bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A decrease in NR2B expression mediated by DNA hypermethylation induces perioperative neurocognitive disorder in aged mice
Authors: Xu Feifei , Cong Peilin , Zhang Bingqian , Dong Hailong , Zuo Wenqiang , Wu Tingmei , Tian Li , Xiong Lize
Published: January 2023

Aims

This study was designed to investigate the role of NR2B and the contribution of DNA methylation to NR2B expression in the pathogenesis of PND.

Methods

Eighteen‐month‐old C57BL/6J mice were subjected to experimental laparotomy under 1.4% isoflurane anesthesia. Hippocampus‐dependent learning and memory were evaluated by using the Barnes maze and contextual fear conditioning tests. The protein and mRNA expression levels of NR2B were evaluated by western blotting and qRT–PCR respectively, and the methylation of the NR2B gene was examined by using targeted bisulfite sequencing. Long‐term synaptic plasticity (LTP) was measured by electrophysiology.

Results

Mice that underwent laparotomy exhibited hippocampus‐dependent cognitive deficits accompanied by decreased NR2B expressions and LTP deficiency. The overexpression of NR2B in the dorsal hippocampus could improve learning and memory in mice subjected to laparotomy. In particular, the decreased NR2B expressions induced by laparotomy was attributed to the NR2B gene hypermethylation. Preoperative administration of S‐adenosylmethionine (SAM) could hypomethylate the NR2B gene, upregulate NR2B expression and improve LTP, exerting a dose‐dependent therapeutic effect against PND. Moreover, inhibiting NR2B abrogated the benefits of SAM pretreatment.

Conclusions

Laparotomy cause hippocampus‐dependent cognitive decline by hypermethylating the NR2B gene, allowing us to understand the pathogenesis of PND in an epigenetic landscape.
Categories by which we try to live
Authors: Butler Judith
Published: January 2023

Categories We Live By makes several claims about Judith Butler's Gender Trouble which Butler seeks to contest, while remaining in fundamental agreement with most of the conclusions in Asta Sveinsdottir's book. At issue is whether or not performativity can rightly be restricted to what is called an exercitive in J. L. Austin's sense, whether Butler is a radical constructivist or a qualified one, and whether unauthorized speech acts have a power to bring a reality into being that is different from those authorized by legal regimes. Along the way, Butler suggest that establishing facts takes place within variable historical schemes and that this argument is neither a denial or facts nor of materiality. Finally, an individualist idea of freedom is subject to criticism in order to make way for an historically constrained freedom, collective in nature.
Clinical presentation and management strategies of cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction following a COVID‐19 infection – A systematic review
Authors: Reis Carneiro Diogo , Rocha Isabel , Habek Mario , Helbok Raimund , Sellner Johann , Struhal Walter , Wenning Gregor , Fanciulli Alessandra
Published: January 2023

Background

Cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction may reportedly occur after a coronavirus‐disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) infection, but the available evidence is scattered. Here we sought to understand the acute and mid‐term effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection on cardiovascular autonomic function.

Methods

We performed a systematic PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, medRxiv, and bioRxiv search for cases of cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction during an acute SARS‐CoV‐2 infection or post‐COVID‐19 condition. The clinical‐demographic characteristics of individuals in the acute versus post‐COVID‐19 phase were compared.

Results

We screened 6470 titles and abstracts. Fifty‐four full‐length articles were included in the data synthesis. One‐hundred and thirty‐four cases were identified: 81 during the acute SARS‐CoV‐2 infection (24 thereof diagnosed by history) and 53 in the post‐COVID‐19 phase. Post‐COVID‐19 cases were younger than those with cardiovascular autonomic disturbances in the acute SARS‐CoV‐2 phase (42 vs. 51 years old, p = 0.002) and were more frequently women (68% vs. 49%, p = 0.034). Reflex syncope was the most common cardiovascular autonomic disorder in the acute phase (p = 0.008) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) the most frequent diagnosis in individuals with post‐COVID‐19 orthostatic complaints (p < 0.001). Full recovery was more frequent in individuals with acute versus post‐COVID‐19 onset of cardiovascular autonomic disturbances (43% vs. 15%, p = 0.002).

Conclusions

There is evidence from the scientific literature about different types of cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction developing during and after COVID‐19. More data about the prevalence of autonomic disorders associated with a SARS‐CoV‐2 infection are needed to quantify its impact on human health.
Nuptial pad (“breeding gland”) morphology is related to non‐random mating in wild male common frogs (Rana temporaria)
Authors: Orton Frances , Roberts‐Rhodes Bethany , Moore Emily , Whatley Catherine , Tyler Charles R.
Published: January 2023

Androgen levels are closely linked with breeding in male amphibians. Development of the nuptial pad is driven by androgens and is believed to have importance for determining mating success in anurans, but this has not been tested in wild populations. We investigated the association between nuptial pad morphology (length, colour) and mating (amplexus) success in wild male common frogs (Rana temporaria) in the UK (Devon in Southern England and central Scotland). Once active breeding had been confirmed, pond water (25 L) was placed in 1–6 replicate mesocosms (66 cm diameter circular, black plastic tubs) in situ. Eight male and two female frogs were placed into each mesocosm, and success observed by identifying the male frog(s) in amplexus. The length of nuptial pads for male frogs observed in amplexus was greater than those that did not achieve amplexus. There was no difference in the absolute dark colour of nuptial pads (determined by red/green/blue analysis, Adobe photoshop©) for male frogs observed in amplexus versus those that did not achieve amplexus. However, within each mesocosm, the nuptial pad was relatively darker for winning male frogs compared to losing male frogs. Overall, 91% of winning male frogs from Devon, and 89% winning male frogs from Scotland, possessed either a longer and/or a darker nuptial pad, compared with frogs that did not achieve amplexus. These data suggest that features of nuptial pad morphology are associated with amplexus (and thus mating) success in male common frogs. Given that nuptial pads have been identified in all anuran amphibian species analysed to date, nuptial pad morphology may contribute to non‐random mating strategies across a broad range of species.
The embeddedness and hidden political economy of the world heritage site inscription boom in China
Authors: Huang Kaixuan , Liu Yi
Published: January 2023

Since the mid‐1980s, there has been a boom in world heritage site (WHS) inscriptions in China. Nevertheless, incumbent studies have not sufficiently explained why cities are enthusiastic about and capable of joining the boom. They tend to attribute such enthusiasm to the WHS values in heritage protection and tourism development. However, why stakeholders have motivations and opportunities to create the boom and what institutional environments support the craze are still yet to be answered. This paper investigates the boom through the concept of embeddedness to display how multi‐scalar institutional contexts in China stimulate and sustain WHS nomination. This study argues that the enthusiasm for WHS inscription is embedded in the political‐economic interests of stakeholders on different scales. At international and national levels, WHS nomination is regarded as a political tool to address diplomatic agendas, shape national honor, and balance regional development. On a local scale, WHS inscriptions can serve as a solid pretext for local states in China to fulfill their strong developmental imperatives and break financial constraints. These imperatives are embedded in China's transitional institutional environment, associated with power decentralization, central‐local fiscal rearrangements, and the top‐down system of cadre evaluation. In this context, local states are ambitious of initiating large‐scale development projects to boost local development. WHS nomination has become a pretext for local states to fulfill extraordinary development in tourism and other industries, such as the real estate industry. This study discloses the hidden political economy behind the WHS inscription boom using the cases of Wulingyuan and the South China Karst.
Synergistic activation of genes promoting invasiveness by dual deprivation in oxygen and nutrients
Authors: Jehanno Charly , Le Page Yann , Flouriot Gilles , Le Goff Pascale , Michel Denis
Published: January 2023

By depriving cancer cells of blood supplies of oxygen and nutrients, anti‐angiogenic therapy is aimed at simultaneously asphyxiating and starving the cells. But in spite of its apparent logic, this strategy is generally counterproductive over the long term as the treatment seems to elicit malignancy. Since a defect of blood supply is expected to deprive tumours simultaneously of oxygen and nutrients naturally, we examine here these two deprivations, alone or in combination, on the phenotype and signalling pathways of moderately aggressive MCF7 cancer cells. Each deprivation induces some aspects of the aggressive and migratory phenotypes through activating several pathways, including HIF1‐alpha as expected, but also SRF/MRTFA and TCF4/beta‐catenin. Strikingly, the dual deprivation has strong cooperative effects on the upregulation of genes increasing the metastatic potential, such as four and a half LIM domains 2 (FHL2) and HIF1A‐AS2 lncRNA, which have response elements for both pathways. Using anti‐angiogenic agents as monotherapy is therefore questionable as it may give falsely promising short‐term tumour regression, but could ultimately exacerbate aggressive phenotypes.
A bibliometric analysis of hidradenitis suppurativa literature over the past 50 years
Authors: Peles Galia , Horev Amir
Published: January 2023

Background

We aimed to describe the existing literature on hidradenitis suppurative (HS) in the last 50 years and the key processes made over time.

Methods

On July 27, 2022, we searched for HS studies published in the last 50 years (from 1972 to 2022) using Web of Science. The search was made using the keywords “Hidradenitis Suppurativa” and “Acne Inversa.” The data are subdivided according to publications and citations rate, country, publication year, journal and impact factor, keywords analysis of top 100 cited papers study design, and pediatric versus adults.

Results

In total, 5072 documents were retrieved. The annual number of HS publications has increased over the years. The manuscript with the highest citation number was by Zouboulis et al., a total of 552 citations from 2015. The manuscript with the highest citation rate per year was by Mantovani et al., with a citation rate of 70.7/year. According to keywords analysis among the top 100 cited papers, most of the articles focused on management, followed by the pathogenesis of HS. Only 805 out of 5072 (15.8%) HS articles described the disease among children.

Conclusions

In the current analysis, we shed light on HS's transformations over the last 50 years. In addition, we described the 100 top cited papers and other essential characteristics not examined before, such as HS research in children, gender bias research, specific pharmacological therapy with keyword analysis, comorbidities, preventative care, and publications per country after controlling for population.
Integration of mental health and quality of life screening tools in an inflammatory bowel disease‐specific electronic medical record (Crohn Colitis Care): process and early outcomes
Authors: Lores Taryn , Krishnaprasad Krupa , Connor Susan J. , Cabaero Aura , Andrews Jane M.
Published: January 2023

Psychological problems are prevalent in people with inflammatory bowel diseases but are not routinely addressed. To improve recognition, three psychological screening tools were integrated into clinical management software (Crohn Colitis Care). In the first 6 months, completion rates varied between participating sites, and approximately 23–34% of respondents scored in moderate or higher ranges for psychological distress. Evaluation of the clinical utility of the module to improve patient outcomes is recommended.
Analysis of dermoscopic changes of blue nevi on digital follow‐up: A 21‐year retrospective cohort study
Authors: Alamon‐Reig Francesc , Combalia Marc , Albero‐González Raquel , Alòs Llúcia , Carrera Cristina , Puig‐Butillé Joan Anton , Villanueva‐Cañas José Luis , Puig Susana , Malvehy Josep , Podlipnik Sebastian
Published: January 2023

Background

Blue nevi are benign dermal melanocytic proliferations that are often easy to recognize clinically. Rarely, these lesions can display atypical features, suggesting the presence of a malignant blue nevus or mimicking cutaneous metastases of melanoma.

Objective

To describe the clinical evolution of blue nevi over time and to assess the need for monitoring these lesions.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 103 patients who were followed between December 1998 and November 2019. An artificial intelligence algorithm was used to identify blue nevi from the databases of two digital epiluminescence devices. Changes in the area of each lesion were calculated with a segmentation neural network.

Results

We included 123 blue nevi from 103 patients. Most of the lesions segmented, 99 (91.7%), were considered stable. Of the 9 (8.3%) growing blue nevi identified, 2 (1.85%) showed significant growth. The studied growing blue nevi turned out to be cellular blue nevi, presented with a low tumour mutation burden and GNAQ c.626A>T alteration was identified in both lesions.

Limitations

Some clinical variants of blue nevi might not be included.

Conclusions

Most blue nevi remain stable during their evolution. Rarely, they can show progressive growth, although histopathological or molecular signs of malignancy have not been identified.
Confirmation of vehicle stability criteria through a combination of smoothed particle hydrodynamics and laboratory measurements
Authors: Azhar Fatima , Pauwels Valentijn R. N. , Bui Ha H.
Published: January 2023

This study combines laboratory experiments and numerical modelling in a novel manner to assess vehicle stability. Assessing vehicle stability forms the basis of hazard classification criteria, which in turn helps in forming safety guidelines for stream crossings and planning of evacuation routes in times of floods. These criteria are based on theoretical and physical model studies carried out on different vehicle models. This article demonstrates the application of a numerical method to determine the vehicle stability threshold so that the need for a physical model study for each kind of vehicle may be avoided. The numerical investigation is performed using smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) with the vehicle oriented perpendicular to the flow direction, as this is the most critical orientation. A physical model study is also performed and its results are used to validate the SPH model. The results confirm the current Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR) safety criteria for stationary vehicles. It also suggests that the ARR stability curve can shift depending on the road conditions that affect the vehicle's sliding mechanism.
Fiscal Stimulus of Last Resort
Authors: Piergallini Alessandro
Published: January 2023

I examine global dynamics in a monetary model with overlapping generations of finite‐horizon agents, nonseparable preferences over consumption and real money balances, and a binding lower bound on nominal interest rates. Debt targeting rules exacerbate the possibility of self‐fulfilling liquidity traps, for agents expect austerity following deflationary slumps. Conversely, activist but sustainable fiscal policy regimes—implementing intertemporally balanced tax cuts and/or transfer increases in response to disinflationary trajectories—are capable of escaping liquidity traps and embarking inflation into a globally stable path that converges to the target. Should fiscal stimulus of last resort be overly aggressive, however, spiral dynamics around the liquidity‐trap steady state exist, causing global indeterminacy.
Translational patterns of ionotropic glutamate and GABA receptors during brain development and behavioral stimuli revealed by polysome profiling
Authors: Peng Yinghui , Huang Miaoqi , Xie Jiaoyan , Shu Beiyi , Wang Xiaojun , Liao Yumei , Xu Junyu , Shi Lei
Published: January 2023

mRNA translation is critical for regulation of various aspects of the nervous system. Ionotropic glutamate and gamma‐aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors are fundamental synaptic ion channels that control excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission, respectively. However, little is known about the translation of these receptors during brain development and function. By utilizing polysome profiling, a powerful tool for investigating translational machinery and mRNA translational states, we characterized the translational patterns of α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA), N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA), and GABAA receptor subunits, and compared them with total mRNA and protein levels during mouse brain development, in different brain regions, and in response to behavioral stimuli. Most of the receptor subunits exhibited developmental changes at total mRNA, translation, and protein levels, among which translation of Gria1, Gria2, Grin1, Grin2a, Gabra1, and Gabrg2 contributed greatly to their protein levels. Most of the receptor subunits also displayed differentiated levels of total mRNA, translation, and protein in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, among which translation of Gria1, Gria2, Gabrb2, and Gabrg2 contributed to their protein levels. Finally, we showed that acute foot shock stress had a rapid influence in both the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, with the prefrontal cortex displaying more changes at translational and protein levels. Notably, Grin2a is translationally repressed by stress which was followed by a decrease of GluN2A protein in both brain regions. Together, this study provides a new understanding of the translational patterns of critical ionotropic synaptic receptors during brain development and behavioral stress.

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Differences in chronic pain care receipt among veterans from differing racialized groups and the impact of rural versus urban residence
Authors: Mares Jasmine G. , Lund Brian C. , Adamowicz Jenna L. , Burgess Diana J. , Rothmiller Shamira J. , Hadlandsmyth Katherine
Published: January 2023

Purpose

The current study aimed to identify differences in Veterans Affairs (VA) chronic pain care for Black, Asian, and Hispanic Americans, compared to non‐Hispanic White Americans, and examine the intersection of race and rurality.

Methods

Using national administrative data, all veterans who presented to the VA for chronic pain in 2018 were included. Demographic and comorbidity variables were built from 2018 data and health care utilization variables from 2019 data. Multivariate log‐binomial regression models examined differences between racialized groups, and interactions with rural/urban residence, for each health care utilization variable.

Findings

The full cohort included 2,135,216 veterans with chronic pain. There were no differences between racialized groups in pain‐related primary care visits. Black Americans were less likely to receive pain clinic visits (aRR = 0.87, CI: 0.86‐0.88). Rurality further decreased the likelihood of Black Americans visiting a pain clinic. Black, Hispanic, and Asian Americans were more likely to receive pain‐related physical therapy visits relative to White Americans. Black and Hispanic Americans were more likely to present to emergency/urgent care for chronic pain. While there were no differences in pain‐related primary care visits, the decreased likelihood of pain clinic visits and increased use of emergency department/urgent care among Black Americans could indicate inadequate management of chronic pain.

Conclusions

Tailored strategies are needed to provide equitable care that meets the needs of patients from racialized groups while accounting for systemic and cultural factors.
Predatory invertebrates indirectly impact leaf‐litter breakdown by different foragers in temporary wetlands
Authors: Jara F. G. , Pueta M.
Published: January 2023

Temporary wetlands constitute a reservoir of fauna, many of which are endemic species well adapted to the typical dry–flooded cycle. The degradation of organic matter (both autochthonous and allochthonous) is an important process in temporary wetlands. Wetland animals like caddisfly and anuran larvae participate directly and indirectly in litter breakdown. Both groups also experience predation by invertebrates and vertebrates, which could alter the dynamics of litter breakdown. We used mesocosms to experimentally study the roles of caddisfly and tadpoles in leaf litter breakdown in the presence of a caged predator. We investigated how the presence of different types of forager (larvae of the caddisfly Verger vespersus and Batrachyla taeniata tadpoles) impacts leaf litter breakdown and also whether the presence of a caged belostomatid predator affected this process. Additionally, we investigated the behavioral response of B. taeniata tadpoles and V. vespersus larvae to predation risk cues from belostomatids previously fed on tadpoles or caddisflies. Our results indicated that only caddisfly larvae have a significant impact on litter breakdown. Predation risk did not influence the process, caddisfly larvae exposed to a caged predator reached the pupal stage more quickly than larvae that were not thus exposed, and tadpoles significantly reduced their activity in response to predation risk cues. None of the life‐history parameters of B. taeniata were affected by the predator, but tadpoles accelerated their development in warmer water. Our study is the first in South America to analyze the interactions between a common assemblage of tadpoles and caddisfly larvae and their impact on leaf litter breakdown when they experience predation risk. The model used here contributes to our understanding of ecosystem processes such as leaf litter breakdown and the impact of different biotic and abiotic variables when foragers co‐occur in the food webs of temporary aquatic systems.
Children's perioperative multidimensional anxiety scale: Turkish cross‐cultural adaptation
Authors: Çelik Sevim , Kurt Aylin , Altıntaş Sibel , Uçar Özge
Published: January 2023

Rationale

The number of pediatric surgeries is constantly increasing. Evaluating anxiety levels in pediatric surgical patients is highly important in terms of preventing complications.

Aims and Objectives

The purpose of this study is to cross‐culturally adapt to the Turkish version, and to test the validity and reliability of Children's Perioperative Multidimensional Anxiety Scale (CPMAS).

Method

This methodological study was carried out with 50 children aged 7–10 years who underwent surgery at Bartın Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital between September 2021 and May 2022. The self‐reported CPMAS and Children's Anxiety Meter‐State (CAM‐S) were administered before the surgery, on the day of the surgery, and 1 month after the surgery to collect data. The internal consistency, test–retest reliability, parallel forms reliability, content validity, and construct validity of CPMAS were tested.

Results

Children's Perioperative Multidimensional Anxiety Scale showed a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.858, 0.916, 0.864). The item‐total correlation values of CPMAS were found to be 0.58–0.71 before the surgery, 0.77–0.83 on the day of the surgery, and 0.60–0.80 1 month after the surgery. CPMAS was found to be a single‐factor scale explaining 65% of the variance in the examined variable. The correlations between CPMAS and CAM‐S (parallel forms) were found to be 0.474 before the surgery, 0.528 on the day of the surgery, and 0.599 1 month after the surgery.

Conclusion

The CPMAS, which was developed by Chow et al. in English, had high validity and reliability levels for Turkey. It is recommended that the scale be used by healthcare professionals in Turkey in the assessment of surgery‐related anxiety in children.
Postoperative recovery in children: Turkish cross‐cultural adaptation
Authors: Kürtüncü Meltem , Kurt Aylin
Published: January 2023

Background

Postoperative recovery is an individual process involving subjective experiences. The fact that children still experience high rates of complications associated with surgery requires the discovery of new evaluation methods. No studies in Turkey have reported a measurement instrument evaluating postoperative recovery in children. The purpose of this methodological study is to cross‐culturally adapt the Postoperative Recovery in Children (PRiC) instrument into the Turkish language and test the validity and reliability of its Turkish version.

Methods

One hundred children (81% male) aged 4 to 12 years undergoing tonsillectomy at a hospital were included. The self‐administered PRiC and Parents' Postoperative Pain Measure (PPPM) instruments were used to collect data on the 1st, 4th, and 10th days after surgery. Internal consistency, parallel‐forms reliability, content validity, and construct validity of the instruments were determined.

Results

PRiC had a three‐factor structure, and these factors explained 68% of the total variance in the variable it measured. It showed a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.842). The item‐total score correlation coefficients for 23 of the items were ≥0.30. PRiC was moderately correlated with PPPM on the 1st day after surgery (r = 0.64, p < .01), on the 4th day after surgery (r = 0.69, p < .01), and on the 10th day after surgery (r = 0.51, p < .01).

Conclusion

The Turkish version of PRiC has good reliability and validity. A validity and reliability study of PRiC to assess children's postoperative recovery in the context of different surgical operations should be conducted.
Retrogressive moulting in khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)
Authors: Shivananjappa Sunil , Floate Kevin D. , Fields Paul G. , Laird Robert A.
Published: January 2023

Insect larvae typically moult to grow, but here we investigate insect larvae that moult to shrink; that is, retrogressive moulting or retrogressive development. We demonstrate this phenomenon in khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium Everts (Dermestidae), among the world's most invasive pests of stored grains and cereal products, and a quarantine pest of interest for many countries. Larvae survived a 3‐month period of starvation, moulting up to six times and reducing their body mass by about half, on average. When reprovisioned with food, most larvae resumed the normal trajectory of development and pupated within a month. Thus, retrogressive development is a mechanism that may favour species whose resources exhibit feast‐or‐famine dynamics. By enabling survival during periods of privation, retrogressive development contributes to the invasiveness of the khapra beetle by allowing them to persist for long periods in empty storage facilities or empty containers used for international grain shipments.
Minimal invasiveness in gingival augmentation and root coverage procedures
Authors: Cairo Francesco , Burkhardt Rino
Published: January 2023

Minimally invasive surgical procedures aim at optimal wound healing, a reduction of postoperative morbidity and, thus, at increased patient satisfaction. The present article reviews the concept of minimal invasiveness in gingival augmentation and root coverage procedures, and critically discusses the influencing factors, technical and nontechnical ones, and relates them to the underlying biological mechanisms. Furthermore, the corresponding outcomes of the respective procedures are assessed and evaluated in relation to a possible impact of a minimized surgical invasiveness on the clinical, aesthetic, and patient‐related results.
More than just experts for hire: A conceptualization of the roles of consultants in public policy formulation
Authors: Marciano Reut
Published: January 2023

Consultants are increasingly a part of public policy formulation, and their policy involvement draws extensive interest in research and public debate. However, there is a gap in how we think about their formulation role: they are often conceptualized as a type of expert, while their actual interaction with and contribution to policy formulation is much more varied. This paper develops a conceptualization of consultants' formulation roles. It demonstrates that rather than just informing policy formulation, consultants take multiple roles and interact with policymaking and makers in multiple ways. Using a policy network/subsystem distinction and a substance/process distinction as the main axes for analysis, the paper develops four role categories: (1) experts and knowledge brokers, in which consultants provide policy advice and analysis; (2) seeing for the government, in which they construct a picture of the policy field; (3) legitimizers and validators, in which they provide symbolic capital to policy; and (4) channels for stakeholders' policy preferences, in which they manage deliberation and synthesize actors' policy preferences. The paper provides much‐needed clarity on how consultants engage with policy formulation and policymakers and forwards our understanding of how consultants exert their policy influence.
The Historical Presidency: Protecting a president and graymailing courts: Iran‐Contra and the obstruction of justice
Authors: McPherson Alan
Published: January 2023

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 2019 refusal to charge President Donald Trump with crimes resulted not only from what Mueller deemed insufficient evidence but also from the obstruction of the investigation itself, indicating an all‐too‐common pattern mitigating the independence of the judiciary when investigating the executive. The Iran‐Contra scandal of the Reagan–Bush era stands as a key antecedent when officials repeatedly destroyed evidence and impeded the work of investigators and courts to avoid punishment or embarrassment. While these acts may have been legal, they demonstrated the constitutional dependence of the judiciary on the executive for evidence and, more broadly, the lack of regard for the role of justice in a democracy.
Within‐subject reliability of concurrent TMS‐fMRI during a single session
Authors: Hawco Colin , Steeves Jennifer K. E. , Voineskos Aristotle N. , Blumberger Daniel M. , Daskalakis Zafiris J.
Published: January 2023

Concurrent transcranial magnetic stimulation with functional MRI (concurrent TMS‐fMRI) allows real‐time causative probing of brain connectivity. However, technical challenges, safety, and tolerability may limit the number of trials employed during a concurrent TMS‐fMRI experiment. We leveraged an existing data set with 100 trials of active TMS compared to a sub‐threshold control condition to assess the reliability of the evoked BOLD response during concurrent TMS‐fMRI. This data will permit an analysis of the minimum number of trials that should be employed in a concurrent TMS‐fMRI protocol in order to achieve reliable spatial changes in activity. Single‐subject maps of brain activity were created by splitting the trials within the same experimental session into groups of 50, 40, 30, 25, 20, 15, or 10 trials, correlations (R) between t‐maps derived from paired subsets of trials within the same individual were calculated as reliability. R was moderate‐high for 50 trials (mean R = .695) and decreased as the number of trials decreased. Consistent with previous findings of high individual variability in the spatial patterns of evoked neuronal changes following a TMS pulse, the spatial pattern of Rs differed across participants, but regional R was correlated with the magnitude of TMS‐evoked activity. These results demonstrate concurrent TMS‐fMRI produces a reliable pattern of activity at the individual level at higher trial numbers, particularly within localized regions. The spatial pattern of reliability is individually idiosyncratic and related to the individual pattern of evoked changes.
Event pattern analysis: Spatial clustering of sequential events and temporal change of events over time
Authors: Sadahiro Yukio
Published: January 2023

This article develops a method for analyzing spatial and temporal event patterns. Events in this article refer to zero‐dimensional objects in the spatiotemporal dimension, which represent the occurrence of crimes, traffic accidents, earthquakes, and so forth. The spatial clustering of sequential events and the increase and decrease in events over time are discussed. These patterns are often observed and analyzed in various academic fields, such as criminology, epidemiology, and geography. However, analytical methods for these patterns have not yet been fully developed. To fill the research gap, this article proposes a new method for analyzing these event patterns. Two statistical measures are utilized, one represents the degree of the spatial clustering of sequential events, and the other evaluates the increase and decrease of events over time. The method is applied to the analysis of the spatial and temporal patterns of the openings of new shops and restaurants in Shibuya‐ku, Tokyo. The results gave us interesting empirical findings and indicated the soundness of the method.
Spillover, sponge or something else? Dismantling expectations for rural development resulting from giga-investments in Northern Sweden
Authors: Lundmark Linda , Carson Doris , Eimermann Marco
Published: January 2023

The paradoxical situation of planning for growth while managing decline has long been a reality for politicians and planners in Nordic peripheries. In recent years, however, attempts to plan for demographic adaptation, smart shrinkage, and ‘right-sizing’ public services have become commonplace. While it has taken decades for this to become an accepted part of municipal planning, new opportunities are now arising in the Swedish North due to several unforeseen giga-investments. These are expected to trigger rapid socio-economic growth along the urbanized coast and in a few select inland locations. Yet the likely effects on shrinking rural and sparsely populated municipalities geographically adjacent to these investment hotspots are much less understood. Previous research suggests that such investment projects might cause pressure for rural labour and housing markets but may also offer a range of positive spillover effects and development opportunities for rural areas. We draw on structural level narratives and interviews with key informants, including local and regional political stakeholders, to identify how the prospects of the giga-investments are viewed in places that are not directly affected, and what opportunities and threats are discussed. An overarching theme identified in the empirical material concerns the a-spatiality of discourses of growth, which we divide into two concrete dilemmas: infrastructure and mobility. Our findings show that, while the investments are seen as ringing in a new ‘golden age’ for the northern region, such a-spatial understandings of regional characteristics might stand in the way of acting fast and being able to make the most of the potential spillover effects.
What can geographers do for shrinking geographies?
Authors: Syssner Josefina
Published: January 2023

For parts of the sparsely populated areas, the trends of globalisation, urbanisation and deindustrialisation constitute difficult circumstances. Population decline, escalating dependency ratios, lack of human and financial resources, and diminishing commercial and public services form part of lived experience in many of these areas. This paper discusses what geographers can do for these territories. The paper suggests that geographers can aid in understanding and demonstrating (a) how resources have been distributed in space over time and (b) why patterns of resource distribution take the shape they do. Geographers can also illuminate (c) what it means to live, work, and operate in shrinking, rural territories. Geographers could also (d) make implicit geographical imaginations explicit, (e) elucidate how shrinkage is dealt with by various policy actors, and (f) point to alternative policy directions. The paper also suggests that geographers in the Nordic countries could enrich an international research field of studies of shrinkage by (g) providing case studies or comparative studies from a Nordic context.
Shrinking geographies or challenged rurality’s? Three points of reflection – commentary to Syssner
Authors: Meijer Marlies
Published: January 2023

By asking ‘what could geographers do for shrinking geographies’ Josefina Syssner offers a very comprehensive overview of what has been and should be on the research agenda’s for understanding rural shrinking geographies. In this commentary I would like to address three issues related to the Fennia keynote, that may add an additional perspective or a moment of reflection: 1) the issue of demographic change, rather than shrinkage, 2) how we can imagine the future of shrinking geographies, and 3) what Nordic perspectives have to offer. In conclusion, I believe that peripheral geographies, and challenged rurality’s deserve a key position within geography and related disciplines, and call for a repolitisation of the topic: what we research, how we conceptualise or even advice has consequences for those living and imagining futures in peripheral, rural and depopulating regions.
Depopulation and shrinkage in a Northern context: geographical perspectives, spatial processes and policies
Authors: Albrecht Moritz , Halonen Maija , Syssner Josefina
Published: January 2023

Depopulation and shrinkage are a common socio-spatial phenomenon in many Northern localities and are frequently accompanied by a stigmatization of the affected localities and their populations. This editorial introduces the special issue on depopulation and shrinkage in a Northern context that takes its point of departure from the Nordic Geographers Meeting 2022 on multiple geographies and its keynote lecture by Josefina Syssner on the question: What can geographers do for shrinking geographies? The special issue displays a range of contributions from Northern context that discuss and evaluate the heterogenous processes of shrinking localities from multiple perspectives within and beyond geography. Through broad, yet empirically detailed and multiscalar focused assessments it stresses that shrinkage as a phenomenon is a fundamental character of Nordic and other societies, which requires a rethinking and should be acknowledged as a ‘natural’ development trajectory in planning and development.
One-Step Patterned Contact-Resistance-Free Stretchable Strain Sensors With High Linearity and Repeatability for Body-Motion Detection
Authors: Lan Yuqun , Liu Guodong , Yin Shizhen , Zhao Yang , Liu Chong , Sun Lijuan , Li Shuang , Su Yewang
Published: January 2023

Most of the resistive-type stretchable strain sensors exhibit large sensing ranges and high sensitivity but suboptimal repeatability and linearity because of the contact-resistance mechanism. To achieve high repeatability and linearity, several sensors with contact-resistance-free structures are proposed. However, due to the different geometric layouts of the conductive materials and the insulating substrates, the patterning of these sensors requires multiple processes including photolithography and etching, which may cause high costs and are not suitable for consumer wearable applications. Here, we report a design for stretchable strain sensors based on a one-step patterned contact-resistance-free structure, i.e., the independent-sensing-and-stretchable-function structure (ISSFS). The stretchability mainly comes from the overall large deformation of the wide curved segments (the stretchable parts), while the resistance variation is mainly attributed to the tensile strain of the narrow straight segments (the sensing parts). High linearity (R2 = 0.999) and repeatability (repeatability error = 1.44%) are achieved because neither unstable contact resistance nor nonlinear constitutive and geometric behaviors occur during the sensing process. The conductive materials and the insulating substrates do not need to have different geometric layouts; thus, they can be patterned by only one-step laser cutting. The proposed sensors show great potential in body-motion detection for wearable devices.
Sparse-View X-Ray CT Reconstruction using CAD Model Registration
Authors: Bussy Victor , Vienne Caroline , Escoda Julie , Kaftandjian Valérie
Published: January 2023

X-ray Computed Tomography is a powerful non-destructive testing tool increasingly used by manufacturers to ensure the conformity of the produced parts. Despite growing interest, it is struggling to establish itself in online testing applications due to the large number of X-ray projections required to ensure a good reconstructed image. To reduce this number of projections from a few hundred to a few dozens while still getting satisfying reconstruction quality, we propose to infer a so-called mask on the volume to be reconstructed. By constraining the back-projection of the acquired X-ray projections only on this mask, corresponding to the voxels of the volume containing matter, iterative reconstruction algorithms, already very efficient at a low number of views compared to the traditional FDK, can better reconstruct an object, and with fewer computational resources. However, this technique requires a preliminary step: registering the experimental data to the a priori mask data. This paper presents a 3D/2D registration method based on Iterative Inverse Perspective Matching that registers a 3D CAD model to experimental projections. Then, we will explain how to construct the mask and use it during the reconstruction.
Guided Waves in Pipes Versus Lamb Waves in Plates - A Convergence Analysis
Authors: Alsaffar Fadhel , Wang Lifu , Mal Ajit , Schaal Christoph
Published: January 2023

This work is concerned the with analysis of the convergence of guided waves in pipes to Lamb waves in plates for isotropic materials. The main goal is to be able to define a threshold frequency above which it is reasonable to approximate waves propagating in a pipe with a certain wall thickness to radius ratio as Lamb waves. The study involves a detailed comparison of velocity differences for symmetric and antisymmetric waves in plates versus longitudinal and flexural modes in pipes. Phase and group velocities of pipes with various wall thickness-to-radius ratios are compared to a plate of corresponding thickness. An empirical convergence criterion is defined to determine the frequency above which a pipe will have a plate-like response. It is shown that “convergence” may already be reached at frequencies commonly used for nondestructive testing purposes. Analytical considerations are supported and validated by experimental results, showing good agreement of predicted and measured wave velocities.
Experimental Investigation of Lamb Wave Response for the Surface Corrosion Damage in Plates
Authors: Ding Xiangyan , Deng Mingxi , Hu Ning , Zhao Youxuan , Bi XIaoyang
Published: January 2023

Because the surface corrosion damage could susceptibly occur in metallic structures for the corrosive environment and fatigue loads, it essential to detect the corrosion timely and precisely before the loss of life and property caused by corrosion. Based on low-frequency Lamb wave technique, the low-frequency A0 Lamb wave, the low-frequency S0 Lamb wave and one-way S0-A0 Lamb mixing wave are experimentally investigated in the thin plates with the early stage damage caused by the surface corrosion, which were made by different times of hydrochloric corrosion. Firstly, it verified that the damage degree of the surface corrosion region increases with the number of corrosion times by the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Secondly, the linear and nonlinear effect caused by corrosion had been investigated, and the relationship between the characters of the different Lamb waves and the different corrosion damage levels were qualitatively discussed. Especially, the length and the location of the corrosion region were located successfully by one-way S0-A0 Lamb mixing wave. This paper explores experimentally the propagation mechanism of low frequency linear and nonlinear Lamb wave in thin plates with corrosion damage, which can provide an experimental basis for Lamb-wave detection techniques used in the evaluation and location of damages.
Response Characteristics of Multipole Sonic Log in Double Casing Strings
Authors: Rao Bo , Su Yuanda , Li Shengqing , Tang Xiaoming
Published: January 2023

The method of using multi-layer casing to achieve interlayer isolation in deep wells has become very common, and the demand for cementing quality evaluation in multi-layer casing wells is becoming more and more urgent. However, there is no effective method for evaluating the cementing quality in multi-layer cased wells, especially when the production (inner layer) casing is eccentric. In this paper, the multipole acoustic wavefield is calculated in the double-cased well with the inner casing being centered and eccentric based on the Bessel translation addition theorem, aiming to explore the feasibility of using multipole array acoustic logging for evaluating the cementation quality between the outer casing and the formation in the double-casing wells under complex well conditions. The calculation results show that the non-axisymmetric wave field excited by the multipole acoustic source is very complex, and there are coexistence of multipole modes and mutual coupling of guided waves when the inner casing is eccentric. In addition, the velocity dispersion curves of the outer Stoneley waves and the casing flexural waves are closely associated with the acoustic impedance of the medium filled in the Annulus between the outer casing and formation, which can be used to evaluate the cementation quality of the outer annulus, and this phenomenon is not affected by the position and size of the inner casing. The analysis results of this study verified the feasibility of using multipole acoustic logging for cement evaluation in double-casing wells.