bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Emerging Adjuvant Thrombolytic Therapies for Acute Ischemic Stroke Reperfusion
Authors: Yogendrakumar Vignan , Vandelanotte Sarah , Mistry Eva A. , Hill Michael D. , Coutts Shelagh B. , Nogueira Raul G. , Nguyen Thanh N. , Medcalf Robert L. , Broderick Joseph P. , De Meyer Simon F. , Campbell Bruce C.V.
Published: August 2024

Thrombolytic therapies for acute ischemic stroke are widely available but only result in recanalization early enough, to be therapeutically useful, in 10% to 30% of cases. This large gap in treatment effectiveness could be filled by novel therapies that can increase the effectiveness of thrombus clearance without significantly increasing the risk of harm. This focused update will describe the current state of emerging adjuvant treatments for acute ischemic stroke reperfusion. We focus on new treatments that are designed to (1) target different components that make up a stroke thrombus, (2) enhance endogenous fibrinolytic systems, (3) reduce stagnant blood flow, and (4) improve recanalization of distal thrombi and postendovascular thrombectomy.
“All the Stars Will Be Wells with a Rusty Pulley”: Neural Processing of the Social and Pragmatic Content in a Narrative
Authors: Thye Melissa , Hoffman Paul , Mirman Daniel
Published: August 2024

Making sense of natural language and narratives requires building and manipulating a situation model by adding incoming information to the model and using the context stored in the model to comprehend subsequent details and events. Situation model maintenance is supported by the default mode network (DMN), but comprehension of the individual moments in the narrative relies on access to the conceptual store within the semantic system. The present study examined how these systems are engaged by different narrative content to investigate whether highly informative, or semantic, content is a particularly strong driver of semantic system activation compared with contextually driven content that requires using the situation model, which might instead engage DMN regions. The study further investigated which subregions of the graded semantic hub in the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL) were engaged by the type of narrative content. To do this, we quantified the semantic, pragmatic, social, ambiguous, and emotional content for each sentence in a complete narrative, the English translation of The Little Prince. Increased activation in the transmodal hub in the ventral ATL was only observed for high semantic (i.e., informative) relative to low semantic sentences. Activation in the dorsolateral and ventrolateral ATL subregions was observed for both high relative to low semantic and social content sentences, but the ventrolateral ATL effects were more extensive in the social condition. There was high correspondence between the social and pragmatic content results, particularly in the ventrolateral ATL. We argue that the ventrolateral ATL may be particularly engaged by internal, or endogenous, processing demands, aided by functional connections between the anterior middle temporal gyrus and the DMN. Pragmatic and social content may have driven endogenous processing given the pervasive and plot-progressing nature of this content in the narrative. We put forward a revised account of how the semantic system is engaged in naturalistic contexts, a critical step toward better understanding real-world semantic and social processing.
Two “What” Networks in the Human Brain
Authors: Vaziri-Pashkam Maryam
Published: August 2024

Ungerleider and Mishkin, in their influential work that relied on detailed anatomical and ablation studies, suggested that visual information is processed along two distinct pathways: the dorsal “where” pathway, primarily responsible for spatial vision, and the ventral “what” pathway, dedicated to object vision. This strict division of labor has faced challenges in light of compelling evidence revealing robust shape and object selectivity within the putative “where” pathway. This article reviews evidence that supports the presence of shape selectivity in the dorsal pathway. A comparative examination of dorsal and ventral object representations in terms of invariance, task dependency, and representational content reveals similarities and differences between the two pathways. Both exhibit some level of tolerance to image transformations and are influenced by tasks, but responses in the dorsal pathway show weaker tolerance and stronger task modulations than those in the ventral pathway. Furthermore, an examination of their representational content highlights a divergence between the responses in the two pathways, suggesting that they are sensitive to distinct features of objects. Collectively, these findings suggest that two networks exist in the human brain for processing object shapes, one in the dorsal and another in the ventral visual cortex. These studies lay the foundation for future research aimed at revealing the precise roles the two “what” networks play in our ability to understand and interact with objects.
Efficient Hyperdimensional Computing With Spiking Phasors
Authors: Orchard Jeff , Furlong P. Michael , Simone Kathryn
Published: August 2024

Hyperdimensional (HD) computing (also referred to as vector symbolic architectures, VSAs) offers a method for encoding symbols into vectors, allowing for those symbols to be combined in different ways to form other vectors in the same vector space. The vectors and operators form a compositional algebra, such that composite vectors can be decomposed back to their constituent vectors. Many useful algorithms have implementations in HD computing, such as classification, spatial navigation, language modeling, and logic. In this letter, we propose a spiking implementation of Fourier holographic reduced representation (FHRR), one of the most versatile VSAs. The phase of each complex number of an FHRR vector is encoded as a spike time within a cycle. Neuron models derived from these spiking phasors can perform the requisite vector operations to implement an FHRR. We demonstrate the power and versatility of our spiking networks in a number of foundational problem domains, including symbol binding and unbinding, spatial representation, function representation, function integration, and memory (i.e., signal delay).
Westward Displacement of Atmospheric East–West Circulation Ameliorated Drought-Induced Conditions in Australia and India during the Major 2023–24 and 1997–98 El Niño Events
Authors: Allan Rob J. , Stone Roger C.
Published: August 2024

Based on a compilation of widely available climate analysis products, we show evidence for a significant variation in the spatial pattern of the large-scale vertical zonal atmospheric circulation patterns across the equatorial Indo-Australasian domain of the Eastern Hemisphere during the major 2023–24 El Niño event. The region of large-scale subsidence and its associated teleconnection patterns that are usually centered across Indonesia (the “Maritime Continent”) were displaced to the west over the equatorial Indian Ocean. In the record of El Niño events with readily available online dynamical tropospheric fields (one source from 1947 and the other from 1979), this has only been seen two other times, during the strong 1997–98 El Niño and the weaker 1977–78 event. These three events may well be consistent with internal variability, but at present, the reason for such occurrences has not been established.
Modified Frailty Index for Patients Undergoing Surgery for Colorectal Cancer: Analysis of the National Inpatient Sample From 2015 to 2019
Authors: Alsayari Rehab , McKechnie Tyler , Kazi Tania , Heimann Luke , Sachdeva Anjali , Lee Yung , Huo Bright , Sne Niv , Hong Dennis , Eskicioglu Cagla
Published: August 2024

Background

Frailty is increasingly recognized as a perioperative risk for numerous surgical diseases. We applied the modified frailty index (mFI-11) to the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) for patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods

We performed a retrospective analysis of the NIS (2015-2019) including CRC patients undergoing surgery. We classified patients into frail (ie, mFI ≥0.27) and robust (ie, mFI <0.27) categories. Primary outcomes were in-hospital postoperative morbidity and mortality. The secondary outcomes included system-specific postoperative morbidity and length of stay (LOS). Multivariable regression models were fit.

Results

Within the 53,652 identified patients undergoing surgery for CRC, 19.1% were frail. Frail patients were at higher risk of postoperative mortality (3.1% vs 1.0%, odds ratio [OR] 1.96, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] 1.68-2.30, P < 0.001), morbidity (41.3 % vs 23.1%, OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.66-1.83, P < 0.001), and LOS (mean difference [MD] 1.46, 95% CI 0.29-1.62, P < 0.001). Significant differences existed between groups in system-specific postoperative morbidity, with the largest effect estimates seen in cardiovascular morbidities (OR 4.07, 95% CI 3.36-4.93, P = 0.001), followed by respiratory (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.66-1.83, P = 0.001).

Conclusion

Frail patients undergoing CRC surgery are at risk of increased postoperative complications. Preoperative frailty screening may allow for individualized preoperative counseling.
PTSD symptoms among patients with multiple sclerosis in Jordan during October 7th Gaza war outbreak
Authors: Gammoh Omar , Qnais Esam , Abu Alshaikh Hanan , Mansour Mohammad , Al-Habahbeh Suha , Weshah Feras , Ennab Wail , Alotaibi Badriyah S. , Alqudah Abdelrahim
Published: August 2024

Objective

Clinicians have noted that the ongoing war on Gaza has had a psychological impact on people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) whose mental health is particularly vulnerable during stressful times such as these. The present study sought to examine the prevalence and correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among PwMS in Jordan during the Gaza war outbreak.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study involving 171 patients (PwMS) out of 372 patients approached (46% response rate) who were being seen in the MS unit at Al Bashir Hospital, Ammann, Jordan. Inclusion criteria required that participants had been following daily news updates of the October 7 war in Gaza during a period of 4 months.

Results

Of participants, 125 (73.1%) were female, 98 (57.3%) were on therapy for less than five years, and 30 (17.5%) reported having a relapse during the past 6 months. Significant PTSD symptoms were identified in 58.5% (100 of 171 participants). Those at higher risk were the unemployed (OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.13-4.07, P = 0.02), whereas patients receiving dimethyl fumarate (19.9%) were at lower risk (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.19-0.94, P = 0.02).

Conclusion

The high rate of significant PTSD symptoms among people with MS in this study underscores the need for attention by primary care providers and the implementation of a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to optimize the mental well-being of this fragile population.
Sources of Social Support and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Older Adults: A Moderated Mediation of Social Adaptation and Filial Piety
Authors: Bai Ge
Published: August 2024

This study examined the mediating effect of social adaptation on the associations between sources of social support and depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults, and explored how filial piety moderated these associations in different ways. Data were drawn from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey in 2018 ( N = 6617). Regression analysis and bootstrap test were used to assess the mechanisms underlying the inconsistency between different sources of social support and depressive symptoms. We found that social support, except for pension, significantly affected depressive symptoms through social adaptation. Moreover, filial piety positively moderated the mediating effect of social adaptation on the association between social support inside the family and depressive symptoms, while negatively moderating it in regard to social support outside the family, except for pension, and depressive symptoms. The results showed filial piety may affect the extent to which older adults convert different sources of social support into personal subjective welfare.
The Influence of Instructional Constraints and Cognitive Control on the Positivity Bias and the Positivity Effect in Autobiographical Memory
Authors: Siedlecki Karen L. , Minahan Zucchetto Jillian , Yazdani Neshat
Published: August 2024

The positivity effect and the positivity bias were examined in voluntary and involuntary autobiographical memories in a sample of younger ( n = 69, Mage  = 23.2) and older adults ( n = 57, Mage = 67.72). The positivity effect has been shown to be sensitive to instructional constraints and cognitive resources. Instructions were manipulated in the voluntary autobiographical memory condition such that participants were instructed to retrieve memories with different levels of constraints. Participants also completed two measures of cognitive control and an assessment of future time perspective. There was no evidence of the positivity effect or positivity bias once depressive symptoms were included as a covariate in the analyses, nor did cognitive control influence memory valence. Future time perspective did not mediate the relationship between age and memory valence. These results suggest that additional research should focus on potential variables that may influence the positivity effect and bias within autobiographical memories.
From party to private property: Early battles over press ownership in post-wall Germany
Authors: Tröger Mandy
Published: August 2024

This article provides a historical case study analysis of a press system in transition and the role of ownership therein. More specifically, the article looks at early battles over press ownership fought by West German publishing houses in socialist East Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. By means of early joint-venture agreements and financial investments, these publishers entered alliances with newspapers long before the latter were officially privatized by the Treuhandanstalt—a semi-public institution responsible for privatizing the entire economy of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). To make this point, the article first sketches some relevant theoretical concepts, then introduces the GDR press system, and finally shows how pre-emptive joint-venture deals became the key to privatizing an entire press system. By uncovering the underlying dynamics of media in transition, this article adds a historical current to the understanding of more recent transformations in media and communications.
In situ simulation in the intensive care unit: A phenomenological study of staff experiences
Authors: Ferre Andres , Giglio Andres , Van Sint Jan Nicolette , Garcia Javiera , Benites Martin , Vergara Karen , Galleguillos María , Dreyse Jorge , Hasbun Pablo
Published: August 2024

Objective

To explore the experiences of clinical and non-clinical staff in an intensive care unit regarding the perceived benefits and drawbacks of using in situ simulation as a training tool.

Methods

A descriptive phenomenological qualitative study was conducted among clinical and nonclinical ICU personnel. Simulations and interviews were conducted until data saturation was achieved. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim for analysis, and interpreted using the Colaizzi method.

Results

Ten participant interviews generated data saturation. ISS was found to be feasible and beneficial in the ICU, facilitating experiential and emotion-based learning in real-world environments. Eight result categories were identified: simulation benefits, simulation benefits in real conditions, scenario authenticity, interference with usual work, ISS sessions, high-fidelity generating affective bonding, ISS as knowledge reinforcement, and recommendations for improvement. The fundamental structure revealed that ISS is perceived as an authentic and emotionally impactful team simulation modality that promotes experiential learning, reflection, and care improvement opportunities within the complex sociotechnical system of the ICU.

Conclusions

All interviewees considered ISS to be a feasible simulation tool that should be implemented in the ICU to improve knowledge and skills, thereby enhancing teamwork.
Linking supply chains to ecosystems in the era of supply chain management 4.0
Authors: Oh Soo Jung , Park Byung Il
Published: August 2024

Industry 4.0 is revolutionizing supply chain management, prompting a significant shift toward Supply Chain Management 4.0 (SCM 4.0). This transformation facilitates traditional supply chains evolving into platform-based ecosystems, thereby fundamentally redefining the processes of value creation, delivery, and capture. This study recognizes the divergence in empirical research between supply chains and ecosystems and aims to integrate these research streams by focusing on technological platforms. The study offers a comprehensive theoretical framework designed to dissect the evolutionary trajectories of supply chains into ecosystems in the SCM 4.0 context. By doing so, this research unveils the profound strategic implications of digital transformation, paving the way for groundbreaking research in SCM 4.0.
Research on Joint Distribution Path Planning of Electric Logistics Vehicles with Different Recharge Modes
Authors: Wang Jing , Gao Tingting , Zhang Jingzhe , Tu Chuang
Published: August 2024

To address the route planning issues under the community group purchase model for joint delivery, this study thoroughly considers electric logistics vehicles with different recharging methods. The objective is to minimize the sum of operating costs, recharging costs, time window penalty costs, and carbon emission costs. Separate multi-objective optimization models for route planning are constructed for both charging and battery-swapping logistics vehicles. An improved seagull optimization algorithm, guided by the golden sine strategy of the Lévy flight guidance mechanism, is employed to avoid local optima and enhance the solution efficiency. The feasibility of the models and the algorithm is verified through simulation examples. Experimental results show that, at the current stage, battery-swapping logistics vehicles display significant advantages over charging electric logistics vehicles. Although battery-swapping logistics vehicles extend delivery time, they can reduce the total delivery costs to a certain extent. Therefore, the future development prospects of battery-swapping logistics vehicles will be even broader.
Tensions of Making Women's Marginalization Salient in Men-Dominated Workplaces
Authors: Hart Chloe Grace
Published: August 2024

Why might women who experience gender-based bias and harassment at work shy away from efforts to address gender inequality in their workplaces? Drawing on data from 52 interviews with women working in the Silicon Valley tech industry, I show that efforts to address women's marginalization in the men-dominated tech industry are complicated by the inscription of negative, gender essentialist stereotypes about women into narratives about why such initiatives are necessary. Interviewees voiced two rationales for not explicitly challenging women's marginalization. First, some women—particularly those whose race/ethnicity and age were typical of Silicon Valley tech workers—articulated a concern that such efforts may be interpreted as evidence that women are fundamentally different from, and deficient relative to, men. Second, women across race/ethnicity and age conveyed the concern that such efforts frame women as disempowered victims lacking agency. Both concerns represent a double bind: ignoring the marginalization that women face maintains a status quo rife with gender bias, but seeking to address it risks further entrenching negative stereotypes about women. These results illustrate both the durable nature of the gender status hierarchy and the unique ways that women of different intersecting identities confront it.
Experiences of Language in Migration: Communicating Well-Being in Finland and Germany
Authors: Häkkinen Miira , Mikkilä-Erdmann Mirjamaija
Published: August 2024

This study investigated adult learners’ experiences with the language of their new living environment. Migrants and refugees’ personal goals for language learning in their specific life situations were captured in in-depth interviews conducted as part of ethnographically oriented field studies in Finland and Germany. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was chosen as a structured approach to scrutinizing complex lived experiences. The process reveals common experiences among participants: language contributes to a sensation of getting closer or being pushed away and to balancing active participation in society, and it is a necessity for building personal futures. The findings indicate that language is essentially involved in subjective well-being but also, more fundamentally, in every aspect of existence itself. Therefore, the findings extend the potential implications beyond the two European research contexts.
Sexism and Media Communication. An Application to the Italian Case
Authors: Arfini Elia A. G. , Curini Luigi , Giannuzzi Fabiana G.
Published: August 2024

Acknowledging the importance of focusing on media’s communication for studying linguistic sexism, we propose a new method to analyze a corpus of texts via a machine learning approach built around an original training-set. We seek to establish a framework of the current use of talking about women in newspapers that expands beyond merely the objective forms of discrimination by also measuring the degree to which it implicitly conveys sexist messages through combination of words, expressions, and lexical aspects of language. As an illustrative example, we then apply such an approach to around 15,000 Italian newspapers’ headlines to investigate the impact of newspapers’ political orientations on the linguistic choices made by journalists in writing articles’ headlines.
Integrated choline chloride/citric acid-microwave pretreatment for efficient nanolignin extraction and bioethanol production from cocoa pod husk waste
Authors: Yadav Aditya , Dong Cheng-Di , Sharma Diksha , Tsai Mei-Ling , Sun Pei-Pei , Nargotra Parushi , Chen Chiu-Wen , Choure Kamlesh , Sharma Vishal
Published: August 2024

The necessity to address environmental issues has driven efforts toward exploring sustainable bio-based materials as a viable alternative to conventional energy sources. The current study explores the utilization of cocoa pod husk (CPH) biomass for lignin extraction and cellulose production, aiming to contribute to the eco-friendly production of lignin nanoparticles and bioethanol. A synergistic green deep eutectic solvent (DES) (choline chloride/citric acid)-microwave method was employed to effectively fractionate CPH biomass, resulting in an impressive 77.58% lignin removal at 600 W microwave power. The extracted lignin (211.56 mg/g biomass) was utilized to synthesize lignin nanoparticles that were subsequently characterized. Enzyme-driven hydrolysis of the residual cellulose yielded a reducing sugar content of 198.34 mg/g biomass, demonstrating a saccharification efficiency of 70.78%. Fermentation of monomeric sugars by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Scheffersomyces stipitis, respectively, gave a maximum ethanol yield of 130 mg/g biomass with a high fermentation efficiency (67.17%). The alterations in the CPH's surface structure and morphology following sequential pretreatment were assessed through FT-IR, BET, and SEM analyses, facilitating effective enzymatic hydrolysis. The current investigation adds to the increasing recognition of sustainable approaches in leveraging waste biomass resources toward a more environmentally conscious future.
Does exposure necessarily lead to misbelief? A meta-analysis of susceptibility to health misinformation
Authors: Li Jinhui , Yang Xiaodong
Published: August 2024

A meta-analysis was conducted to quantify the overall effect of health misinformation exposure on shaping misbelief. Aggregation of results from 28 individual randomized controlled trial studies ( n = 8752) reveals a positive but small average effect, d = 0.28. Moderation analyses suggest that adults who are younger and female tend to develop higher misbelief if exposed to health misinformation. Furthermore, media platform, message falsity, and misbelief measurements also contribute to the exposure effect. These findings offer nuanced but crucial insights into existing misinformation literature, and development of more effective strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of health misinformation.
Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: The Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Spoorthy Raj DR  , Balan Suma
Published: August 2024

Systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA), presently included under the broad taxonomy of Still’s disease along with ‘Adult-onset Stills disease’, is a unique disease entity, characterised predominantly by features of systemic inflammation at disease onset and running a heterogenous course, evolving into a disabling chronic, destructive arthritis in a sizable proportion of patients. With a better understanding of the disease biology, there has been a paradigm shift in therapeutic strategy targeting immunological remission. With the evolution of better biomarkers (to guide diagnosis, predict complications and predict treatment responses) and robust therapeutic options and treatment targets, newer challenges such as refractory disease states and SJIA-associated lung disease have risen to the fore, making disease management all the more challenging.
Professional profile in veterinary oncology: A Brazilian nationwide survey
Authors: Ferreira Amanda Alves , Freitas Ariel Silvestre , Diniz Juliana Araújo , Cunha Marillin de Castro , Magalhães Viviane de Souza , Dewulf Nathalie de Lourdes Souza , Lopes Angela Ferreira
Published: August 2024

Introduction

Veterinary oncology is constituted mainly by human-use drugs with hazardous agents. Occupational risks are present in all stages of handling. Many studies highlighted that veterinarians and pharmacists staff present a lack of knowledge and insufficient structure for promoting safety practices. This study investigated the professional profile and structure of veterinary antineoplastic chemotherapy in Brazilian services.

Methods

A nationwide survey was carried out through digital platforms by a self-applicable from 2020 to 2021. The characteristics of the structure, facilities, professional profiles, practices related to antineoplastic chemotherapy services, and inspections provided by regulatory companies were investigated. Frequency and ranges were used to examine and describe data.

Results

This study analyzed 108 respondents from all Brazilian regions where 36 participants worked in veterinary oncology. Dogs and cats comprised more than 90% of animals assisted. Vincristine, doxorubicin, carboplatin, vinblastine, and cyclophosphamide were the most commonly used drugs. Considering pharmacists-led (n = 4) vs veterinarians-led (n = 18) services, structure with safety for handling hazardous drugs (4 vs 9), correct PPE usage (3 vs 0), and occurrence of occupational accident (0 vs 5) were registered. Almost 60% were dissatisfied with the structure and the managerial unwillingness to promote facility improvements. The majority of participants reported an absence of service inspection.

Conclusion

The results demonstrated worrying concerning the inadequacy of the physical structure of the facilities, human resources, and handling hazardous drugs increased occupational health risk. The lack of competent authority standards and supervision corroborates practices that expose professionals, the population, and the environment to hazardous agents.
Meritocracy and material consequences at the intersection of race, class, and disability for pre-service PE teachers
Authors: Dixon Cory , Simon Mara , Boyd Korey
Published: August 2024

Disproportionate rates of poverty among Black and Latine populations in the United States exemplify material consequences and ideological meritocracies of systemic racism. While education is often touted as a way to escape poverty, legacies of racism, classism, and ableism embedded within higher education and physical education teacher education (PETE) confront Black and Latine undergraduates directly, forcing them to navigate additional emotional and social barriers. We examined how Black and Latine pre-service physical education (PE) teachers enrolled in predominantly white institutions faced specific hurdles and/or barriers to teacher licensure along with material consequences of classism and ableism. We used qualitative visual inquiry, including narrative-based, semi-structured, and conversational interviews, and photo elicitation. We analyzed data deductively using intersectional Critical Race Theory. The first theme highlights a collective narrative of socioeconomic status’ bounding role in participants’ PETE stories, evidencing potential disruptions to successful teacher licensure. We then shift focus to share the stories of four Black and Latine pre-service PE teachers with learning disabilities. Participants highlighted a discourse of meritocracy, where academic accommodations were perceived as “advantages,” overlapping with institutional neoliberalism that ignores systemic oppression for poor and working-class pre-service PE teachers with and without learning disabilities. Participants’ narratives highlight systematic patterns of marginalization related directly to socioeconomic status and learning ability that PETE faculty and administrators are responsible for addressing.
Exploring confidence in financial planning topics among care partners of persons living with dementia
Authors: Jolliff Anna , Fields Beth , Boutilier Justin , Dudek Alex , Elliott Christian , Zuraw Matthew , Werner Nicole E
Published: August 2024

Objective

Care partners of persons living with dementia perform significant financial planning in partnership with the person for whom they care. However, research is scarce on care partners’ confidence and experiences with financial planning. The purpose of this study was, first, to quantify care partners’ confidence across different financial planning topics. We sought to understand whether income, education, relationship type, and years of experience are related to care partners’ level of confidence in financial planning. Second, we sought to better understand the reasons for these confidence ratings by examining care partners’ experiences of financial planning.

Methods

We conducted an online survey that asked a combination of quantitative and qualitative questions to understand care partners’ confidence and experiences with financial planning. Participants were nationally recruited care partners of persons living with dementia. Multivariate linear regression was used to understand different subgroups’ levels of confidence in each financial planning topic. Inductive thematic analysis was used to understand qualitative data.

Results

The financial planning topics in which participants ( N = 318) felt the least confident were: options when there is not enough money to provide care; tax deductions available to cut care costs; and sources of money from government programs for which the care recipient is eligible. Differences in confidence were observed among care partners with lower incomes, less experience, and caring for a parent. Qualitatively, participants described the challenges of care budgeting and protecting personal finances; confusion about long-term care insurance and accessing resources; and, among confident care partners, reasons for this sense of preparedness.

Conclusions

These results underscore the need for tailored interventions and technologies that increase care partners’ confidence in specific aspects of financial planning, including long-term care insurance, available financial support, and what to do when money runs out.
Prevalence and risk factors of retinal vein occlusion in individuals with diabetes: The kailuan eye study
Authors: Yao Yao , Wang Qian , Yang Jingyan , Yan Yanni , Wei Wenbin
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence of retinal vein occlusion (RVO) in patients with and without diabetes in the population and compare the influencing factors.

Method

The community-based Kailuan Eye Study included 14,440 participants (9835 male, 4605 female) with a mean age of 54.0 ± 13.3 years (range, 20–110 years). They underwent a systemic and ophthalmologic examination. RVO were diagnosed on fundus photographs.

Result

By matching for age and gender, we included a total of 2767 patients each with diabetes and non-diabetes. The prevalence of RVO among patients with and without diabetes was 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively. The prevalence of RVO was higher in patients with diabetes than in patients without diabetes in all age groups. Multifactorial regression analysis showed that only fasting blood glucose levels were significantly different between patients with RVO with or without DM. The occurrence of RVO in the group with diabetes was mainly associated with higher fasting glucose and systolic blood pressure; in the group without diabetes, RVO was mainly associated with higher diastolic blood pressure, Body Mass Index, and lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.

Conclusion

We found that patients with diabetes have increased risks of RVO. In addition to blood pressure control, we recommend educating patients with diabetes about RVO, to prevent its subsequent occurrence.
The Biopolitical Kindergarten: A Critical Qualitative Examination of the Intersection Between Policymakers’ Neoliberal Reforms and Children’s Figuring of Themselves as Learners
Authors: Brown Christopher P.
Published: August 2024

This critical qualitative policy research study examines the intersection between policymakers’ neoliberal kindergarten reforms and children figuring themselves as learners within a publicly funded schooling community. Engaging in this examination of the biopolitical kindergarten space, which is shaped by standardized teaching and learning experience designed to prepare kindergarteners for the high-stakes reforms that await them in later grades, creates the opportunity to consider whether school spaces are designed to prepare the next generation of democratic citizens. It also provides insight as to how critical qualitative policy researchers can investigate as well as propose tangible policy responses through their work that seek to change the current era of policymakers schooling children through their neoliberal reforms.
Hostile Attribution Bias and Working Memory in the Link Between Trauma Exposure and Violence in Justice-Involved Youth
Authors: Griffith Rebecca L. , Fite Paula , Shen Zuchao
Published: August 2024

Background

Youth involved with the justice system are more vulnerable to trauma exposure and engaging in violent behavior. Trauma exposure is linked to increases in youth violence, however, the pathway from trauma to violence, including neurocognitive and neuropsychological mechanisms, is not well understood. The current study sought to test the influence of hostile attribution bias (HAB) and working memory on violence and whether these factors play a role in the link between trauma and violence among justice-involved youth.

Methods

Participants included 237 detained youth (Male = 81.0%, Mage = 15.22) who completed self-report surveys and working memory tasks.

Results

Trauma was significantly associated with violent behavior. HAB was related to physical violence; however, when trauma exposure was entered into subsequent models, HAB was no longer associated with violence. Lower levels of working memory were found to interact with HAB to increase the risk of physical violence. Mediation was not supported.

Implications

The current study supports universal trauma screening and trauma-informed care in justice facilities and suggests that neurocognitive functioning assessment and remediation are important to consider in treatment programming.
Intellectual lessons from Dr Aleida Guevara (Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara's daughter) and a special meeting with Aleida March (Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara's wife) – Conversations on education, revolution, and socialism of care, Havana, May 2024
Authors: Basu Ranu , Rojas Luisa Iñiguez
Published: August 2024

On 2 May 2024, a special meeting was arranged with Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara's daughter, Dr Aleida Guevara at their home in Havana which was followed at the end with a greeting from Che's wife Aleida March. The authors (migrant-settler in Canada originally from India and Cuban friend/colleague who had arranged for the visit – both Human Geographers) along with three Brazilian friends (Doctor, Dentist, and Sociologist) were invited. For more than 3 hours, an intense dialogue ensued. We recount three intellectual lessons that emerged during our discussion. Each of the topics addressed by Aleida reflected her stance as an anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist, anti-neocolonialist, and internationalist revolutionary. The discussions included the essential concepts in Che's Marxism, which were integral during the construction process of the Cuban Revolution. Three main themes that emerged included: Cuban Revolution and the socialism of care; challenges facing Cuban socialism today; and the continuing importance of international solidarity. The discussions were interspersed with personal stories, recounts of her father, and humorous anecdotes. Dr Aleida Guevara's tricontinental solidarity work that she shared with us and lessons learned across different historical and geographical contexts in the spirit of her father's intellectual insights towards struggles for freedom provide a theoretical foundation for us to consider today.
Effectiveness of a Structured Trauma Template in Improving Clinical Examination Accuracy in Maxillofacial Trauma: A Prospective Study
Authors: Pandey Akhilesh K. , PG Gigi , Rajanna Harshitha , Anil Abhishek , Kumar Pravin , Chugh Ankita
Published: August 2024

Study Design

Prospective pre-post study.

Objective

Maxillofacial trauma presenting to the emergency department (ED) are often accompanied with complex concomitant injuries, thereby making thorough diagnosis and treatment plan quite an exacting task owing to the demanding conditions of the ED. The use of a structured maxillofacial trauma template helps in documenting the injuries comprehensively, aids in treatment planning, avoids medical negligence thereby improving the quality of care given to the patient. The study introduced a structured maxillofacial trauma template to improve the quality of the ED documentation.

Methods

A total of 220 patients were evaluated for the quality of their ED documentation from September 2023 till February 2024. The group A included 110 patients where complete medical documentation was done routinely on a blank A4 sized paper, group B included 110 patients where the documentation was done using the structured oral and maxillofacial trauma template. The ED notes were thoroughly evaluated by the 2 independent authors for record completeness and documentation rate of history and examination findings.

Results

The introduction of trauma template demonstrated a significant improvement of 18.95 % in record completeness. Significant improvement was seen in documentation rate among the covariates like place of injury, time of evaluation, primary care given, wound classification, dento-alveolar injury, ophthalmic evaluation, nerve injury evaluation, comorbidities with P = .001, and referral with P = .03. The ophthalmic evaluation showed significant improvement among covariates (loss of visual acuity, reflexes, diplopia, enophthalmos, subconjunctival haemorrhage, chemosis, periorbital oedema, periorbital ecchymosis, ocular dystopia) with P = .001, and extraocular muscle restriction with P = .004.

Conclusions

The study demonstrated that the use of a structured oral and maxillofacial trauma template can significantly improve the quality of the ED documentation and contributes to better patient care in the ED.
Introduction: Symposium on the Jewish Left
Authors: Menchik Jeremy
Published: August 2024

The Jewish Left is having an intertwined renaissance and crisis, with a level of influence and growth not seen in decades. What explains the revitalization of the Jewish Left? What can the older generation teach to and learn from the young generation? What are the possibilities for institution-building? And why should scholars care? To tackle these questions, Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA) organized a symposium on the Jewish Left. Bringing together activists and theorists, scholars and practitioners, grandparents and grandchildren, the event worked to theorize the past and present to map the Jewish left’s path forward. Speakers included some of the leading voices of the Jewish Left, representatives of progressive Jewish organizations, and provided a gathering space for scholars, students, and activists to examine the evolving role of the Jewish Left in world affairs.
Domestic Migrant Well-Being Orientations in Policy in a Developing Country (India): A Reflection
Authors: Emile Renu , Sharma Paribhasha , Batra Pooja
Published: August 2024

This article reflects on domestic migrant well-being orientations in policy in a developing country—India. Well-being has been conceptualized in many different ways, both in scholarly and practitioner literature. Given the lack of consensus on the well-being construct in general and especially so for domestic migrants, this study conceptualizes domestic migrant well-being in terms of three key dimensions—economic, sociocultural and health—and reflects on well-being orientations in policy in pre-COVID years and thereafter. The three-dimensional approach shows domestic migrant well-being in policy is more geared towards the economic relative to the sociocultural and health dimensions in the developing country context of India. This article also observes gaps and issues vis-à-vis standards recommended by global bodies. While the article commends the need to prioritize economic well-being, it also reflects on the current scope for improvement on all three dimensions and suggests measures to further strengthen the same.
Analysis of the genetic variance of fibre diameter measured along the wool staple for use as a potential indicator of resilience in sheep
Authors: Smith Erin G. , Waters Dominic L. , Walkom Samuel F. , Clark Sam A.
Published: August 2024

Background

The effects of environmental disturbances on livestock are often observed indirectly through the variability patterns of repeated performance records over time. Sheep are frequently exposed to diverse extensive environments but currently lack appropriate measures of resilience (or sensitivity) towards environmental disturbance. In this study, random regression models were used to analyse repeated records of the fibre diameter of wool taken along the wool staple (bundle of wool fibres) to investigate how the genetic and environmental variance of fibre diameter changes with different growing environments.

Results

A model containing a fifth, fourth and second-order Legendre polynomial applied to the fixed, additive and permanent environmental effects, respectively, was optimal for modelling fibre diameter along the wool staple. The additive genetic and permanent environmental variance both showed variability across the staple length trajectory. The ranking of sire estimated breeding values (EBV) for fibre diameter was shown to change along the staple and the genetic correlations decreased as the distance between measurements along the staple increased. This result suggests that some genotypes were potentially more resilient towards the changes in the growing environment compared to others. In addition, the eigenfunctions of the random regression model implied the ability to change the fibre diameter trajectory to reduce its variability along the wool staple.

Conclusions

These results show that genetic variation in fibre diameter measured along the wool staple exists and this could be used to provide greater insight into the ability to select for resilience in extensively raised sheep populations.
Identification of the effects of alkalinity exposure on the gills of oriental river prawns, Macrobrachium nipponense
Authors: Jin Shubo , Zhou Rong , Gao Xuanbin , Xiong Yiwei , Zhang Wenyi , Qiao Hui , Wu Yan , Jiang Sufei , Fu Hongtuo
Published: August 2024

Macrobrachium nipponense is an important commercial freshwater species in China. However, the ability of alkali tolerance of M. nipponense is insufficient to culture in the major saline-alkali water source in China. Thus, it is urgently needed to perform the genetic improvement of alkali tolerance in this species. In the present study, we aimed to analyse the effects of alkali treatment on gills in this species after 96 h alkalinity exposure under the alkali concentrations of 0 mmol/L, 4 mmol/L, 8 mmol/L, and 12 mmol/L through performing the histological observations, measurement of antioxidant enzymes, metabolic profiling analysis, and transcriptome profiling analysis. The results of the present study revealed that alkali treatment stimulated the contents of malondialdehyde, glutathione, glutathione peroxidase in gills, indicating these antioxidant enzymes plays essential roles in the protection of body from the damage, caused by the alkali treatment. In addition, high concentration of alkali treatment (> 8 mmol/L) resulted in the damage of gill membrane and haemolymph vessel, affecting the normal respiratory function of gill. Metabolic profiling analysis revealed that Metabolic pathways, Biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, Biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites, Microbial metabolism in diverse environments, Biosynthesis of amino acids were identified as the main enriched metabolic pathways of differentially expressed metabolites, which are consistent with the previous publications, treated by the various environmental factors. Transcriptome profiling analyses revealed that the alkali concentration of 12 mmol/L has more regulatory effects on the changes of gene expression than the other alkali concentrations. KEGG analysis revealed that Phagosome, Lysosome, Glycolysis/Gluconeogenesis, Purine Metabolism, Amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, and Endocytosis were identified as the main enriched metabolic pathways in the present study, predicting these metabolic pathways may be involved in the adaption of alkali treatment in M. nipponense. Phagosome, Lysosome, Purine Metabolism, and Endocytosis are immune-related metabolic pathways, while Glycolysis/Gluconeogenesis, and Amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism are energy metabolism-related metabolic pathways. Quantitative PCR analyses of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) verified the accuracy of the RNA-Seq. Alkali treatment significantly stimulated the expressions of DEGs from the metabolic pathways of Phagosome and Lysosome, suggesting Phagosome and Lysosome play essential roles in the regulation of alkali tolerance in this species, as well as the genes from these metabolic pathways. The present study identified the effects of alkali treatment on gills, providing valuable evidences for the genetic improvement of alkali tolerance in M. nipponense.