bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The anchor design of anchor-based method to determine the minimal clinically important difference: a systematic review
Authors: Zhang Yu , Xi Xiaoyu , Huang Yuankai
Published: July 2023

Background

Positive results for clinical outcomes should be not only statistically significant, but also clinically significant. The minimum clinically important difference (MCID) is used to define the minimum threshold of clinical significance. The anchor-based method is a classical method for ascertaining MCID. This study aimed to summarise the design of the anchors of the anchor-based method by reviewing the existing research and providing references and suggestions.

Method

This study was mainly based on literature research. We performed a systematic search using Web of Science, PubMed, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP databases. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts to identify relevant articles. Data were extracted from eligible articles using a predefined data collection form. Discrepancies were resolved by discussion and the involvement of a third reviewer.

Result

Three hundred and forty articles were retained for final analysis. For the design of anchors, Subjective anchors (99.12%) were the most common type of anchor used, mainly the Patient’s rating of change or patient satisfaction (66.47%) and related scale health status evaluation items or scores (39.41%). Almost half of the studies (48.53%) did not assess the correlation test between the anchor and the research indicator or scale. The cut-off values and grouping were usually based on the choice of the anchor types. In addition, due to the large number of included studies, this study selected the most calculated SF-36 (28 articles) for an in-depth analysis. The results showed that the overall design of the anchor and the cut-off value were the same as above. The statistical methods used were mostly traditional (mean change, ROC). The MCID thresholds of these studies had a wide range (SF-36 PCS: 2–17.4, SF-36 MCS: 1.46–10.28), and different anchors or statistical methods lead to different results.

Conclusion

It is of great importance to select several types of anchors and to use more reliable statistical methods to calculate the MCID. It is suggested that the order of selection of anchors should be: objective anchors > anchors with established MCID in subjective anchors (specific scale > generic scale) > ranked anchors in subjective anchors. The selection of internal anchors should be avoided, and anchors should be evaluated by a correlation test.
Physical exercise augmented cognitive behaviour therapy for older adults with generalised anxiety disorder (PEXACOG): a feasibility study for a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Sirevåg Kristine , Stavestrand S. H. , Sjøbø T. , Endal T. B. , Nordahl H. M. , Andersson E. , Nordhus I. H. , Rekdal Å. , Specht K. , Hammar Å. , Halmøy A. , Mohlman J. , Hjelmervik H. , Thayer J. F. , Hovland A.
Published: July 2023

Background

Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a frequent and severe disorder among older adults. For older adults with GAD the effect of the recommended treatment, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), is reduced. Physical exercise (PE) may enhance the effect of CBT by improving cognitive function and increasing levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a predictor of the effect of CBT in patients with anxiety. The aim of the study was to assess the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigating treatment effect of the combination of CBT and PE for GAD in a sample of older adults, including procedures for assessment and treatment.

Methods

Four participants aged 62–70 years (M = 65.5, SD = 3.2) with a primary diagnosis of GAD were included. Participants received 15 weeks of PE in combination with 10 weeks of CBT. Participants completed self-report measures, and clinical, biological, physiological and neuropsychological tests at pre-, interim- and post-treatment.

Results

Procedures, protocols, and results are presented. One participant dropped out during treatment. For the three participants completing, the total adherence to PE and CBT was 80% and 100%, respectively. An independent assessor concluded that the completers no longer fulfilled the criteria for GAD after treatment. Changes in self-report measures suggest symptom reduction related to anxiety and worry. The sample is considered representative for the target population.

Conclusions

The results indicate that combining CBT and PE for older adults with GAD is feasible, and that the procedures and tests are suitable and manageable for the current sample.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02690441. Registered on 24 February 2016, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02690441.
Invasive Group A streptococcal infections: are we facing a new outbreak? A case series with the experience of a single tertiary center
Authors: Garancini Nicolò , Ricci Giulia , Ghezzi Michele , Tommasi Paola , Zunica Fiammetta , Mandelli Anna , Zoia Elena , D’Auria Enza , Zuccotti Gian Vincenzo
Published: July 2023

Background

In pediatric age, Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is responsible for a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, from mild localized infections to life-threatening invasive diseases. In December 2022, the World Health Organization reported an increased incidence of scarlet fever and invasive GAS infections (iGAS) cases in Europe and the United States. In line with these observations, surveillance has been strengthened in our Region, allowing the identification of certified or highly suspected forms of iGAS.

Case presentation

We report here 4 emblematic cases of iGAS admitted to our Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the short time span from mid-February to mid-March 2023. Particularly, we describe a case of pleuropneumonia (4 year old boy) and a case of respiratory failure (2 year old boy), who necessitated Non-Invasive Ventilation support, a case of Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (6 year old girl), presenting with multi-organ failure, who needed Invasive Ventilation, and a case of meningitis (5 year old girl). All these patients needed intensive care support.

Conclusions

Accurate differential diagnosis and early treatment both could help to reduce the transmission of GAS and consequently the risk of severe iGAS. These cases confirmed the need for close monitoring and appropriate notification, in order to verify their actual increased incidence.
Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, healthcare access, and 30-day mortality and readmission after sepsis or critical illness: findings from a nationwide study
Authors: Lusk Jay B. , Blass Beau , Mahoney Hannah , Hoffman Molly N. , Clark Amy G. , Bae Jonathan , Ashana Deepshikha C. , Cox Christopher E. , Hammill Bradley G.
Published: July 2023

Background

To determine if neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation independently predicts 30-day mortality and readmission for patients with sepsis or critical illness after adjusting for individual poverty, demographics, comorbidity burden, access to healthcare, and characteristics of treating healthcare facilities.

Methods

We performed a nationwide study of United States Medicare beneficiaries from 2017 to 2019. We identified hospitalized patients with severe sepsis and patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) through Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs). We estimated the association between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, measured by the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), and 30-day mortality and unplanned readmission using logistic regression models with restricted cubic splines. We sequentially adjusted for demographics, individual poverty, and medical comorbidities, access to healthcare services; and characteristics of treating healthcare facilities.

Results

A total of 1,526,405 admissions were included in the mortality analysis and 1,354,548 were included in the readmission analysis. After full adjustment, 30-day mortality for patients was higher for those from most-deprived neighborhoods (ADI 100) compared to least deprived neighborhoods (ADI 1) for patients with severe sepsis (OR 1.35 95% [CI 1.29–1.42]) or with prolonged mechanical ventilation with or without sepsis (OR 1.42 [95% CI 1.31, 1.54]). This association was linear and dose dependent. However, neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation was not associated with 30-day unplanned readmission for patients with severe sepsis and was inversely associated with readmission for patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation with or without sepsis.

Conclusions

A strong association between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and 30-day mortality for critically ill patients is not explained by differences in individual poverty, demographics, measured baseline medical risk, access to healthcare resources, or characteristics of treating hospitals.
Radiomics-based fertility-sparing treatment in endometrial carcinoma: a review
Authors: Wang Yuanjian , Chen Zhongshao , Liu Chang , Chu Ran , Li Xiao , Li Mingbao , Yu Dexin , Qiao Xu , Kong Beihua , Song Kun
Published: July 2023

In recent years, with the increasing incidence of endometrial carcinoma in women of child-bearing age, to decision of whether to preserve patients’ fertility during treatment has become increasingly complex, presenting a formidable challenge for both physicians and patients. Non-fertility-sparing treatment can remove lesions more thoroughly than fertility-sparing treatment. However, patients will permanently lose their fertility. In contrast, fertility-sparing treatment can treat tumors without impairing fertility, but the risk of disease progression is high as compared with non-fertility-sparing treatment. Therefore, it is extremely important to accurately identify patients who are suitable for fertility-sparing treatments. The evaluation of prognostic factors, including myometrial invasion, the presence of lymph node metastases, and histopathological type, is vital for determining whether a patient can receive fertility-sparing treatment. As a non-invasive and quantitative approach, radiomics has the potential to assist radiologists and other clinicians in determining more precise judgments with regard to the above factors by extracting imaging features and establishing predictive models. In this review, we summarized currently available fertility-sparing strategies and reviewed the performance of radiomics in predicting risk factors associated with fertility-sparing treatment. This review aims to assist clinicians in identifying patients suitable for fertility-sparing treatment more accurately and comprehensively and informs more appropriate and rigorous treatment decisions for endometrial cancer patients of child-bearing age.

Critical relevance statement: Radiomics is a promising tool that may assist clinicians identify risk factors about fertility-sparing more accurately and comprehensively.

Graphical abstract
The mutational landscape of a US Midwestern breast cancer cohort reveals subtype-specific cancer drivers and prognostic markers
Authors: Vellichirammal Neetha Nanoth , Tan Yuan-De , Xiao Peng , Eudy James , Shats Oleg , Kelly David , Desler Michelle , Cowan Kenneth , Guda Chittibabu
Published: July 2023

Background

Female breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the USA. The heterogeneity in the tumor morphology across the cohort and within patients can lead to unpredictable therapy resistance, metastasis, and clinical outcome. Hence, supplementing classic pathological markers with intrinsic tumor molecular markers can help identify novel molecular subtypes and the discovery of actionable biomarkers.

Methods

We conducted a large multi-institutional genomic analysis of paired normal and tumor samples from breast cancer patients to profile the complex genomic architecture of breast tumors. Long-term patient follow-up, therapeutic regimens, and treatment response for this cohort are documented using the Breast Cancer Collaborative Registry. The majority of the patients in this study were at tumor stage 1 (51.4%) and stage 2 (36.3%) at the time of diagnosis. Whole-exome sequencing data from 554 patients were used for mutational profiling and identifying cancer drivers.

Results

We identified 54 tumors having at least 1000 mutations and 185 tumors with less than 100 mutations. Tumor mutational burden varied across the classified subtypes, and the top ten mutated genes include MUC4, MUC16, PIK3CA, TTN, TP53, NBPF10, NBPF1, CDC27, AHNAK2, and MUC2. Patients were classified based on seven biological and tumor-specific parameters, including grade, stage, hormone receptor status, histological subtype, Ki67 expression, lymph node status, race, and mutational profiles compared across different subtypes. Mutual exclusion of mutations in PIK3CA and TP53 was pronounced across different tumor grades. Cancer drivers specific to each subtype include TP53, PIK3CA, CDC27, CDH1, STK39, CBFB, MAP3K1, and GATA3, and mutations associated with patient survival were identified in our cohort.

Conclusions

This extensive study has revealed tumor burden, driver genes, co-occurrence, mutual exclusivity, and survival effects of mutations on a US Midwestern breast cancer cohort, paving the way for developing personalized therapeutic strategies.
Higher Myonuclei Density in Muscle Fibers Persists Among Former Users of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids
Authors: Nielsen Jakob Lindberg , Rasmussen Jon Jarløv , Frandsen Mikkel Nicklas , Fredberg Jeppe , Brandt-Jacobsen Niels Høegh , Aagaard Per , Kistorp Caroline
Published: July 2023

Context

No information exists on the long-lasting effects of supraphysiological anabolic androgenic steroids (AASs) usage on the myocellular properties of human skeletal muscle in previous AAS users.

Objective

We hypothesized that former AAS users would demonstrate smaller myonuclei domains (ie, higher myonuclei density) than matched controls.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study in men aged 18-50 years engaged in recreational strength training. Muscle biopsies were obtained from the m. vastus lateralis. Immunofluorescence analyses were performed to quantify myonuclei density and myofiber size.

Results

Twenty-five males were included: 8 current and 7 previous AAS users and 10 controls. Median (25th-75th percentiles) accumulated duration of AAS use was 174 (101-206) and 140 (24-260) weeks in current and former AAS users, respectively (P = .482). Geometric mean (95% CI) elapsed duration since AAS cessation was 4.0 (1.2; 12.7) years among former AAS users. Type II muscle fibers in former AAS users displayed higher myonuclei density and DNA to cytoplasm ratio than controls, corresponding to smaller myonuclei domains (P = .013). Longer accumulated AAS use (weeks, log2) was associated with smaller myonuclei domains in previous AAS users: beta-coefficient (95% CI) −94 (−169; −18), P = .024. Type I fibers in current AAS users exhibited a higher amount of satellite cells per myofiber (P = .031) than controls.

Conclusion

Muscle fibers in former AAS users demonstrated persistently higher myonuclei density and DNA to cytoplasm ratio 4 years after AAS cessation suggestive of enhanced retraining capacity.
Archival Dockets in Greek Inscriptions
Authors: Eilers Claude
Published: July 2023

In addition to the documents that they disseminate, inscriptions sometimes contain artefacts of archival processes or “dockets”. Some three dozen examples are collected in the Catalogue, almost all of which accompany documents that originate outside the city where they are displayed. The article discusses what dockets imply about civic archives and what motivated their inclusion.
Quantitative ethnobotany of medicinal plants used by the Bodo Community of Baksa District, BTR, Assam, India
Authors: BORO MIJING , DAS BARNALI , BORO KRISHNA KUMAR , NATH MADHUSHMITA , BURAGOHAIN PRIYAKSHI , ROY SHILPA , SARMA PARAG JYOTI , KALITA SUSHMITA , NATH NAMITA
Published: July 2023

Abstract. Boro M, Das B, Boro KK, Nath M, Buragohain P, Roy S, Sarma PJ, Kalita S, Nath M. 2023. Quantitative ethnobotany of medicinal plants used by the Bodo Community of Baksa District, Assam, India. Biodiversitas 24: 3169-3182. Plants are the core part of religious and cultural aspects of various ethnic communities of the world. Assam is a homeland of diverse ethnic tribes of Indo-Mongolian origin. The Bodo Community is one of the oldest communities and they are rich in their traditional healthcare knowledge system. The current study aimed to record the data on medicinal plants used by the Bodo Community in Baksa District, Assam, India. Statistical analysis was done by following established formula to find Use Value (UV), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Informant Agreement Ration (IAR) and Informant Consensus (Fic). A total of 129 medicinal plant species were recorded, used in 18 different ailment categories by the Bodo people. Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers. was the most used plant by the informants (use value 0.69) and also had the highest RFC (0.60). In present survey, the IAR range was from 0-1. The highest Fic value was recorded in the ailment category of Renal and hepatic disorder. The present work provides rich data, as this work, besides documenting the medicinal plants used by the community, also gives proper scientific evaluation of the ethnobotanical data. The work will be helpful for future researchers, academicians and stakeholders to carry out research work in this diverse scientific field of ethnobotany. From the conservation point of view, there is an urgent need to involve local people for the conservation of medicinal plants for the future.
Kajian Teoritik Persamaan Diferensial Stokastik bagi Kurs Mata Uang (Forex), Kajian Khusus : Kurs IDR/USD
Authors: Isnawanti Isa , Palupi Dwi Satya
Published: July 2023

Telah dilakukan kajian persamaan diferensial stokastik bagi pergerakan kurs mata uang. Kajian terhadap rapat peluang return perlu dilakukan karena rapat peluang return menggambarkan fluktuasi kurs mata uang serta mencerminkan interaksi yang terjadi di pasar keuangan. Pada penelitian ini return kurs mata uang diasumsikan mengikuti proses stokastik yang dapat digambarkan oleh suatu persamaan diferensial stokastik, sehingga distribusi rapat peluang return dapat digambarkan oleh persamaan Fokker-Planck. Data yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah kurs mata uang IDR/USD dari Januari 2001 sampai Januari 2021 yang diperoleh dari data kurs transaksi Bank Sentral Republik Indonesia. Distribusi rapat peluang return harian yang diperoleh mengikuti distribusi Gaussian dengan rata-rata  −0, 0001 dan sigma = 0, 0048. Berdasarkan distribusi tersebut dapat dibentuk persamaan diferensial stokastik bagi return kurs mata uang IDR/USD.
Analisis Produktivitas Padi berdasarkan Indeks Kekeringan (NDWI dan NDDI) Lahan Sawah menggunakan Data Citra Sentinel-2A di Kecamatan Ambulu
Authors: Cahyono Bowo Eko , Rahagian Rahmadin , Nugroho Agung Thahjo
Published: July 2023

Rice is almost a staple food source for the world's population. The State of Indonesia contributes the largest amount of rice productivity, especially in the province of East Java. Ambulu District is part of the province of East Java, which has experienced a decline in rice productivity. The decline in rice productivity is thought to be the result of agricultural land drought. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation value of the drought index (NDWI and NDDI) with rice productivity. This research was conducted using remote sensing methods using the Sentinel-2A satellite from 2016 to 2020 during the rainy season. Sentinel-2A satellite data is in the form of images, which are then cropped and digitized on agricultural land. Furthermore, the data was processed using Arcgis Software to obtain NDWI (Normalized Defense Water Index) and NDDI (Normalized Defense Drought Index) values as land dryness parameters, which were classified into 5 classes. The correlation results of the NDWI value on rice productivity have a directly proportional relationship with an effect of 61.96% and 38.04% influenced by other factors. The results of the correlation of NDDI values on rice productivity have an inverse relationship with an effect of 68.68% and 31.32% influenced by other factors
Sugared Death: Poison and Gender in Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Authors: Farrell Susan
Published: July 2023

Abstract: The Balham mystery carries many elements that would make their way into We Have Always Lived in the Castle : a wealthy family with troubled personal relationships; a case in which the cause of death is clearly identified as poison, but no one is ever convicted of a crime; sensational coverage in the press; and perhaps most importantly, an exploration of gender politics within the home. This essay looks to historical sources to examine the relationship between poison and gender, poison's links to witchcraft, and views of poison in the popular imagination. It argues that Jackson uses the metaphor of poison to challenge traditional domestic ideology in the novel.
Differential Economic Inclusion: The Conversion of Symbolic Capital to Material Capital in Canada's Fractured Labour Market
Authors: Gingrich Luann Good , Banerjee Rupa , Lightman Naomi
Published: July 2023

Abstract: This study analyzes data from the 2020 General Social Survey to examine how the economic conversion value of formal and informal social capital differs for immigrants across gender identification and "visible minority" status relative to white native-born Canadians. Using a Bourdieusian theoretical framework, the study assesses the social structures and symbolic economy of the labour market as a social field. Results show that while white men are favoured in economic terms in the labour market, they generally hold less informal (operationalized as contact with friends and relatives) and formal (operationalized as civic engagement) social capital. The conversion value of both forms of social capital is mixed and differs by group, in some instances even showing negative economic returns for racialized immigrants. Our findings demonstrate a discrete race effect for immigrants as well as a gender effect, revealing that the dynamics of economic exclusion operate with precision in the Canadian labour market to make and organize groups. Furthermore, the fragmented nature of the labour market–specifically a sub-field of transnational labour–is evidenced through distinct symbolic economies for dominant and dominated positions. Résumé: Cette étude analyse les données de l'enquête sociale générale de 2020 afin d'examiner comment la valeur de conversion économique du capital social formel et informel diffère pour les immigrants selon leur sexe et leur statut de "minorité visible" par rapport aux Canadiens blancs nés au pays. À l'aide d'un cadre théorique bourdieusien, l'étude évalue les structures sociales et l'économie symbolique du marché du travail en tant que champ social. Les résultats montrent que si les hommes blancs sont favorisés en termes économiques sur le marché du travail, ils disposent généralement de moins de capital social informel (défini comme les contacts avec les amis et la famille) et formel (défini comme l'engagement civique). La valeur de ces deux formes de capital social est variable et diffère selon les groupes. Nos résultats démontrent un effet racial discret pour les immigrants ainsi qu'un effet de genre, révélant que la dynamique de l'exclusion économique et sociale opère avec précision sur le marché du travail canadien pour créer et organiser des groupes. En outre, la nature fragmentée du marché du travail en tant que champ social est mise en évidence par des économies symboliques distinctes pour les positions dominantes et dominées.
Modalités de l’habiter contemporain et personnages dits sans domicile fixe dans L’Équipée malaise et Un an de Jean Echenoz
Authors: Bédard-Goulet Sara
Published: July 2023

Abstract: Cet article examine deux modalités nomades de l’habiter contemporain dans les romans L’Équipée malaise (1986) et Un an (1997) de l’auteur contemporain français Jean Echenoz. En s’appuyant sur une anthropologie et une clinique de l’habiter, ainsi que sur la propre itinérance narrative de l’auteur, il étudie les pratiques spatiales de personnages dits sans domicile fixe afin d’identifier le rapport à l’espace qu’ils présentent. Cette analyse permet de nourrir la réflexion sur l’habiter contemporain, qui apparaît relever davantage, chez Echenoz, d’une ontologie relationnelle que d’une métaphysique du lieu.
Autour de la mobilité chez Jean Echenoz
Authors: Bontemps Sandra Rodriguez
Published: July 2023

Abstract: Dans Les Grandes Blondes et Je m’en vais , Echenoz interroge la quête de mobilité contemporaine en dépassant, dans le sillage des études sur les mobilités, les oppositions strictes entre stase et mobilité qui habitent son œuvre et s’imposent comme les pendants d’un même phénomène. Son jeu habile sur la vitesse et la lenteur de déplacement, qui parfois nie la connexion au corps, offre aux protagonistes des possibilités de subversion et de résistance à travers la fulgurance des moyens de transports et la pratique de la marche. Face à la mobilité grandissante, l’homme contemporain fait preuve d’une inventivité particulière qui se reflète dans l’écriture, la narration et l’histoire de ces romans.
Reflections: On Strike MoMA, Caribe Fractal and Decolonial Feminisms as Political Arts Practice
Authors: Bravo Stephany , Figueroa-Vásquez Yomaira C.
Published: July 2023

Abstract: This piece is an assemblage of two voices meditating on the Strike MoMA protests, the work of digital humanities/material project [Taller] Electric Marronage, and the ways that decolonial feminisms allows for a complex understanding of our roles and commitments to practices that span across and beyond western institutions (including museums and universities). By tracing these events and experiences through a decolonial feminist politic, we aim to render transparent the tangle of insurgency and complicity that we negotiate as Black/Latina scholars and organizers within dominating institutions. The essay further considers the content and context of the art exhibit "Caribe Fractal/Fractal Caribbean" by José Arturo Ballester Panelli and how fractality, ecology, and the sacred are linked to human living beyond capitalism and fragmentation. In the wake of the pandemic fractality, ecology, and the Sacred are tools for practicing intersubjectivity and relationality.
Small Revolutions: Methodologies of Black Feminist Consciousness-Raising and the Politics of Ordinary Resistance
Authors: Kaur Harleen , Byrd Katie , Davis Nadia R. , Williams Taylor M.
Published: July 2023

Abstract: While small, midwestern towns across the United States have become the center of the battle against Critical Race Theory and identity politics in education over the past several years, one small town in Michigan became the launching pad for a grassroots gender-consciousness program grounded firmly in the experiences of young Black women. The Gender Consciousness Project (GCP) has flourished into a program co-facilitated by previous participants across several schools in the metro Detroit area, all while national- and state-level discourse became increasingly hostile towards any material or theoretical support of Black women's lives. In this paper, we—the three pilot participants of GCP and one co-facilitator—return to the recordings of the first iteration of GCP to examine how exactly a small-town consciousness-raising project took root amidst these circumstances. We explore how the project cultivated, and how its primary facilitator and founder conceptualized, a Black feminist consciousness-raising methodology which centered the agency and capacity for consciousness of young Black women, or Black girls, specifically. Through this analysis, we offer that one such Black feminist consciousness-raising methodology is to spark small revolutions through the everyday possibilities for resistance and refusal of cooptation.
Anti-Asian Violence and Abolition Feminism as Asian American Feminist Praxis
Authors: Lo Bao
Published: July 2023

Abstract: Anti-Asian violence during the pandemic has been largely framed by mainstream media as an individual response to the pandemic and reduces anti-Asian violence to "hate" toward Asians, therefore justifying increased use of law enforcement and carceral punishment of individuals committing hate incidents. Additionally, some members of the Asian American community advocate for policy changes and collection of hate crimes statistics that rely more on carceral punishment. Other members of the Asian American community argue that hate crime statistics and legislation do not provide systemic changes necessary to address anti-Asian violence. Specifically, Asian American abolition feminists are challenging mainstream narratives that isolate violence to conversations of racism alone and calling for the abolition of the carceral system that is historically and inherently responsible for violence against Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) communities and women. This paper addresses carceral solutions to anti-Asian violence and the opportunities of abolition feminism as an Asian American feminist praxis to challenge violence against Asian Americans. Focusing on survivor-led movements and responses to violence in its multiple forms, I discuss how abolition feminism may be necessary for redressing anti-Asian violence. I also consider how Asian American abolition feminism can achieve truly liberating, transformative solutions and healing to violence through an abolitionist and decolonial feminist praxis that centers and engages with Indigenous Pacific Islander communities.
Lxs Caravanerxs and Nonsecular Protest: Rethinking Migrant Family Separation with Un llanto colectivo
Authors: Maese Marcelle
Published: July 2023

Abstract: Written and directed by Celia Herrera Rodríguez and Cherríe Moraga in 2018, "Un Llanto Colectivo: Press Conference & Performa-Protesta" took place in front of ICE headquarters in downtown San Diego (September 15th) and then in front of Otay Mesa Detention Center (September 16th). Envisioned as an act of consciousness raising around family separation, Central American caravans, and the detention-industrial-complex, the flyer invitation read, "[T]his is ceremonial resistance." This writing is an extension of my witness of and participation in Un llanto colectivo. I provide a historical context for lxs caravanerxs, as well as interviews with Maestras Celia and Cherríe. The meeting point for each of these different modalities is the PerformaProtesta, while the fragments of my own migrant history of family separation act as an invitation to the reader to consider intergenerational healing within and beyond biological family and chosen forms of solidarity.
"The Destruction of a Common Foe": The Expedition Against Shap-ng-tsai and the International Dimensions of Suppressing Chinese Piracy
Authors: Kwan C. Nathan
Published: July 2023

Abstract: The defeat of the Chinese pirate Shap-ng-tsai (Zhang Kaiping) by forces from the British and Qing empires in the waters of Vietnam is one of the most impressive naval victories of the mid-nineteenth century. Despite the magnitude of the engagement, it has received limited and mostly one-sided analysis. Engaging with a wider array of sources, particularly those from Qing authorities, allows for a more holistic reconstruction of Shap-ng-tsai's defeat and an assessment of its significance. A comparison between accounts by British and Chinese officials reveals discrepancies reflecting the limits of each side's authority at sea and how they used their (mis)understanding of each other to justify killing thousands of pirates in the waters of a foreign state. Anglo-Qing cooperation against Shap-ng-tsai would provide a model for future anti-piracy expeditions and helped improve relations between Britain, China, and Vietnam in the mid-nineteenth century.
Agents, Ambassadors, and Imams: Ottoman-British Transimperialism in the Cape of Good Hope, 1862–1869
Authors: Lorenz Fredrick Walter
Published: July 2023

Abstract: This article examines Ottoman and British collaborative efforts to intervene in and transform Muslim religious and cultural affairs in the Cape of Good Hope from 1862 to 1869. It focuses on how the Ottoman sultan reinstated the Ottoman Empire's prestige globally in the decade following the Crimean War by employing religious scholars and British agents in Cape Town to expand the empire's sphere of influence in Africa through "soft power." This was part of a larger collaborative enterprise between Ottoman and British authorities, which I call Ottoman-British transimperialism. I argue that the project of Ottoman-British transimperialism in Cape Town encountered opposition when confronted by customary and charismatic forms of Islam and the divided loyalties of local Muslim communities. This crucial examination of the Cape Colony highlights how local collaboration and resistance mediated transimperial ambitions in Cape Town and redefined the social networks and local ties among Cape Muslims.
Ikaino’s Afterlives: The Legacies of Landscape in the Fiction of Kim Yujeong
Authors: Clark Julia Hansell
Published: July 2023

Abstract: This article examines the works of Kim Yujeong as a contemporary response to Ikaino literature, a subgenre of Zainichi Korean literature that flourished from the 1950s–1980s. Ikaino is the old name of the neighborhood of Osaka that was and remains the area of Japan with the largest population of Zainichi Koreans. Ikaino’s origins as a settlement of Korean migrant laborers in the 1920s and its official erasure from Osaka city maps in 1973 have often been mythologized within Zainichi Korean fiction and poetry. I read Kim Yujeong’s short stories “Tanpopo” (2000), “Murasame” (2002), and “Tamayura” (2015), which feature working women protagonists traversing Ikaino’s borders, as contemporary works of Ikaino literature that interrogate the Zainichi community’s cultural and historical understandings of the entangled geographies of Japan and the two Koreas. I argue that Kim portrays Ikaino landscapes as spaces constituted through their residents’ collective imaginings of Jeju Island and North Korea. Kim also subverts our expectations of multilingualism in Zainichi literature through the use of local dialect in her representation of Japanese residents of Ikaino. Throughout her work, she seeks to both shed light on the multiple structures of oppression that face Zainichi women living in the Ikaino area today, and critique the way those women have been represented in prior works of Zainichi literature.
Reading at the Joseon Court: The Practice and Representation of Reading in the Sejong sillok (1418–1450)
Authors: Volpe Giovanni
Published: July 2023

Abstract: We know more about how Joseon people wrote, and the texts they produced, than about how and why they read. Existing scholarship has primarily investigated Korean premodern texts from a linguistic and bibliographical perspective, while comparatively few approaches have centered on the social and cultural aspects of their reading. The present paper offers an understanding of how the practice of reading represented a key component of the ideological and institutional configuration of the state during King Sejong’s reign (1418–1450) by analyzing reading activities taking place in the context of the royal court as recorded in the Joseon wangjo sillok (Veritable records of the Joseon Dynasty) and other selected documentary and literary sources, mainly from the Kyujanggak archives. The paper starts by exploring the practice of reading in state rituals, assessing its significance as a public demonstration of royal authority. It then investigates how reading constituted a primary activity performed by the king, the crown prince, and other young male members of the royal family. Finally, it considers how the ruler actively used reading as an instrument of governance, assigning the reading of specific books as a strategy for reinforcing ideological and administrative control in and outside the royal palace.
The impact of working hours on pregnancy intention in childbearing-age women in Korea, the country with the world’s lowest fertility rate
Authors: Kim Taewook
Published: July 2023

This study aimed to assess factors affecting pregnancy intention among women of reproductive age in Korea. We analyzed data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), a population-based survey that included 22,731 women aged 15–49. As age was associated with birth year and was found to be a confounding factor in the analysis of participants’ characteristics, we used propensity score matching to assess the characteristics of pregnant women compared with non-pregnant women of the same age and birth year. We also employed the XGBoost machine learning model to identify the most important factors related to pregnancy intentions. Our feature importance analysis showed that weekly working hours were the most significant factor affecting pregnancy intentions. Additionally, we performed cluster analysis and logistic regression models to determine optimal weekly working hours. Cluster analysis identified participants into three distinct groups based on their characteristics, indicating that the group with an average of 34.4±12.9 hours per week had the highest likelihood of becoming pregnant. Logistic regression was used to analyze the odds of pregnancy for every 5-hour increase in weekly working hours. The results of logistic regression indicated that women who worked between 35–45 hours per week had higher odds of pregnancy, with significant odds ratios of 2.009 (95% confidence interval: 1.581–2.547, p < .001) for 40–45 hours per week and 1.450 (95% confidence interval: 1.001–2.040, p < .05) for 35–40 hours per week, compared to women working other hours. In Korea, the standard workweek is typically 40 hours; however, Koreans often work considerably longer hours, with the second-highest number of working hours among OECD countries in 2022. This study suggests that strict monitoring of working hours and expansion of telecommuting for childbearing-age women are important factors in increasing the fertility rate in Korea.
The clinical characteristics and related factors of centrally mediated abdominal pain syndrome
Authors: Yuming Tang , Jiani Song , Hefeng Chen , Ying Zhu , Weiyan Yao , Duowu Zou
Published: July 2023

Objective:

To explore the clinical characteristics and related factors of centrally mediated abdominal pain syndrome (CAPS).

Methods:

Our study included 73 CAPS patients and 132 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. The general information of the participants was collected and the questionnaires were completed including 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, the Hamilton Depression Scale Pittsburgh sleep quality index, visual analogue scale and Short Form 36. Univariate and forward stepwise regression analysis was performed to explore the influencing factors of centrally mediated abdominal pain syndrome.

Results:

Non-exercise, mild to moderate depression, married status and drinking coffee (AOR=4.53 CI (1.602∼12.809); AOR=7.931 CI(3.236∼19.438); AOR=3.656 CI(1.317∼10.418); AOR=0.199 CI(0.051∼0.775) ) were found to be related with centrally mediated abdominal syndrome. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale score (7-13) was significantly related to moderate to severe abdominal pain (AOR=7.043 CI(1.319∼37.593)) . Higher Hamilton Depression Scale score was related to lower mental component scale score (β=-0.726, p<0.01 ) and physical component scale score (β=-0.706, p<0.01).

Conclusion:

Depression, married status and non-exercise were the independent risk factors of centrally mediated abdominal pain syndrome. Conversely, coffee intake was an independent protective factor of centrally mediated abdominal pain syndrome. Anxiety was related to the severity of abdominal pain, while depression was related to low health-related quality of life.
“Shut up! Don’t say that! You’ve got to say ḤASHĀKEM!” The pragmatics of Ḥashāk and its variants in colloquial Algerian Arabic
Authors: Dendenne Boudjemaa
Published: July 2023

In this paper, the pragmatic functions served by ḥāshāk and its variants in colloquial Algerian Arabic (CAA) are unravelled. Literally, ḥāshāk means “You’re exalted/exempt from X/I distance you from X,” where X is a bad thing or socially/religiously unacceptable act. Its variants include ḥāsha, ḥāshākem, ḥāshāh/ḥāshāha/ḥāshāhem, maḥashākesh, and the verb ḥāsha/ḥāshi. As far as the author is aware, this is the first study on the pragmatics of ḥāshāk and its variants in colloquial (Algerian) Arabic. Two complementary data sets were collected and analyzed: an online survey administered to native speakers (N= 263) and a corpus of naturally occurring examples gained using an ethnographic method (N= 172). The findings indicated that the core semantic import (exaltative/excepting/exempting meaning) is retained in CAA and further extended to perform other pragmatic functions: apologetic, appreciative, requestive, concessive, critical, defensive, and sarcastic. These intertwined functions are expected in an array of highly conventionalized contexts. These findings were discussed from an eclectic perspective (e.g., pragmatic reversal, pragmatic markers, politeness theory, and rapport management).
Intelligent computing for the double-diffusive peristaltic rheology of magneto couple stress nanomaterials
Authors: Shoaib Muhammad , Ali Faizan , Awais Muhammad , Naz Iqra , Shamim Robicca , Nisar Kottakkaran Sooppy , Raja Muhammad Asif Zahoor , Malik Muhammad Yousaf , Abbas Mohamed , Saleel C. Ahamed
Published: July 2023

In nanofluids, the effect of convection in the presence of double diffusivity on a magneto couple stress fluid with the peristaltic flow of a model in a non-uniform channel (MCSFM) is reviewed in this article. This research discusses MCSF in a non-uniform channel by applying the Levenberg–Marquardt procedure via an artificial backpropagated neural network (LMP-ABNN). For two-dimensional and two-directional flows, mathematical formulations of double-diffusivity convection of a magneto couple stress fluid in nanofluids are developed. The partial differential equations are reduced to ordinary differential equations by using appropriate transformations. The assessment of the Hartmann number, thermophoresis parameter, Dufour parameter, Soret parameter, and magnetic Reynolds number over concentration profiles and temperature profiles is made by generating a dataset for LMP-ABNN based on the ND solve method for different variations of MSCFM. To examine the approximate solution validation, training and testing procedures are interpreted, and the performance is verified through error histogram and mean square error results. The extremely nonlinear equations are reduced by employing a long-wavelength approximation and a low but finite Reynolds number. To describe the behavior of flow quantities, graphical representations of a variety of physical characteristics of importance are shown. The impact of the Hartmann number and magnetic Reynolds number over axial magnetic field and current density is also studied. The concentration increases as the thermophoresis parameter and Dufour parameter values increase. This occurs because the concentration and both these parameters have a direct relationship. We observed opposite behavior for both the magnetic Reynolds number and the Hartman number. The behavior of current density J

z
increases with increasing values of R
m. Both the temperature distribution and solute concentration increase. The final outcome of this study is to provide the potential for these techniques to provide new insights and solutions to challenging problems in nanofluids and other areas of fluid mechanics and to facilitate the design of more efficient and effective microfluidic devices.
Motorways of Prehistory? Boats, Rivers and Moving in Mesolithic Ireland
Authors: Moucheron Martin
Published: July 2023

This article presents a critical review of the way inland navigation is constructed in the archaeological literature as an essential component of mobility in Mesolithic Ireland, with a particular focus on boats and rivers. Against a scarce background of direct archaeological and environmental evidence, a content analysis of the academic discourse highlights a dominant processual approach structured around three themes: seafaring and pioneering “events”; boat technology and performance; broad generalisations about the land- and waterscape. It is argued that such a narrative could be usefully revisited by adopting a small-scale, high-resolution approach that would explore human and material agency and integrate analogy as a method.
First Archaeological Record of the Torture and Mutilation of Indigenous Mapuche During the “War of Arauco,” Sixteenth Century
Authors: Sánchez Juan Francisco Reyes , Pérez Alberto Enrique
Published: July 2023

Newen Antug is a multicomponent (residential and funerary) archaeological site located in the Lácar basin south of Neuquén, Argentina, in the east Andean section of the binational basin of the Valdivia River. Two human skeletons were discovered during the excavation of the site. Based on radiocarbon dating and associated material contexts, the burials can be associated with the period of first contact between the indigenous people of the region with the Spanish. Based on the analysis of historical sources, bioanthropological studies, and forensic data, we postulate that these individuals were tortured victims of the war waged by the Spaniards against the indigenous inhabitants. The skeletal remains present various perimortem trauma. The left hand and distal end of the left forearm was absented in situ and which are discussed as being possible form of mutilations of the upper limbs. Individual 1♀ had a horse (Equus caballus) leg replacing or symbolising the missing left limb. The mutilation practice is recorded as part of the power devices characteristic of the Warfare Phase (1536–1655) of the conquest, when the Spanish were attempting to establish a pre-disciplinary machinery of their “Sovereign Power” in the south-central Chile. The findings reported here extend this process to Northeastern Patagonia in Argentina.
Predicting the strength of sawn wood by tracheid laser scattering
Authors: Brännström Mattias , Manninen Janne , Oja Johan
Published: July 2023

An industrial laser light scattering scanner, designed to detect the spiral grain angle of logs by the light scattering along the grain, was used on two large samples of Norway spruce (Picea abies (var. Karst)) in various sawn dimensions (approximately 750 pieces). Additional measurements were made by other techniques, such as X-ray scanning, resonance frequency measurement, and various manual measurements. The strength properties of the boards were measured by destructive testing in four-point bending according to European standard. Multivariate methods (PLS) were used to model the relationship between the bending strength of the board (MOR) and the measurements. Based only on the output from the simple tracheid scattering equipment, a model for MOR achieved an R² exceeding 0.3. Combinations with average density or outer shape parameters from log scanning resulted in R² 0.4 and 0.3 respectively, although these parameters alone only accounted for R² 0.2. The results can be used to increase the understanding of strength in wood and in an improved industrial strength-grading process.