bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Alternative View of a Hemodialysis–Life Balance: Life Reorganization of Korean Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis
Authors: Kim Songsoon , Yang Jinhyang
Published: January 2021

Introduction:

Hemodialysis patients in Korea increased 2.3 fold from 2008 to 2018 and continues to rise 7% to 10% annually. Long-term treatment to prevent complications requires understanding patients’ hemodialysis–life balance. Our purpose was to explore the process of life reorganization by hemodialysis patients from Korea.

Method:

Grounded theory methodology was utilized. Participants were hemodialysis patients recruited from four hemodialysis centers in Korea. Data were collected by in-depth individual interviews. Data were analyzed using constant comparative method with theoretical saturation.

Results:

Participants ( n = 14) experienced four phases with transitions. A traditional Korean belief system, the view of blessing-focused destiny promoted a change in perspective from the focus on a life crisis, and thereby, played a role in buffering negative experience.

Discussion:

Nurses should assess the cultural individual needs of patients, which change according to each phase of life reorganization, and provide the right care at the right time to increase positive experiences.
Evaluating a Functional Family Therapy Intervention: Challenges and Lessons Learned
Authors: Celinska Katarzyna
Published: January 2021

Purpose:

This case study is the introspective account of the evaluation process of Functional Family Therapy (FFT) as implemented in Middlesex County in New Jersey between 2005 and 2011. The study presents challenges and issues in evaluation falling into three main categories.

Methods:

The case study is based on the recollections and documented experiences of the author who was responsible for all major aspects of the evaluation including designing the study, collecting the data, and handling daily evaluation activities.

Results:

The author differentiated among three main categories of challenges. In respect to research design, the relative merits of experimental versus nonexperimental designs and quantitative versus qualitative research methods are discussed. The second set of issues involves developing and exercising the social competence skills necessary to form working partnerships with service providers. The third set encompasses logistical barriers encountered during daily evaluation activities.

Conclusions:

The challenges and lessons learned from conducting the outcome evaluation of FFT are situated within scholarly debates on evaluation research, with the goal of providing further insights into the on-the-ground implementation and process of program evaluations. The experiences, recollections and processes illustrate challenges and solutions applicable to evaluations of other family-based violence prevention interventions.
The Effects of Character on the Perceived Stressfulness of Life Events and Subjective Well-Being of Undergraduate Business Students
Authors: Seijts Gerard H. , Monzani Lucas , Woodley Hayden J. R. , Mohan Gouri
Published: January 2021

Stress and the associated correlates, such as depression, alcohol abuse, and suicidal ideation, are a global issue among college and university students. We assert that character is a personal resource that students have at their disposal to address personal, social, and environmental challenges they may encounter in their personal and academic lives. The results of a field study involving undergraduate business students show that character, operationalized as a higher order construct consisting of 11 interrelated dimensions, has a direct effect on the subjective well-being of students and an indirect effect through the perceived stressfulness of life events. Our results imply that it is essential for faculty and students at management education institutions to fully appreciate the importance of character for effective functioning and to develop the various character dimensions to address adverse personal, social, and environmental situations in a positive fashion.
Physicians on the Frontlines: Understanding the Lived Experience of
Physicians Working in Communities That Experienced a Mass Casualty
Shooting
Authors: O'Neill Kathleen M. , Shultz Blake N. , Lye Carolyn T. , Ranney Megan L. , D'Onofrio Gail , Coupet Edouard
Published: January 2021

This qualitative study describes the lived experience of physicians who
work in communities that have experienced a public mass shooting.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seventeen physicians involved
in eight separate mass casualty shooting incidents in the United States.
Four major themes emerged from constant comparative analysis: (1) The
psychological toll on physicians: “I wonder if I'm broken”; (2) the
importance of and need for mass casualty shooting preparedness: “[We need
to] recognize this as a public health concern and train physicians to manage
it”; (3) massive media attention: “The media onslaught was unbelievable”;
and (4) commitment to advocacy for a public health approach to firearm
violence: “I want to do whatever I can to prevent some of these terrible
events.”
Secondary Prevention Medications Post Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery—A Literature Review
Authors: Dimitriadis Stavros , Qian Evelyn , Irvine Amy , Harky Amer
Published: January 2021

Secondary prevention after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is imperative in slowing the progression of atherosclerosis in both native and grafted vessels. Aspirin and statins remain the key medications for all patients without significant contraindications. The evidence for dual antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel is less convincing, but there is hope for newer antiplatelet agents, such as ticagrelor. Meanwhile, β-blockers and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors might only offer benefits to specific sub-groups. Post-CABG patients appear to have different medication needs to the general cardiovascular patient and respond differently. In this review, we cover the drug regimens proposed by recent guidelines and the evidence behind their use. Assessing the evidence behind these recommendations, we find that there is an unmet need in some areas for robust population-specific evidence. We hope that future research will address this gap.
Adaptive sliding mode fault tolerant control for interval Type-2 fuzzy singular fractional-order systems
Authors: Zhang Xuefeng , Huang Wenkai
Published: January 2021

This article proposes an integral sliding mode control scheme for a class of uncertain nonlinear singular fractional-order systems subject to actuator faults. The interval type-2 Takagi–Sugeno model is used to represent the singular fractional-order systems. First, a novel integral sliding surface is constructed. A sufficient condition is given in terms of linear matrix inequalities which guarantees the admissibility and the robustness of the singular fractional-order systems against actuator faults. Then, aiming at the fault information which is difficult to get in the practical application, an adaptive estimation of fault information is proposed to update the sliding mode controller. A sliding mode fault tolerant control law is designed to make the singular fractional-order systems reach the sliding surface in a finite time. At last, the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by a numerical simulation example.
A novel intrinsic time–scale decomposition–graph signal processing–based characteristic extraction method for rotor–stator rubbing of aeroengine
Authors: Yu Mingyue
Published: January 2021

Intrinsic time-scale decomposition and graph signal processing are combined to effectively identify a rotor–stator rubbing fault. The vibration signal is decomposed into mutually independent rotational components, and then, the Laplacian energy index is obtained by the graph signal of the autocorrelation function of rotational components, and the signal is reconstructed by an autocorrelation function of each proper rotation (PR) component relative to smaller Laplacian energy index (less complexity). Finally, characteristics are extracted from rotor–stator rubbing faults in an aeroengine according to square demodulation spectrum of a reconstructed signal. To validate the effectiveness of the algorithm, a comparative analysis is made among traditional intrinsic time-scale decomposition algorithm, combination of intrinsic time-scale decomposition and autocorrelation function, and the proposed intrinsic time-scale decomposition–graph signal processing algorithm. Comparative result shows that the proposed intrinsic time-scale decomposition–graph signal processing algorithm is more precise and effective than the traditional intrinsic time-scale decomposition and intrinsic time-scale decomposition and autocorrelation function algorithms in extracting characteristic frequency and frequency multiplication of rotor–stator rubbing faults and can greatly reduce the number of noise components irrelevant to faults.
Closed stable orbits in a strongly coupled resonant Wilberforce pendulum
Authors: Avendaño-Camacho Misael , Torres-Manotas Alejandra , Vallejo José Antonio
Published: January 2021

We prove the existence of closed stable orbits in a strongly coupled Wilberforce pendulum, for the case of a 1:2 resonance, by using techniques of singular geometric reduction combined with the more classical averaging method of Moser.
Dynamical analysis and triple compound combination anti-synchronization of novel fractional chaotic system
Authors: Trikha Pushali , Jahanzaib Lone S , Nasreen  , Baleanu Dumitru
Published: January 2021

This study introduces a novel 3-D fractional chaotic system with two quadratic terms and no equilibrium point. Thorough dynamical analysis of the introduced system is done studying Lyapunov dynamics with respect to fractional order and parameter value, Kaplan–Yorke dimension, bifurcation analysis, phase portraits, existence, and uniqueness of solution, dissipative and symmetric character, etc. The novel system is anti-synchronized using the novel technique ‘triple compound combination’ considering uncertainties and disturbances on a parallel system by two methods—nonlinear and adaptive sliding mode control. A proposed application of achieved synchronization in secure communication is presented. A comparative study of obtained results with published literature is also presented.
Domestic Violence and Immigrant Women: A Glimpse Behind a Veiled Door
Authors: Park Tanya , Mullins Amanda , Zahir Nasim , Salami Bukola , Lasiuk Gerri , Hegadoren Kathleen
Published: January 2021

Domestic violence (DV) experienced by immigrant women is a public health concern. In collaboration with a community agency, researchers undertook a retrospective review of 1,763 client files from 2006–2014. The three aims were to document the incidence of DV, service needs associated with DV, and identification of risk factors associated with DV in the extracted file data. About 41% reported DV and required multiple services. Separated and divorced women, and women on visitor/temporary visas showed the highest risk. The results underscore the value of research partnerships with community-based service agencies in increasing our understanding of DV among immigrant women.
Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Parenting and Children’s Externalizing Behaviors: Transactional Processes Over Time
Authors: Chung Gerard , Jensen Todd M. , Parisi Anna , Macy Rebecca J. , Lanier Paul
Published: January 2021

This study used longitudinal data to examine the transactional associations between mothers’ spanking and mother–child relationship quality with children’s externalizing behaviors in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV). Data came from a sample of 1,152 low-income mothers with children age 10–14 years. Results showed that past-year IPV triggered transactional associations by increasing children’s externalizing behaviors which, in turn, increased spanking and subsequently more externalizing behaviors. Transactional associations were also found for relationship quality. All outcomes used were mothers-reported except relationship quality. Implications for practice include the importance of the mother–child dyad and their reciprocal processes in assessment and treatment.
Sustainable Management of Natural Areas: The Role of Population to Support the Protection Categories
Authors: Cordente-Rodríguez María , Villanueva-Álvaro Juan-José , Mondéjar-Jiménez Juan-Antonio
Published: January 2021

The increase of environmental problems due to the tourist activity has given rise to conservation of environment in destinations. In this sense, regional, national, and international regulatory provisions have proliferated during the last years. This article analyses the perception in the society about this kind of distinguishing signs, for the specific case of protected natural areas. Since local population participates in the appropriate development of protected areas, the knowledge and the communication of protection’s forms are necessary to achieve the purpose for which they were created. This article uses a structural equation model to know the relationship between implication of local population, knowledge and perception of forms to protect natural areas, and the influence on the support of actions related with these forms of protection. This article represents a sustainable innovation with the aim of getting recommendations about the use of distinguishing signs by tourist authorities, to achieve a good knowledge and communication of these signs, and an optimal management of destinations. The main result is that the perception of the effects produced by figures of protection influences on the support of actions related with these figures; in this way, the more positive perception is, the higher the support is.
Dialogic teaching in English-as-a-second-language classroom: Its effects on first graders with different levels of vocabulary knowledge
Authors: Chow Bonnie Wing-Yin , Hui Anna Na-Na , Li Zhen , Dong Yang
Published: January 2021

As an effective teaching approach that allows teachers and students to interact collaboratively and actively build on each other’s ideas, dialogic teaching can enhance classroom engagement and learning outcomes. This study addresses the use of dialogic teaching for improving English language learning among Chinese children with varied levels of English vocabulary. It focuses on the effects of dialogic teaching on vocabulary knowledge and phonological awareness. Seventy-two first graders from Hong Kong primary schools were tested on English vocabulary knowledge and phonological awareness and were assigned to control and experimental conditions. A 12-week dialogic teaching intervention was implemented in daily English lessons. Results from repeated measures ANOVA showed that students in the experimental condition with dialogic teaching implemented exhibited significantly greater growth in expressive vocabulary knowledge on textbook items in both low and high vocabulary groups, and greater gain in phonological awareness in the high vocabulary group, than those in the control condition. These results suggest that dialogic teaching in English-as-a-second-language (ESL) classroom enhances English language development in young ESL learners. In addition, when assessing the effectiveness of dialogic teaching in young children’s second language classroom context, it is important to consider its differential effects on children with diverse vocabulary levels.
Exploring the health of families with a child with autism
Authors: Smith Sarah L , McQuade Hannah B
Published: January 2021

Families provide a critical context for the overall growth and development of a child. The health of a family is foundational to the everyday life in which a child and family can flourish. For families raising a child with autism, the chronic, intense nature of everyday life affects family health in part due to increased parental stress and potential centralization of the child with autism in family functioning. The present study sought to understand how families of children with autism perceived and experienced their own family health and to identify what factors and processes families identified as contributing to their health. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 families with a child with autism ages 2-17. Interviews occurred in person and with all members present to the extent possible based on parental and child choice. Sixteen mothers, eight fathers, and 32 children (18 with autism) participated. Interviews were about the family as a unit and conducted in a casual dialogue style. Interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim. Researchers analyzed data using inductive content analyses to generate results. Findings suggest families experience family health as a journey grounded within family identity and marked by five themes: connection, balance, the centralization of autism, stress, and support systems. Findings contribute relevant considerations for service providers working to support children with autism and their families.

Lay abstract

Families are important for the overall growth and development of a child. The health of a family is foundational to the everyday life in which a child and family can blossom. Families with a child with autism have a family life that has challenges for many reasons including that parents can be stressed from trying to figure out how to be a good parent for their child with autism. We wanted to know two things: (1) what is family health for families of a child with autism and (2) what affects families trying to be their healthiest. We wanted to know the answers to these questions from families themselves, including parents (not just moms), children, and children with autism, because they are the best experts. We talked to 16 families including 16 mothers, 8 fathers, and 32 children (18 with autism). Families shared that being a healthy family was a journey with ups and downs and that families were not always perfect. It helped when families knew about themselves as a family such as knowing what they liked and did not like to do, and knowing what the different people in the family needed. Families said that what helped and influenced their family’s health was being together, keeping their days not too busy, stress, autism itself, having helpers like friends, grandparents, therapists, and having money to pay for services. We hope that knowing these answers will guide service providers of people with autism to think about healthy families from a holistic perspective.
Pharmaceutical citizenship in an era of universal access to hepatitis C treatment: Situated potentials and limits
Authors: Rance Jake , Rhodes Tim , Lancaster Kari
Published: January 2021

Until recently, the only medical treatment available for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) was interferon-based therapy, a notoriously long and arduous treatment with limited success. However, in December 2015, the Australian Government announced a scheme of ‘universal access’ to new, highly effective direct-acting antiviral therapies (DAAs). This article draws on in-depth interviews with community actors engaged in national and state-based drug user and viral hepatitis advocacy to trace how universal access to curative medicines affords revised notions of citizenship and social inclusion among people who inject drugs and others affected by HCV. To inform our analysis, we draw on and combine critical perspectives from the biological citizenship literature, particularly pharmaceutical citizenship, along with work on the concepts of ‘publics and counterpublics’. We ask: what kinds of emergent HCV communities or publics are being enacted through our participant accounts in response to the new DAA-era of universal access, and what forms of citizenship and inclusion (or non-citizenship and exclusion) do they postulate? Some accounts indeed enacted treatment as an individual, sometimes collective, ‘good’: a citizenship potential. However, a number of accounts enacted situated limits to a straightforward actualisation of this potential, performing a model of public health governance that prioritised viral cure whilst rendering injecting drug use and its attendant social disadvantages an absent presence. Reconceptualising HCV treatment within a counterpublic health sensibility would, by engaging with the everyday health needs and aspirations of people living with HCV in conditions of social disadvantage, create space for new social inclusions and citizenships.
Prediction of cancer incidence rates for the European continent using machine learning models
Authors: Sekeroglu Boran , Tuncal Kubra
Published: January 2021

Cancer is one of the most important and common public health problems on Earth that can occur in many different types. Treatments and precautions are aimed at minimizing the deaths caused by cancer; however, incidence rates continue to rise. Thus, it is important to analyze and estimate incidence rates to support the determination of more effective precautions. In this research, 2018 Cancer Datasheet of World Health Organization (WHO), is used and all countries on the European Continent are considered to analyze and predict the incidence rates until 2020, for Lung cancer, Breast cancer, Colorectal cancer, Prostate cancer and All types of cancer, which have highest incidence and mortality rates. Each cancer type is trained by six machine learning models namely, Linear Regression, Support Vector Regression, Decision Tree, Long-Short Term Memory neural network, Backpropagation neural network, and Radial Basis Function neural network according to gender types separately. Linear regression and support vector regression outperformed the other models with the [Formula: see text] scores 0.99 and 0.98, respectively, in initial experiments, and then used for prediction of incidence rates of the considered cancer types. The ML models estimated that the maximum rise of incidence rates would be in colorectal cancer for females by 6%.
Computational intelligence identifies alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and hemoglobin levels as most predictive survival factors for hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Chicco Davide , Oneto Luca
Published: January 2021

Liver cancer kills approximately 800 thousand people annually worldwide, and its most common subtype is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which usually affects people with cirrhosis. Predicting survival of patients with HCC remains an important challenge, especially because technologies needed for this scope are not available in all hospitals. In this context, machine learning applied to medical records can be a fast, low-cost tool to predict survival and detect the most predictive features from health records. In this study, we analyzed medical data of 165 patients with HCC: we employed computational intelligence to predict their survival, and to detect the most relevant clinical factors able to discriminate survived from deceased cases. Afterwards, we compared our data mining results with those obtained through statistical tests and scientific literature findings. Our analysis revealed that blood levels of alkaline-phosphatase (ALP), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and hemoglobin are the most effective prognostic factors in this dataset. We found literature supporting association of these three factors with hepatoma, even though only AFP has been used in a prognostic index. Our results suggest that ALP and hemoglobin can be candidates for future HCC prognostic indexes, and that physicians could focus on ALP, AFP, and hemoglobin when studying HCC records.
Living lab on sharing and circular economy: The case of Turin
Authors: Cuomo Federico , Lambiase Nadia , Castagna Antonio
Published: January 2021

Cities with their innovative capacity are key places to address critical climate, environmental and health challenges. Urban experimentations, such as Living Labs, can represent a starting point to reintroduce resources into the production cycle and reduce environmental impacts, embracing the paradigm of the circular economy (CE). According to recent studies, Living Labs at a city scale could generate significant environmental benefits, improvements in quality of life and positive impacts on citizens’ health.1 This paper aims at presenting the case of the Torino Living Lab on Sharing and Circular Economy (LLSC) to point out possible future scenarios of urban sustainable policies. The case study is analysed in five sections: (1) the description of the new permanent laboratory proposed by the City of Turin; (2) the past experiences of Living Labs in Turin; (3) the birth of LLSC and the involvement strategy; (4) the introduction of the eight admitted experimentations. In the light of the results collected, the last paragraph (5) came up with the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Treaths (SWOT) analysis in the LLSC. Eventually, it deals with the research question by offering a common ground for global and local policies focused on sustainability and CE.
Investigation of the effects of turbulence modeling on the prediction of compression-ignition combustion unsteadiness
Authors: Broatch A. , Novella R. , García-Tíscar J. , Gomez-Soriano J. , Pal P.
Published: January 2021

Adverse effects of global warming due to the greenhouse gas emissions is changing the actual paradigm for the use energy resources. In the absence of a mid-term solution for reducing these emissions in transportation, internal combustion (IC) engines are going to coexist in the social spheres in the foreseeable future. Therefore, the study of other IC engine-related problems remains relevant to ensuring the health of the society. In this investigation, a numerical methodology for comprehensive understanding of Noise, Vibration and Harshness in internal combustion engines is proposed. Due to its inherent complexity and lack of awareness, the main objective is to evaluate the impact of the turbulence modeling framework on the in-cylinder acoustic field recreation. Modal decomposition methods have been applied to isolate the coherent flow structures and to analyze how they change with the turbulence approach. Results demonstrate that the choice of the turbulence model is a critical aspect for noise modeling. Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes schemes predict a raw estimation of the internal acoustic field with the added value of being computationally less expensive. However, the use of more complex turbulence approaches such us large eddy simulation offers an accurate prediction of the acoustic structures and their cyclic dispersion.
Jamaican cultural symbols as transethnic artifacts: How black immigrant vendors construct boundaries of racial consciousness at a Caribbean festival
Authors: Medford Marcelle M
Published: January 2021

This study demonstrates how black immigrants strategically deploy symbols of nationality within the context of black spaces to construct a politics of solidarity, rather than ethnic distance, with African Americans and other blacks. It draws from the ethnographic data of black craft vendors at a Caribbean festival and shows the way Jamaican cultural symbols become transethnic artifacts – racialized objects that could be adopted by black people from a range of ethnicities to signal black diasporic consciousness. This study reveals that black immigrant vendors construct boundaries of racial consciousness through transethnic artifacts in three overlapping ways: (1) by explicitly connecting Jamaica to Africa instead of privileging the Caribbean; (2) creating boundaries based on black racial consciousness instead of shared ethnicity; and (3) by prioritizing psychic income, the non-economic returns on their entrepreneurial efforts. This article argues that, within the context of the festival, the symbols that black immigrants wield to signal nationality are neither inconsequential forms of symbolic ethnicity nor are they anti-African American distancing mechanisms, but are, instead, transethnic artifacts that facilitate black place-making. This process reveals the way black immigrant vendors forge diasporic meanings of blackness, rather than foster black ethnic exceptionalism.
(Staying with) the trouble with tourism and travel theory?
Authors: Ren Carina
Published: January 2021

It has now been 20 years since Adrian Franklin and Mike Crang’s The trouble with tourism and travel theory? introduced the first volume of Tourist Studies. In the year of 2001, business-oriented approaches to studying tourism were thriving due to the rapid growth of tourism. In their diagnosis of tourism research of the day, Franklin and Crang pointed to the lack of theory and “a tendency for studies to follow a template, repeating and reinforcing a specific approach” (p. 6) as the fundamental trouble with the academic commitment to tourism. The twentieth anniversary issue of Tourist Studies offers an occasion to return to this analysis of tourism research and explore what the “trouble” with knowing and thinking about tourism might be today? Where do we go, where do we look, and whom do we listen to and learn from to know about tourism? And how may we work to improve our sensibilities toward knowing tourism?
Revitalizing legends through transmediation: a workshop for Deaf storytelling
Authors: Rosas Díaz Ricardo René , Véliz Córdova Soledad Del Carmen , Sauvalle Ignacia , Garolera Rosales Marion Paz , Ramírez María Paz
Published: January 2021

In compulsory education in Chile, Deaf students and their teachers must navigate through an educational system that relies heavily on verbal language to validate and communicate knowledge. Most educational resources available to students have been produced for and within a hearing community, privileging sound and written verbal materials over other ways of exchanging knowledge. In this practitioner piece, verbal texts produced in an oral and written culture are transformed in a visual storytelling workshop by a group of Deaf students. The alterations made to the ‘original’ text are traced in four stages, conceptualized here as transmediation, outlining the way the verbal text is transformed into Chilean Sign Language scripts, objects and characters, altering its structure and meaning. The authors aim to provide teachers and practitioners who work in diverse educational settings with ways of producing educational material through participation with students in creative ways.
A Comparison of NCAA FBS Head Coaches Salary Determination From New and Modified Contracts
Authors: Brook Stacey L.
Published: January 2021

Previous research examines head football coaches’ salary only using aggregate athletic department revenues. Using detailed football program fixed and variable revenues provided in the NCAA Membership Financial Reporting System data, head football coaches signing either new and modified contracts are able to capture both variable and fixed revenues when negotiating salaries. Additionally, for the two other labor groups (student athletes and assistant head coaches), assistant head coaches salary is positive and statistically significant with respect to head coaches’ salary, while student athletes aid is statistically insignificant, possibly due to the cap imposed on student athletic aid during this time period.
The (Extracellular) Matrix Reloaded: Imaging Matrix Metalloproteinase Activity
Authors: Lillis Kyle P.
Published: January 2021

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Resilience Through Family: Family Support as an Academic and Psychological Protective Resource for Mexican Descent First-Generation College Students
Authors: Jimenez Amber , Piña-Watson Brandy , Manzo Gabriela
Published: January 2021

The present study examines the potential protective effect of familial support among first-gen Mexican descent college students regarding GPA, college persistence, and depressive symptoms. Participants included 487 Mexican descent college students from across the United States (66.7% first-gen). Results indicated that being a first-gen student was not related to the outcomes; however, family support was related to better academic and psychological outcomes (lower depressive symptoms and higher college persistence) regardless of generation status.
Mild Stroke Affects Pointing Movements Made in Different Frames of Reference
Authors: Hasanbarani Fariba , Batalla Marc Aureli Pique , Feldman Anatol G. , Levin Mindy F.
Published: January 2021

Background

Motor performance is a complex process controlled in task-specific spatial frames of reference (FRs). Movements can be made within the framework of the body (egocentric FR) or external space (exocentric FR). People with stroke have impaired reaching, which may be related to deficits in movement production in different FRs.

Objective

To characterize rapid motor responses to changes in the number of degrees of freedom for movements made in different FRs and their relationship with sensorimotor and cognitive impairment in individuals with mild chronic stroke.

Methods

Healthy and poststroke individuals moved their hand along the contralateral forearm (egocentric task) and between targets in the peripersonal space (exocentric task) without vision while flexing the trunk. Trunk movement was blocked in randomized trials.

Results

For the egocentric task, controls produced the same endpoint trajectories in both conditions (free- and blocked-trunk) by preserving similar shoulder-elbow interjoint coordination (IJC). However, endpoint trajectories were dissimilar because of altered IJC in stroke. For the exocentric task, controls produced the same endpoint trajectories when the trunk was free or blocked by rapidly changing the IJC, whereas this was not the case in stroke. Deficits in exocentric movement after stroke were related to cognitive but not sensorimotor impairment.

Conclusions

Individuals with mild stroke have deficits rapidly responding to changing conditions for complex reaching tasks. This may be related to cognitive deficits and limitations in the regulation of tonic stretch reflex thresholds. Such deficits should be considered in rehabilitation programs encouraging the reintegration of the affected arm into activities of daily living.
AFSIM’s pseudo-realtime hybrid simulation software design
Authors: Thompson J Scott , Hodson Douglas D
Published: January 2021

Simulation approaches generally fall into two categories: discrete time or discrete event. For military modeling and simulation needs, the two approaches typically align with virtual simulation, which implies human interaction with the simulation program, and constructive simulation, which implies no human interaction. The Air Force Research Laboratory develops and distributes AFSIM (Advanced Framework for Simulation, Integration, and Modeling) to a user community that uses both virtual and constructive simulation. This paper documents the software design and primary algorithms that provide AFSIM’s support for both modes, which is termed a hybrid simulation.
Preservation of Cultural Heritage Materials at the University of Witwatersrand
Authors: Netshakhuma Sidney
Published: January 2021

This study assessed the preservation of cultural heritage materials in selected universities in South Africa with a view of recommending the best preservation method. Particularly, it examined the availability of a preservation policy at the University of Witwatersrand, the types and format of cultural heritage materials held by the University, the major preservation challenges facing the University and to make recommendations for the effective management and preservation of all materials held by the University. The study established that indeed there is a lack of a preservation policy and challenges with regards to the management of cultural heritage in South Africa.
Coloniality of White Feminism and Its Transphobia: A Comment on Burt
Authors: Upadhyay Nishant
Published: January 2021

In this comment, I challenge Burt’s colonial epistemological framework in her theorizations of sex, gender, and transness. Drawing upon anti-racist, decolonial, and trans of color feminisms, I argue that transphobia is inherent to white feminisms due to its roots in colonialism. Heteropatriarchy and cisnormativity are products of colonialism, and feminists who espouse transphobic discourses invariably reproduce colonial and white supremacist frameworks of patriarchy and gender violence.
The initial experience and response of vascular surgeons in Michigan during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Mouawad Nicolas J , Lin Judith C , Coleman Dawn M , Simmons Justin , Kabbani Loay S , Cuff Robert F , Mansour M Ashraf
Published: January 2021

Background/Objective

The unprecedented pandemic spread of the novel coronavirus has severely impacted the delivery of healthcare services in the United States and around the world, and has exposed a variety of inefficiencies in healthcare infrastructure. Some states have been disproportionately affected such as New York and Michigan. In fact, Detroit and its surrounding areas have been named as the initial Midwest epicenter where over 106,000 cases have been confirmed in April 2020.

Method, Results and Conclusions

Facilities in Southeast Michigan have served as the frontline of the pandemic in the Midwest and in order to cope with the surge, rapid, and in some cases, complete restructuring of care was mandatory to effect change and attempt to deal with the emerging crisis. We describe the initial experience and response of 4 large vascular surgery health systems in Michigan to COVID-19.
The Theory Crisis in Psychology: How to Move Forward
Authors: Eronen Markus I. , Bringmann Laura F.
Published: January 2021

Meehl argued in 1978 that theories in psychology come and go, with little cumulative progress. We believe that this assessment still holds, as also evidenced by increasingly common claims that psychology is facing a “theory crisis” and that psychologists should invest more in theory building. In this article, we argue that the root cause of the theory crisis is that developing good psychological theories is extremely difficult and that understanding the reasons why it is so difficult is crucial for moving forward in the theory crisis. We discuss three key reasons based on philosophy of science for why developing good psychological theories is so hard: the relative lack of robust phenomena that impose constraints on possible theories, problems of validity of psychological constructs, and obstacles to discovering causal relationships between psychological variables. We conclude with recommendations on how to move past the theory crisis.
Online memorials as a platform for empathy journalism
Authors: Niemeyer Katharina
Published: January 2021

Shortly after the suicide bombings and mass shootings that took place in and around Paris on 13 November 2015, journalists of the French daily newspaper Le Monde decided to honor and commemorate the victims by publishing their portraits and creating an online memorial called #EnMemoire (#InRemembrance). Until now, studies of these types of memorials have concentrated primarily on analyses of portraits and their narratives. They have not, however, focused on the environments in which they were produced and received. Likewise, no study has yet explored the journalist’s role or the place of empathy in the online-memorial creation process. Based on memory and journalism studies, this article discusses therefore the online memorial creation process and the role empathy plays in the ways journalists—as mediators of mourning—and readers interact with each other. It also addresses sensitivities the study researcher developed after experiencing these events.
Studies on the Mechanism of Gegen Qinlian Decoction in Treating Diabetes Mellitus Based on Network Pharmacology
Authors: Deng Xiaodong , Liang Yuhua , Hu Jianmei , Yang Yuhui
Published: January 2021

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease that is very common and seriously threatens patient health. Gegen Qinlian decoction (GQD) has long been applied clinically, but its mechanism in pharmacology has not been extensively and systematically studied. A GQD protein interaction network and diabetes protein interaction network were constructed based on the methods of system biology. Functional module analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, and Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis were carried out on the 2 networks. The hub nodes were filtered by comparative analysis. The topological parameters, interactions, and biological functions of the 2 networks were analyzed in multiple ways. By applying GEO-based external datasets to verify the results of our analysis that the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) displayed metabolic pathways in which hub genes played roles in regulating different expression states. Molecular docking is used to verify the effective components that can be combined with hub nodes. By comparing the 2 networks, 24 hub targets were filtered. There were 7 complex relationships between the networks. The results showed 4 topological parameters of the 24 selected hub targets that were much higher than the median values, suggesting that these hub targets show specific involvement in the network. The hub genes were verified in the GEO database, and these genes were closely related to the biological processes involved in glucose metabolism. Molecular docking results showed that 5,7,2', 6'-tetrahydroxyflavone, magnograndiolide, gancaonin I, isoglycyrol, gancaonin A, worenine, and glyzaglabrin produced the strongest binding effect with 10 hub nodes. This compound–target mode of interaction may be the main mechanism of action of GQD. This study reflected the synergistic characteristics of multiple targets and multiple pathways of traditional Chinese medicine and discussed the mechanism of GQD in the treatment of DM at the molecular pharmacological level.
An In Vitro Coumarin-Antibiotic Combination Treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms
Authors: Zou Jinpeng , Liu Yang , Guo Ruiwei , Tang Yu , Shi Zhengrong , Zhang Mengnan , Wu Wei , Chen Yinyin , Hou Kai
Published: January 2021

The drug resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a worldwide problem due to its great threat to human health. A crude extract of Angelica dahurica has been proved to have antibacterial properties, which suggested that it may be able to inhibit the biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa; initial exploration had shown that the crude extract could inhibit the growth of P. aeruginosa effectively. After the adaptive dose of coumarin was confirmed to be a potential treatment for the bacteria’s drug resistance, “coumarin-antibiotic combination treatments” (3 coumarins—simple coumarin, imperatorin, and isoimperatorin—combined with 2 antibiotics—ampicillin and ceftazidime) were examined to determine their capability to inhibit P. aeruginosa. The final results showed that (1) coumarin with either ampicillin or ceftazidime significantly inhibited the biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa; (2) coumarin could directly destroy mature biofilms; and (3) the combination treatment can synergistically enhance the inhibition of biofilm formation, which could significantly reduce the usage of antibiotics and bacterial resistance. To sum up, a coumarin-antibiotic combination treatment may be a potential way to inhibit the biofilm growth of P. aeruginosa and provides a reference for antibiotic resistance treatment.
Two New Compounds From the Heartwood of Dalbergia melanoxylon and Their Protective Effect on Hypoxia/Reoxygenation Injury in H9c2
Authors: Liu Yang , Zhang Ni , He Jun-wei , Chen Lan-ying , Yang Li , Meng Xiao-wei , Shao Feng , Liu Rong-hua
Published: January 2021

A new neoflavonoid, named as (7 R)-(-)-3′,5-dihydroxy-4′,2,4-trimethoxy-dalbergiquinol (1) and a new phenanthrenedione, named as 3′,7-dihydroxy-3,6- dimethoxy-9-phenyl-1,4-phenanthrenedione (2), together with 4 known compounds, 5- O-methyldalbergiphenol (3), 3′,7-dihydroxy-4′,3,6-trimethoxy-9-phenyl-1,4-phenanthrenedione (4), (+)-obtusafuran (5), and melanoxin (6) were isolated from the heartwood of Dalbergia melanoxylon. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectral evidence, as well as by comparison with literature data. Moreover, compound 1 showed a protective effect on hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in H9c2 at 10.0 μM by decreasing lactate dehydrogenase and malondialdehyde activity and enhancing superoxide dismutase activity.
Enhancement of Lipolysis in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes by Nitroarene Capsaicinoid Analogs
Authors: Laolob Thanet , Bunyapraphatsara Nuntavan , Waranuch Neti , Pongcharoen Sutatip , Punyain Wikorn , Chancharunee Sirirat , Sakchaisri Krisada , Pratuangdejkul Jaturong , Chongruchiroj Sumet , Kielar Filip , Wichai Uthai
Published: January 2021

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) activation by capsaicin binding increased intracellular calcium influx and stimulated adipocyte-to-adipocyte communication, leading to lipolysis. Generally, enhancement of π-stacking capabilities improves certain binding interactions. Notably, nitroarenes exhibit strong binding interactions with aromatic amino acid side chains in proteins. New capsaicinoid analogs were designed by substitution of the OCH3 group with a nitrogen dioxide (NO2) group on the vanillyl ring to investigate how π-stacking interactions in capsaicinoid analogs contribute to lipolysis. Capsaicinoid analogs, nitro capsaicin (5), and nitro dihydrocapsaicin (6) were prepared in moderate yields via coupling of a nitroaromatic amine salt and fatty acids. Oil Red O staining and triglyceride assays with 10 µM loading of capsaicin (CAP), dihydrocapsaicin (DHC), 5, and 6 were performed to investigate their effect on lipolysis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Both assay results indicated that 5 and 6 decreased lipid accumulation by 13.6% and 14.7%, respectively, and significantly reduced triglyceride content by 26.9% and 28.4%, respectively, in comparison with the control experiment. Furthermore, the decrease in triglyceride content observed in response to nitroarene capsaicinoid analogs was approximately 2-folds higher than that of CAP and DHC. These results arose from the NO2 group augmented π-π stacking with Tyr511 and the attractive charge interaction with Glu570 affecting binding interactions with TRPV1 receptors.
Effects of In Situ Burial and Sub-Optimal Storage on Seed Longevity and Reserve Resources in Sub-Tropical Mountain Cloud Forest Tree Species of Mexico
Authors: Garcias-Morales Candelaria , Orozco-Segovia Alma , Soriano Diana , Zuloaga-Aguilar Susana
Published: January 2021

To design conservation and management strategies for sub-tropical moist forests, it is important to know how storage affects the longevity and germination of desiccation-sensitive seeds. These variables are controlled by a physiological process that is mainly associated with the seeds’ moisture content and reserve content, which can be significantly affected by environmental conditions. The objectives of this study were: (i) to evaluate the relationship between longevity and reserve content of sensitive and non-sensitive desiccation seeds (ii), and to describe how the in situ burial and sub-optimal storage (inside growth chambers) can affect seed longevity. In seeds of six mountain cloud forest tree species, germination and seed reserve content were quantified in seeds collected recently (control) and at five different times, along with storage for 31 or 35 days in situ and under suboptimal conditions. Freshly harvested seeds with higher soluble carbohydrate and lipid content and the presence of thermo-stable proteins had the longest-expected ecological longevity and mean germination time. In contrast to in situ burial, germination was negatively affected by storage time. Burial time significantly affected the rate and mean germination time in most of the species. For two species, a greater soluble carbohydrate or a lower starch and lipid content in seeds was found to be related to the high germination rate in storage. Our results show that the sub-optimal storage reduces the lifespan in most of the study species and increases seed damages through dehydration.