bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Simultaneous Electrochemical Detection of Pb and Cd by Carbon Paste Electrodes Modified by Activated Clay
Authors: Blaise Niraka , Gomdje Valéry Hambate , Maallah Raja , Oubaouz Mohamed , Tigana Djonse Justin Bakary , Andrew Ofudje Edwin , Chtaini Abdelilah
Published: January 2022

Calcinated and acidified clay modified carbon graphite electrode was deployed in the simultaneous evaluation of traces of Pb2+ and Cd2+ in solution. After 5 minutes of accumulation in the circuit, the sensitivity of the electrode was evaluated in a solution of Na2SO4 (0.1 M) by square wave voltammetry on the one hand with Pb (II) and on the other hand with Cd (II). Several experimental conditions such as the composition of the carbon clay paste, the effect of preconcentration time, the sweeping speed, concentration effect, media pH, and interference ionic response to the electrochemical response of the working electrode were examined. It was observed that, after 5 minutes of preconcentration, detection limits of 0.15513 μmol·L−1 and 0.24227 μmol·L−1 were obtained for Pb2+ and Cd2+ in the electrolyte solution and 0.08438 μmol·L−1 and 0.46522 μmol·L−1, respectively, when tap water was used. The detection was effective by square wave voltammetry with a more intense current density with respect to lead.
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of the Contralesional Dorsal Premotor Cortex for Upper Extremity Motor Improvement in Severe Stroke: Study Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Li Xin , Lin Yin-Liang , Cunningham David A. , Wolf Steven L. , Sakaie Ken , Conforto Adriana B. , Machado Andre G. , Mohan Akhil , O’Laughlin Kyle , Wang Xiaofeng , Widina Morgan , Plow Ela B.
Published: January 2022

Up to 50% of stroke survivors have persistent, severe upper extremity paresis even after receiving rehabilitation. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can augment the effects of rehabilitation by modulating corticomotor excitability, but the conventional approach of facilitating excitability of the ipsilesional primary motor cortex (iM1) fails to produce motor improvement in stroke survivors with severe loss of ipsilesional substrate. Instead, the undamaged, contralesional dorsal premotor cortex (cPMd) may be a more suitable target. CPMd can offer alternate, bi-hemispheric and ipsilateral connections in support of paretic limb movement. This pilot, randomized clinical trial seeks to investigate whether rTMS delivered to facilitate cPMd in conjunction with rehabilitation produces greater gains in motor function than conventional rTMS delivered to facilitate iM1 in conjunction with rehabilitation in severely impaired stroke survivors. Twenty-four chronic (≥6 months) stroke survivors with severe loss of ipsilesional substrate (defined by the absence of physiologic evidence of excitable residual pathways tested using TMS) will be included. Participants will be randomized to receive rTMS to facilitate cPMd or iM1 in conjunction with task-oriented upper limb rehabilitation given for 2 sessions/week for 6 weeks. Assessments of primary outcome related to motor impairment (upper extremity Fugl-Meyer [UEFM]), motor function, neurophysiology, and functional neuroimaging will be made at baseline and at 6-week end-of-treatment. An additional assessment of motor outcomes will be repeated at 3-month follow-up to evaluate retention. The primary endpoint is 6-week change in UEFM. This pilot trial will provide preliminary evidence on the effects and mechanisms associated with facilitating intact cPMd in chronic severe stroke survivors. The trial is registered on clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03868410.
Threshold of Serum Ferritin to Discriminate against Those at Greater Risk of Platelet Increase during Treatment with Hypoxia-Inducible Factor Prolyl Hydroxylase Domain Inhibitor
Authors: Ogawa Chie , Tsuchiya Ken , Tomosugi Naohisa , Maeda Kunimi
Published: January 2022

Introduction: Hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase domain inhibitors (HIF-PHI) are a new treatment for renal anemia. HIF-PHI is believed to increase iron usage to improve availability of iron for erythropoiesis. Therefore, there is concern that HIF-PHI might be prone to iron deficiency and that thrombosis might be induced by increased platelet and transferrin levels due to this iron deficiency. Methods: Relationship of iron-related factors with platelet count (PLT) and total iron-binding capacity (TIBC; which reflects the transferrin level) were examined in 29 patients who were treated with darbepoetin alfa (DA) and then switched to roxadustat (Rox). To determine how changes in PLT and TIBC related to changes in iron-related factors, univariable and multivariable linear regression models were applied. To examine what iron-related factors on Day 0 influenced change in PLT, we used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and logistic regression analysis for a rate of change in PLT ≤0% as the endpoint. Logistic regression analysis was performed with the reference group having serum ferritin (s-ft) or Transferrin saturation below the corresponding cutoff value (low vs. high). Results: Multivariable analysis showed significant positive correlations between the rate of change in PLT and the change in s-ft and red blood cells (RBC) count {β-coefficients; 0.40 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.17–0.62], p = 0.001} (β-coefficients; 30.45 [95% CI: 10.90–50.00], p = 0.004). The rate of change in TIBC was significantly positively correlated with only the change in RBC count. The ROC showed a significant cutoff value for s-ft of 77.2 ng/mL (sensitivity 63.6%, specificity 83.3%, area under the curve 0.76, 95% CI 0.55–0.96). Multivariable logistic regression also showed that only high s-ft was significantly elevated (9.46, 95% CI 1.42–63.30, p = 0.020). Conclusions: This study showed that changes in PLT were correlated with s-ft and amount of hematopoiesis. This suggests that an increase in PLT due to iron levels is less likely when s-ft is 77.2 ng/mL or higher at the time of switching from DA to Rox. In contrast, TIBC was only related to hematopoiesis in these patients. Control of s-ft before initiation of HIF-PHI treatment and gradual hematopoiesis might reduce the risk of thrombosis when switching from erythropoiesis-stimulating agents to HIF-PHI.
Jurnal Ilmiah di Indonesia: Kondisi Masa Lalu, Saat Ini dan Potensi Kedepan
Authors: Samsu Nur
Published: January 2022

Alhamdulillah, atas berkat dan rahmat Tuhan Yang Maha Esa, akhirnya redaksi Jurnal Klinik dan Riset Kesehatan (JK-RISK) dapat menerbitkan edisi perdananya. JK-RISK merupakan jurnal ilmiah online, open access, dan peer-reviewed yang dikelola oleh tim Penelitian dan Pendidikan Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah dr. Saiful Anwar, Malang, Indonesia. JK-RISK bertujuan utama untuk menyebarluaskan informasi dibidang Kesehatan dan Kedokteran, sehingga menambah khazanah ilmu pengetahuan, mengembangkan ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi serta mendorong semakin meningkatnya kuantitas dan kualitas penulisan artikel ilmiah di Indonesia pada umumnya.
Editorial
Authors: Castro Filho Cláudio Marcondes de , Silva Márcia Regina da
Published: January 2022

InCID: Revista de Ciência da Informação e Documentação, Ribeirão Preto, v. 11, n. 1, mar./ago. 2020.
Biblioteca na vida acadêmica de um estudante surdo: um relato de experiência
Authors: Wellichan Danielle da Silva Pinheiro , Lino Carla C. Tescaro Santos , Manzini Eduardo José
Published: January 2022

Ao ingressar na universidade, o estudante surdo depara-se com uma realidade que nem sempre é a mesma que vivenciou em escolas bilíngues até o Ensino Médio. Por ser um universo maior e mais diversificado, nem sempre está presente um profissional intérprete de Libras/língua portuguesa, de materiais bilíngues, e a comunicação pode não acontecer de forma acessível à sua compreensão. Essa ruptura na realidade acadêmica do estudante surdo é mais frequente do que se imagina e pode apresentar fatores que comprometem sua trajetória de estudos e aprendizagens. A literatura mostra que existem possibilidades para estabelecer uma relação satisfatória entre biblioteca - estudante surdo - bibliotecário, mas como ela acontece? O que pode ser oferecido para um estudante surdo usuário de uma biblioteca universitária? Como ocorrer o atendimento para esse estudante? Para tentar responder a essas perguntas e conhecer essa relação, buscaram-se subsídios teóricos na literatura nacional para construir o referencial deste estudo, que objetivou analisar as respostas a uma entrevista realizada com um estudante surdo, matriculado em um programa de pós-graduação, sobre sua relação com a biblioteca (equipe e ambiente). Os resultados apontam desafios a serem superados pelos usuários com deficiência, nas bibliotecas, como a falta de comunicação, ausência de acervo e recursos especializados. Conclui-se, portanto, que os atendimentos inclusivos para o usuário surdo ainda não acontecem como deveriam e que as bibliotecas precisam estar atentas ao cumprimento de sua responsabilidade na sociedade inclusiva.
Leitura e práticas formadoras de leitores: percepções dos bibliotecários do Instituto Federal de Santa Catarina (IFSC) – Câmpus da Região da Grande Florianópolis
Authors: Conceição Cristiano Sardá da , Eggert-Steindel Gisela
Published: January 2022

O estudo apresenta um recorte do conceito de leitura expressado por bibliotecários do Instituto Federal de Santa Catarina (IFSC), práticas formadoras de leitores e promoção da leitura nas bibliotecas dessa instituição pública de ensino. Trata-se de uma pesquisa descritiva e qualitativa que utilizou questionário eletrônico enviado a 11 bibliotecários lotados nas bibliotecas do IFSC dos câmpus da região da Grande Florianópolis, com retorno de aproximadamente 90% desse universo de bibliotecários. No conceito destes bibliotecários, a leitura é um ato de interpretação e produção de sentidos, pressupondo que a leitura tem uma estreita relação entre informação e conhecimento na clave da leitura, quer de estudo, como a leitura de fruição ou lazer. Desenvolvem práticas de incentivo à leitura com atividades lúdicas sobre obras de literatura de ficção: roda de leitura, leitura e debates e sarau literário, e com divulgação do livro e da leitura: exposição de livros, indicação de obras literárias, troca-troca de livros, estante expositiva e estante permanente de destaque de obras literárias. Práticas estas criadas por estes profissionais da leitura e escrita, informação e conhecimento, no intuito de uma formação continuada de leitores e promoção da leitura reconhecendo a leitura como importante quesito para formação pessoal, acadêmica e profissional.
V. V. Ivánov ou como pensar com quatro cérebros: dois exemplos de prática científica transdisciplinar nas humanidades
Authors: Baitello Junior Norval
Published: January 2022

O artigo descreve a figura de intelectual com diversificado interesse que era Ivánov e relata aspectos da tese deste sobre a dupla cognição humana, seus dois hemisférios cerebrais assimétricos, numa analogia com manifestações mais arcaicas da cultura humana, igualmente duais e assimétricas, apontando também para questões complexas, como traduções e processamentos informacionais.
Correlation and Relative Prognostic Value of Fractional Flow Reserve and Pd/Pa of Nonculprit Lesions in ST-Segment–Elevation Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Piróth Zsolt , Fülöp Gábor , Boxma-de Klerk Bianca M. , Abdelghani Mohammad , Omerovic Elmir , Andréka Péter , Fontos Géza , Neumann Franz-Josef , Richardt Gert , Smits Pieter C.
Published: January 2022

Background:

The applicability of resting indices to guide noninfarct-related artery revascularization in ST-elevation myocardial infarction is unknown.

Methods:

We analyzed the correlation and prognostic value of fractional flow reserve (FFR) and resting distal coronary to aortic pressure ratio (Pd/Pa) in all patients of the Compare-Acute trial in whom, after successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention, the noninfarct-related artery was interrogated by both and treated medically. The treating cardiologist was blinded to these values. The primary end point was the composite of target vessel (interrogated noninfarct-related artery) related nonfatal target vessel myocardial infarction and target vessel repeat revascularization at 36 months.

Results:

Five hundred seventeen patients (665 vessels) were included. On receiver-operating characteristic analysis, the optimal Pd/Pa cut off for FFR≤0.80 was 0.905 (
C
statistic: 0.894). The diagnostic accuracy of Pd/Pa was 80.15% (95% CI, 76.91%–83.12%) with respect to FFR. During the 36-month follow-up, 130 target vessel revascularization and 14 target vessel myocardial infarction occurred. FFR and Pd/Pa had a diagnostic accuracy to predict these events of 62.86% (95% CI, 59.06%–66.54%) and 56.84% (95% CI, 52.98%–60.64%), respectively (
P
=0.20). When they were discrepant, FFR was significantly better than Pd/Pa in identifying which vessels could be safely deferred (
P
=0.048).

Conclusions:

Immediately after successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention, resting Pd/Pa has a diagnostic accuracy of 80% with respect to FFR measured in the noninfarct-related artery. FFR is not significantly superior in predicting target vessel myocardial infarction and target vessel revascularization during 36 months of follow-up but, in case FFR and Pd/Pa are discrepant, FFR is superior in identifying which nonculprit vessels can be safely deferred.

Registration:

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique identifier: NCT01399736.
COVID-19 anxiety and quality of life among Iranian nurses
Authors: Mohamadzadeh Tabrizi Zohreh , Mohammadzadeh Fatemeh , Davarinia Motlagh Quchan Arezoo , Bahri Narjes
Published: January 2022

Background

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed nurses, who are a very important group involved in the care of these patients, to many stresses that may affect their quality of life. This study aimed to determine the relationship between COVID-19 anxiety and the quality of life among Iranian nurses.

Method

This online cross-sectional study enrolled 1,131 of Iranian nurses working at the time of the COVID-19 outbreak in treatment centers in different parts of Iran from April to May 2020. The convenience sampling strategy was used. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS). The stepwise multiple linear regression models were used to examine the relationships among self-reported anxiety concerning COVID-19 and SF-36 quality of life, its components, and subscales. Partial r was used as an estimate of effect size.

Result

The mean SF-36 score was 65.2 (SD=17.6). The mean score of the mental component summary (MCS) (M=56.8, SD=22.3) was lower than the mean score of the physical component summary (PCS) (M=71.6, SD=17.5). The mean score of COVID-19 anxiety was 17.8 (SD=10.5). Of the participants, 378 (33.4%; 95% CI [30.7%, 36.3%]), and 152 (13.4%; 95% CI [11.5%, 15.6%]) reported moderate and severe anxiety, respectively. According to the results of stepwise multiple linear regression model, after adjusting for possible confounding variables, the SF-36 quality of life was still significantly negatively associated with COVID-19 anxiety, with a large effect size (The partial r = -0.515, p < 0.001). The relationship between the SF-36 components and COVID-19 anxiety were also significant, and moderate to large effect sizes were observed (The partial r for (PCS; COVID-19 anxiety) = -0.404; p < 0.001, and for (MCS; COVID-19 anxiety) = -0.521; p < 0.001). In addition, significant correlation coefficients for every subscale of the SF-36 were found for COVID-19 anxiety and its two components, with small to large effect sizes (The partial correlations= -0.211 to -0.524, all ps< 0.001).

Conclusions

The results showed that higher COVID-19 anxiety in nurses decreases their quality of life. In order to increase nurses’ quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is recommended to design and implement programs to reduce their COVID-19 anxiety.
STAT3 exerts pro-tumor and anti-autophagy roles in cervical cancer
Authors: Wu Lin , Shen Bowen , Li Junpeng , Zhang Huirong , Zhang Ke , Yang Yao , Zu Zhenyu , Shen Dongxiang , Luo Min
Published: January 2022

Background

STAT3 plays an important role in cervical cancer. LC3B, the most potential molecular biomarker of autophagy that may promote or inhibit cancer progression, can be downregulated by STAT3. However the role of STAT3 in the autophagy of cervical cancer remains unclear.

Purpose

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between STAT3 and LC3B in protein level, and verify whether STAT3 promotes proliferation, migration and plate colony formation by inhibiting autophagy of cervical cancer cells through bcl2-beclin1 axis.

Results

STAT3 was overexpressed in cervical cancer tissues, and negatively correlated with the expression level of LC3B. STAT3 knockout or knockdown significantly increased the autophagy level and decreased proliferation, migration, plate colony formation and subcutaneous tumorigenesis of cervical cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. STAT3 is known to mediate autophagy through Bcl2-Beclin1 complex. Bcl2 was positively whereas Beclin1 negatively correlated with STAT3 expression, indicating that Bcl2-Beclin1 complex involved in this transition.

Conclusion

STAT3 may upregulate the autophagy level of cervical cancer cells through the Bcl2-Beclin1 axis. This indicates that STAT3 may be an important prognostic and therapeutic target for cervical cancer.
Safety of accelerated hypofractionated whole pelvis radiation therapy prior to high dose rate brachytherapy or stereotactic body radiation therapy prostate boost
Authors: Phuong Christina , Chan Jason W. , Ni Lisa , Wall Phillip , Mohamad Osama , Wong Anthony C. , Hsu I.-Chow , Chang Albert J.
Published: January 2022

Background

To evaluate acute and late genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicities and patient reported urinary and sexual function following accelerated, hypofractionated external beam radiotherapy to the prostate, seminal vesicles and pelvic lymph nodes and high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy or stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) prostate boost.

Methods

Patients at a single institution with NCCN intermediate- and high-risk localized prostate cancer with logistical barriers to completing five weeks of whole pelvic radiotherapy (WPRT) were retrospectively reviewed for toxicity following accelerated, hypofractionated WPRT (41.25 Gy in 15 fractions of 2.75 Gy). Patients also received prostate boost radiotherapy with either HDR brachytherapy (1 fraction of 15 Gy) or SBRT (19 Gy in 2 fractions of 9.5 Gy). The duration of androgen deprivation therapy was at the discretion of the treating radiation oncologist. Toxicity was evaluated by NCI CTCAE v 5.0.

Results

Between 2015 and 2017, 22 patients with a median age of 71 years completed accelerated, hypofractionated WPRT. Median follow-up from the end of radiotherapy was 32 months (range 2–57). 5%, 73%, and 23% of patients had clinical T1, T2, and T3 disease, respectively. 86% of tumors were Gleason grade 7 and 14% were Gleason grade 9. 68% and 32% of patients had NCCN intermediate- and high-risk disease, respectively. 91% and 9% of patients received HDR brachytherapy and SBRT prostate boost following WPRT, respectively. Crude rates of grade 2 or higher GI and GU toxicities were 23% and 23%, respectively. 3 patients (14%) had late or persistent grade 2 toxicities of urinary frequency and 1 patient (5%) had late or persistent GI toxicity of diarrhea. No patient experienced grade 3 or higher toxicity at any time. No difference in patient-reported urinary or sexual function was noted at 12 months.

Conclusions

Accelerated, hypofractionated whole pelvis radiotherapy was associated with acceptable GU and GI toxicities and should be further validated for those at risk for harboring occult nodal disease.
Telemedicine-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia in alcohol use disorder (AUD): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Arnedt J. Todd , Cardoni M. Elizabeth , Conroy Deirdre A. , Graham Mandilyn , Amin Sajni , Bohnert Kipling M. , Krystal Andrew D. , Ilgen Mark A.
Published: January 2022

Background

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality, but relapse rates are high even with available treatments. Insomnia is a robust predictor of relapse and pilot studies have shown that CBT for insomnia improves insomnia and daytime functioning in adults with AUD and insomnia. The impact of CBT for insomnia on relapse, however, is unclear. This trial will compare telemedicine-delivered CBT for insomnia (CBT-TM) with sleep hygiene education (SHE-TM) on improving insomnia/sleep, daytime symptom, and drinking outcomes in treatment-seeking AUD adults with insomnia. The study will also determine the effects of treatment on sleep mechanisms and their association with clinical outcomes.

Methods

This is a single-site randomized controlled trial with planned enrollment of 150 adults meeting criteria for both AUD and chronic insomnia. Eligible participants will be randomized 1:1 to 6 sessions of telemedicine-delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-TM) or Sleep Hygiene Education (SHE-TM) with clinical assessments conducted at pre-treatment, post- treatment, and at 3, 6, and 12 months post-treatment. Overnight polysomnography will be conducted before and after treatment. Primary clinical outcomes will include post-treatment scores on the Insomnia Severity Index and the General Fatigue subscale of the Multidisciplinary Fatigue Inventory, and the percent of days abstinent (PDA) on the interview-administered Time Line Follow Back. EEG delta activity, derived from overnight polysomnography, will be the primary endpoint to assess the sleep homeostasis mechanism.

Discussion

This adequately powered randomized controlled trial will provide clinically relevant information about whether targeting insomnia is effective for improving treatment outcomes among treatment-seeking adults with AUD. Additionally, the study will offer new scientific insights on the impact of an evidence-based non-medication treatment for insomnia on a candidate mechanism of sleep dysfunction in this population - sleep homeostasis.

Trial registration

CClinicalTrials.govNCT # 04457674. Registered on 07 July 2020.
Individualized positive end-expiratory pressure guided by end-expiratory lung volume in early acute respiratory distress syndrome: study protocol for the multicenter, randomized IPERPEEP trial
Authors: Grieco Domenico Luca , Maggiore Salvatore Maurizio , Bellani Giacomo , Spadaro Savino , Spinelli Elena , Tonetti Tommaso , Menga Luca S. , Pozzi Marco , Battaglini Denise , Di Mussi Rosa , Bruni Andrea , De Gaetano Andrea , Iovino Carmine Giovanni , Brioni Matteo , Mojoli Francesco , Foti Giuseppe , Volta Carlo Aberto , Pelosi Paolo , Navalesi Paolo , Grasso Salvatore , Ranieri V. Marco , Antonelli Massimo ,   the IPERPEEP study group
Published: January 2022

Background

In acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), response to positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is variable according to different degrees of lung recruitability. The search for a tool to individualize PEEP based on patients’ individual response is warranted.

End-expiratory lung volume (EELV) assessment by nitrogen washin-washout aids bedside estimation of PEEP-induced alveolar recruitment and may therefore help titrate PEEP on patient’s individual recruitability.

We designed a randomized trial to test whether an individualized PEEP setting protocol driven by EELV measurement may improve a composite clinical outcome in patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS (IPERPEEP trial).

Methods

IPERPEEP is an open-label, multicenter, randomized trial that will be conducted in 10 intensive care units in Italy and will enroll 132 ARDS patients showing PaO2/FiO2 ratio ≤ 150 mmHg within 24 h from endotracheal intubation while on mechanical ventilation with PEEP 5 cmH2O.

To standardize lung volumes at study initiation, all patients will undergo mechanical ventilation with tidal volume of 6 ml/kg of predicted body weight and PEEP set to obtain a plateau pressure within 28 and 30 cmH2O for 30 min (EXPRESS PEEP).

Afterwards, a 5-step decremental PEEP trial will be conducted (EXPRESS PEEP to PEEP 5 cmH2O), and EELV will be measured at each step. Recruitment-to-inflation ratio will be calculated for each PEEP range from EELV difference. Patients will be then randomized to receive mechanical ventilation with PEEP set according to the optimal recruitment observed in the PEEP trial (IPERPEEP arm) trial or to achieve a plateau pressure of 28–30 cmH2O (control arm, EXPRESS strategy). In both groups, tidal volume size, use of prone positioning and neuromuscular blocking agents, and weaning from PEEP and from mechanical ventilation will be standardized.

The primary endpoint of the study is a composite clinical outcome incorporating in-ICU mortality, 60-day ventilator-free days, and serum interleukin-6 concentration over the course of the initial 72 h of treatment.

Discussion

The IPERPEEP study is a randomized trial powered to elucidate whether an individualized PEEP setting protocol based on bedside assessment of lung recruitability can improve a composite clinical outcome during moderate-to-severe ARDS.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.govNCT04012073. Registered 9 July 2019.
The FEED1 trial: protocol for a randomised controlled trial of full milk feeds versus intravenous fluids with gradual feeding for preterm infants (30–33 weeks gestational age)
Authors: Mitchell Eleanor J. , Meakin Garry , Anderson Josie , Dorling Jon , Gale Chris , Haines Rachel , Kenyan Charlotte , Johnson Mark J. , McGuire William , Mistry Hema , Montgomery Alan , Oddie Sam , Ogollah Reuben , Pallotti Phoebe , Partlett Christopher , Walker Kate F. , Ojha Shalini
Published: January 2022

Background

In the UK, approximately 8% of live births are preterm (before 37 weeks gestation), more than 90% of whom are born between 30 and 36 weeks, forming the largest proportion of a neonatal units’ workload. Neonatologists are cautious in initiating full milk feeds for preterm infants due to fears of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). There is now evidence to dispute this fear. Small studies have shown that feeding preterm infants full milk feeds enterally from birth could result in a shorter length of hospital stay, which is important to parents, clinicians and NHS services without increasing the risk of NEC. This trial aims to investigate whether full milk feeds initiated in the first 24 h after birth reduces the length of hospital stay in comparison to introduction of gradual milk feeding with IV fluids or parenteral nutrition.

Methods

FEED1 is a multi-centre, open, parallel group, randomised, controlled superiority trial of full milk feeds initiated on the day of birth versus gradual milk feeds for infants born at 30+0 to 32+6 (inclusive) weeks gestation. Recruitment will take place in around 40 UK neonatal units. Mothers will be randomised 1:1 to full milk feeds, starting at 60 ml/kg day, or gradual feeds, as per usual local practice. Mother’s expressed breast milk will always be the first choice of milk, though will likely be supplemented with formula or donor breast milk in the first few days. Feeding data will be collected until full milk feeds are achieved (≥ 140 ml/kg/day for 3 consecutive days). The primary outcome is length of infant hospital stay. Additional data will be collected 6 weeks post-discharge. Follow-up at 2 years (corrected gestational age) is planned. The sample size is 2088 infants to detect a between group difference in length of stay of 2 days. Accounting for multiple births, this requires 1700 women to be recruited. Primary analysis will compare the length of hospital stay between groups, adjusting for minimisation variables and accounting for multiple births.

Discussion

This trial will provide high-quality evidence on feeding practices for preterm infants. Full milk feeds from day of birth could result in infants being discharged sooner.

Trial registration

ISRCTN ISRCTN89654042. Prospectively registered on 23 September 2019: ISRCTN is a primary registry of the WHO ICTRP network, and all items from the WHO Trial Registration dataset are included.
No molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens in the blood of patients with erythema migrans in Belgium
Authors: Geebelen Laurence , Lernout Tinne , Tersago Katrien , Terryn Sanne , Hovius Joppe W. , Docters van Leeuwen Arieke , Van Gucht Steven , Speybroeck Niko , Sprong Hein
Published: January 2022

Background

A number of tick-borne pathogens circulate in the Belgian tick population in addition to the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis. However, so far, only a few patients with tick-borne diseases other than Lyme borreliosis have been reported in Belgium. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of other human tick-borne infections in Belgium and their possible clinical manifestation.

Methods

Patients with fever (> 37.5 °C) after a tick bite or those with erythema migrans (EM) were included in the study. EDTA-blood samples were screened for the presence of DNA from Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, spotted fever group rickettsiae (genus Rickettsia), Babesia spp., Bartonella spp., Spiroplasma ixodetis and tick-borne encephalitis virus, using multiplex PCR methods. A questionnaire on, among others, demographics and clinical symptoms, was also filled in.

Results

Over a period of 3 years, 119 patients with EM and 14 patients with fever after a recent tick bite were enrolled in the study. Three samples initially tested positive for N. mikurensis by quantitative PCR (qPCR), but the results could not be confirmed by other PCR methods, and repetition of the DNA extraction procedure and qPCR test was not successful. The qPCR test results for the other tick-borne pathogens were negative.

Conclusions

In general, only a few patients with fever after a tick bite could be identified. Although no tick-borne pathogens were detected, their occurrence cannot be excluded based on the limited number of patients and the limitations inherent to current methodologies. This study underscores the possibility of false-positive PCR results and the necessity for the development of multiple independent tools for the sensitive and specific detection of emerging tick-borne pathogens.

Graphical Abstract
Spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reaction among health professionals in Ghana
Authors: Asiamah Morrison , Akuffo Kwadwo Owusu , Nortey Pricillia , Donkor Nina , Danso-Appiah Anthony
Published: January 2022

Background

Spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADR) is an effective means of ensuring postmarketing surveillance of drugs, and health professionals play a cardinal role through voluntary reporting of ADR. However, the pharmacovigilance system in Ghana is plagued with under-reporting issues, which is of public health concern.

Method

A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study involving 268 health professionals at Kpone-Katamanso District was carried out. Data on spontaneous reporting of ADR, demographics of participants, knowledge, and attitudes of professionals towards reporting and factors that may influence ADR reporting were collected. Logistic regression models were used to examine the association of the independent variables with spontaneous reporting of ADR.

Result

Overall, 77.6% (208) of the 268 respondents had observed ADR; however, only 17.3% of the respondents had ever reported an ADR to the Ghana FDA. Health professionals who had average knowledge on spontaneous reporting of ADR were 51.9%, while 30.3% had good knowledge of spontaneous reporting of ADR. After adjustment on potential confounding variables (Knowledge, Feedback from FDA, Uncertainty about cause of ADR, Severity of ADR), Age (AOR = 2.26, 95%CI = 1.25–4.10), Fear of Legal Consequences (AOR = 0.15, 95%CI = 0.41–0.51), Time Constraint (AOR = 0.3, 95%CI = 0.10–0.91), Pharmacovigilance training (AOR = 18.78, 95%CI = 5.46–64.59) and Unavailability of Reporting form (AOR = 0.28, 95%CI = 0.09–0.88) were found to be significantly associated spontaneous reporting of ADR.

Conclusion

The proportion of health professionals in the Kpone- Katamanso District who spontaneously reported observed ADR was low though they had average knowledge about ADR reporting. This underscores the need for a policy to be implemented that makes spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reaction mandatory for health professionals.
Isoenergetic-practical and semi-purified diets for protein requirement determination in Hermetia illucens larvae: consequences on life history traits
Authors: Bellezza Oddon Sara , Biasato Ilaria , Gasco Laura
Published: January 2022

Background

Black soldier fly (BSF) is one of the most promising species for the intensive breeding of insects given its adaptability and its efficiency in the conversion of waste. To maximize the production and use waste as substrates, it is essential to determine the larvae nutritional requirements. The study aims to evaluate the effects of 5 practical, semi-purified and isoenergetic diets (PSPID) with increasing protein levels (10%, CP10; 14%, CP14; 16%, CP16; 19%, CP19) on BSF life history traits. A total of 2000 six-day-old larvae were weighed and divided into groups of 100 (4 replicates/treatment [PSPID and Gainesville diet (GA) used as environmental control]). In larva-prepupa stage, sampling was carried out on 30 individuals/replicate, while in prepupa-adult stage on 35.

Results

In the whole larval stage, the CP16 treatment performed better when compared to the other groups. At 18 days old, the CP14 treatment showed a higher weight than the CP19 (P < 0.01), while the CP10 and CP16 weights were intermediate. On the contrary, the CP10 prepupae weight was higher than the CP19 (P < 0.01). The CP10 and CP14 pupae performed better in terms of weight when compared to the others (P < 0.01). The dietary treatments did not affect the adult parameters. The sex significantly influenced both the exuvia weight, which was the greatest in females (P < 0.001), and the fly lifespan, longest in males (P < 0.05). Fly lifespan was also influenced by the interaction between treatment and sex, with the CP19 females showing a longer life than the others (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

In conclusion, the optimal protein level considering the whole larval stage is 16% on dry matter (DM). At 18 days old, looking at the size intended for the meal production, it can be considered 14% on DM. The result obtained on adult emergence in PSPID may not be attributable to the protein content. Further researches on macronutrients requirements determination have to be conducted to evaluate the substrates composition effects on BSF life history traits.
More than Eve: Women and Superior Secondariness in English Poetry, 1751–1810
Authors: Nicholson Michael
Published: January 2022

Mary Leapor, Mary Scott, Joanna Southcott, Lucy Aikin, and their peers collectively articulate what I call women's “superior secondariness.” To counter an eighteenth-century culture that represented man as “primary” (universal and originary) and woman as “secondary” (derivative and dependent), these poets posited the secondary not as inferior or less, but as a necessary, often highly desirable, condition of women's belatedness. Advocating revision and renaming, these writers developed a distinctive feminist poetics of improvement in order to express women's ascendency as the sex that comes second in time, whether as a refined Eve in relation to a rudimentary Adam, or as the revisionary woman poet in relation to the originary masculine classic author. Taken together, their rewritings of Original Sin, human origins, English poetry, and Britain's progress transformed the discourse of secondariness, often used to deride women's verse as inferior in the period, into a feminist position of power. In tracing the ordering function of superior secondariness from 1751 to 1810, the present essay returns to Enlightenment literary form to understand poetry's vital role in inaugurating the feminist projects of historicizing the associations between women writers and theorizing the gender of aesthetic production.
Infinite Sorrows: Catastrophic Forms in Chaucer's Knight's Tale
Authors: Ingham Patricia Clare
Published: January 2022

Engaged with insights from trauma theory, this essay offers a reading of Geoffrey Chaucer's Knight's Tale as a profound meditation on catastrophe and survival. This account refocuses the Knight's Tale's famous oscillation between consolation and devastation, philosophy and fate, to consider the unexpected forms that poetic representations of catastrophe take in a premodern poem.
Nadzieja wyrazem aksjologicznego wymiaru egzystencji ludzkiej
Authors: Chrobak Stanisław
Published: January 2022

Wartości związane są z egzystencją człowieka i należą do realnego świata ludzkiej partycypacji. Człowiek odnosząc się do wartości będących poza nim, buduje siebie jako wartość. Wartości nadają sens istnieniu, a przez to stają się jego racją. Doświadczenie własnej wartości to także część świata nadziei. W nadziei i poprzez nadzieję odsłania się aksjologiczny wymiar egzystencji ludzkiej. Poprzez nadzieję wyraża się to, co w osobie jest najbardziej osobo-we. Człowiek, który zdoła spotkać się z drugim na płaszczyźnie jego nadziei, doświadcza w nim tego, co zarazem indywidualne i absolutne – wartości, któ-ra stała się osobą. Dynamizm ludzkiego bytu w perspektywie nadziei, urze-czywistnia się w „teraz”, należy jednak podkreślić, że w ścisłym powiązaniu z „przedtem” i „potem”. Nadzieja jest również impulsem ku transcendencji.
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Authors: Elżbieta Wołodźko
Published: January 2022

Action research is defined as „a democratic and participative orientation to knowledge creation. It is a space for „working with and towards knowledge in action”, what means operationalization of knowledge as a dynamic phenomenon, mediated by widely contextual environment. The article presents a fragment of the research based on students’ reflective self-investigation processthat took place both during the implementation of the project and (mostly) after its completion. The aim was to identify how students perceived an intensive engagement in pedagogical and research activity in the process of a constitution their professional knowledge(s)’ and competences. Special attention was paid on the processes of knowledge generation, the ways of knowing and the processes characterizing the dynamics of knowledge constituted through activity. In a conclusion it is stated that action research is an epistemic process which offers the students the experiences of extended epistemology, epistemic diversity and pluriversality and the interrelated processes of dynamics of knowledge. Such complexity of practices and processes creates knowledge which is emergent in constan flow, alternation and pulsation and unpredictable in itsmosaic structure.
Management of a medical entity based on models of competitiveness of enterprises on the example of Corten Medic Medical Center
Authors: Sikora Agnieszka , Sikora Tomasz , Bogdan Magdalena
Published: January 2022

Competitiveness of a company is one the most crucial determinates in the managing process which is independent of the sector of the economy. This issue is distinctively complex in the health care sector, for the specificity of the service it provides – saving lives and good health of patients. Therefore, the healthcare sector of the economy, the mechanisms, and processes that it undergoes are specific and different from other free market sector. This specificity also refers to competitiveness aspect in the health care sector.

The aim of the research was primary analysis of competitiveness factors and determinants in the health care sector. A proper overview of potential enterprise competitiveness models has also been carried out, which could be implemented in managing of health care unites.

With accordance to the presented analysis of the available models, cause and effect model competitiveness model has been chosen to analyse and asses CM Corten Medic health care unit’s competitiveness potential.
Breaking the Oligarchy: Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the Next Left
Authors: Dorrien Gary
Published: January 2022

Today the next socialist left is being forged by third-wave feminists, liberationists of color, and opponents of neoliberal inequality, many of whom came of age in the Bernie Sanders Democratic primary campaigns of 2016 and 2020. Sanders renewed American democratic socialism by running the greatest campaign ever waged by an American socialist, in 2016. He is better described as a social democrat than a democratic socialist, yet he dramatically revived the language of the class struggle. Forty years of letting Wall Street and the big corporations do whatever they want have yielded belated protests against flat wages, extreme inequality, and destroying the planet.
Conclusions: facing the urban future to 2050 and beyond
Authors: Dixon Timothy J. , Tewdwr-Jones Mark
Published: January 2022

Crises provide opportunities as well as risks, and there is an argument for suggesting that the COVID-19 crisis, and the continuing impact of climate change, provide us with a chance to think longer-term beyond the present, and re-imagine the way in which cities should be like further into the future to 2030, 2050 and beyond. In the rest of this chapter, therefore, the focus is on three main themes which have emerged from the book: (i) city foresight, transitions theory and city visions; (ii) urban planning and governance; and (iii) the future for cities. In doing this, the chapter focuses on the practical and pragmatic steps city leaders and other groups need to take to develop city visions and new forms of flexible governance as part of ‘urban futures’ thinking.
The power of song
Authors: Rosselson Leon
Published: January 2022

Song is largely undervalued as an art form. Poetry, for example, is regarded as high art; song as a commercial product. And yet song is the most powerful, emotionally direct form of communication. Song makes us feel less alone, creates and empowers a community, engenders a sense of solidarity and shared purpose. In that way, throughout history, songs have given heart and hope to movements of social change. Song is more than a market product and in its most creative story-telling form can cross boundaries, challenge what is and imagine what might be.
Queering community development in DIY punk spaces
Authors: Lohman Kirsty , Pearce Ruth
Published: January 2022

Queer feminist punk organising can be understood as a form of prefiguration. Through creating and facilitating access to a cultural scene, participants model the changes they wish to see in the wider world. This chapter positions the UK’s contemporary queer feminist punk scenes within the context of the wider history of prefigurative social movements, including the New Left, community arts, and global justice movements, as well as queer, feminist, and punk histories. Drawing on findings from recent social research, the authors examine how organisers and musicians continue to build on the lessons of the past to imagine new futures. Central to this is the importance of enabling participation, and embracing an ethos of continual self-reflection, renewal, and change.
Through examples such as the First Timers festival and Black feminist punk band Big Joanie, the authors argue that such approaches to punk politics disrupt established agendas and organising modes in a productive way. This enables the reconstruction of existing scenes as well as the creation of new spaces, community groups and cultural artefacts.
Building peaceful communities: collaboration and co-creation through theatre
Authors: Premaratna Nilanjana
Published: January 2022

While theatre is a widely-used approach in community development, there are limited studies that seek to understand how varying theatre forms are used to build community and peace in contexts characterised by violence and war. Documenting and exploring such empirical examples contributes to further the scholarship on using the arts to engage with politics at community level. This chapter examines two theatre groups that use different theatre approaches for building community and peace in two contexts: Jana Sanskriti from India and Jana Karaliya from Sri Lanka. Jana Sanskriti uses Theatre of the Oppressed in a context of structural violence in West Bengal while Jana Karaliya, as a multiethnic, bilingual mobile theatre group, works in the context of the Sri Lankan conflict, and addresses ethno-linguistic divisions in the country. The chapter argues that, despite these differences, their contributions to building peaceful communities are affected through respective processes of artistic collaboration and co-creation at community level. Artistic collaboration and co-creation in Jana Sanskriti unsettles the present by challenging everyday narratives of structural violence, while artistic collaboration and co-creation through Jana Karaliya encourages envisioning an alternative future by producing narratives of interethnic cohesion.
Low-wage workers and threats to working-class living standards
Authors: Wilson Shaun
Published: January 2022

This chapter addresses the other side of the struggle for decent minimum or living wages—those changing patterns in living costs and work organisation that are putting pressure on working families. Significantly improved minimum hourly wages cannot fully compensate for very high living costs—especially housing-related costs and insecurities—or highly insecure work and systematic underpayment of workers’ wages. Nor can they fully compensate poor workers for the promotion of workfare social policies that maximise dependence on private labour markets. The living wages movement is making a difference to working poverty, but it becomes clear that a broader living wages compact involving public investment in housing and protections at work are necessary to sustain genuine improvements. The chapter ends with further consideration of what factors drove the early 20th century push for minimum wages, uncovering parallels and discontinuities with the present struggle. Union weakness in low-wage sectors, the absence of effective social protection, and major gender inequalities are points of continuity.
Challenges to living wage welfare states
Authors: Wilson Shaun
Published: January 2022

Mild optimism emerging around the living wage movement does not mean an absence of challenges and debates about a justice strategy built around protecting low-wage workers. Some lack confidence in a living wage movement because of threats and challenges facing low wage employment. This chapter discusses three of these in turn—threats of automation, non-enforceability of high minimums in an era of wage theft and work fragmentation, and the superior anti-poverty potential of basic income. Fears of automation understate the likely continuation of employment growth. Enforcement of higher minimum wage and better standards for low-wage employment are both realistic goals for regulation. And, finally, basic income in the liberal world is more likely to have partial coverage and low replacement rates—and fail to deal with ongoing dependence on low-wage employment for many.
Self-determination in school cultures
Authors: Davy Zowie
Published: January 2022

In this chapter, the theme of advocacy for self-determination continues from a different cultural angle. Drawing on empirical data from parents of trans and sex/gender expansive children in the UK, the chapter explores how they attempt to reassemble policy and practice in schools in relation to who has the right to determine sex/gender for their children. The chapter demonstrates that parents are at the forefront of establishing a minoritarian turn within schools. I will however demonstrate that the limit-situations imposed in schools try to halt processes of becoming. Nonetheless, despite these limit-situations, parent-advocates are establishing new ways for trans and sex/gender expansive children to co-produce (rather than self-determine) their place in school cultures.