also the only major region of the world without a regional human rights court or commission to provide a check on states. This chapter discusses the potential for establishing a regional human rights system in Asia. It begins with an introduction on how Asian states have developed their current human rights norms and practices through constitutional law, ratifying international human rights treaties, and cultivating “soft law” norms. The chapter then explores how a regional human rights mechanism might take root and function in Asia. In doing so, this chapter draws comparative insights from the development of regional human rights systems in Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Finally, the chapter examines existing efforts at regional and subregional integration in Asia. Although integration efforts to date have focused on economic issues, experiences from other parts of the world suggest that economic cooperation often leads to cooperation on other issues, including human rights.
Writing To and About Women
Authors: Hansen Moira
Published: February 2024

The impact and influence of women, and Burns’s relationships with them, has long be acknowledged as a key component of the poet’s life and work. A significant body of myth and elaborated truths have grown around this aspect of Burns’s life, building an image of a man who could be a tender lover and an inveterate womanizer, and who used both these characteristics as inspirations for some of his most famous poems and songs. This chapter moves away from the representations of women in Burns’s creative work to explore his relationships with them through his correspondence, focusing on Frances Dunlop, Agnes McLehose, and Maria Riddell. In doing so, it explores his friendships with women and exposes the roles they played in his life beyond that of mistress or muse. It offers a more nuanced appreciation of the psychology of Burns’s relationships with women beyond the romantic or sexual, in turn offering an understanding of the emotional and psychological struggles of a man living with disordered moods, and moving in social circles so completely different to the society of his rural Ayrshire upbringing.
Robert Burns and the Visual Arts
Authors: Macdonald Murdo
Published: February 2024

Through consideration of landscapes and monuments, this chapter goes beyond the portrait of Robert Burns by Alexander Nasmyth whilst acknowledging its significance. That significance is considered both in terms of the poet’s features (not least as explored by sculptors making memorials to Burns) and in terms of a tradition of art to which the portrait relates, namely European landscape painting. That landscape tradition underpins Nasmyth’s development of a sense of national landscape in Scotland. Such landscapes can in turn be seen as the context for monuments to Robert Burns, not least through David Octavius Hill’s series of images for The Land of Burns. Particular note is taken of the Greek revival work of Thomas Hamilton both at Alloway and in Edinburgh in the first third of the nineteenth century and the classical context those monuments gave for the first statue of Burns, that by John Flaxman, completed in 1826. The international distribution of statues in honour of Burns is explored through those made in the 1880s by John Steell, whose statues are sited in New York, Dundee, London, and Dunedin. A theme considered throughout is the significance of illustrated editions of Burns such as The National Burns, and their presence as aesthetic objects in their own right. Consistent with that, I note throughout the ‘hidden’ artists of the editions: the engravers.
Bard Behaviour
Authors: Carruthers Gerard , Smith George
Published: February 2024

This essay outlines a brief history and modus operandi of Alexander Howland Smith, ‘Antique Smith’, the prolific nineteenth-century forger of poet Robert Burns. Its ultimate focus is the examination of a forensic multi-evidential approach employed by the Centre for Robert Burns Studies, University of Glasgow, to detect Smith fabrications of the Scottish Bard. Building on the earlier work of Professor J. DeLancey Ferguson and drawing upon primary source material, poet and forger, and secondary sources, the research explores macroscopic and microscopic tests and scientific analysis employed for the detection of Smith forgeries. Internal document evidence and aspects of the poet’s and forger’s hand writing have been scrutinized. Signature standards of both men have been collected and examined, utilizing juxtaposition photography as a methodology for detection. An Antique Smith and Robert Burns alphabet, upper and lower case, encompassing the four major periods of the poet’s handwriting, has been created for comparative purposes. Source materials have undergone scientific analysis, including investigations utilizing Raman microscopy, to determine the organic make-up of inks used by Burns and Smith. Employing this approach has enabled us to confidently differentiate an authentic Burns manuscript from a spurious Smith production.
The View from the Octagon
Authors: McIlvanney Liam
Published: February 2024

The Octagon, the central plaza of the city of Dunedin in New Zealand’s South Island, is dominated by the Sir John Steell statue of Robert Burns. The city is also home to the Robert Burns Hotel and the Burns Building at the University of Otago, which sponsors the Robert Burns Fellowship, New Zealand’s premier literary residency. In part, the prominence of the Burns name in Dunedin testifies to a family connection: the Rev Thomas Burns, the poet’s nephew, who cofounded the settlement of Otago. But it also testifies to the ongoing cultural legacy of Scotland’s national poet in Aotearoa New Zealand. This chapter will discuss the influence of Burns on the Scots vernacular poetry of New Zealand—and also on the vernacular prose of works like Vincent Pyke’s 1884 Scots language novel, Craigielinn—with particular reference to the development and establishment of New Zealand literary and cultural identities. Beyond the colonial period, the chapter will assess the profound engagement with Robert Burns’s poetry in the work of New Zealand’s pre-eminent twentieth-century poet, James K. Baxter while also considering Burnsian encounters in the work of contemporary New Zealand writers. The chapter will also discuss the Burnsian contribution to NZ’s associational culture, looking in particular at the Dunedin Burns Club, as well as recent attempts to renovate the tradition of Burnsian poetry and song in contemporary Aotearoa. In so doing, it will provide a detailed and nuanced account of important aspects of Robert Burns’s Australasian afterlife.
Burns on Screen
Authors: Ritchie John
Published: February 2024

Robert Burns is credited in hundreds of films; after all, almost any scene that occurs on December 31 features ‘Auld Lang Syne’. As a man, though,—a character, a presence in films—his appearances have been somewhat limited. The challenges of bringing Burns and his life to the screen are examined in this chapter. From the earliest example of his story being portrayed in the early twentieth century, films that feature his life are examined. The manners of these representations are considered and investigated in terms of filmic style and in tandem with audience, press, and critical receptions as well as reactions to the various portrayals of ‘our’ poet. Beginning with silent cinema interpretations of his works, the chapter moves to an in-depth case study of one of the first UK-produced ‘musicals’ in early sound films. A pivotal moment in representations of both Burns and in the history of British cinema, The Loves of Robert Burns (dir. H. Wilcox, 1930), is examined and brought to wider attention. The success (or otherwise) of the film is considered along with the positioning of Burns as a British figure who was simply too Scottish for UK and international audiences.
Robert Burns and the Inhuman
Authors: Wickman Matthew
Published: February 2024

A great deal of modern thought has been devoted to questions concerning the limits of our humanity. The ‘nonhuman’, for example, is a category referring to creatures other than humans; the ‘posthuman’ invokes beings who will persist after humans, or at least after inherited concepts of the human have run their course. Robert Burns helps us engage a third category of inquiry: the ‘inhuman’. The inhuman critically engages how our societies shape us, often to adverse ends, even as it invokes alternative ways of being. ‘To a Louse’ and ‘Death and Dr Hornbook. A True Story’ reveal Burns’s satirical but sober assessment of human possibility in a society of Enlightenment progress, or ‘improvement’, that falls short of its own ideals. While these poems do not present concrete alternatives to the moral and socioeconomic problems they identify, the nuances attending their energetic presentation suggest a degree of sustained optimism in other people, our societies, and ourselves.
‘I, Rob, am here’
Authors: McKeever Gerard Lee
Published: February 2024

This chapter sheds new light on representations of becoming and belonging in Burns’s verse epistles, especially as they exist in dialogue with the touchstone subjects of religion, sex, masculinity, and social class. Moving through a combination of celebrated and lesser-known examples, the chapter positions Burns’s verse epistles as a distinctive component of his poetic self-realization and place-making in the Ayrshire, Edinburgh, and Dumfriesshire environments. Identifying a combination of autobiography and imaginative geography, the major readings here include the anti-poetry of ‘Epistle to Hugh Parker’, the violent bawdry of ‘Epistle to J. Rankine’, and the bizarre moon-hunting of ‘To W. Simson’. As the chapter argues, verse epistles’ mesh of correspondence and poetry can enact with remarkable efficiency the production of a delicate web of personality and attachment: writing that takes as its premise the idea that poetry might account for individuals and their place in the world. And yet for all their creative force, Burns’s verse epistles also register horizons to the power of the imagination to shape reality.
The Supernatural, Magic, and Religion
Authors: Sneddon Andrew
Published: February 2024

In nineteenth and early twentieth-century Ireland, many committed Christians continued to believe in supernatural cursing and witchcraft; divination; holy wells; fairies; magical healing; and protective magic. These beliefs and practices were present in both Protestant and Catholic communities and were dynamic, evolving, and nuanced, differing according to region, locality, and personal preference. They were dismissed by journalists and the legal profession as superstitious throwbacks to an irrational, immoderate age. Church hierarchies denounced popular magic from pulpits and in church courts, as well as in print and in person, but this did little to eradicate them. Magic survived this opposition, and the medical, structural, and intellectual changes associated with modernity, because of its secretive nature and its selective appropriation of Christian doctrine and forms of devotion. It also helped people to deal with hard lives and uncertain futures and afforded, especially women, agency and a means of resistance against authority.
Being Catholic in Ireland
Authors: Inglis Tom
Published: February 2024

Structural transformations, particularly the move away from the dominance of rural society and agriculture, and long-term processes of change, particularly globalization, have led to changes in the way Irish Catholics are religious. While there is still a high level of identification with being Catholic, this revolves more around family celebrations and cultural heritage rather than the institutional church as a means of attaining salvation. At the same time, being Catholic is no longer important to being honoured and respected and to attain social, political, and economic power. Finally, there is no longer the sense of fear of disobeying or challenging church teachings and its personnel.
Ireland After Secularization
Authors: Ganiel Gladys
Published: February 2024

This chapter analyses Ireland, north and south, ‘after secularization’. It outlines theoretical approaches to secularization and explores indicators of secularization in Ireland. It argues that although both parts of Ireland remain more religious than most of Europe—Northern Ireland more so than the Republic—both are approaching typical European levels of secularization. It explores factors that have contributed to secularization, and analyses how religion has persisted. Finally, it explores the changing role of religion during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is evidence both for an acceleration of secularization, and an intensification of religiosity among those who attended religious services prior to the pandemic. These trends are not necessarily contradictory. In fact, these trends were already underway, and the pandemic may accelerate their development, leading to a greater divide between those for whom faith is important, and those for whom it is not.
Perspectives on Cultural Evolution from Pioneers of the Field
Authors: Jackson Joshua Conrad , Dunstone Juliet
Published: February 2024

Studies of cultural evolution frequently analyse deep human history, but the modern science of cultural evolution has a surprisingly short past. After briefly reviewing the last 200 years of cultural evolutionary thinking, the authors highlight the work of eight pioneering scholars in a set of interviews. Each scholar reflects on their definition of cultural evolution, their journey to studying cultural evolution, their perception of changes in cultural evolutionary science, and their vision for the future of the field. Interviews show the interdisciplinary breadth of cultural evolutionary science, and the diverse perspectives that have shaped the field’s early development. The authors intersperse each scholar’s reflections with their own perspective as early career researchers within cultural evolution science.
CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis of rice NAC transcription factor genes results in altered innate immunity
Authors: Son Seungmin , Song Giha , Nam Suhyeon , Lee Gunhee , Im Jeonghui , Lee Kyong Sil , Park Yeo Jin , Suh Eun-Jung , Park Sang Ryeol
Published: February 2024

Mutating transcription factor genes involved in growth, development, and stress response in rice enhances disease resistance to microbial pathogens without suffering a yield penalty.
Experienced Clinical Decision-Making in Physical Therapist Management of Concussion: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Galgon Anne K , Bliss Rebecca A
Published: February 2024

Objective

The recent publication of the Physical Therapy Evaluation and Treatment After Concussion Clinical Practice Guideline is intended to assist clinicians in their decision-making specific to evaluation and intervention. Clinical practice guidelines are supported by best available evidence, though it is unknown what other factors drive clinical decision-making in the realm of concussion management. The purpose of this study was to explore factors related to the process of clinical decision-making of experienced physical therapists who treat individuals with concussion.

Methods

This grounded theory approach used semi-structured interviews of physical therapists who have practiced concussion management ≥3 years and have treated ≥15 individuals for postconcussion symptoms in the last year. Following the inductive approach, deductive qualitative methodology was used to explore alignment with recent guidelines. Member checking was used to ensure trustworthiness.

Results

Ten therapists’ experience in treating concussion ranged from 5 to 20 years. Four overarching themes were identified that contribute to clinical decision-making: expert practice behaviors through use of reflection in action, clinical reasoning, collaboration, and evidenced informed practice; therapeutic alliance building using individualized education, reassurance, and relationship building; adaptability in prioritizing, assessing, and responding to patients’ needs; and listening and observing. Clinician decision-making statements showed alignment with clinical practice guideline recommendations.

Conclusion

Experienced therapists demonstrate a consistent approach that parallels the current clinical practice guideline while building off clinical experience to tailor individualized care focusing on patient centeredness. These factors may assist more novice clinicians to develop and improve their management strategies for optimal outcomes.

Impact

Identified themes may broaden frameworks and guidelines for the management of individuals postconcussion specific to the field of physical therapy.
Positioning in Global Value Chains: World Map and Indicators, a New Dataset Available for GVC Analyses
Authors: Mancini M , Montalbano P , Nenci S , Vurchio D
Published: February 2024

This work reviews and computes the commonly used Global Value Chains (GVC) positioning indicators found in the empirical literature, providing scholars with a novel and comprehensive global dataset of upstreamness and downstreamness measures. This dataset covers a wide range of countries, including many developing nations, and industries, and spans an extensive timeframe. Specifically, it offers GVC positioning indicators for all economies and industries included in prominent Inter-Country Input-Output tables, such as ADB, EORA, OECD TiVA, WIOD, and Long-run WIOD. This work also delves into the degree of comparability across the different datasets, offering informative comparisons of the GVC positioning measures encompassing overlapping countries and periods, sectors, geographical regions, and income levels. Notably, these indicators are “ready-to-use” and open access, presenting an exceptional opportunity for qualitative and quantitative analyses of various economic dimensions on GVCs and for informing policymaking.
Postprandial facial rash in an infant
Authors: Hofmeister Nicole , Ames Michael , Lee Amanda
Published: February 2024

This article describes an infant who developed a facial rash within minutes of eating certain foods. The rash resolved within 30 minutes. The patient was diagnosed with auriculotemporal syndrome or Frey syndrome, which is characterized by sweating or flushing in the preauricular area when the patient consumes certain foods, especially those that are acidic, sour, or spicy. Because most patients outgrow the syndrome, no treatment is needed.
CE: Beyond PICO—A New Question Simplifies the Search for Evidence
Authors: Waldrop Julee , Dunlap Jayne Jennings
Published: February 2024

The framework for the PICO (population, intervention, comparison intervention, outcome) question was developed for use in the field of medicine to help determine the best treatment or intervention for a patient. However, use of the PICO question often fails to make sense when the problem or issue of interest is unrelated to determining the best treatment; in such cases, PICO is a less-than-optimal framework to use in searching for evidence. Nurses undertaking an evidence-based practice quality improvement (EBPQI) initiative must begin with a full understanding of the problem by exploring both external evidence (research) and internal evidence from the local setting to support the initiative. This article presents the framework for an alternative question—PPCO, or problem, population, change, outcome—that simplifies the search for evidence and provides a universal approach to question development for EBPQI initiatives. The PPCO question was developed for use with all nursing issues that need addressing.
On Quotation Accuracy
Authors: Kirton Carl A.
Published: February 2024

What distinguishes this journal from the rest
Study Attributes 5 Million Deaths per Year to Air Pollution
Authors: Roush Karen
Published: February 2024

Diabetes and stroke are among pollution-related diseases.
Palliating Serious Illness During Disasters and Public Health Emergencies
Authors: Mayahara Masako , Tay Djin L. , Kates Jeannette , Rosa William E.
Published: February 2024

The increase in disasters and public health emergencies in recent years is a serious public health concern. The needs of suffering victims can be multifaceted, particularly the needs of those who are from systematically marginalized populations. Palliative care nurses play a vital role in mitigating the suffering of those affected by these events. Despite the acute need, there is a lack of nurses who specialize in hospice and palliative care and generalist nurses are not sufficiently prepared to provide palliative care during disasters and public health emergencies. Nurses and nursing students should use national and global resources and training opportunities to hone their palliative care skills as well as learn self-care skills to increase their resiliency. Outcomes from research and collaborative efforts should be used to educate the future nursing workforce and advocate for equitable delivery of quality palliative care for all people who are affected by disasters and public health emergencies.
Shift Work Adversely Affects Sleep
Authors: Rosenberg Karen
Published: February 2024

According to this study:
Unfinished Business
Authors: Gerber Lois
Published: February 2024

A nurse's father touchingly revises his views on time and dying.
Gender-affirming care for the adolescent patient
Authors: Pomarico-Denino Vanessa
Published: February 2024

Over the past decade, the number of children and adolescents who identify as transgender and/or gender diverse has increased. It is essential for clinicians to have the knowledge and resources to effectively care for these patients, identify associated risks (such as sexually transmitted infections, unplanned pregnancy, depression, anxiety, and increased suicide risk) as well as to understand hormone therapy to help patients achieve desired expression of the gender with which they identify.
Reexamining the complex issue of obesity in childhood
Authors: Shreve Marilou D. , Scott Allison , Davis Renée L.
Published: February 2024

Obesity in childhood is a complex, multifaceted condition with various contributors, including genetic, environmental, socioeconomic, and physiologic factors. The latest guidelines recommend annual evaluation beginning at age 2 years. Treatment strategies should be family focused and should target nutrition, physical activity, and behavior.
The evidence-based COPE program
Authors: Melnyk Bernadette Mazurek
Published: February 2024

The soaring prevalence of depression and anxiety in children, teenagers, and young adults is now a public health epidemic, yet access to timely evidence-based mental health treatment is often lacking due to a severe shortage of mental health providers. This article provides an overview of the current state of depression and anxiety in children and adolescents as well as first-line evidence-based treatment. The Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment (COPE) program, a cognitive-behavioral skills-building intervention, is highlighted as an evidence-based intervention for timely treatment that can be delivered by NPs, physicians, and physician associates/assistants in primary care settings, school-based health centers, and chronic care clinics with reimbursement as well as in schools and universities as a preventive mental health intervention.
Preventing malaria spread in the US
Authors: Borton Dottie
Published: February 2024

Locally acquired malaria is rare in the US; however, in 2023, cases were reported in Florida, Texas, Maryland, and Arkansas. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of malaria are essential to prevent severe malaria disease. This article details malaria and offers treatment guidelines.
Sleep quality and the intention to modify sleep behaviors among night-shift nurses
Authors: Durkin Adelaide Caroci , Richards Andrew John
Published: February 2024

Purpose:

To explore the relationship between sleep quality and intent to change sleep behaviors among night-shift nurses.

Methods:

Full-time night-shift nurses in a hospital setting completed a cross-sectional online survey including demographics, Snoring, Tiredness during daytime, Observed apnea, and High Blood Pressure (STOP) Questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Intention to Change Behavior Scale (ICBS). The relationship between PSQI and ICBS scores was tested using Spearman's rho correlation coefficient.

Results:

Most participants reported poor sleep and did not engage in health behaviors that promote good sleep. There was a weak, positive relationship between PSQI and ICBS scores. Those who reported poor sleep quality indicated a high intent to improve sleep.

Conclusion:

These findings support the need for night-shift nurses to prioritize enhancing their sleep quality by advocating for policy and practice improvements. The findings also highlight the importance of support from nurse leaders, educators, and researchers to raise awareness and implement holistic strategies for better sleep health.
Debridement options for the interprofessional team
Authors: Rajhathy Erin M. , Hill Mary C. , Tran David L. , Huang Ren-Wen , Chiu Ernest S. , Sibbald R. Gary , Ayello Elizabeth A.
Published: February 2024

Debridement is a core component of chronic wound management. Although various debridement methods exist, each carries a unique patient risk level. This article discusses the different normal tissue components that are critical to safe debridement practice, various methods of wound debridement for nurses, and the importance of an interprofessional team and consulting a wound specialist.
Every drop counts
Authors: Stucky Christopher H. , Stucky Michelle G. , Dindinger Rebeccah A.
Published: February 2024

Over half of surgeries in the US are conducted in physician-owned ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). While ASCs provide cost-effective and quality healthcare comparable to inpatient hospitals, they often lack robust support services, including lactation support. This article presents key information on breastfeeding benefits, early weaning risks, and strategies for nurses in ASCs to educate and support patients who are breastfeeding.
Planned Delivery or Expectant Management for Late Preterm Pre-eclampsia in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries (CRADLE-4): A Multicentre, Open-Label, Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Beardmore-Gray Alice , Vousden Nicola , Seed Paul T. , Vwalika Bellington , Chinkoyo Sebastian , Sichone Victor , Kawimbe Alexander B. , Charantimath Umesh , Katageri Geetanjali , Bellad Mrutyunjaya B. , Lokare Laxmikant , Donimath Kasturi , Bidri Shailaja , Goudar Shivaprasad , Sandall Jane , Chappell Lucy C. , Shennan Andrew H.
Published: February 2024

(Abstracted from Lancet 2023; 402:386–396)

Preeclampsia is a disorder of pregnancy that proposes a disproportionately high risk to women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); it is one of the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide and is estimated to have an annual death toll of greater than 40,000. The only treatment with proven effectiveness for preeclampsia is delivery, but there are risks to both mother and infant associated with preterm delivery that contribute to both of their short- and long-term outcomes.
Global burden of pediatric asthma and rhinitis – what we have recently learned from epidemiology
Authors: Romero-Tapia Sergio de Jesús , García-Marcos Luis
Published: February 2024

Purpose of review

To analyze and present recently published information on the factors that modify the burden of asthma and rhinitis in pediatric ages, such as ecological determinants; highlighting access and adherence to medications, exposure to pollutants and climate change. In addition to individual determinants such as obesity, protective & risk factors and comorbidities.

Recent findings

Asthma and rhinitis continue to have a significant impact worldwide on the health of affected patients, primarily children. The burden of asthma is greatest in developing countries and vulnerable populations, resulting in increased morbidity, potentially preventable asthma deaths and socioeconomic consequences.

A better understanding and representation of the burden of asthma and rhinitis in children can contribute to prevention strategies and improvements in the care of pediatric patients.
A Treatment Algorithm for High-Tone Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
Authors: Torosis Michele , Carey Erin , Christensen Kristin , Kaufman Melissa R. , Kenton Kimberly , Kotarinos Rhonda , Lai H. Henry , Lee Una , Lowder Jerry L. , Meister Melanie , Spitznagle Theresa , Wright Kelly , Ackerman A. Lenore
Published: February 2024

OBJECTIVE:

To develop evidence- and consensus-based clinical practice guidelines for management of high-tone pelvic floor dysfunction (HTPFD). HTPFD is a neuromuscular disorder of the pelvic floor characterized by non-relaxing pelvic floor muscles, resulting in lower urinary tract and defecatory symptoms, sexual dysfunction, and pelvic pain. Despite affecting 80% of women with chronic pelvic pain, there are no uniformly accepted guidelines to direct the management of these patients.

METHODS:

A Delphi method of consensus development was used, comprising three survey rounds administered anonymously via web-based platform (Qualtrics XM) to national experts in the field of HTPFD recruited through targeted invitation between September and December 2021. Eleven experts participated with backgrounds in urology, urogynecology, minimally invasive gynecology, and pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT) participated. Panelists were asked to rate their agreement with rated evidence-based statements regarding HTPFD treatment. Statements reaching consensus were used to generate a consensus treatment algorithm.

RESULTS:

A total of 31 statements were reviewed by group members at the first Delphi round with 10 statements reaching consensus. 28 statements were reposed in the second round with 17 reaching consensus. The putative algorithm met clinical consensus in the third round. There was universal agreement for PFPT as first-line treatment for HTPFD. If satisfactory symptom improvement is reached with PFPT, the patient can be discharged with a home exercise program. If no improvement after PFPT, second-line options include trigger or tender point injections, vaginal muscle relaxants, and cognitive behavioral therapy, all of which can also be used in conjunction with PFPT. Onabotulinumtoxin A injections should be used as third line with symptom assessment after 2–4 weeks. There was universal agreement that sacral neuromodulation is fourth-line intervention. The largest identified barrier to care for these patients is access to PFPT. For patients who cannot access PFPT, experts recommend at-home, guided pelvic floor relaxation, self-massage with vaginal wands, and virtual PFPT visits.

CONCLUSION:

A stepwise approach to the treatment of HTPFD is recommended, with patients often necessitating multiple lines of treatment either sequentially or in conjunction. However, PFPT should be offered first line.
Use of Direct-Acting Anticoagulants (DOAC) Among Hip Fracture Patients Is Not an Indication to Delay Surgical Intervention.
Authors: Brameier Devon T. , Tischler Eric H. , Ottesen Taylor D. , McTague Michael F. , Appleton Paul T. , Harris Mitchel B. , Weaver Michael J. , Suneja Nishant
Published: February 2024

OBJECTIVES:

To compare outcomes in patients on direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) treated within 48 hours of last preoperative dose to those with surgical delays >48 hours.

DESIGN:

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting:

Three academic Level 1 trauma centers.

Patient Selection Criteria:

Patients aged 65+ year old on DOACs prior to hip fracture treated between 2010-2018. Patients were excluded if: last DOAC dose was >24 hours prior to admission, patient suffered from polytrauma, and/or delay to surgery was not attributed to DOAC.

Outcome Measures and Comparisons:

Primary outcome measures were the post-operative complication rate as determined by diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolus (PE), wound breakdown, drainage, or infection. Secondary outcomes included transfusion requirement, perioperative bleeding, length of stay, reoperation rates, readmission rates, and mortality.

RESULTS:

205 patients were included in the study, with a mean cohort age of 81.9 years (65-100 years), 64% (132/205) female, and a mean CCI of 6.4 (2-20). No significant difference was observed among age, gender, CCI, or fracture pattern between cohorts (p > 0.05 for all comparisons). 71 patients had surgery <48 hours following final preoperative DOAC dose; 134 patients had surgery >48 hours after. No significant difference in complication rate between the two cohorts was observed (p = 0.30). Patients with delayed surgical management were more likely to require transfusion (OR 2.39, 95% CI [1.05, 5.44]; p=0.04). Patients with early surgical management had significantly shorter lengths of stay (5.9 days vs 7.6 days, p<0.005). There was no difference in estimated blood loss, anemia, reoperations, readmissions, 90-day mortality, or 1-year mortality (p > 0.05 for all comparisons).

CONCLUSION:

Geriatric hip fracture patients who underwent surgical management within 48 hours of their last preoperative DOAC dose required less transfusions and had decreased length of stay, with comparable mortality and complication rates compared to patients with surgery delayed beyond 48 hours. Providers should consider early intervention in this population rather than adherence to elective procedure guidelines.
Electroacupuncture improves cognitive function in a rat model of mild traumatic brain injury by regulating the SIRT-1/PGC-1α/mitochondrial pathway
Authors: Jin Bo , Gao Yemei , Fu Yixian , Zhang Suxin , Zhang Ke , Su Yibing
Published: February 2024

Background:

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a common neurological trauma that can lead to cognitive impairment. The sirtuin-1 (SIRT-1)/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) pathway has been reported to have neuroprotective effects in rats with craniocerebral injury. We evaluated potential mechanisms underlying electroacupuncture-mediated recovery of cognitive function after mTBI, focusing on the SIRT-1/PGC-1α/mitochondrial pathway.

Methods:

We included forty 6-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats in this study. Rats were randomly divided into four groups: controlled cortical impactor (CCI,n= 10), sham operation (sham,n= 10), electroacupuncture-treated CCI (CCI+EA,n= 10), and electroacupuncture-treated sham (sham+EA,n= 10) group. Randomization was performed by assigning a random number to each rat and using a random number table. The mTBI rat model was established using a controllable cortical impactor. Electroacupuncture therapy was performed on the back of rats, by inserting acupuncture needles to the specific acupoints and setting appropriate parameters for treatment. We evaluated spatial learning and memory functions with the Morris water maze test. We performed quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blotting, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) determination, and mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I (MRCC I) determination on rat hippocampal tissue. We analyzed SIRT-1/PGC-1α expression levels and the results of mitochondrial function assays, and compared differences between groups using bilateral Student’st-tests.

Results:

Compared with the sham group, SIRT-1/PGC-1α expression was downregulated in the hippocampus of CCI group (P<0.01). Although this expression was upregulated following electroacupuncture, it did not reach the levels observed in the sham group (P<0.05). Compared with the sham group, MRCC I and ATP levels in the CCI group were significantly reduced, and increased after electroacupuncture (P<0.01). In the Morris water maze, electroacupuncture reduced the incubation period of rats and increased average speed and number of crossing platforms (P<0.05).

Conclusion:

Electroacupuncture may improve cognitive function in the mTBI rat model by regulating the SIRT-1/PGC-1α/mitochondrial pathway.
Circulating cell-free DNA is elevated in postmenopausal compared with pre- and perimenopausal women
Authors: Fisher Teagan , Powell Elyse , Yuwono Nicole L. , Ford Caroline E. , Warton Kristina
Published: February 2024

Objective

With the rising use of circulating cell-free DNA (cirDNA) liquid biopsies for disease screening, it is important to understand biological differences that may impact the accuracy of cirDNA-based clinical tests. Although a number of biological factors have been researched, the relationship between menopause and cirDNA has not been thoroughly investigated. We aimed to compare plasma cirDNA concentration and DNA fragment integrity in healthy women pre- and postmenopause.

Methods

Blood was collected from healthy female volunteers 40 years and older. cirDNA was extracted from plasma (n = 52) and quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (n = 47; 26 premenopause, mean age—46 y; 21 postmenopause, mean age—59 y). cirDNA concentration was quantitated using an ALU repetitive sequence with a 115-base-pair (bp) product (ALU-115), and long cirDNA fragments were quantitated using an ALU repetitive sequence with a 247-bp product (ALU-247). cirDNA integrity was expressed as a ratio of ALU-247 over ALU-115. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare pre- and postmenopause qPCR results, and a two-tailed, unpaired t test was undertaken to compare the integrity ratio between the two groups.

Results

Postmenopause plasma samples were found to have a significantly higher cirDNA concentration (P < 0.0001, premenopause: mean, 3.10 ± 1.84 ng/mL; median, 2.90 ng/mL; postmenopause: mean, 5.28 ± 2.76 ng/mL; median, 4.56 ng/mL) and significantly higher concentration of long-stranded cirDNA fragments (P = 0.0033, premenopause: mean, 1.06 ± 0.48 ng/mL; median, 0.96 ng/mL; postmenopause: mean, 1.69 ± 0.89 ng/mL; median, 1.48 ng/mL). There was no significant difference in the integrity ratio between the groups (P = 0.1788).

Conclusions

Plasma cirDNA concentrations are higher in postmenopausal women. This has important implications in cirDNA liquid biopsy development and screening, especially for diseases such as cancer where the majority of cases are diagnosed postmenopause.