bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Asynchrony of actuarial and reproductive senescence: a lesson from an indeterminate grower
Authors: Cayuela Hugo , Lemaître Jean-François , Rugiero Lorenzo , Capula Massimo , Luiselli Luca
Published: July 2020

Evolutionary theories relating to aging predict that patterns of actuarial and reproductive senescence should be aligned, with a common onset of senescence set at the age of first reproduction. However, a few empirical studies reported asynchrony between actuarial and reproductive senescence. This asynchrony is expected to be particularly pronounced in organisms with indeterminate growth. Yet, this process is still poorly documented due to the lack of long-term demographic data on known-aged individuals. We investigated the asynchrony of actuarial and reproductive senescence in the European whip snake, Hierophis viridiflavus, an oviparous colubrid with indeterminate growth. Using demographic data collected over a 29-year period, we showed that females did not experience any fecundity loss late in life. In contrast, they suffered from an early, severe actuarial senescence. Our findings thus revealed a pronounced asynchrony in actuarial and reproductive senescence processes, a phenomenon that could be widespread across the tree of life.
Vulnerabilities and Inequalities Experienced by Women in the Climate Change Discourse in South Africa’s Rural Communities: Implications for Social Work
Authors: Nyahunda Louis , Makhubele Jabulani Calvin , Mabvurira Vincent , Matlakala Frans Koketso
Published: July 2020

Women’s vulnerability to climate-induced shocks hinges on a high dependence on climate-sensitive livelihoods and a natural resource base aggravated by the acute inequalities that they experience due to patriarchal dominance. This article’s purpose is to unpack the vulnerabilities and inequalities that rural women experience in the climate change terrain which necessitates the involvement of the social work profession. This study adopted a qualitative methodology guided by a multi-case study design. A sample of twenty-five participants, including community members and social workers, participated in the study. These participants were selected through simple purposive and convenient sampling techniques. Data were collected using focus group discussions and individual interviews. The thematic content analysis was followed to analyse the findings. The study established that rural women are impacted by various vulnerabilities and inequalities in the climate change discourse, which serve as barriers to their effective adaptation. The vulnerabilities and inequalities manifest through lack of land and property rights, discrimination from decision-making processes, poverty and lack of adequate knowledge about climate change mitigation and adaptation. Social work involvement to address these catastrophes is scant in the Vhembe district in Limpopo province, South Africa. The study recommends that all climate change interventions should put an end to inequalities women experience in order for them to be effective and social workers should be at the frontline of such initiative.
Combination of once-weekly haemodialysis with peritoneal dialysis is associated with lower mortality compared with peritoneal dialysis alone: a longitudinal study
Authors: Murashima Miho , Hamano Takayuki , Abe Masanori , Masakane Ikuto
Published: July 2020

Background

Approximately 20% of patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) in Japan are on combination with once-weekly haemodialysis (HD). This study aimed to compare outcomes of combination therapy and PD alone.

Methods

This longitudinal study on the Japanese Renal Data Registry included patients on PD from 2010 to 2014. Subjects were followed until the end of 2015. Exposure of interest was combination therapy compared with PD alone. Outcomes were complete transition to HD, all-cause mortality, cardiovascular (CV) mortality and congestive heart failure (CHF)-related mortality. Patients who initiated combination therapy were matched with those on PD alone by propensity scores. Data were analysed using Cox regression models.

Results

Among the matched cohort, 608 patients were on combination therapy and 869 were on PD alone. Decline in body weight and residual renal function was more prominent in the combination therapy group. During a median follow-up of 2.5 years, 224 deaths occurred. All-cause mortality {hazard ratio (HR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] 0.56 (0.42–0.75)}, CV mortality [HR 0.48 (0.32–0.72)] and CHF-related mortality [HR 0.19 (0.07–0.55)] were significantly lower, but complete transition to HD was significantly earlier [HR 1.72 (1.45–2.03)] in the combination therapy group. Sensitivity analyses considering the effects of dialysis facilities yielded similar results. Assuming causality, numbers needed to treat to prevent one death per year were 34 patients.

Conclusions

Combination therapy was associated with lower all-cause mortality, CV mortality and CHF-related mortality, but earlier transition to HD compared with PD alone, which might be due to better fluid removal by HD.
The Influence of Marking Methods on Mobility, Survivorship, and Field Recovery of Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Adults and Nymphs
Authors: Kirkpatrick Danielle M , Rice Kevin B , Ibrahim Aya , Fleischer Shelby J , Tooker John F , Tabb Amy , Medeiros Henry , Morrison William R , Leskey Tracy C
Published: July 2020

Halyomorpha halys (Stål), the brown marmorated stink bug, is an invasive and highly polyphagous insect that has caused serious economic injury to specialty and row crops in the United States and Europe. Here, we evaluated the effects of marking adult and nymphal H. halys with four different colors of fluorescent powder (Blaze Orange, Corona Pink, Horizon Blue, and Signal Green) on mobility and survivorship in laboratory bioassays. Adults and nymphs were marked using liquified fluorescent powder solutions and allowed to dry prior to bioassay. The presence of the marking solution had no significant effects on adult or nymphal mobility, adult survivorship, nymphal development, or adult flight capacity. We also evaluated the persistence of neon marker applied to the pronotum of H. halys adults and found this technique remained detectable for 2 wk under field conditions. Although both marking techniques are inexpensive, persist for ≥1 wk, and do not affect mortality, the neon marker method is more time-consuming, taking ~12 times longer to mark 50 adult H. halys compared with the liquified fluorescent powders. Thus, we would recommend using fluorescent powders for large-scale mark-release-recapture studies.
Impact of opioids on P2Y12 receptor inhibition in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction who are pre-treated with crushed ticagrelor: Opioids aNd crushed Ticagrelor In Myocardial infarction Evaluation (ON-TIME 3) trial
Authors: Tavenier Anne H , Hermanides Renicus S , Ottervanger Jan Paul , Tolsma Rudolf , van Beurden Antony , Slingerland Robbert Jan , ter Horst Peter G J , Gosselink A T Marcel , Dambrink Jan-Henk E , van Leeuwen Maarten A H , Roolvink Vincent , Kedhi Elvin , Klungel Olaf H , Belitser Svetlana V , Angiolillo Dominick J , Pustjens Tobias , Rasoul Saman , Gho Ben , Stein Mera , Ruiters Lex , van ‘t Hof Arnoud W J
Published: July 2020

Aims

Platelet inhibition induced by P2Y12 receptor antagonists in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) can be affected by concomitant use of opioids. The aim of this trial was to examine the effect of intravenous (iv) acetaminophen compared with iv fentanyl on P2Y12 receptor inhibition in patients with STEMI.

Methods and results

The Opioids aNd crushed Ticagrelor In Myocardial infarction Evaluation (ON-TIME 3) trial randomized 195 STEMI patients who were scheduled to undergo primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and were pre-treated with crushed ticagrelor to iv acetaminophen (N = 98) or iv fentanyl (N = 97) in the ambulance. The primary endpoint, consisting of the level of platelet reactivity units (PRU) measured immediately after primary PCI, was not significantly different between the study arms [median PRU 104 (IQR 37–215) vs. 175 (63–228), P = 0.18]. However, systemic levels of ticagrelor were significantly higher in the acetaminophen arm at the start of primary PCI [151 ng/mL (32–509) vs. 60 ng/mL (13–206), P = 0.007], immediately after primary PCI [326 ng/mL (94–791) vs. 115 ng/mL (38–326), P = 0.002], and at 1 h after primary PCI [488 ng/mL (281–974) vs. 372 ng/mL (95–635), P = 0.002]. Acetaminophen resulted in the same extent of pain relief when compared with fentanyl [reduction of 3 points on 10-step-pain scale before primary PCI (IQR 1–5)] in both study arms (P = 0.67) and immediately after PCI [reduction of 5 points (3–7); P = 0.96].

Conclusion

The iv acetaminophen in comparison with iv fentanyl was not associated with significantly lower platelet reactivity in STEMI patients but resulted in significantly higher ticagrelor plasma levels and was effective in pain relief.
Crossing borders: the making of France’s eastern frontier in Alsace, 1918–1939
Authors: Carrol Alison
Published: July 2020

This article traces the emergence of the border regime on France’s eastern frontier after 1918. Following the Treaty of Versailles, the Franco-German boundary moved to accommodate the return of the ‘lost provinces’ Alsace-Lorraine to France, and throughout the interwar years contemporaries viewed this border as one of the most strategically and symbolically important boundaries on the European continent. It was, on the one hand, France’s defensive limits, while, on the other, it was a meeting point between distinct national communities, who shared a language and culture. This border thus became a site that reflected broader fears and concerns, as worries over Alsace’s integration in the 1920s gave way to anxieties about the threat posed by Nazi Germany in the 1930s. By focusing upon the border, this article reveals that the return of Alsace involved negotiation both between centre and periphery and across the frontier, and sheds light on the growing insecurities of the Third Republic in its final two decades.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Intranasal Neuropeptide Y in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder
Authors: Mathé Aleksander A , Michaneck Miranda , Berg Elisabeth , Charney Dennis S , Murrough James W
Published: July 2020

Background

Since about one-third of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) do not respond adequately to available antidepressants, there is a need for treatments based on novel mechanisms of action. Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a normal brain constituent, is reduced in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with MDD and post-traumatic stress disorder and in corresponding rodent models. Moreover, NPY administered centrally or intranasally rescues pathophysiology in these models. Consequently, we conducted the first, to our knowledge, controlled trial of NPY as a treatment for MDD.

Methods

Thirty MDD patients on a stable dose of a conventional antidepressant insufflated 6.8 mg NPY (n = 12) or placebo (n = 18) in a double blind randomized fashion. Effects were assessed at baseline, +1 hour, +5 hours, +24 hours, and +48 hours. The primary outcome was change in depression severity measured with the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS).

Results

NPY was superior to placebo at +24 hours (change −10.3 [95% CI: −13.8; −6.8]) vs −5.6 (95% CI: −8.4; −2.7); group*time F = 3.26, DF = (1,28), P = .04; Cohen’s d = 0.67). At +5 hours MADRS decreased −7.1 ([95% CI: −10.0; −4.2] vs −3.5 [95% CI: −5.8; −1.2]; group*time F = 2.69, DF = (1,28), P = .05; Cohen’s d = 0.61). MADRS reduction at +48 hours was not significant.

Conclusions

Since no results regarding the trajectory of NPY effects existed prior to this study we extrapolated from the known NPY biology and predicted the effects will occur 5–48 hours post insufflation. We chose +48 hours as the primary endpoint and +1, +5, and +24 hours as secondary endpoints. The results, the first of their kind, indicate that insufflated NPY is antidepressant, despite not meeting the primary outcome, and call for dose ranging and repeated NPY insufflation trials.

Clinical Trial Registration

EudraCT Number: 2014-000129-19.
Simple model of atherosclerosis in cylindrical arteries: impact of anisotropic growth on Glagov remodeling
Authors: Mohammad Mirzaei Navid , Fok Pak-Wing
Published: July 2020

In 1987, Seymour Glagov observed that arteries went through a two-stage remodeling process as a result of plaque growth: first, a compensatory phase where the lumen area remains approximately constant and second, an encroachment phase where the lumen area decreases over time. In this paper, we investigate the effect of growth anisotropy on Glagov remodeling in five different cases: pure radial, pure circumferential, pure axial, isotropic and general anisotropic growth where the elements of the growth tensor are chosen to minimize the total energy. We suggest that the nature of anisotropy is inclined towards the growth direction that requires the least amount of energy. Our framework is the theory of morphoelasticity on an axisymmetric arterial domain. For each case, we explore their specific effect on the Glagov curves. For the latter two cases, we also provide the changes in collagen fiber orientation and length in the intima, media and adventitia. In addition, we compare the total energy produced by growth in radial, circumferential and axial direction and deduce that using a radially dominant anisotropic growth leads to lower strain energy than isotropic growth.
A Global Perspective on Screening
Authors: Pollack Erica B , Mollura Daniel R , Chong Alice , Harvey Susan C , Scheel John R
Published: July 2020

Breast cancer is emerging as a major global public health problem. Incidence and mortality continues to rise in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A significant and growing disparity exists between high-income countries and LMICs in the availability of screening services and associated preventable mortality. However, population imaging-based screening programs are not appropriate for all settings. Planners should perform a thorough assessment of the target setting prior to implementing any breast cancer detection program, as appropriate guidelines vary according to the resources available. Financial, social, and cultural barriers to breast cancer care need to be addressed to sustainably improve the morbidity and mortality of the populations and make efficient use of available services. Creative approaches, such as mobile and portable imaging and bundling of services, can facilitate the installation of early breast cancer detection programs in LMICs. While image-based screening programs are not initially resource-appropriate in many LMICs, planners can work towards this goal as part of their comprehensive breast cancer detection strategy.
Two species of Carcinonemertes Coe, 1902 (Nemertea: Carcinonemertidae) infesting the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804) (Decapoda: Achelata: Palinuridae), in Saint Kitts, West Indies
Authors: Atherley Nicole A M , Dennis Michelle M , Freeman Mark A
Published: July 2020

The Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804), is an important resource in the Western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. A nemertean egg predator of P. argus, Carcinonemertes conanobrieniSimpson, Ambrosio & Baeza, 2017, was recorded in Florida in 2017 and Colombia in 2018. This study sought to investigate the presence of C. conanobrieni in P. argus in Saint Kitts and Nevis, eastern Caribbean Sea. Nemerteans were observed in the brood masses of P. argus. Molecular techniques confirmed its presence in the P. argus population on Saint Kitts. Egg, juvenile, and adult stages of C. conanobrieni and of an undescribed Carcinonemertes sp. were found in the brood masses of 27 of 31 (87%) ovigerous P. argus. Differences in the shape of the nemertean egg masses (string versus spherical arrangement) were confirmed as two distinct species of Carcinonemertes Coe, 1902 using molecular analyses. The juvenile stage of the undescribed Carcinonemertes sp. was detected in the gills of 72 of 320 (23%) of the P. argus individuals from Saint Kitts. The prevalence of branchial nemertean infestation was not significantly different among male and female P. argus. Female lobsters with ovaries in early stages of gonadal maturation were more likely to have branchial nemerteans relative to those with ovaries in late stages of maturation, suggestive of nemertean migration from gills to egg mass once the host oviposits. This is the first report of C. conanobrieni in the Caribbean spiny lobster from the eastern Caribbean, which is approximately 1,300 miles from Florida and 1,000 miles from Colombia. This is also the first report of an undescribed nemertean worm in P. argus. The high prevalence of Carcinonemertes spp. in P. argus raises concern for the extent to which these egg predators may be impacting P. argus in Saint Kitts, an important fishery on the island.
Musical Classicisms in Italy before the Madrigal
Authors: Shephard Tim
Published: July 2020

Modern evaluations of the relation between music and the fashion for the antique in Italy in the period before the madrigal have tended to proceed from the perspective of intellectual history. This article aims to offer an alternative—although certainly related—perspective, by exploring the circulation of musical classicisms in Italian visual and material culture, roughly from 1450 to 1520. This period saw the rise to prominence in Italy of both commercial text printing and other multiple-copy formats such as the art print, the medal, the bronze plaquette, and a little later historiated maiolica. These technologies offer a particularly compelling lens through which to examine musical encounters with classical antiquity that were not motivated by an expert professional interest in either music or classical texts, but rather characterized by an investment in antiquity as a fashionable source of cultural capital.
The Objects of Rational Thought (a Sketch)
Authors: Travis Charles
Published: July 2020

Hilary Putnam’s wide ranging thought turned on an axis: an idea of the shape of an object of rational thought, a reflection of a rational being’s unbounded capacity for unprejudiced self-criticism. The idea unfolds in a particular way the motto “The conceptual cannot take care of itself.” No stock of concepts can derive their content merely from structural relations between them, no matter how complex. What more there is to content, on this unfolding, lies in a concept’s unbounded openness to world-dependence. This essay works through that idea in and through positioning Putnam in relation to two other great philosophers, Leibniz and Frege.
Structural and Functional Imaging in Glioma Management
Authors: Brahimaj Bledi C , Kochanski Ryan B , Pearce John J , Guryildirim Melike , Gerard Carter S , Kocak Mehmet , Sani Sepehr , Byrne Richard W
Published: July 2020

The goal of glioma surgery is maximal safe resection in order to provide optimal tumor control and survival benefit to the patient. There are multiple imaging modalities beyond traditional contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that have been incorporated into the preoperative workup of patients presenting with gliomas. The aim of these imaging modalities is to identify cortical and subcortical areas of eloquence, and their relationship to the lesion. In this article, multiple modalities are described with an emphasis on the underlying technology, clinical utilization, advantages, and disadvantages of each. functional MRI and its role in identifying hemispheric dominance and areas of language and motor are discussed. The nuances of magnetoencephalography and transcranial magnetic stimulation in localization of eloquent cortex are examined, as well as the role of diffusion tensor imaging in defining normal white matter tracts in glioma surgery. Lastly, we highlight the role of stimulated Raman spectroscopy in intraoperative histopathological diagnosis of tissue to guide tumor resection. Tumors may shift the normal arrangement of functional anatomy in the brain; thus, utilization of multiple modalities may be helpful in operative planning and patient counseling for successful surgery.
Focal Cortical Dysplasia IIIa in Hippocampal Sclerosis-Associated Epilepsy: Anatomo-Electro-Clinical Profile and Surgical Results From a Multicentric Retrospective Study
Authors: Cossu Massimo , d'Orio Piergiorgio , Barba Carmen , Asioli Sofia , Cardinale Francesco , Casciato Sara , Caulo Massimo , Colicchio Gabriella , Consales Alessandro , D'Aniello Alfredo , De Benedictis Alessandro , De Palma Luca , Didato Giuseppe , Di Gennaro Giancarlo , Di Giacomo Roberta , Esposito Vincenzo , Guerrini Renzo , Nichelatti Michele , Revay Martina , Rizzi Michele , Vatti Giampaolo , Villani Flavio , Zamponi Nelia , Tassi Laura , Marras Carlo Efisio
Published: July 2020

BACKGROUND

Hippocampal sclerosis (HS) may be associated with focal cortical dysplasia IIIa (FCD IIIa) in patients undergoing surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether the anatomo-electro-clinical profile and surgical outcome in patients with HS-related TLE are affected by coexisting FCD IIIa.

METHODS

A total of 220 patients, operated in 5 centers, with at least 24 mo follow-up (FU), were retrospectively studied. Preliminary univariate and subsequent multivariate analyses were performed to investigate possible associations between several potential presurgical, surgical, and postsurgical predictors and different variables (Engel's class I and Engel's class Ia, co-occurrence of FCD IIIa).

RESULTS

At last available postoperative control (FU: range 24-95 mo, median 47 mo), 182 (82.7%) patients were classified as Engel's class I and 142 (64.5%) as Engel's class Ia. At multivariate analysis, extension of neocortical resection and postoperative electroencephalogram were significantly associated with Engel's class I, whereas length of FU had a significant impact on class Ia in the whole cohort and in isolated HS (iHS) patients, but not in the FCD IIIa group. No differences emerged in the anatomo-electro-clinical profile and surgical results between patients with FCD IIIa and with iHS.

CONCLUSION

Coexistence of FCD IIIa did not confer a distinct anatomo-electro-clinical profile to patients with HS-related epilepsy. Postoperative seizure outcome was similar in FCD IIIa and iHS cases. These findings indicate limited clinical relevance of FCD IIIa in HS-related epilepsy and might be useful for refining future FCD classifications. Further studies are needed to clarify the correlation of class Ia outcome with the duration of FU.
The Course of Mild and Moderate COVID-19 Infections—The Unexpected Long-Lasting Challenge
Authors: Xia Lu , Chen Jun , Friedemann Thomas , Yang Zongguo , Ling Yun , Liu Xuhui , Lu Shuihua , Li Tao , Song Zhigang , Huang Wei , Lu Yunfei , Schröder Sven , Lu Hongzhou
Published: July 2020

Background

The course of disease in mild and moderate COVID-19 has many implications for mobile patients, such as the risk of spread of the infection, precautions taken, and investigations targeted at preventing transmission.

Methods

Three hundred thirty-one adults were hospitalized from January 21 to February 22, 2020, and classified as severe (10%) or critical (4.8%) cases; 1.5% died. Two hundred eighty-two (85.2%) mild or moderate cases were admitted to regular wards. Epidemiological, demographic, clinical, chest computed tomography (CT) scan, laboratory, treatment, and outcome data from patient records were analyzed retrospectively.

Results

Patients were symptomatic for 9.82±5.75 (1–37) days. Pulmonary involvement was demonstrated on a chest CT scan in 97.9% of cases. It took 16.81±8.54 (3–49) days from the appearance of the first symptom until 274 patients tested virus-negative in naso- and oropharyngeal (NP) swabs, blood, urine, and stool, and 234 (83%) patients were asymptomatic for 9.09±7.82 (1–44) days. Subsequently, 131 patients were discharged. One hundred sixty-nine remained in the hospital; these patients tested virus-free and were clinically asymptomatic because of widespread persisting or increasing pulmonary infiltrates. Hospitalization took 16.24±7.57 (2–47) days; the time interval from the first symptom to discharge was 21.37±7.85 (3–52) days.

Conclusions

With an asymptomatic phase, disease courses are unexpectedly long until the stage of virus negativity. NP swabs are not reliable in the later stages of COVID-19. Pneumonia outlasts virus-positive tests if sputum is not acquired. Imminent pulmonary fibrosis in high-risk groups demands follow-up examinations. Investigation of promising antiviral agents should heed the specific needs of mild and moderate COVID-19 patients.
Counterfeit Rabies Vaccines: The Philippine Experience
Authors: Henson Karl Evans R , Santiago Anthony Aldrin C , Namqui Sherilyne S
Published: July 2020

Background

In December 2018, a large, tertiary, university-affiliated hospital in the Philippines discovered that their legitimate supply chain was infiltrated with counterfeit rabies vaccines.

Methods

All vials suspected to be counterfeit were quarantined and surrendered to the Philippine Food and Drug Administration. Patients who may have received the counterfeit products were recalled, evaluated, and revaccinated accordingly. Vials of the counterfeit vaccines were sent to various laboratories for testing.

Results

Two batches of counterfeit rabies vaccines were found to have infiltrated the hospital’s supply chain between December 2017 and December 2018. Of the 1711 patients who may have received counterfeit vaccines, 1397 patients were successfully contacted, and 734 were revaccinated with at least 1 dose of authentic rabies vaccine. The counterfeit vials were sterile, contained no toxic substances, and both contained active antirabies ingredient. No report of rabies infection or other adverse events were noted.

Conclusions

Our experience demonstrates the need for strong intervention and collaborative response from all stakeholders—government and regulatory bodies, the pharmaceutical industry, and individual institutions and consumers—to effectively eradicate counterfeiting and protect our patients.
Tricuspid valve infective endocarditis in a non-IVDU patient with atopic dermatitis
Authors: Woodun Heerani , Bouayyad Sarah , Sahib Sura , Elamin Nadir , Hunter Steven , Al-Mohammad Abdallah
Published: July 2020

A 29-year-old male, with chronic atopic dermatitis (AD), presented with a 2-week history of fatigue, pyrexia and weight loss. Examination showed eczematous patches with lichenified papules, erosions on the right shin and a new murmur. Blood cultures isolated methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. Transthoracic echocardiography showed vegetation on the tricuspid valve (TV) that was adherent to the septal leaflet. He was treated for infective endocarditis, attributed to poorly controlled AD, with intravenous Flucloxacillin. Due to ongoing sepsis and pulmonary septic emboli, Clindamycin was added. He underwent TV repair; the septal leaflet was excised, and the remnant two leaflets were brought together with a ring. His patent foramen ovale was closed. His skin was treated with topical steroids and emollients. Right-sided endocarditis of an intact TV is uncommon in a non-intravenous drug user. Therefore, this novel case portrays the importance of aggressively managing AD as it is a risk factor for significant systemic infections.
Painless: a case of congenital insensitivity to pain in a 5-year-old male
Authors: Al Amroh H H , Reyes A L , Barret Austin Hillary J , Al Khaffaf W H
Published: July 2020

Background: several genetic disorders are known to be associated with congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), a term often used to describe an impaired ability to perceive the type, intensity and quality of noxious stimuli. Children with CIP often injure themselves severely. The injury can go unnoticed or be misdiagnosed as child abuse because it is associated with multiple and recurrent injuries which may result in permanent damage. Patient findings: we report the case of a 5-year-old boy with a history of showing no signs of pain when exposed to accidental injuries such as trauma, burns or secondary chronic lesions. Conclusion: child abuse has a much higher occurrence rate than rare neuropathies such as the one we describe. However, CIP should be considered as a diagnosis in any child presenting with a history of poor or absent responses to painful stimuli.
Vanek’s tumor causing ileoileal intussusception in a middle-aged man
Authors: Johan Syamim , Lee Pei Pei , Azizan Nornazirah , Hayati Firdaus , Zakaria Andee Dzulkarnaen
Published: July 2020

Intestinal obstruction is a common surgical emergency requiring urgent intervention. Small bowel obstruction secondary to intussusception is rarely encountered especially when inflammatory fibroid polyp (IFP) is the lead point. A 41-year-old gentleman with intestinal intussusception secondary to IFP presented to us with a classic symptom of intestinal obstruction. Computed tomography revealed a target or sausage-shaped soft tissue mass with a layering effect, which was confirmed by intraoperative findings. Histopathology was consistent with IFP and supported by immunoreactivity of CD34 and negative immunostaining for CD117. He recovered without any surgical complication or recurrence. Even intussusception can be managed via non-surgical technique in children; surgery is the mainstay of treatment in adults.
Constitutive Processes
Authors: Raeff Catherine
Published: July 2020

The goal of this chapter is to explain how action is constituted by simultaneously occurring and interrelated individual, social, cultural, bodily, and environmental processes. Each process is taken to contribute 100% to action, and no process is taken to be prior or primary. Considering these constitutive processes provides a basis for understanding and explaining what a person is doing, why a person is doing what they are doing, and what a person’s action means. Each process is conceptualized more specifically, and varied empirical and everyday examples are used to illustrate how individual, social, cultural, bodily, and environmental processes play out as people act. The chapter also considers how these processes are systemically interrelated and how they can be structured in varied ways.
Evidence and Research Implications
Authors: Raeff Catherine
Published: July 2020

This chapter addresses evidence for the theoretical framework presented in this book, and it considers implications of the theoretical framework for understanding research, as well as for conducting research. The chapter begins by explaining how the theoretical framework is based on and informed by empirical research. It then offers some guidelines for conducting research on human action based on the theoretical framework. Research guidelines focus on the structuring of constitutive, psychological, and developmental processes for varied modes of action, within and across cultures. This chapter also explains how the theoretical framework can be used to make sense of existing research and to bring disparate findings about human functioning into coherence. The chapter ends by explaining how the theoretical framework can be used to critically analyze treatments of human functioning in psychology and other disciplines.
Introduction
Authors: Malawey Victoria
Published: July 2020

Arguing for the importance of vocal delivery in music analysis to better understand signification in popular music recordings, this chapter presents a conceptual model for analysis, places vocal elements along a continuum of dimensionality, and argues for the use of transcription and spectrographic analysis. It provides an overview of various disciplinary understandings of voice, ranging from the sonic materiality of sound, literal phonological and linguistic approaches, to more abstract philosophical and literary approaches. Finally, complexities to understanding the signification of voice, while vexing, also compel a systematic investigation of the ways in which we understand voices, and the elements that contribute to the richness of vocal signification.
Prosody
Authors: Malawey Victoria
Published: July 2020

Prosody, the pacing and flow of delivery, comprises five constituent components—phrasing, metric placement, motility, embellishment, and consonantal articulation. The synthesis of these components works on at least three different levels of specificity: at the broadest level, distinctive prosodic profiles may align with larger genre or style categories; at a middle level, prosodic profiles may distinguish an artist’s general prosodic style of delivery; and at a local level, prosodic profiles may be associated with an artist’s singing style specific to a single recording or passage within a song. The chapter examines each prosodic component in analyses of four versions of Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River”: Timberlake’s original studio recording (2002), Glen Hansard’s acoustic folk-rock cover (2003), Ten Masked Men’s death metal cover (2003), and the Cliks’ indie rock cover (2006). The chapter also considers the ranging dimensionality among prosodic elements.
Afterword
Authors: Blythe Christopher James
Published: July 2020

This afterword looks at how Mormonism’s early apocalyptic beliefs haunted Latter-day Saints in the beginning of the twenty-first century. As part of increased media and popular culture coverage of Latter-day Saints, termed the “Mormon moment,” there was a great deal of publicity surrounding early Mormon beliefs on the last days. The afterword specifically looks at how Latter-day Saint politicians, such as Mitt Romney, have responded to questions about his beliefs in last days prophecy. In addition, readers will read about coverage of twenty-first-century Latter-day Saint preppers.
Sustaining Natural Change
Authors: Chapin F Stuart
Published: July 2020

This chapter describes foundations for ecosystem sustainability and ways that society can foster these conditions. The road to “human progress” is littered with environmental mishaps and disasters—largely the result of excessive resource extraction. Over the long term, however, ecosystems can be sustained by maintaining the factors that shape their properties. These include soils that supply plants with nutrients, climate, regional flora and fauna, disturbance regime, and time. This formula provides a framework for understanding why every ecosystem occurs where it does and why and how it might change in the future. When society fails to sustain these foundations, new ecological forces, such as climate change, begin to dominate ecological and societal outcomes. Alternatively, society can shape pathways that maintain these foundations through landscape stewardship. People then interact with nature in ways that protect the foundations of ecosystems and provide society with livelihoods.
Choosing to Live Well
Authors: Chapin F Stuart
Published: July 2020

All people need similar things to ensure a happy and satisfying life. This chapter describes how these needs can be sustained today and for future generations. Immediate human needs include food and water, safety and health, love and belonging through social relationships, self-esteem and respect from others, and capacity to address broad spiritual and societal goals. Surprisingly, among people who live above the poverty line, wealth and material possessions are usually less important to life satisfaction than are these other elements. Instead, values that shape people’s goals, education, cultural and social rules that sustain social relationships, environmental and human health, and technology and economy are the most important foundations for long-term empowerment and well-being. International aid has substantially improved people’s material conditions in poor countries but has done less to improve social relations and empowerment.
Individual Actions
Authors: Chapin F Stuart
Published: July 2020

Actions by individuals that enable people to enjoy and celebrate nature and that reduce human impacts on the planet provide the basic foundation for stewardship. Spending time in nature with family and friends—especially with children—is the most pleasant and effective way to shape identities and values that support nature. Nature’s benefits are often compromised by short-term trade-offs to meet society’s immediate wants and needs. Surprisingly, most human consumption in developed nations does not enhance people’s happiness. The more we have, the more we want! Unconscious conformity to the consumption patterns of others often drives excessive consumption. However, honorable consumption that meets needs and supports personal values can both contribute to life satisfaction and shape the social norms and consumption patterns of others. Reducing unnecessary consumption through intentional decisions need not reduce life satisfaction and can substantially reduce environmental impacts.
Strategy in 3D
Authors: Fisher Greg , Wisneski John E. , Bakker Rene M.
Published: July 2020

This book provides a tools-based approach to strategic management. The central framework rests on three pillars that constitute the essence of strategy: to diagnose, to decide, and to deliver. Within this framework a suite of strategic management tools is offered, which include both the classics and the more nascent frameworks used to strategize. The first part of the book offers a brief introduction to the essentials of strategic management and unpacks the “3D” framework of strategy. The second part of the book revolves around explaining the purpose, underlying theory, core idea, depiction, process, value created, and risks and limitations of each tool. Hands-on advice is emphasized. The book also offers case illustrations that offer concrete examples of how the tools can be applied. The concluding chapter summarizes the key insights on a high level and offers concluding thoughts on how the tools can be combined.
Introduction
Authors: Fisher Greg , Wisneski John E. , Bakker Rene M.
Published: July 2020

This chapter lays out the context for the book. It highlights how the context in which businesses operate has changed over time and why strategy is so important for organizations in today’s environment. Building off that it describes what we offer in this book. Part I of the book provides insight into fundamental strategy concepts and ideas, including a definition of strategy and an overarching approach to strategy. Part II of the book outlines a series of tools that could and should form part of a manager’s strategy toolbox; each tool is described detail including an overview of the tool, the steps to practically apply the tool and a case illustration of each tool.
The Context for Strategic Decision-Making
Authors: Fisher Greg , Wisneski John E. , Bakker Rene M.
Published: July 2020

Strategic management does not exist in a vacuum; strategic decisions are strongly influenced by, and often dependent on, certain organizational and environmental attributes. This chapter discusses the context for strategic decision-making, be it a managerial, business, or corporate level choice. First, a firm’s vision, mission, and values are defined and discussed. Second, the chapter unpacks firm resources, capabilities, core competencies, and activities. Finally, the nature of competitive advantage is elaborated, and three types of competitive advantage are distinguished: differentiation, cost leadership, and dual advantage. Overall the chapter provides foundational insight into the factors that make up the context for strategic decision-making.
Competitor Analysis
Authors: Fisher Greg , Wisneski John E. , Bakker Rene M.
Published: July 2020

The purpose of a competitor analysis is to provide managers with a complete picture of the competitive landscape confronting a firm. The core idea behind a competitor analysis is to use a systematic approach to (1) identify current and future rivals to a firm, (2) assess the strengths and weaknesses of current and future rivals, (3) determine a match between a competitor’s strategies and capabilities, (4) analyze the future plans and intentions of rivals, and (5) predict a competitor’s reaction to initiatives launched by a firm. The ability to anticipate the response by rivals provides a firm with a competitive advantage. This chapter discusses the underlying theory, core idea, depiction, process, insight or value created, and risks and limitations of competitor analysis. Finally, the chapter offers the illustration of Netflix and applies the steps of competitor analysis to this case.
Hypothesis Testing
Authors: Fisher Greg , Wisneski John E. , Bakker Rene M.
Published: July 2020

The purpose of hypothesis testing is to provide the decision maker with an efficient mechanism for reducing uncertainty using an inferential procedure to test the credibility of a potential solution to a strategic challenge. This is done by choosing an initial hypothesis about how to solve a problem and limiting data collection and analysis to those data that either defend or reject this hypothesis. This can be far more efficient than traditional methods of collecting data without purpose and deducing solutions by analyzing relevant data and eliminating irrelevant data along the way. This chapter discusses the underlying theory, core idea, depiction, process, insight or value created, and risks and limitations of hypothesis testing. The chapter also continues the illustration of the DISH Network and applies the steps of hypothesis testing to this case.
Balanced Scorecard
Authors: Fisher Greg , Wisneski John E. , Bakker Rene M.
Published: July 2020

The purpose of the balanced scorecard is to provide a holistic perspective to setting firm goals and monitoring performance. The balanced scorecard provides a financial, marketing, operations, and human resources perspective of a firm’s performance. When used to implement strategy, the balanced scorecard approach prompts managers to think about what needs to happen in different elements of the business for the strategy to take hold. It encourages managers to think about how the strategy will impact the customer, operational, and people processes to ultimately affect financial results. This chapter discusses the underlying theory, core idea, depiction, process, insight or value created, and risks and limitations of the balanced scorecard. The chapter also continues the illustration of the Chocolate Moose and applies the steps of the balanced scorecard to this case.
‘The Manifold Divinity of the Gods’
Authors: Gassman Mattias P.
Published: July 2020

The idea of a unified ‘paganism’ is usually taken to be an intentional Christian distortion of the true diversity of ancient polytheism. This chapter presents a different view. Inscriptions recorded by antiquarians and archaeologists at Rome since the fifteenth century document fourth-century senators’ participation in a vast range of priesthoods and mystery initiations. These inscriptions include epitaphs, senatorial résumés, and especially altars commemorating performance of the taurobolium, a sacrifice of a bull to the Magna Mater. The (admittedly fragmentary) evidence reveals a philosophical theology that united all the gods into a single divine reality. It also suggests, contrary to recent scholarship, that the senators’ religious involvement was driven by a desire not just for personal prestige but also (and sometimes more important) for divine favour and mystical insights. When this polytheistic religiosity is set alongside the polemical ‘paganism’ of Firmicus Maternus and ‘Ambrosiaster’, a new picture takes shape. The Christian polemicists’ sharp opposition between ‘pagans’ and ‘Christians’ is an oversimplification of a religious situation whose tensions were generally less overt. Nevertheless, the idea of ‘paganism’ is not polemical invention but a Christian theorisation of a prominent contemporary approach to polytheism.
Commemorating Vettius Agorius Praetextatus
Authors: Gassman Mattias P.
Published: July 2020

Late in 384, a leading pagan senator and priest, Vettius Agorius Praetextatus, died shortly before he was to take up the consulship. Senatorial aristocrats produced epigraphic and literary monuments that reveal the continued vitality of pagan religious discourse after the final separation of the traditional cults from Roman imperial power. As urban prefect, Symmachus negotiated one commemorative campaign between the Senate and Valentinian’s court, upholding Praetextatus as a model of non-sectarian civic virtue. This stance brought Symmachus into disagreement with the Vestals and Praetextatus’ wife, Paulina. As an initiative of an ancient Roman priesthood, the Vestals’ now-lost commemoration likely highlighted Praetextatus’ involvement in the civic cults. For Paulina, religion had indeed been her husband’s most important pursuit, but it aimed, beyond the well-being of Rome, at immortality. Attacking Paulina, Christians such as Jerome promoted an alternative aristocratic devotion focused on ascetical humility, rather than on the religious virtuosity, paralleled by political success, of which both pagan and Christian senators boasted. In his first book of Epistles, which was likely published some years later, Symmachus foregrounded Praetextatus’ expertise as a pontifex but ignored his private religious pursuits. For Symmachus, public religion was vital to Praetextatus’ legacy and to the aristocratic world they had shared.
Governance
Authors: Mitchell George E. , Schmitz Hans Peter , Bruno-van Vijfeijken Tosca
Published: July 2020

Chapter 8 discusses how governance reforms have been designed to improve legitimacy and alleviate structural inequalities among TNGO (con)federation members. TNGO governance reforms may involve centralization, decentralization, global restructuring, adding new governance bodies, and experimenting with digitally enabled global fora, although each type of governance reform carries risks and trade-offs. Specific considerations include structural inequalities, dual citizenship, board composition, roles, culture, power centers, and resources. Appropriate governance reforms may be able to address long-standing disparities, but their results remain uncertain. Additionally, organizational agility and transaction costs remain concerns, and long-established norms and patterns of learned behavior remain powerful inhibitors of successful change.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Authors: Mitchell George E. , Schmitz Hans Peter , Bruno-van Vijfeijken Tosca
Published: July 2020

Chapter 11 argues that mergers and acquisitions (M&As) can be an important strategic tool for acquiring capabilities needed to improve organizational effectiveness, relevance, and competitiveness. However, typically M&As within the sector are rare and often reactive in nature. They usually involve the joining together of a smaller, financially stressed organization with a larger, healthier TNGO looking to expand. Much less common are more proactive M&A efforts where both partners come together from positions of strength. M&As appear to be underutilized as a strategic tool to increase scale and impact due to a variety of normative and institutional barriers. These include legal structures that disincentivize or prevent takeovers, cultures of uniqueness among TNGOs and their supporters, and the lack of M&A matchmakers and resources for competently exploring and executing the M&A process.