bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of Magnetic Nanocarrier Conjugated by Folate Based on Tragacanth and In Vitro Investigation of their Efficiency on Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: Jalali Somayeh , Moghadam Peyman Najafi , Shafiei‐Irannejad Vahid
Published: March 2023

In this research, a novel nanocarrier is synthesized based on tragacanth as a natural polysaccharide. For this purpose, carboxymethyl tragacanth (CMT) is first synthesized from tragacanth and then it is functionalized with isocyanate (IS) groups. In another parallel synthesis, magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) are prepared by the co‐precipitation method and coated with SiO2 to form MNPs coated SiO2 (MNPs@SiO2). Then MNPs@SiO2 is reacted with CMT‐IS to form Fe3O4@SiO2/CMT. In the second step, the MNPs@SiO2/CMT surface is aminated by reaction with 3‐amino propyl triethoxy silane (APTES) and then it is reacted with folic acid (FA) as a targeting agent to form MNPs@SiO2/CMT/FA nanocarrier. The synthesized nanocarrier is characterized by FT‐IR, SEM, EDX, TEM, XRD, VSM, TGA, and zeta potential analysis and then it is loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) as a typical anti‐cancer drug. The in vitro drug release studies are carried out from the DOX‐loaded nanocarrier. The pH sensitivity of the DOX‐loaded nanocarrier is examined attwo different pHs. The effect of DOX‐loaded nanocarrier is investigated on MCF7 human breast cancer cells and the rate of cancer cell death is determined by MTT assay and drug IC50. The changes in the morphology of the tumor cell nuclei are observed using fluorescence microscopy.
The Next-Door Migrant: Autoethnography of Everyday Home Encounters across Difference
Authors: Vietti Francesco
Published: March 2023

Homemaking as a process can involve different generations of migrants, connecting multiple stories and scales of mobility: local, national, transnational. This is the case of many tenement houses in Porta Palazzo, a neighbourhood of Turin (Italy) characterized by long standing immigration and cultural diversity. The “biography” of these migrant houses is articulated by the memories of negotiations, conflicts and misunderstandings that have arisen year after year about the various dimensions of shared living. In this chapter, starting from an auto-ethnographic approach, I follow the network of relationships I have established through the everyday encounters with immigrant and native next-door neighbours. The self-reflection about the challenges of reciprocal hospitality is the starting point for an exploration of the formal and informal activities that the tenants organize in the large courtyard of the building, on the threshold between the external, public space of the city and the internal, private space of the building. The liminality of the courtyard offers the chance to make it a transversal space for initiatives that support conviviality, interaction and solidarity, fostering the aspiration to live together across difference.
Welcome upon Conditions: On Visiting a Multigenerational Immigrant House(hold)
Authors: Bonfanti Sara
Published: March 2023

This chapter builds upon extensive ethnographic research with South Asian diasporas in Britain. To depict and disentangle the complexity of such migrant collectives, three case studies are considered, with different national and religious backgrounds, and diverse times of migration. Mapping out as many Black-and-Minority-Ethnic districts in London, I revisit my fieldwork with a Bangladeshi family in Newham, a Sinhala in Wembley and a Sikh one in Ealing. Drawing from reiterated visits and stays at their homes as a guest-and-ethnographer, I reflect on how house(holding) is maintained in each of these dwellings, where up to four generations live under one roof. In observing their hybrid material cultures, I am also sharing petty practices of domesticity and recording biographical stories from several kin members. Walks-along with informants in the neighborhood extend the appreciation of homemaking past one’s doorstep and add a political dimension to the everyday experience of living in a racialized diaspora. What snoozes under the tag of British-Asians, and to what extent being invited to their abundant dinner table allows an anthropologist into the cultural intimacy of multigenerational migrant households where interests and subjectivities coalesce and compete?
Rooms with Little View: Reluctant Homemaking and the Negotiation of Space in an Asylum Centre
Authors: Boccagni Paolo
Published: March 2023

Reception centres for asylum seekers, and “camps” more broadly, are a subject of increasing interest in refugee, housing and border studies. Only a fraction of this literature, however, draws on proper ethnographic fieldworkwithinthese infrastructures. A case in point is a recent study I have conducted in an asylum centre in northern Italy. My research focus was on the lived experience of the built environment and on the spatial and temporal boundary-making among residents, and between the latter and service providers. Within rooms and shared kitchens that operate as proxies of a domestic space, people do not simply “wait”. They engage in forms of space appropriation (and to a lesser extent, attachment) that illustrate the significance of homemaking in temporary and unhomely settings. Moreover, the social and material inner space of an asylum centre is far from homogeneous. Against accounts of undifferentiated ghettos or non-places, the chapter illustrates the thresholds and layers of domesticity that refugees as guests negotiate, and that an ethnographer as their guest can capture. Without dismissing the attendant dilemmas, I show the contribution of a “being in” approach to co-produce knowledge on inner domestic routines and cultures, on the ways to (re)present oneself, on the traces of past dwelling. A refugee room gives little of an external view, as long as someone gets stuck in. Yet, it provides a uniquely internal view on their everyday life experience and prospects.
O hand, where art thou? Mapping hand location across the visual field during common activities
Authors: Mineiro Joao , Buckingham Gavin
Published: March 2023

Humans employ visually-guided actions during a myriad of daily activities. These ubiquitous but precise manual actions rely on synergistic work between eye and hand movements. During this close cooperation between hands and eyes, the hands persist in sight in a way which is unevenly distributed across our visual field. One common assertion is that most hand actions occur in the lower visual field (LVF) because the arms are anatomically lower than the head, and objects typically rest on waist-high table surfaces. While experimental work has shown that humans are more efficient at reaching for and grasping targets located below their visual midline (Goodale and Danckert, Exp Brain Res 137:303–308, 2001), there is almost no empirical data detailing where the hands lie in the visual fields during natural hand actions. To build a comprehensive picture of hand location during natural visually guided manual actions, we analyzed data from a large-scale open-access dataset containing 100 h of non-scripted manual object interactions during domestic kitchen tasks filmed from a head-mounted camera. We found a clear vertical visual asymmetry with hands located in the lower visual scene (LVS) in more than 70% of image frames, particularly in ipsilateral space. These findings provide the first direct evidence for the established assumption that hands spend more time in the lower than in the upper visual field (UVF). Further work is required to determine whether this LVF asymmetry differs across the lifespan, in different professions, and in clinical populations.
K-wave modelling of ultrasound wave propagation in aerogels and the effect of physical parameters on attenuation and loss
Authors: Ghimire S. , Sabri F.
Published: March 2023

The complex and highly tortuous microstructure of aerogels has led to the superior insulating capabilities that aerogels are known for. This open cell microstructure has also created a unique acoustic fingerprint that can be manipulated to achieve maximum acoustic insulation/absorption. The goal of this work was to create a computational approach for predicting sound propagation behavior in monolithic aerogels using the wave solving tool k-wave. The model presented here explores attenuation and loss values as a function of density, angle of incidence of wave, and medium (aqueous and non-aqueous) for frequencies in the range of 0.5–1 MHz. High numerical accuracy without a significant computational demand was achieved. Results indicate that loss increases as a function of frequency and the medium that the incoming wave is travelling through dominates the attenuation, loss, and other characteristics more than angle of incidence, and pore structure.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on reported cancer diagnoses in Bavaria, Germany
Authors: Voigtländer Sven , Hakimhashemi Amir , Grundmann Nina , Radespiel-Tröger Martin , Inwald Elisabeth C. , Ortmann Olaf , Gerken Michael , Klug Stefanie J. , Klinkhammer-Schalke Monika , Meyer Martin , Müller-Nordhorn Jacqueline
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The aim of our study was to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on reported cancer cases in Bavaria, Germany, by comparing pre-pandemic (March 2019 to February 2020) and pandemic period (March 2020 to February 2021).

Methods

Data on incident cases were retrieved from the Bavarian Cancer Registry (until 22nd April 2022). We included patients with malignant and in situ neoplasms reported by pathology departments with consistent reporting. We calculated the number of incident cases during the COVID-19 pandemic and the pre-pandemic period with 95% confidence intervals (CI) with Bonferroni correction (α = 0.0018) based on a Poisson approach. We stratified for malignancy (malignant, in situ), tumor site, and month of year.

Results

Data was available for 30 out of 58 pathology departments (51.7%) from Bavaria. Incident malignant neoplasms dropped from 42,857 cases in the pre-pandemic period to 39,980 cases in the pandemic period (− 6.7%; 95% CI − 8.7%, − 4.7%). Reductions were higher for colon, rectum, skin/melanoma as well as liver (> 10.0% reduction) and less for breast cancer (4.9% reduction). No case reductions were observed for pancreas, esophagus, ovary, and cervix. Percent changes were largest for April 2020 (− 20.9%; 95% CI − 24.7%, − 16.8%) and January 2021 (− 25.2%; 95% CI − 28.8%, − 21.5%) compared to the previous year. Declines tended to be larger for in situ compared to malignant neoplasms.

Conclusion

Detection and diagnosis of cancer were substantially reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Potential effects, e.g. a stage shift of tumors or an increase of cancer mortality, need to be monitored.
A prospective evaluation of the effect of transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) on low anterior resection syndrome
Authors: Duggan William P. , Sugrue Diarmuid D. , Shannon Naomi , Murphy Brenda , Burke John P.
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) is a surgical alternative to transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM), transanal excision and proctectomy in the management of benign rectal polyps and early rectal cancers. Low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) describes the constellation of symptoms which result from and are common after distal colorectal resection. Symptoms include incontinence, frequency, urgency and evacuatory dysfunction. The aim of the current study was to prospectively evaluate pre- and post-operative LARS in patients who undergo TAMIS.

Methods

We conducted a prospective analysis of a consecutive series of patients who underwent TAMIS at our institution between January 2021 and February 2022. A LARS questionnaire was undertaken preoperatively, at 1 month and at 6 months post-operatively.

Results

Twenty patients were recruited to this pilot study. The mean age was 63 ± 12 years, 11 of the patients were male, mean pre-operative BMI was 29 ± 6 kg/m2, and 30% (n = 6) of patients underwent TAMIS for an invasive rectal cancer, with all patients receiving an R0 resection. Mean distance from the anal verge was 5.7 ± 3.2 cm, and mean lesion diameter was 46 ± 20.5 mm. A statistically significant interval reduction was observed between preoperative (20.3 ± 12.9) and 6-month post-operative (12.6 ± 9.7) LARS scores (p = 0.02) and also between 1-month (18.2 ± 10.6) and 6-month post-operative scores (p = 0.01).

Conclusions

We noted a high prevalence of LARS across our cohort preoperatively, and this had improved significantly at 6-month review post-TAMIS. This study reaffirms the safety and efficacy of TAMIS for the treatment of early rectal neoplasia.
Characterization of the palaeoenvironmental conditions in the Pannonian Basin during the last 34 mys related to the formation of haematitic and kaolinitic sedimentary rocks
Authors: Trájer Attila J.
Published: March 2023

The Pannonian Basin is a sediment-filled back-arc basin which was formed during the Late Paleogene–Neogene period. Such sedimentary rocks like bauxites or kaolinites, which are important with regard to industry in the region, are the products of former weathering processes. However, our knowledge about the palaeoenvironmental conditions which led to the formation of these mineral resources has not yet been integrated. For this purpose, the former biomes, climatic classes as well as karstification, weathering and paedogenic processes were investigated over the last 34 mys using the southeastern regions of China and the United States as climatically analogous regions. By the second half of the Oligocene, the conditions of intensive chemical weathering ceased to exist in the Pannonian Basin, which enabled the formation of lateritic bauxites during earlier periods. However, up to the mid-Serravallian Stage, intensive karstification as well as the formation of haematite-rich ultisols and alfisols continued when humid subtropical climatic conditions came about. The modelled biomes indicate that aridification during the Early to Middle Miocene led to the formation of less dense vegetation, exacerbating the re-deposition of weathering products. These conditions resulted in the accumulation of haematitic and kaolinitic sedimentary rocks in the fossilized karst depressions. The progressive cooling following the mid-Pliocene decreased the intensity of karstification, moreover, the cessation of humid subtropical conditions brought the sedimentation of haematitic and kaolinitic sedimentary rocks in the Pannonian Basin to an end.
Identification of forest vulnerability to droughts in the Iberian Peninsula
Authors: Bento Virgílio A. , Russo Ana , Vieira Inês , Gouveia Célia M.
Published: March 2023

The increase in frequency, severity, and duration of droughts poses as a serious issue to the management of forests in the Iberian Peninsula, with particular emphasis on the decline of forest growth and forest dieback. Hence, the adoption of adaptation and mitigation measures in forest ecosystems that are more vulnerable to drought is a pressing matter that needs to be addressed in the near future.

This work aims at identifying the regions in the Iberian Peninsula where forest exhibit high vulnerability to drought conditions. To accomplish that, a vulnerability map is produced by considering three pillar components: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to drought. Exposure is estimated based on the multi-scalar drought index Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and aridity, while the remotely sensed Vegetation Health Index (VHI) and mean forested cover are used to assess the regions’ sensitivity to drought. Finally, elevation, water table depth, fire radiative energy, and annual solar irradiation are compiled as indicators to assess adaptive capacity. Principal component analysis was then applied to the three pillar components to identify the areas more vulnerable to drought. This approach allows for the identification of forested areas vulnerable to drought in terms of vulnerability classes automatically determined.

Forests presented very high vulnerability in eastern Spain, and central Portugal. Within the most vulnerable vegetation communities, mosaic tree and shrub types revealed to be extremely vulnerable to droughts in the Iberian Peninsula, followed by needle-leaved forests (in Central Portugal, and Northeast Iberia). This work highlights the regions and primary vegetation communities to which the effort of adapting and mitigating drought consequences should be utterly enforced by the responsible authorities.
Changes and variability in rainfall onset, cessation, and length of rainy season in the IGAD region of Eastern Africa
Authors: Omay Paulino Omoj , Muthama Nzioka J. , Oludhe Christopher , Kinama Josiah M. , Artan Guleid , Atheru Zachary
Published: March 2023

Rainfall onset dates (ROD), rainfall cessation dates (RCD) and length of rainy season (LRS) are crucial for crop production and food security in Eastern Africa yet scantily documented. This paper seeks to investigate the spatial patterns of these parameters. Data used are Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS v2.0) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gridded temperature. Threshold of 1 mm for rainy day, 20 mm over 5 days with at least 3 rain days and dry spell not exceeding 7 days in the next 21 days were used to determine RODs. The Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) and Water Balance (WB) criteria were computed to determine RCDs. The differences between ROD and RCD were used in calculating LRS. The results showed early rainfall cessation over more than 30 counties in Kenya lead to shortened rainy season by 10–20 days during MAM season. Similarly, 20–40 days early onset dates are observed in most counties in upper Nile, Unity, and Jonglei states in South Sudan, while 20–40 days delayed rainfall onset was observed in Khartoum and southern parts of Nile state western Darfur, eastern and Aljazeera states in Sudan, most parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea districts during JJA season. Highlands of western and Nyanza region in Kenya, most parts of Uganda observed rainfall onset by March and no sign of cessation before November. Early cessation over northern Uganda districts was behind shortened LRS, furthermore, the early RODs over western and southwestern Uganda districts increased LRS. Prolonged dry conditions over northern Sudan, southeastern parts of South Sudan, northern Kenya, central Somalia, northern Darfour, Kordofan and northern parts of Sudan exacerbated by significant delayed onset and early cessation of rainfall. These findings are important for rain-fed agricultural planning and food security in the IGAD region of Eastern Africa.
How Sociotechnical Realignment and Sentiments Concerning Remote Work are Related – Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Kohn Vanessa , Frank Muriel , Holten Roland
Published: March 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic forced sociotechnical systems (STS) to highly integrate remote work. Large-scale analyses show that the positivity of tweets about work from home decreased until COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the WHO and re-increased in the weeks that followed. Nevertheless, it is unclear if this reaction is due to personal and organizational developments or if it mirrors the realignment of entire STS. The present study uses Q methodology to identify differences in how STS realign to the externally enforced integration of remote work. Only STS that reach a state of high alignment to remote work conditions by successfully shifting communication and procedures to digital spheres can be considered resilient. The results show that employees describe their personal experiences with remote work as more positive the higher their level of sociotechnical realignment. Furthermore, personal digital resilience is correlated to successful STS realignment as well. The results confirm the importance of realigning not only the technical and social components of STS but above all their sociotechnical interaction. Negative sentiments relate in particular to the low realization of humanistic objectives in STS.
Current Updates in Rectal Infusion of Fluids and Medications
Authors: Macy Bradford , Paxton James H. , Lam Y. W. Francis
Published: March 2023

Purpose of Review

Rectal infusion is a feasible alternative for the immediate administration of medication and fluids when intravenous access is delayed, contraindicated, or unnecessary. Advances in medical device technology have made rectal infusion more practical and easier for medical care providers, and more comfortable for patients. This paper briefly reviews the history of therapeutic rectal infusion, including recent improvements in technology and the existing evidence for the use of this technique.

Recent Findings

While ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous (PIV) access techniques and other alternatives to landmark-based PIV catheter insertion have recently improved the ability of providers to overcome challenges related to difficult vascular access (DVA), these challenges are increasingly affecting patient outcomes, emergency department throughput, and the cost of medical care. In recent years, waves of parenteral drug, fluid, and supply shortages have affected hospitals. Concurrently, advances in rectal infusion technology have made rectal infusion easier, more comfortable, and more cost-effective than many parenteral options.

The infusion of resuscitative fluids and medications via the rectal route has previously fallen out of favor due to concurrent improvements in IV access devices. However, this technique demonstrates the potential for a reemergence considering the current challenges facing healthcare providers and systems. Improvements in rectal infusion devices, coupled with an aging population, increased incidence of DVA, shortages in parenteral drugs, fluids, supplies and skilled staff, and the need for care improvements in the post-acute setting have contributed to a greater need for easy, safe and effective alternatives to IV infusion.
What Is the Current Status of Global Health Training for US Postgraduate Trainees in Anesthesiology? What Are Possible Visions for the Future?
Authors: Sanghvi Reema I. , Songolo Tosha
Published: March 2023

Purpose of Review

There is a great deal of interest in global health at all levels of educational attainment. Many residency programs wish to offer a global health opportunity (GHO) but lack the resources to create one de novo. This review will look at the prevalence of global health education in residency and consider the fellowships available. It will summarize the existing recommendations about a curriculum in global health and how best to prepare trainees for a GHO.

Recent Findings

While approximately 45% of residency programs make GHOs available to their residents, there is a lack of standardization of curriculum. Logistical and ethical challenges, funding, and the lack of international partners are all barriers to offering a GHO. Residents and fellows can benefit from a GHO as it helps achieve their ACGME core competencies, among other benefits.

We make the recommendation for more robust training and education with the investment of fewer resources by aligning with existing global health participation opportunities. We also recommend the use of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) which provided curriculum for creating a context in global health for trainees regardless of discipline.
An MRI image automatic diagnosis model for lumbar disc herniation using semi-supervised learning
Authors: Hou Chao , Li Xiaogang , Wang Hongbo , Zhang Weiqi , Liu Fei , Liu Defeng , Pan Yuzhen
Published: March 2023

Lumbar disc herniation is a common disease that causes low back pain. Due to the high cost of medical diagnosis, as well as a shortage and uneven distribution of medical resources, a system that can automatically analyze and diagnose lumbar spine Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is becoming an urgent need. This study uses deep learning methods to establish a classifier to diagnose lumbar disc herniation. An MRI classification dataset of lumbar disc herniation consisting of public MRI images is presented and is used to train the proposed classifier. Because a common difficulty in applying computer vision technology to medical images is labeling training data, we use a semi-supervised model training method, while multilayer transverse axial MRI images are used as the model input. In this method, we first use unlabelled MRI images for random self-supervised pre-training and the pre-trained model as a feature extractor for MRI images. Then, all marked cross-sections of each intervertebral disc are used to calculate the feature vector through the feature extractor. The information of all feature vectors is integrated, while a multilayer perceptron is used for classification training. After training, the model achieved 87.11$$\%$$
%
accuracy, 87.50$$\%$$
%
sensitivity, 86.72$$\%$$
%
specificity and 0.9487 AUC (Area Under the ROC Curve) index on the test set. To analyze the rationality of the diagnostic results more quickly, we output the severity of degenerative changes in each region using a heatmap.
A fuzzy rough copula Bayesian network model for solving complex hospital service quality assessment
Authors: Li He , Yazdi Mohammad , Huang Hong-Zhong , Huang Cheng-Geng , Peng Weiwen , Nedjati Arman , Adesina Kehinde A.
Published: March 2023

Healthcare tends to be one of the most complicated sectors, and hospitals exist at the core of healthcare activities. One of the most significant elements in hospitals is service quality level. Moreover, the dependency between factors, dynamic features, as well as objective and subjective uncertainties involved endure challenges to modern decision-making problems. Thus, in this paper, a decision-making approach is developed for hospital service quality assessment, using a Bayesian copula network based on a fuzzy rough set within neighborhood operators as a basis of that to deal with dynamic features as well as objective uncertainties. In the copula Bayesian network model, the Bayesian Network is utilized to illustrate the interrelationships between different factors graphically, while Copula is engaged in obtaining the joint probability distribution. Fuzzy rough set theory within neighborhood operators is employed for the subjective treatment of evidence from decision makers. The efficiency and practicality of the designed method are validated by an analysis of real hospital service quality in Iran. A novel framework for ranking a group of alternatives with consideration of different criteria is proposed by the combination of the Copula Bayesian Network and the extended fuzzy rough set technique. The subjective uncertainty of decision makers’ opinions is dealt with in a novel extension of fuzzy Rough set theory. The results highlighted that the proposed method has merits in reducing uncertainty and assessing the dependency between factors of complicated decision-making problems.
Experimental Study of the Combined Effects of Al2O3, CaO and MgO on Gas/Slag/Matte/Spinel Equilibria in the Cu–Fe–O–S–Si–Al–Ca–Mg System at 1473 K (1200ºC) and p(SO2) = 0.25 atm
Authors: Sineva Svetlana , Shishin Denis , Shevchenko Maksym , Hayes Peter C. , Jak Evgueni
Published: March 2023

The combined effects of Al2O3, CaO and MgO slagging components on phase equilibria and thermodynamics in the basic Cu–Fe–O–S–Si system have been evaluated at 1473 K (1200 ºC) and p(SO2) = 0.25 atm for a range of oxygen partial pressures and matte compositions. The experimental technique included high-temperature equilibration of the samples on a spinel substrate under controlled gas atmosphere (CO/CO2/SO2/Ar), followed by rapid quenching and subsequent measurement of the equilibrium phase compositions using Electron Probe X-ray Microanalysis (EPMA). The experimental data have been compared with the results of thermodynamic calculations undertaken using FactSage software and an internal thermodynamic database. Both the experimental results and the calculations results revealed that the presence of Al2O3, CaO and MgO reduced both the sulphur and copper concentrations in the slag phase for a given set of process conditions. The data have been used for further optimisation of the parameters of the thermodynamic database describing multicomponent metallurgical systems. The resulting thermodynamic database is capable of predicting, with high accuracy, the phase equilibria and the distribution of all elements between the phases in the Cu–Fe–O–S–Si–(Al, Ca, Mg) system.

Graphical Abstract
Effect of Co-applying Different Nitrogen Fertilizers with Bone Char on Enhancing Phosphorus Release in Calcium Carbonate-Rich Soil: an Incubation Study
Authors: Amin Abu El-Eyuoon Abu Zied
Published: March 2023

The vision of this study is to find a way for increasing phosphorus release from bone char. An incubation experiment was conducted to study the effect of co-applying different nitrogen fertilizer types with bone char (BC) on the availability and distribution of phosphorus in calcium carbonate-rich soil. The experiment contains the following treatments: soil without any nitrogen fertilizer (BC only), soil + ammonium sulfate (BC + AS), soil + ammonium nitrate (BC + AN), and soil + urea (BC + U). Bone char was added to all treatments at a dose of 4 g kg−1 soil. Co-applying bone char with all nitrogen fertilizers caused a significant decrease in pH and increased significantly phosphorus availability in the soil. The concentrations of soil available phosphorus increased from 8.05 mg kg−1 soil for BC treatment to 8.99, 8.90, and 10.16 mg kg−1 soil for BC + AS, BC + AN, and BC + U treatments, respectively, at the end of incubation. Significant increases in soil available phosphorus were observed with increasing incubation periods in all treatments. The effectiveness of the treatments on the soil available phosphorus increase was in the order of BC + U > BC + AS > BC + AN > BC. Nitrogen fertilization treatments significantly increased the NaHCO3-Pi concentrations compared to the BC treatment. Urea application to the soil increased significantly the NaOH-Pi fraction compared to other treatments at day 10 of incubation. Changes in HCl-Pi and Res-P fractions were non-significant in all treatments under nitrogen fertilization. According to the findings, co-applying bone char with nitrogen fertilizers is an agronomic practice that improves phosphorus availability in calcium carbonate-rich soil, thence it is preferable to add urea rather than other nitrogen fertilizers. This study explores a sustainable management strategy to find cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to phosphate fertilizers.
Phillips symmetric operators and functional calculus of maximal symmetric operators
Authors: Kużel Sergiusz , Różańska Anna
Published: March 2023

The aim of this work is to develop a functional calculus for simple maximal symmetric operators. The proposed approach is based on the properties of self-adjoint extensions of Phillips symmetric operators. The obtained results are applied to the description of non-cyclic vectors of backward shift operators.
The Hidden Talents Framework
Authors: Ellis Bruce J. , Abrams Laura S. , Masten Ann S. , Sternberg Robert J. , Tottenham Nim , Frankenhuis Willem E.
Published: March 2023

Although early-life adversity can undermine healthy development, an evolutionary-developmental perspective implies that children growing up in harsh environments will develop intact, or even enhanced, skills for solving problems in high‐adversity contexts (i.e., 'hidden talents'). This Element situates the hidden talents model within a larger interdisciplinary framework. Summarizing theory and research on hidden talents, it proposes that stress-adapted skills represent a form of adaptive intelligence enabling individuals to function within the constraints of harsh environments. It discusses potential applications of this perspective to multiple sectors concerned with youth from harsh environments, including education, social services, and juvenile justice, and compares the hidden talents model with contemporary developmental resilience models. The hidden talents approach, it concludes, offers exciting directions for research on childhood adversity, with translational implications for leveraging stress-adapted skills to more effectively tailor education, jobs, and interventions to fit the needs of individuals from a diverse range of life circumstances.
Remarks by Nora Mardirossian
Authors: Mardirossian Nora
Published: March 2023

There can be benefits to industry group participation in international governance. However, some engagements between business groups and international organizations raise concerns, including with respect to the legitimacy and trust of international governance and lawmaking itself. These concerns require the establishment and enforcement of guardrails surrounding industry group engagement to ensure participation is responsible.
Remarks by Sotirios-Ioannis Lekkas
Authors: Lekkas Sotirios-Ioannis
Published: March 2023

On February 9, 2022, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rendered its judgment on the reparations phase of the Armed Activities (DRC v. Uganda) case which related to the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) claims against Uganda arising from the Second Congo War.1 The judgment concluded a case which had all the hallmarks of a landmark: an exceptionally large-scale, protracted, and complex armed conflict, a key actor as the respondent, and virtually unfettered material jurisdiction of the Court. As a reminder, in 1999, the Court was seised with DRC's claims against Uganda arising from the (then ongoing) Second Congo War. Similar claims against Rwanda and Burundi failed before reaching the merits stage. In 2005, the Court rendered its judgment on the merits declaring Uganda responsible for violating the principle of non-use of force and non-intervention by the acts of its own forces and by supporting armed groups in the DRC.2 The Court also found Uganda responsible for breaches of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and for plundering DRC's natural resources.3 The Court concluded that Uganda had to make reparation to the DRC for the injury caused by its internationally wrongful acts and enjoined the parties to enter into negotiations for that purpose.4 After almost ten years of sporadic and fruitless discussions, in 2015, the DRC brought the case back to the Court for conclusive resolution.
Introductory Remarks by Kate Ferguson
Authors: Ferguson Kate
Published: March 2023

I am Kate Ferguson, co-executive director of Protection Approaches (PA), which is a London-based NGO. We work to transform how identity-based violence is understood in order to transform how it is prevented. I am not a lawyer. We have no lawyers on our team and we only have one lawyer on our panel. We are hoping for some knowledge exchange here, please, rather than just going one way.
Commentary on the 2022 Grotius Lecture
Authors: Bennoune Karima
Published: March 2023

I express my sincere thanks to the American Society of International Law and the International Legal Studies Program at American University Washington College of Law for the invitation to be this year's commentator. It is indeed an honor to respond to Judge Charlesworth's erudite Grotius Lecture: “The Art of International Law.”
Remarks by Yanar Mohammed
Authors: Mohammed Yanar
Published: March 2023

Thank you, Monica, and I have to say that I have just come from Iraq. I am in North America now, in Toronto. The implication on the tens of millions of people is that their life is destroyed for many generations to come.
Introductory Remarks by Catherine Amirfar
Authors: Amirfar Catherine
Published: March 2023

Welcome, everyone; it is a pleasure to see you as always. This is a very special inaugural event and one that I am very excited about because as we all know, the history of Goler T. Butcher is very special. This award has been awarded since 1997 to a distinguished person of American or other nationality for outstanding contributions to the development or effective realization of international human rights, and as we also know, it was named for Goler Teal Butcher, a remarkable person, prominent African American scholar, and professor of international law at Howard University School of Law, who served as the assistant administrator for Africa at the U.S. Agency for International Development in the Carter administration, and was a leading advocate for ending global hunger. We are here very much to honor the legacy.
Cutting-Edge Issues in International Dispute Resolution
Authors: Batifort Simon , Gerbay Rémy , Ibañez Belén , Love Ben , Mahayni Mohamed , Ricart Luciana , Shirlow Esmé
Published: March 2023

Esmé Shirlow presented the findings of a policy paper developed in collaboration with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), titled Approaches of International Courts and Tribunals to the Award of Compensation in International Private Property Cases and Implications for the Reform of Investor-State Arbitration. The policy paper follows previous IISD work on compensation in investor-state arbitration, which left open the question of whether approaches to issues of compensation in investor-state arbitration differ from the approaches of other international courts and tribunals (hereinafter, courts), and the extent to which this comparative practice might offer inspiration or ideas for ongoing investor-state dispute settlement reform. The research presented by Dr. Shirlow seeks to answer this question by analyzing how issues of compensation have been analyzed in cases concerning alleged state interferences with private property filed before the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea Annex VII Tribunals, European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACtHPR), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR).
Remarks by Ashley Barnes
Authors: Barnes Ashley
Published: March 2023

Violations of international law harm large numbers of individuals—in situations ranging from armed conflicts to environmental disasters. Legal and practical obstacles remain for these individuals in accessing justice under international law.1 There are, however, early signs of change. My paper's contribution to the panel is in identifying a legal sensibility coalescing around new approaches to compensation for mass harms—what I call an emerging law of international compensation (or ELIC). ELIC is a combination of ideas, forms, practices, and procedures that provide previously unavailable opportunities for large numbers of individuals to seek redress at the international level. Looking more closely at various innovative approaches to compensation within a broader push for access to justice internationally, I discuss what is meant by ELIC, its key attributes, and why it matters.
Luck and Reasons
Authors: Paulson Spencer
Published: March 2023

In this paper, I will present a problem for reductive accounts of knowledge-undermining epistemic luck. By “reductive” I mean accounts that try to analyze epistemic luck in non-epistemic terms. I will begin by briefly considering Jennifer Lackey's (2006) criticism of Duncan Pritchard's (2005) safety-based account of epistemic luck. I will further develop her objection to Pritchard by drawing on the defeasible-reasoning tradition. I will then show that her objection to safety-based accounts is an instance of a more general problem with reductive accounts of epistemic luck. In short, they face a dilemma: they can either fail to vindicate the intuitive verdicts about cases or they can illicitly appeal to the epistemic vocabulary they are trying to reduce. The upshot is that we can only understand epistemic luck in terms of the assessment of the subject's reasons and we can't give a reductive account of that.
Trading species to extinction: evidence of extinction linked to the wildlife trade
Authors: Hinsley Amy , Willis Jasmin , Dent Abigail R. , Oyanedel Rodrigo , Kubo Takahiro , Challender Daniel W. S.
Published: March 2023

The link between unsustainable harvest of species for the wildlife trade and extinction is clear in some cases, but little is known about the number of species across taxonomic groups that have gone extinct because of trade-related factors, or future risks for traded species. We conducted a rapid review of published articles and species assessments on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species with the aim of recording examples of extinctions that were attributed to trade. We found reports of extinctions linked, at least in part, to wildlife trade for 511 unique taxa. These include 294 reports of global extinctions, 25 extinctions in the wild, and 192 local extinctions. The majority of global/in the wild extinctions linked to trade (230) involved ray-finned fishes, primarily due to predation by introduced commercial species. Seventy-one of the 175 reported local extinctions of animal taxa linked to trade were mammals. Twenty-two global/in the wild extinctions and 16 local extinctions of plants were reportedly linked to trade. One fungal species was reported locally extinct due to over-harvesting for trade. Furthermore, 340 species were reported to be near-extinct linked to trade, 269 of which were animals, including several high-profile megafauna. Extinctions were linked to direct harvesting and/or indirect threats such as bycatch or invasive species introduced for trade, but often it was not possible to determine the relative role of trade-related threats in extinctions. Our results highlight the need for better data collection on trade-related extinction risk to understand its impacts and to inform more effective wildlife trade policy.
Toward a green income support policy: investigating social and fiscal alternatives for Turkey
Authors: Dogan Berna , Tekgüç Hasan , Yeldan Alp Erinç
Published: March 2023

The limited success of employment-based social protection measures under the diverging patterns of post-COVID-19 recovery rekindled interest in a social policy framework known as the Basic Income (BI) support. We test the potential of the BI program using five alternative scenarios ranging from households with income less than half of median income to all adults with estimates of their respective fiscal costs. We then employ an applied general equilibrium model to analyze the economy-wide effects and welfare implications for Turkey in the long run through 2030. We evaluate the macroeconomic and welfare effects of both a business-as-usual fiscal program and an alternative (green BI scenario) comprising of (i) carbon tax levied on the fossil fuel producing industry; (ii) corporate income taxation policy reform that aims at expanding the revenue base and consolidation of the fiscal space of the government; and (iii) restructuring of public consumption expenditures by introducing rationality and efficiency in the structure of fiscal expenditures. Our model solutions reveal that a green BI scenario not only achieves a higher GDP and welfare in the medium to long run but also helps Turkey to reduce its carbon emissions in line with the global policy challenges of a green recovery.
Dance as Cultural Practice vs. Religious Piety: Acehnese Dance in Banda Aceh and Yogyakarta
Authors: Ishiguro Maho A.
Published: March 2023

This article examines contrasting strategies that the practitioners of Acehnese dance in two Indonesian cities, Yogyakarta and Banda Aceh, sagely create to legitimize their participation in the arts in today's increasingly conservative religious climate in Indonesia. Islam in Yogyakarta has drifted away from a historically syncretic, localized form and toward a more conservative form. This shift has impacted Yogyakarta's Muslim dancers’ views on which kind of arts they deem appropriate to take part in. In particular, as they seek to maintain their religious identity and practice religious principles in order to be connected to a modern, globalized Islam, they choose to leave a local dance tradition for Acehnese dance, a tradition that originated in a province three thousand kilometers away. In Banda Aceh, the post-tsunami period (2004–present) sees religious leaders’ contestations toward the performing arts becoming part of the province's administrative system under sharia law, posing new challenges and risks.
Complicating Conformity
Authors: George Marie-Amélie
Published: March 2023

In the fall of 1989, the queer community became embroiled in a fierce debate over whether to press for marriage rights. Two attorneys from Lambda Legal, a leading gay and lesbian rights organization, set out the competing considerations in the pages of Out/Look, a community magazine. Tom Stoddard, the then-executive director, argued that the movement should prioritize marriage rights because that strategy provided the surest path to equality. Paula Ettelbrick, Lambda's Legal Director, disagreed. She conceded that marriage provided “the ultimate form of acceptance” and “an insider status of the most powerful kind.” That fact, however, was the problem. Gays and lesbians, she argued, should not be focused on assimilating to the mainstream, but rather should pursue justice for those who were different.
Response
Authors: Lvovsky Anna
Published: March 2023

I want to begin by thanking the editors of Law and History Review for hosting this rich exchange on Vice Patrol, as well as Marie-Amélie George, Yvonne Pitts, and Steven Maynard for their generous and generative comments. Engaging so deeply and so rigorously with another scholar's project, connecting it to one's own research and even to one's own life experience, is an act of remarkable collegiality, and I am grateful for their time and reflections.
Successful treatment of the focal ectopic atrial tachycardia in an infant with a single dose of ivabradin
Authors: Gul Oguzhan , Kafali Hasan Candas , Ergul Yakup
Published: March 2023

We report on a 12-month-old boy with an ectopic atrial tachycardia successfully treated with the ivabradine that acts on cardiac pacemaker cells by selectively inhibiting the If channel. The patient was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia in another centre, and multi-drug therapy was unsuccessful to restore sinus ryhthm, so he was sent to our hospital for catheter ablation. We stopped the medications the patient was taking and started using ivabradine. Sinus rhythm was restored 2 hours after ivabradine treatment was started.
Lurasidone and risk of metabolic syndrome: results from short and long-term studies in patients with bipolar depression
Authors: Tocco Michael , Newcomer John W. , Mao Yongcai , Pikalov Andrei
Published: March 2023

Objective

The elevated prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in patients with depression has been associated with increased mortality. This post hoc analysis assessed the effect of treatment with lurasidone on risk of MetS in patients with bipolar depression.

Methods

Data used in the current analyses consisted of 3 double-blind (DB), placebo-controlled, 6-week studies in adults with bipolar I depression (N = 1192), consisting of 1 monotherapy, and 2 adjunctive trials (lithium or valproate). Also analyzed was a 6-month open-label (OL) extension study (monotherapy, N = 316; adjunctive therapy, N = 497); and a 5-month, OL, stabilization phase followed by randomization to a 28-week DB, placebo-controlled, adjunctive therapy study with lurasidone (N = 490). MetS was defined based on NCEP ATP III criteria (2005 revision).

Results

The proportion of patients with new-onset MetS was similar for lurasidone vs placebo in the short-term studies (monotherapy, 13.9% vs 15.3%; adjunctive therapy, 13.6% vs 11.0%); and remained stable during both the 6-month extension phase study (monotherapy, 15.2%; adjunctive therapy, 16.9%), and the 5-month stabilization study (adjunctive therapy, 12.2%). After 28 weeks of DB treatment (following 5-month treatment in the stabilization study), new onset MetS was observed at endpoint (OC) in 26.2% of the lurasidone group, and 30.8% of the placebo group.

Conclusions

This post hoc analysis found that both short and long-term treatment with lurasidone was associated with a relatively low risk for the development of MetS in patients with bipolar I disorder. These findings are consistent with similar analyses in patients with schizophrenia.