bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Professor Efthymios (Mike) Tsionas’ asset pricing model groundbreaking contributions
Authors: Arakelian Veni
Published: October 2024

This paper aims to discuss Prof. Efthymios (Mike) Tsionas’ work on asset pricing and highlight his original contributions, as well as the necessary foundation in mathematics, econometrics, economics, statistics, and programming.
Autistic people differ from non-autistic people subjectively, but not objectively in their reasoning
Authors: Bastan Elif , Beck Sarah R , Surtees Andrew DR
Published: October 2024

Autism has been linked to difficulties within the social domain and quick decision-making. The Dual Process Theory of Autism proposes that autistic people, compared to non-autistic people, tend to prefer and perform in a more deliberative and less intuitive reasoning style, suggesting enhanced rationality in autism. However, this theory has not been systematically explored across social and non-social domains. In total, 24 autistic adults and 24 age-, gender- and non-verbal cognitive ability–matched non-autistic counterparts completed subjective and objective measures of reasoning. A scenario-based comparison task was employed, covering both social and non-social domains, to assess whether participants consistently used the same strategy across domains or alternated between strategies for their forced-choice judgements. On a subjective measure of reasoning, compared to their counterparts, autistic participants self-reported lower intuition. However, there was an opposite pattern on an objective measure, in that autistic participants responded more intuitively. No significant group differences were identified between autistic and non-autistic participants on self-reported deliberation, objectively measured reflectiveness or forced-choice moral judgements across social and non-social domains. There might be a discrepancy among autistic people for their subjective preferences and objective performances in reasoning, decision-making and judgements.

Lay Abstract

Autistic people often experience challenges in social contexts, and when decisions need to be made quickly. There is evidence showing that autistic people have a tendency for greater deliberation and lower intuition, compared to non-autistic people. This has led to the researchers’ proposal that autism is associated with an enhanced level of rationality. However, these theories have been mostly explored through the lens of either only non-social domain or only social domain. To address this gap, we recruited autistic adults and carefully matched them with non-autistic adults for comparison. We used a task representing both social and non-social interactions in a comparison structure and asked participants’ moral judgements on scenarios’ main characters. This was complemented by subjective and objective measures of reasoning. Our findings did not reveal meaningful differences between groups in terms of deliberation. However, we did observe that autistic participants self-reported lower levels of intuition, compared to non-autistic participants. Autistic people consistently rate themselves as less intuitive than their counterparts. Nevertheless, objective evidence supporting this across tasks and studies is inconsistent.
Slow resistance: Feminist and queer activism in ‘illiberal’ contexts
Authors: Tan Jia
Published: October 2024

In recent years in China, NGO activism, street gatherings, and the direct expression of gender and sexual rights have been curtailed, yet paradoxically, online feminist expression and organizing, as well as gay visibility, are happening on an unprecedented scale. Inspired by the notions of slow violence and slow hope, this article proposes the concept of slow resistance in relation to ‘illiberalism’ to think through this paradox. Analyzing recent rich and multifaceted, yet often overlooked, feminist activism in China as an example of slow resistance, the article considers slow resistance in ‘illiberal’ contexts as characterized by its context-dependent (in)visibility due to censorship and limitations in global knowledge production and information circulation. Furthermore, slow resistance can be used to understand activism on a global and transnational scale, beyond the oversimplified liberal/illiberal binary. This binary often fails to capture the complexity of political shifts and social changes within ‘illiberal’ contexts. Moreover, the concept of slow resistance challenges the understanding of power solely as state power and resistance solely as opposition to state power. Developing the concept within feminist activism also highlights the importance of gender and sexual politics in understanding social and political change. Slow resistance offers an indeterminate temporality of resistance that challenges narratives of progress in modernization projects and narratives of decline and despair often associated with ‘illiberal states.’ It is important to note that an excessive emphasis on state oppression or illiberal tendencies may paradoxically hinder, rather than facilitate, the potential for (slow) resistance in such contexts.
Public attitudes towards international trade and free trade agreements in the United Kingdom
Authors: Vasilopoulou Sofia , Talving Liisa , Keith Daniel
Published: October 2024

This article examines attitudes towards international trade in the United Kingdom. Using evidence from two cross-sectional surveys (July 2019 and June 2022), our research allows us to disentangle between citizens’ support for international trade in the abstract and support for specific trade policy in the form of new free trade agreements, and with specific partners. Our findings indicate that overall non-economic and contextual explanations are more relevant to understanding attitudes towards new free trade agreements compared to economic explanations. We point to the context-specific relevance of non-economic explanations, such as identity and partisanship, and show that while the Brexit context has had a major impact on attitude formation, this was also nuanced. Our findings have implications for the study of attitudes towards trade and – more broadly – towards different aspects of globalisation.
Challenging questions in Saudi press conferences
Authors: Alfahad Abdulrahman
Published: October 2024

Press conferences that host high ranking officials have not been a common practice in Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, since 2020 this has changed clearly as Ministers have begun to appear in regular press conferences, a new format that requires examination and comparison to see the extent to which it is in line with the previous findings of this kind of interaction in western contexts. The current paper concentrates on examining the practice of challenging officials. The questions from these press conferences have been categorized using a framework that assesses aggressiveness through four aspects: initiative, directness, assertiveness, and hostility. The results show that journalists score a high level in the first dimension, but achieve generally low scores in the other three dimensions. The overall results indicate that journalists display a degree of initiative-taking and bring some concerns of the public to officials, but with a high proportion of cautious and non-assertive questions, an interaction system that avoids a high level of confrontation toward officials.
Optical engine investigation of two-injection strategies for energy-assisted compression-ignition combustion of low cetane number sustainable aviation fuels
Authors: Amezcua Eri R. , Kim Kenneth , Kweon Chol-Bum M. , Rothamer David A.
Published: October 2024

A two-injection strategy was investigated for energy-assisted compression-ignition combustion using hot surface ignition of low-cetane number sustainable aviation fuels in an optically-accessible engine. In-cylinder pressure measurements and OH chemiluminescence imaging were employed to assess the combustion process. Three experimental studies were performed to understand and optimize the EACI combustion process: a single injection design-of-experiments (DoE), a two-injection injection DoE, and a modified two-injection dwell sweep. The fuel used for this investigation was a cetane number 35.5 binary blend of an alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) fuel with a cetane number of ~17 and F-24 (Jet-A with military additives) with a cetane number of 48.5. Results demonstrate a two-injection strategy can enable a complete and stable EACI combustion without excessive pressure rise rates for the right set of ignition assistant temperature and injection parameters. Parameters that assist in establishing this are higher ignition assistant temperatures (>1400 K), longer injection dwells (>1.5 ms), and lower injection pressures (near 600 bar). These parameters increase the extent of heat release from the first injection and influence the location of hot combusted gases. The first injection heat release is essential to enable rapid ignition of a majority of second injection fuel jets. This limits the amount of end-gas autoignition, reducing pressure rise rates and avoiding pressure oscillations. The ability of the first injection to positively influence the ignition process of the second injection is encouraging and provides guidance on the approach to operate with even lower cetane number renewable fuels.
Public political philosophy in Poland: Phacts, phictions, and philennials
Authors: Floyd Jonathan
Published: October 2024

All over the world, political philosophers are increasingly told to deliver more ‘engagement’, ‘relevance’, or ‘impact’, without it being remotely clear what this should involve. Less analysis and more activism? Fewer principles and more policies? Less critique and more cooperation? Or something else altogether: a particular way of working with others that sits alongside, rather than replaces, what we already do as professional scholars. In support of this last possibility, my argument here has two stages. First, a flexible theory of ‘public political philosophy’ that others can adopt or amend as they see fit. Second, a development of that theory by way of a particular ‘case-study’: ‘inter-minority dialogue’ in Poland, and especially dialogue between, and about, Jewish and Muslim communities residing there. Note though, in advance, that this is not ‘development’ in the sense of either ‘testing’ an empirical theory or ‘applying’ a normative one. Instead I aim simply to sketch out a particular kind of conversation, between and amongst these groups, as well as local scholars, by setting out three ‘methods’ they can experiment with, each of which is intended to support, rather than supplant, whatever dialogues are already locally occurring. These three I call ‘phacts’, ‘phictions’, and ‘philennials’, and if they are far from a solution to any of the problems these communities face, they are at least a new contribution that philosophers are particularly well placed to facilitate.
An in situ prepared fiber-based piezoresistive film for ultrasonic wave detection on nonplanar carbon fiber-reinforced composites
Authors: Cheng Xiaoying , Zheng Mingming , Wu Zhenyu , Shi Lin , Hu Xudong
Published: October 2024

Owing to the flexibility and high-frequency responsiveness, nanocomposite piezoresistive sensors are suitable for Lamb wave detection on composite materials. Various types of nanocomposite films have been developed for this purpose. However, the inelasticity trait of commonly used electrodes for the nanocomposite films impedes their application on the nonplanar surface of composites. Herein, an in situ prepared piezoresistive film based on graphene and polymethyl methacrylate nanocomposite has been proposed for ultrasonic wave detection on nonplanar carbon fiber-reinforced composites. Electrospinning method is employed to fabricate piezoresistive fiber film onto carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites, and the sensitivity along the thickness direction is utilized via employing the CFRP layer as one electrode. The fabricated sensitive films exhibit the capability to detect up to 150 kHz ultrasonic signals on curved surfaces. With the help of Hilbert energy spectrum, the precise damage localization on CFRP is achieved by the sensitive film array with a relative error of only 1%. This innovation provides a new in situ preparation method for ultrasonic sensitive film on nonplanar-shaped CFRP components for nondestructive evaluation task.
Off the beaten track: Portugal’s strategies for attracting international students
Authors: Tavares Orlanda , Aguiar Joyce , Sin Cristina
Published: October 2024

Portugal, a semi-peripheral player in international student mobility (ISM), has historically attracted few international students. Against a significant growth in international enrolments in recent years, this paper explores the institutional strategies underpinning this expansion in 13 Portuguese higher education institutions with the highest proportions of international students. Through semi-structured interviews with 24 top institutional leaders and middle managers, we analyse the recruitment strategies deployed to improve attractiveness and target publics through the lens of globalisation theories. Findings indicate that institutions are deliberately and proactively navigating the changing landscape of ISM through strategies that range from more traditional marketing actions to some very innovative and unique approaches to recruitment. They also reveal a deliberate diversification of target publics. The paper enhances knowledge about recruitment strategies in a less popular destination, highlighting that creativity and resourcefulness are necessary for semi-peripheral countries to gain terrain in international recruitment.
Characterization of structure and properties of dark color polyester FDY with varied linear density
Authors: Yao Li , Han Wu , Zhaoqun Du , Taohai Yan , Zhi Chen
Published: October 2024

Linear density, as an important index of industrial filament production, has a vital impact on the performance of filament products, but there are few relevant studies. In order to further investigate the effect of the change of linear density on the performance of polyester filament in the process of industrial filament production. By replacing different spinnerets, five kinds of polyester full-stretch filament with different linear densities were prepared and named FDY. By testing and analyzing five kinds of polyester FDY filament, the differences in structure and properties of five kinds of FDY filament are discussed. The morphology, molecular structure, thermal and mechanical properties of five kinds of polyester FDY filaments were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, Fourier infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, filament color and mechanical properties. The results show that the molecular structure, crystallinity and orientation of polyester FDY filament are not affected by changing the linear density by changing the spinneret. In terms of heat, the melting point temperature and enthalpy of polyester FDY filament increase as linear density increases. In terms of optics, the lower the linear density of FDY, the lower the reflectivity of FDY. As the wavelength increases, the reflection of FDY decreases first and then increases. The reflectance is minimal when the wavelength is 670 nm. In terms of mechanical properties, the breaking strength and elongation at break of polyester FDY decrease with the decrease of linear density. In this study, it is found that changing the linear density by changing the spinneret has specific effects on the performance of polyester filament in various aspects, which has guiding significance for the analysis of influencing factors on the performance of industrial filament in the process of industrial production.
Crafting and Authenticating Prognostic Nomograms for Overall and Cancer-specific Survival in Pediatric Small Renal Masses: A Comprehensive Two-Decade Cohort Study
Authors: Kong Jianqiu , Zou Yitong , Huang Yi , Yao Yuhui , Gan Qinghua , Chen Zhijian , Xie Weibin , Fan Xinxiang
Published: October 2024

Background

The intricate task of diagnosing and managing small renal masses (SRMs) has become progressively convoluted within the realm of clinical practice. Contemporary clinical prediction instruments may succumb to a gradual decay in precision, coupled with an absence of unambiguous guidelines to navigate patient management.

Methods

This investigation was devised to formulate and authenticate nomograms for the overall survival (OS) and cancer- specific survival (CSS) among patients afflicted with SRMs. The study encompassed a cohort of 2558 pediatric patients diagnosed with SRMs over the period of 2000 to 2019. Independent prognostic indicators for OS and CSS, encompassing historical staging, chemotherapy regimens, surgical interventions, and pathological classifications, were ascertained through the employment of multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis and backward stepwise selection.

Results

Through the utilization of multivariate Cox regression models, nomograms for OS and CSS were meticulously crafted, demonstrating commendable discrimination and calibration within the training set (OS C-index: 0.762, CSS C-index: 0.779). The validation set further corroborated the exemplary discrimination and calibration of the nomograms. Moreover, these nomograms adeptly differentiated between patient groups at elevated and diminished risk levels.

Conclusion

The nomograms delineated in this research provide propitious predictive accuracy for overall survival and cancer-specific survival in patients suffering from pediatric SRMs, thereby contributing to refined risk stratification and steering the optimal therapeutic course of action. The necessity for supplementary validation prevails before the translation of these findings into clinical practice.
COVID-19 Deaths in Transnational Settings: Disrupted Bereavement and Pandemic-Related Prolonged Grief Disorder in the Latinx Immigrant Population
Authors: Shaulis Kelsey , Garcia Victor
Published: October 2024

The Latinx immigrant population experienced one of the highest COVID-19 death rates. Those left behind have exhibited rising rates of mental illness, particularly, pandemic-related prolonged grief disorder. The Latinx immigrant population is uniquely vulnerable to this disorder as a result of disrupted culturally appropriate bereavement practices, constrained social support, and concurrent COVID-19 stressors and immigration-related trauma. Despite a rising call for research on pandemic-related prolonged grief disorder, little is known about the true prevalence, cause, and appropriate treatment protocol behind this disorder in the Latinx immigrant population. Four areas of research critical to the identification and understanding of pandemic-related prolonged grief disorder in this population are recommended: 1) death and bereavement in transnational settings, 2) immigrant social networks and disrupted bereavement, 3) COVID-19 stressors and grieving, and 4) prolonged grief disorder and mental illness comorbidities. An understanding of these four contributing areas to Latinx immigrants’ vulnerability to prolonged grief disorder is imperative to providers’ development of assessments and treatment protocols needed to identify and treat prolonged grief disorder in this population.
Avant-Garde is Dead? On Arrière-Garde and Digital Games
Authors: Prokopek Aleksandra , Waszkiewicz Agata
Published: October 2024

This article aims to approach the problem of avant-garde digital games by analyzing them as proof of avant-gardes’ vitality and/or their demise. First, it seeks to investigate the presence of avant-garde as a term within contemporary digital game discourses. Second, it focuses on the digital games somewhat inspired by works and practices of avant-gardes and tries to investigate how the presence of avant-gardes within contemporary games may also indicate its demise. To deal with that ambiguous position, the concept of arrière-garde is proposed, as prescribed to contemporary works of art inspired by avant-garde movements and continuing their actions. The article concludes with two case studies, focusing on intertextual references to the Surrealism found in titles by Bedtime Digital Game and of cozy games which, despite not offering direct continuity, utilize art and mood as a means of political protest in a similar way to Czech Poetism.
Azoospermia Due to Functional and Partial Ejaculatory Duct Obstruction: A Rare Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Zheng Lei , Wang Lihong , Jiang Hui , Jiang Tao
Published: October 2024

Ejaculatory duct obstruction (EDO) is a rare but treatable cause of male infertility. This case report describes a 28-year-old male with obstructive azoospermia. The patient came to our hospital after a fertility check-up revealed azoospermia. A subsequent semen analysis confirmed azoospermia. Transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed bilaterally enlarged seminal vesicles and thickened, calcified ejaculatory duct walls. The patient underwent transurethral seminal vesiculoscopy and transurethral resection of the ejaculatory ducts (TURED) for presumed partial EDO. Despite two transurethral seminal vesiculoscopy and TURED procedures, postoperative semen analysis still showed azoospermia. TRUS indicated non-contractile seminal vesicles and an unobstructed ejaculatory duct. The patient ultimately underwent percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration for assisted reproductive technology and his spouse got pregnant. We identified a case of azoospermia caused by a rare combination of partial and functional ejaculatory duct obstruction. There are currently no reports of similar cases. This case report aims to provide valuable insights for diagnosing and treating EDO.
From Darkness to Sunshine: Blind Babies, Families and the Sunshine Homes, 1918–1939
Authors: Anderson Julie
Published: October 2024

This article examines the contrast between the interwar British state's emphasis on motherhood and the justification for the institutional care of a relatively small group of blind babies. After the First World War, concerns about the state of the nation were addressed in part by legislation and an increase in the number of organisations which purported to help mothers to bring up healthy babies. The interest in mothers who gave birth to blind babies centred on the poor mother's ability to cope with a visually impaired infant. The authorities’ concerns, anxieties about the association between impaired senses and learning difficulties expressed by eugenicists and unease surrounding the long-term social and economic costs of blindness supported early intervention. The narrative of the overwhelmed and neglectful mother was juxtaposed with the benefit of institutionalisation, which justified the removal of some blind infants from their homes. The metaphor of the dark home and unenlightened mother was replaced by one of light and knowledge emanating from the brightly painted environs of the Sunshine Homes for Blind Babies. During the interwar period, positive reports and articles in newspapers, magazines and charitable propaganda, supported by powerful elites including the British royal family, presented the Sunshine Homes for Blind Babies as caring spaces full of the love of dedicated professional nurses, and kind, wealthy benefactors; there were no reports produced to suggest anything but the most positive experience for the infants. Essentially, a blind infant's biological family was metaphorically, and in some cases literally, replaced by a new institutional family of carers and visitors.
A fast search method of buckling load for telescopic boom structure
Authors: Zhao Tianjiao , Qi Zhaohui , Wang Tianyu
Published: October 2024

The telescopic boom structures are extensively utilized in engineering applications involving large mobile cranes, aerial work platforms of significant height, and similar mechanical devices. These are predominantly fabricated using solid-webbed box types, latticed truss designs, or a combination thereof. Under load, they exhibit pronounced geometric nonlinear effects, with the relationship between load and displacement demonstrating marked nonlinear characteristics. This paper focuses on the geometric nonlinear modeling of slender multi flexible beam structures. The overall structural system is divided into several substructures, and the concept of multi flexible system modeling is borrowed to establish a follow-up connected body foundation on each substructure. By decomposing the node displacement and rotation in the substructure, the large displacement and large rotation of the node are decomposed into rigid body motion of the connected base and small displacement and small rotation relative to the connected base, effectively representing the large displacement and large rotation of the substructure as rigid body motion of the connected base. A modeling method for the geometric nonlinear analysis of slender and flexible multibody beam structures is proposed. By decomposing the nodal displacement and rotation within the substructures, the large displacement and rotation of the nodes are broken down into the rigid body motion of the body-fixed coordinate and small displacement and rotation relative to the body-fixed coordinate. This approach establishes the application conditions for calculating the structure’s virtual power of deformation using traditional beam elements with linear strain. A method for solving the instability load of slender and flexible multibody structures is proposed. This method integrates the characteristics of the system’s nonlinear equilibrium equations with respect to load, by deriving the system equations with respect to a load increment control parameter. This paper converts nonlinear equilibrium equations into first-order ordinary differential equation (ODE). The method proposed in this paper provides a more efficient solution for the buckling load of the telescopic boom. It can be used to systematically and quickly calculate the structure of the telescopic boom.
Breast care considerations for transgender and gender-diverse patients
Authors: Carroll Evelyn F , Rogers Christine , Summerside Margaret , Cortina Chandler S
Published: October 2024

Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) persons represent a small but growing population in the United States. Accessing inclusive, equitable, and evidence-based healthcare remains a challenge for this patient population. Many TGD persons seek gender-affirming care, including gender-affirming hormonal therapy (GAHT) and gender-affirming surgery (GAS), to help ameliorate the physical and mental aspects of their gender incongruence. Both GAHT and GAS induce clinically important histopathologic and anatomic changes in breast tissue. Consequently, breast care in TGD persons has become an increasingly recognized topic of importance in gender-affirming care. However, there remains a scarce but growing base of literature specifically addressing the unique healthcare needs of breast care in TGD patients. This article will review how to establish trusting patient–provider relationships for TGD patients, gender inclusivity in breast clinics and imaging centers, the influence of GAHT and GAS on breast tissue, breast cancer screening recommendations and barriers, and breast cancer risk and treatment considerations in TGD persons.
Why DON’T We “Say Her Name”? An Intersectional Model of the Invisibility of Police Violence Against Black Women and Girls
Authors: Allen Aerielle M. , Drain Alexis , Galán Chardée A. , Goharzad Azaadeh , Tung Irene , Bekele Beza M. ,   Scholars for Elevating Equity and Diversity (SEED)
Published: October 2024

Racialized police violence is a profound form of systemic oppression affecting Black Americans, yet the narratives surrounding police brutality have disproportionately centered on Black men and boys, overshadowing the victimization of Black women and girls. In 2014, the #SayHerName campaign emerged to bring attention to the often-overlooked instances of police brutality against Black women and girls, including incidents of both nonsexual and sexual violence. Despite these efforts, mainstream discourse and psychological scholarship on police violence continue to marginalize the experiences of Black women and girls. This raises a critical question: Why DON’T we “Say Her Name”? This article employs intersectional frameworks to demonstrate how the historic and systemic factors that render Black women and girls particularly vulnerable to police violence also deny their legitimacy as victims, perpetuate their invisibility, and increase their susceptibility to state-sanctioned violence. We extend models of intersectional invisibility by arguing that ideologies related to age, in addition to racial and gender identities, contribute to their marginalization. Finally, we reflect on how psychological researchers can play a pivotal role in dismantling the invisibility of Black women and girls through scientific efforts and advocacy.
Memory and protest in Belgrade: Remembering the 1990s in the mass demonstrations of 2023
Authors: Fridman Orli
Published: October 2024

The history of the 1990s and of political life in Serbia can be viewed as a history of protest. It was during this decade, in which Slobodan Milošević held power, that an entire generation of activists became part of a process of learning to engage in civil resistance. In waves of massive anti-regime protests as well as in smaller, yet persistent, anti-war protests, they asserted that ‘Belgrade is the World’. This article examines the ways in which practices and themes from these protests have resurfaced more recently, and how this activism is remembered and referenced in the 2020s. Based on data collected in Belgrade during anti-regime protests in 2023, which began as a movement ‘against violence’ (‘ protiv nasilja’), it traces how the memory of protest of the 1990s turned into memory in protest as it appeared in banners, chants, slogans and speeches, as well as in everyday conversation among citizens, some three decades later. Deploying the concept of the memory-activism nexus, the article analyses generational claims in Serbia, the practices of protesters, their hope in activism, their fear of cultivating false expectations and their continuing demands for a better future. It places cultural memory in Serbia in the context of a politics of disappointment, illustrating that memory in protest can function as both a mobilising force and a source of political paralysis.
Digital activism in the future past: How Dutch Extinction Rebellion activists connect past, present and future in their memory work on Instagram
Authors: Smit Rik , van Leeuwen Sacha
Published: October 2024

This article investigates the ways in which Dutch Extinction Rebellion activists discursively engage with the past, present and future on Instagram and leverage the platform’s affordances for mnemonic purposes. We argue that Extinction Rebellion activists, in their communication on the platform, connect these temporal planes retrospectively and prospectively. First, Extinction Rebellion activists use the past as a resource for present action aimed at producing lasting change. This relates to cultural reservoirs and repertoires of past injustices. Second, the present is perceived by Extinction Rebellion activists as a concern for future memory. The recording and documenting of climate injustices and the actions of the movement itself are examples of this. Both positive and negative imagined futures are used by Extinction Rebellion activists to legitimise and delegitimise past and present (in)action. In other words, Extinction Rebellion activists’ future imaginaries not just shape present action, but also shape their memory work. Instagram’s affordances of archivability, connectivity and spreadability are used by Extinction Rebellion to support their digital memory work. These socio-technical affordances are thus appropriated as mnemonic affordances for rhetorical and practical purposes. We support these claims through in-depth interviews with Extinction Rebellion activists and a thematic analysis of Instagram content shared by them.
Contentious memories of a riot dog: The Matapacos statue intervention during the 2019/2020 social uprising in Chile
Authors: Thygesen Alexander Ulrich
Published: October 2024

This article revolves around a case study of the Matapacos statue intervention that took place during the 2019/2020 Chilean social uprising.1 I examine how the introduction of a large statue of the riot dog Negro Matapacos into the urban space of the Chilean capital of Santiago disrupted the traditional monumental landscape by making visible a range of counter-hegemonic mnemonic narratives that converged and reinforced each other in a multidirectional dynamic. The statue intervention was part of a more extensive reconfiguration of the sensible in the urban space during the mobilisation, driven by the activists’ immense aesthetic output, which in turn fed into the emergence of the collective political subject of the Chilean mass movement. Although the statue intervention evoked memories of violent events, it was characterised by a joyful and celebratory atmosphere, which demonstrates the mobilising role of nontraumatic mnemonic practices in the context of activism.
Circulating tumor cells in pancreatic cancer: more than liquid biopsy
Authors: Li Zeru , Qin Cheng , Zhao Bangbo , Li Tianyu , Zhao Yutong , Zhang Xiangyu , Wang Weibin
Published: October 2024

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are tumor cells that slough off the primary lesions and extravasate into the bloodstream. By forming CTC clusters and interacting with other circulating cells (platelets, NK cells, macrophage, etc.), CTCs are able to survive in the circulatory system of tumor patients and colonize to metastatic organs. In recent years, the potential of CTCs in diagnosis, prognostic assessment, and individualized therapy of various types of tumors has been gradually explored, while advances in biotechnology have made it possible to extract CTCs from patient blood samples. These biological features of CTCs provide us with new insights into cancer vulnerabilities. With the advent of new immunotherapies and personalized medicines, disrupting the heterotypical interaction between CTCs and circulatory cells as well as direct CTCs targeting hold great promise. Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most malignant cancers, in part because of early metastasis, difficult diagnosis, and limited treatment options. Although there is significant potential for CTCs as a biomarker to impact PC from diagnosis to therapy, there still remain a number of challenges to the routine implementation of CTCs in the clinical management of PC. In this review, we summed up the progress made in understanding biological characteristics and exceptional technological advances of CTCs and provided insight into exploiting these developments to design future clinical tools for improving the diagnosis and treatment of PC.
Outcomes of open reduction for hip dislocations in children with connective tissue disorders*
Authors: Desai Vineet M , DeFrancesco Christopher J , Cardin Stefano , Hall Carter E , Sankar Wudbhav N
Published: October 2024

Purpose:

While children with hypermobility and/or ligamentous laxity due to coexisting connective tissue disorders might be expected to have worse outcomes after open reduction for hip dislocations, there is minimal prior research on this topic.

Methods:

All open reduction surgeries for hip dislocations performed at a single urban, tertiary-care children’s hospital from 2009 to 2023 were reviewed retrospectively. Those with connective tissue disorders secondary to a diagnosed syndrome or genetic disorder were included. Patients with <1 year of follow-up or hip instability in the setting of Trisomy 21 were excluded. Clinical and radiographic data was collected. Instances of re-dislocation, proximal femoral growth disturbance, residual acetabular dysplasia, and arthrofibrosis were recorded.

Results:

Twenty-three hips (15 patients) were included. Mean age at the time of surgery was 19.6 months (Range: 8.2–36.0 months), and mean follow-up was 4.3 years. The most common connective tissue disorder condition included was Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (13%). A majority of open reductions were performed via an anterior approach (96%). Seven hips (30%) underwent a concomitant pelvic osteotomy without femoral osteotomy and seven hips (30%) underwent both pelvic and femoral osteotomies. Twenty-two hips (96%) were International Hip Dysplasia Institute grade 1 at the final follow-up. Re-dislocation occurred in four hips (17%); eight hips (35%) demonstrated residual acetabular dysplasia, five hips (22%) demonstrated proximal femoral growth disturbance, and nine hips (39%) developed stiffness postoperatively.

Conclusions:

Patients with connective tissue disorders and ligamentous laxity have comparable rates of residual acetabular dysplasia, proximal femoral growth disturbance, and (surprisingly) stiffness as typical developmental dysplasia of the hip following open hip reduction surgery. Although the re-dislocation rate in the connective tissue disorders group was approximately 2–3 times higher, the difference did not reach statistical significance. Given that the study was limited by a low sample size, however, it is possible that the findings of no difference in residual acetabular dysplasia and proximal femoral growth disturbance were potentially due to a lack of power.

Level of evidence:

IV.
Measurement of salivary thyroid hormones using the LC-MS/MS technique in a clinical setting
Authors: Sawicka-Gutaj Nadia , Glinicki Piotr , Nijakowski Kacper , Bromińska Barbara , Ostrowska Magdalena , Szatko Alicja , Sobol Zuzanna , Kowalski Konrad , Wilk Paweł , Zgliczyński Wojciech , Ruchała Marek
Published: October 2024

Background:

Saliva could be an attractive alternative to blood for assessing thyroid hormonal function.

Objectives:

Our goal was to determine if the levels of thyroid hormones in saliva can accurately reflect a person’s thyroid status and if they consistently correlate with the levels of the same hormones in the blood.

Design:

We conducted a cross-sectional study.

Methods:

We enrolled a total of 109 participants with different thyroid conditions. We measured TSH (Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone), free T3 (fT3), and free T4 (fT4) in the blood using two different immunoassay methods: electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) and chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA). Saliva samples were collected using Salivette® tubes, and then we analyzed the levels of thyroid hormones in the saliva using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Results:

Comparing salivary and serum levels of thyroid hormones, we observed significantly lower fT4 and higher fT3 levels in saliva ( p < 0.001), regardless of the measurement method. We also found that salivary fT3 and fT4 levels were positively correlated in the entire group of participants ( p < 0.001, R 0.575), as well as in those with TSH values within the normal reference range ( p < 0.001, R 0.570). We further divided participants based on their TSH reference intervals and assessed the correlations between serum and salivary thyroid hormones within these groups. We also discovered that taking exogenous levothyroxine influenced the correlations between serum and salivary thyroid hormones. Thyroid antibodies did not have a significant impact on the levels of thyroid hormones in both serum and saliva.

Conclusion:

This study demonstrates that salivary thyroid hormones can partially reflect the levels of these hormones in the blood. Saliva may be a useful tool in a clinical setting for patients with thyroid antibodies, but it may not be as effective for those who are taking levothyroxine as a treatment.
Prevalence and factors associated with surgical site infections among mothers after cesarean section at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda: an observational retrospective study
Authors: Mwandah Daniel Chans , Yadesa Tadele Mekuriya , Ibanda Ivan , Komakech Aboda Alex , Kyambadde Deo , Ngonzi Joseph
Published: October 2024

Background:

The risk of infection following cesarean delivery is 5–20 times higher than that following normal delivery, contributing to 10% of pregnancy-related mortality. In 2019, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) performed cesarean section for 40% of deliveries, surpassing the WHO’s recommended 15%–20%. The availability and provision of effective prophylactic antibiotics are crucial in preventing surgical site infections (SSIs).

Objectives:

To determine the prevalence and predictors of SSIs among mothers after cesarean section, length of hospital stay, and antibiotic use at MRRH.

Design:

This was an observational retrospective study conducted in the maternity ward of the MRRH.

Methods:

Data on the diagnosis of SSI, length of hospital stay, and antibiotic use were extracted and entered into EpiData software version 3.1 and analyzed using STATA version 15. We conducted logistic regression analysis to identify factors independently associated with SSIs. We also compared the length of hospital stay.

Results:

The prevalence of post-cesarean SSIs was 7.9% (95% CI: 6.3%–9.9%). Mothers aged 25 years and younger were less likely to develop SSIs (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.53, 95% CI: 0.30–0.93; p = 0.027). Those with more than six pregnancies were more likely to develop SSIs (aOR: 3.4; 95% CI: 1.35–8.58; p = 0.009). The median length of stay was 8 days for mothers who developed an SSI (interquartile range (IQR): 5, 16) and 3 (IQR: 3, 4) days for those who did not ( p < 0.001). Prophylactic antibiotics were prescribed to 83.4% of the women (95% CI: 80.7–85.8). Ampicillin (88.2%) was the most prescribed prophylactic antibiotic, and metronidazole was the most prescribed postoperatively (97.8%) and at discharge (77.6%).

Conclusion:

The current prevalence of post-cesarean SSIs is higher in Uganda than in developed countries. Older age and having had more than six pregnancies are independent predictors of SSIs, and post-cesarean SSI significantly prolonged hospital stay.
Construction of prognosis prediction model and visualization system of acute paraquat poisoning based on improved machine learning model
Authors: Li Long , Han Xinxuan , Zhang Zhigang , Han Tingyong , Wu Peng , Xu Yisha , Zhang Liangjie , Liu Zhenyi , Xi Zhenzhong , Li Haoran , Yu Xiangjiang , He Pan , Zhang Ming
Published: October 2024

Objective

This study aims to develop a prognosis prediction model and visualization system for acute paraquat poisoning based on an improved machine learning model.

Methods

101 patients with acute paraquat poisoning admitted to 6 hospitals from March 2020 to March 2022 were selected for this study. After expiry of the treatment period (one year of follow-up for survivors and up to the time of death for deceased patients) and they were categorized into the survival group (n = 37) and death group (n = 64). The biochemical indexes of the patients were analyzed, and a prognosis prediction model was constructed using HHO-XGBoost, an improved machine-learning algorithm. Multivariate logistic analysis was used to verify the value of the self-screening features in the model.

Results

Seven features were selected in the HHO-XGBoost model, including oral dose, serum creatinine, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), white blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophil count, urea nitrogen level, and thrombin time. Univariate analysis showed statistically significant differences between these features’ survival and death groups (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic analysis identified four features significantly associated with prognosis- serum creatinine level, oral dose, ALT level, and WBC count - indicating their critical significance in predicting outcomes.

Conclusion

The HHO-XGBoost model based on machine learning is precious in constructing a prognosis prediction model and visualization system for acute paraquat poisoning, which can help clinical prognosis prediction of patients with paraquat poisoning.
Outcomes in patients receiving continuous monitoring of vital signs on general wards: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Authors: Bowles Tim , Trentino Kevin M. , Lloyd Adam , Trentino Laura , Jones Glynis , Murray Kevin , Thompson Aleesha , Halpin Sarah , Waterer Grant
Published: October 2024

Objective

The timely identification of deterioration on general wards is crucial to patient care with each hour of delay independently associated with increased risk of death. The introduction of continuous monitoring of patient vital signs on general wards, currently not standard care, may improve patient outcomes. Our aim was to investigate whether patients on general wards receiving continuous vital signs monitoring have better outcomes than patients receiving usual care.

Methods

Meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials comparing non-critical care patients receiving continuous monitoring of vital signs to usual care. We searched Medline, Embase, and Web of Science, and assessed risk of bias with version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomised trials. In addition to measures related to the early detection of deterioration, we planned to present all patient outcomes reported by the clinical trials included.

Results

We included seven trials involving 1284 participants. There were no statistically significant differences in the four outcomes pooled. Comparing continuously monitored to normal care, the pooled odds for hospital mortality, major event/complication, and HDU/ICU admission was 0.95 (95% CI 0.59–1.53, p = 0.84; 660 participants, 3 studies), 0.71 (95% CI 0.38–1.31, p = 0.27; 948 participants, 4 studies) and 0.82 (95% CI 0.25–2.67, p = 0.74; 655 participants, 4 studies), respectively. The mean difference for length of stay was 2.12 days lower (95% CI −5.56 to 1.32, p = 0.23; 1034 participants, 6 studies).

Conclusion

We found no significant improvements in outcomes for patients continuously monitored compared to usual care. Further research is needed to understand what modalities of continuous monitoring may influence outcomes and investigate the implications of a telepresence service and multi-parameter scoring system.

Registration

PROSPERO CRD42023458656.
The Iterative Survey Adaptation of The Imitation Game: A survey approach to defining group identity through analysis of distinctiveness
Authors: Cosgrove Fay
Published: October 2024

This article reports on an original adaptation of the Imitation Game into survey form; the Iterative Survey. Like the original Game, the Iterative Survey can capture the ‘groupishness’ of social groups through analysis of distinctiveness but it can be implemented more affordably and conveniently than the Game making it more useful for researchers with limited resources. This paper outlines the origins of this novel method, and its implementation is illustrated using an exploration of maths anxiety in primary school teachers in Wales. The method privileges participant voices and its asynchronous nature may allow access to groups that would be difficult to recruit for a standard Imitation Game. The method’s rigour and ability to capture ‘groupishness’ are tentatively evaluated. The social scientific value of this novel survey adaptation is discussed with reference to wider social science. The article ends with a discussion of the need for further development of the method.
A Review of IT Investment in Firms: What Can We Do in the New Era
Authors: Ji Peinan , Ji Hui , Yu Lianchao , Yan Xiangbin
Published: October 2024

Many studies on IT investment in companies have been conducted in the past, but our team combined them by summarizing the latest research. Compared to previous work, we revise a larger universe of firm IT investment, focus on more recent IT investment researches, refine the focus of current researchers pay attention to and address the problem of insufficient reference for enterprise practice. Through a review of the literature to synthesize the understanding of IT investment to (i) IT investment performance, (ii) IT adoption decision, (iii) IT governance, and (iv) IT labor (worker), we could highlight the research gaps that we encountered. Finally, based on the current research conclusions, we give practical suggestions from the early, middle and late stages of IT investment. This study contributes to the growing amount of literature on IT investment, both academically and practically.