bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chimeric HP-PRRSV2 containing an ORF2-6 consensus sequence induces antibodies with broadly neutralizing activity and confers cross protection against virulent NADC30-like isolate
Authors: Chen Nanhua , Li Shubin , Tian Yunfei , Li Xinshuai , Li Shuai , Li Jixiang , Qiu Ming , Sun Zhe , Xiao Yanzhao , Yan Xilin , Lin Hong , Yu Xiuling , Tian Kegong , Shang Shaobin , Zhu Jianzhong
Published: May 2021

Due to the substantial genetic diversity of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), commercial PRRS vaccines fail to provide sufficient cross protection. Previous studies have confirmed the existence of PRRSV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs). However, bnAbs are rarely induced by either natural infection or vaccination. In this study, we designed and synthesized a consensus sequence of PRRSV2 ORF2-6 genes (ORF2-6-CON) encoding all envelope proteins based on 30 representative Chinese PRRSV isolates. The ORF2-6-CON sequence shared > 90% nucleotide identities to all four lineages of PRRSV2 isolates in China. A chimeric virus (rJS-ORF2-6-CON) containing the ORF2-6-CON was generated using the avirulent HP-PRRSV2 JSTZ1712-12 infectious clone as a backbone. The rJS-ORF2-6-CON has similar replication efficiency as the backbone virus in vitro. Furthermore, pig inoculation and challenge studies showed that rJS-ORF2-6-CON is not pathogenic to piglets and confers better cross protection against the virulent NADC30-like isolate than a commercial HP-PRRS modified live virus (MLV) vaccine. Noticeably, the rJS-ORF2-6-CON strain could induce bnAbs while the MLV strain only induced homologous nAbs. In addition, the lineages of VDJ repertoires potentially associated with distinct nAbs were also characterized. Overall, our results demonstrate that rJS-ORF2-6-CON is a promising candidate for the development of a PRRS genetic engineered vaccine conferring cross protection.
Women empowerment and uptake of antenatal care services : A meta-analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys from 33 Sub-Saharan African countries
Authors: Shibre Gebretsadik , Zegeye Betregiorgis , Yeboah Helena , Bisjawit Ghose , Ameyaw Edward Kwabena , Yaya Sanni
Published: May 2021

Background

Women empowerment has been linked to increased skilled antenatal care (ANC) service use. However, there is no evidence on the net effect of women empowerment on ANC in the Sub-saharan African (SSA) region. We aim to address the knowledge gap on whether or not women empowerment positively influences the uptake of ANC at the SSA regional level.

Methods

We analyzed the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) datasets from 33 SSA countries. Following the DHS data analysis guideline, we measured women empowerment using two indicators. The first indicator is an index, which comprises decision-making on women’s own health, household purchase and visit to family or relatives whilst disagreeing statements that husband is justified in beating his wife constitutes the second indictor. We performed confounder-adjusted logistic regression analysis for the two indicators with ANC attendance in each of the 33 countries. Then, we pooled the adjusted Odds Ratios (OR) using the random effect model through the two-stage Individual Participant Data meta-analysis technique. Summary findings are reported in OR and corresponding 95 %CI and are presented in a forest plot.

Results

Moderately empowered women had marginally higher odd of skilled ANC service across the SSA region (aOR = 1.19; 95 %CI: 1.03, 1.38, with a prediction interval of 0.58, 2.45). Conversely, being involved in the three decisions (aOR = 1.15; 95 %CI: 0.99, 1.33, with prediction interval 0.57, 2.31), and attitude towards wife-beating (aOR = 0.97; 95 %CI: 0.88, 1.06, with prediction interval of 0.63, 1.48) had no statistically significant relationship with ANC.

Conclusions

Women empowerment did not predict the use of skilled ANC in the context of the SSA region. We recommend that further studies be conducted in order to understand how women empowerment affects skilled ANC service utilization in the region.
Acoustic telemetry detection probability and location accuracy in a freshwater wetland embayment
Authors: Stott Nathan D. , Faust Matthew D. , Vandergoot Christopher S. , Miner Jeffrey G.
Published: May 2021

Background

In recent years, large-scale acoustic telemetry observation networks have become established globally to gain a better understanding of the ecology, movements and population dynamics of fish stocks. When studying a species that uses different habitats throughout its life history difficulty may arise where acoustically suboptimal habitats are used, such as shallow, vegetated areas. To test the feasibility of active tracking in these acoustically suboptimal habitats, we quantified detection probability and location error as a function of several environmental variables with two transmitter types in a shallow freshwater embayment.

Results

When placed in nearshore areas (< 1 m deep), the higher-powered transmitter (158 dB) had significantly greater detection probability than the lower-powered transmitter (152 dB). For both transmitter types, detection probability declined at 200 m; however, at the 100 m distance the higher-powered transmitter had greater than 50% detection probability per ping cycle (50.4%) while the lower-powered transmitter was substantially less (29.4%). Additionally, detection probability increased when the transmitter was deployed within sparse, senescent Phragmites spp. vegetation (14%). Estimated positional accuracy of transmitters deployed at known locations (location error) was variable (error range: 13–259 m), and was generally higher for the more powerful transmitter. Location error was minimized when the lower-powered transmitter was located near softened shoreline areas compared to near man-made armored shorelines (i.e., rip-rap).

Conclusion

While benefits exist for maximizing transmitter power (e.g., increased detection range in open-water environments), use of a lower-powered transmitter may be advantageous for active tracking specific locations of fish inhabiting shallow water environments, such as in estuarine tidal marshes and shallow wetlands. Thus, when planning acoustic telemetry studies, researchers should conduct site-specific preliminary detection probability/location error experiments to better understand the utility of acoustic telemetry to investigate fish movements in acoustically suboptimal conditions.
Development and validation of stability-indicating RP-HPLC method for the simultaneous estimation of xylometazoline hydrochloride and ipratropium bromide from nasal spray dosage form
Authors: Musmade Bhaskar , Sanatan Prashant , Lokhande Surbhi , Kulkarni Shrikant , Bhope Shrinivas , Padmanabhan Sriram , Pachpinde Amol , Lohar Kishan
Published: May 2021

Background

A simple, robust, precise, and an accurate HPLC method was established for simultaneous estimation of xylometazoline hydrochloride and ipratropium bromide from a nasal spray dosage form. The effective separation was obtained by injecting 10 μl of sample and standard solutions on to an Inertsil ODS column, 250 × 4.6, mm, 5 μ at 45 °C using phosphate buffer with 1-pentane sulphonic acid sodium salt at pH 4.7 as a mobile phase A and acetonitrile as the mobile phase B. The gradient was optimized with a flow rate of 1 mL/min and a wavelength of 210.0 nm.

Result

The complete analytical method validation was successfully carried out as per ICH guidelines. The retrieval study was carried out at 50% to 150% level of working concentration, and results were in the range of 99 to 101% for both the analytes. The linearity was proven from 4 to 150% of working concentration with linear regression curve (R2=0.999) for both the analytes. The developed method was robust for different parameters like column temperature, flow rate, mobile phase pH, composition, and gradient.

Conclusion

The developed HPLC method can be successfully used for the estimation of xylometazoline hydrochloride and ipratropium bromide from nasal spray dosage form as a release test in QC department of manufacturing units.
Efficacy of a food supplement Lertal® as an adjuvant therapy of patients with moderate-to-severe seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis
Authors: Perić Aleksandar , Čupić Maja Buljčik , Vuković Marija Komadina , Dragović Vesna Gajić , Nešić Vladimir , Lekić Nenad
Published: May 2021

Background

Lertal® is an oral food supplement containing 80 mg of dry extract of Perilla frutescens, 150 mg of bioflavonoid quercetin, and 5 μg of vitamin D3. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Lertal® as a complementary therapy to topical therapy of patients with moderate-to-severe seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (SAR).

Results

Seventy (n=70) adult patients with moderate-to-severe SAR were included in this prospective study and treated by four different procedures: (1) 21 patients received azelastine intranasal spray for 30 days and, after that, azelastine spray and Lertal® tablets for the next 30 days; (2) 19 patients received combined azelastine with fluticasone intranasal spray for 30 days and azelastine with fluticasone spray and Lertal® tablets for the next 30 days; (3) 15 patients received azelastine spray only for 60 days; (4) 15 patients received combined azelastine with fluticasone spray only for 60 days. Levels of SAR symptoms (sneezing, tearing, ocular itching, rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction, hyposmia, and cough), as well as Total Symptom Scores (TSS), were evaluated at the start of this investigation (visit 0), after 30 days of treatment (visit 1), and after 60 days of treatment (visit 2) using a visual analog scale. After 30 days of treatment, better effects were achieved in groups in which patients were treated with combined (antihistamine with corticosteroid) spray. After 60 days of therapy, we found the best effects in procedure 2 and slightly worse effects in procedure 1. The high differences in the reduction of TSS between the 60th and 30th day were found for procedure 2 (p<0.001) and procedure 1 (p<0.001). The worse improvement of symptoms we found was in procedure 4 (p<0.01), and, for the procedure 3, we found no significant difference (p=0.140). None of the patients reported adverse effects during the therapy.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that addition of food supplement Lertal® to the standard topical therapy of patients with moderate-to-severe SAR increases the effects of intranasal therapy in reducing nasal and ocular symptoms.
Changes in HIV-Related Cervical Cancer Over a Decade in Côte d'Ivoire
Authors: Jaquet Antoine , Boni Simon , Tchounga Boris , Comoe Kouassi , Tanon Aristophane , Horo Apollinaire , Diomandé Isidore , Didi-Kouko Coulibaly Judith , Ekouevi Didier K. , Adoubi Innocent
Published: May 2021

PURPOSE

Major improvements have occurred in access to invasive cervical cancer (ICC) screening in HIV-infected women over the past decade in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is limited information on changes in the burden of HIV-related ICC at a population level. Our objective was to compare HIV-related ICC over a decade and document factors associated with HIV infection in women with ICC in Côte d'Ivoire.

METHODS

A repeated cross-sectional study was conducted in referral hospitals of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, through the 2009-2011 and 2018-2020 periods. Women diagnosed with ICC were systematically tested for HIV. Demographics, ICC risk factors, cancer stage (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics), and HIV characteristics were collected through questionnaires. Characteristics of HIV-related ICC were compared between the periods, and factors associated with HIV in women diagnosed with ICC in 2018-2020 were documented through a multivariable logistic model.

RESULTS

During the 2009-2011 and 2018-2020 periods, 147 and 297 women with ICC were diagnosed with estimated HIV prevalence of 24.5% and 21.9% ( P = .53), respectively. In HIV-infected women, access to antiretroviral treatment increased from 2.8% to 73.8% ( P < 10−4) and median CD4 cell count from 285 (IQR, 250-441) to 492 (IQR, 377-833) cells/mm3 ( P = .03). In women diagnosed with ICC during the 2018-2020 period, HIV infection was associated with a less advanced clinical stage (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics I or II stage) (adjusted OR, 2.2 [95% CI, 1.1 to 4.4]) and with ICC diagnosis through a systematic screening (adjusted OR, 10.5 [95% CI, 2.5 to 45.5]).

CONCLUSION

Despite a persistently high proportion of HIV-related ICC over time in Côte d'Ivoire, HIV was associated with less advanced clinical stage at ICC diagnosis. Recent improvements in ICC screening services across HIV clinics might explain this association and support their implementation across non-HIV health facilities.
Formation of an Anesthesiology Residency Mentoring Program Using a Mentee-Driven Approach
Authors: Faloye Abimbola O. , Williamson Julie , Arora Sona , Nafiu Olubukola O. , Peterson-Layne Cathleen
Published: May 2021

Mentorship is crucial to career development and advancement in academic medicine with valuable benefits to residents realized during training and beyond. The primary aims of this program are to train faculty members to provide quality mentorship to every resident in our department and to reduce gender and racial disparities in access to mentorship. We piloted a new mentorship program that combines mentor self-nomination, mentor training with mentee-driven mentor selection. This report details the program design and early observations.
Anticolonialism and the Decolonization of Political Theory
Authors: Getachew Adom , Mantena Karuna
Published: May 2021

This essay surveys some recent attempts to decolonize political theory and engage with non-Western political thinkers and traditions, especially anticolonialism. The authors' concern is that these engagements remain too centered on Western political thought as the object of critique and analysis. Through a reading of Gandhi and Fanon, the authors argue that anticolonialism, while engaged in a critique of the West, also had a positive or reconstructive theoretical agenda, one that has been taken up in creative ways in postcolonial political thought. Taking cues from the work of Sudipta Kaviraj, Partha Chatterjee, and Mahmood Mamdani, the essay proposes an alternative mode of decolonizing political theory that takes as its central aim the generation of theory from the study of postcolonial politics. It argues for a historically attuned and comparative approach to postcolonial politics that aims to innovate new concepts and reanimate inherited ones. From this perspective, decolonizing political theory is less a recurring critique of Eurocentrism than an effort to shift the terrain of theorizing and thereby reinvigorate the practice of political theory as such.
Transcriptomic analyses of gastrulation-stage mouse embryos with differential susceptibility to alcohol
Authors: Boschen Karen E. , Ptacek Travis S. , Berginski Matthew E. , Simon Jeremy M. , Parnell Scott E.
Published: May 2021

Genetics are a known contributor to differences in alcohol sensitivity in humans with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) and in animal models. Our study profiled gene expression in gastrulation-stage embryos from two commonly used, genetically similar mouse substrains, C57BL/6J (6J) and C57BL/6NHsd (6N), that differ in alcohol sensitivity. First, we established normal gene expression patterns at three finely resolved time points during gastrulation and developed a web-based interactive tool. Baseline transcriptional differences across strains were associated with immune signaling. Second, we examined the gene networks impacted by alcohol in each strain. Alcohol caused a more pronounced transcriptional effect in the 6J versus 6N mice, matching the increased susceptibility of the 6J mice. The 6J strain exhibited dysregulation of pathways related to cell death, proliferation, morphogenic signaling and craniofacial defects, while the 6N strain showed enrichment of hypoxia and cellular metabolism pathways. These datasets provide insight into the changing transcriptional landscape across mouse gastrulation, establish a valuable resource that enables the discovery of candidate genes that may modify alcohol susceptibility that can be validated in humans, and identify novel pathogenic mechanisms of alcohol.

This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Digitization and Pre-Purchase Information: The Causal and Welfare Impacts of Reviews and Crowd Ratings
Authors: Reimers Imke , Waldfogel Joel
Published: May 2021

Digitization has led to many new creative products, straining the capacity of professional critics and consumers. Yet, the digitization of retailing has also delivered new crowd-based sources of pre-purchase information. We compare the relative impacts of professional critics and crowd-based Amazon star ratings on consumer welfare in book publishing. Using various fixed effects and discontinuity-based empirical strategies, we estimate their causal impacts on sales. We use these causal estimates to calibrate a structural demand model. The aggregate effect of star ratings on consumer surplus is, in our baseline estimates, more than ten times the effect of traditional review outlets. (JEL D83, L15, L81, L82)
“What the Body Can Do”: Creating Space for Critical Hope through Affective Encounters with a Different Kind of Otherness
Authors: Flockemann Miki
Published: May 2021

My aim here is to use the notion of critical hope as a lens for exploring how a dramaturgy of Affect can create spaces for challenging the on-going marginalization resulting from the intersection of disability, race and access in the context of South Africa's much-lauded “inclusive” constitution. Given that the body, especially the black and disabled body, has been seen as a site marked by physical and structural violence, a focus on what the body can do, rather than how it is seen, has particular relevance for exploring the work of Unmute, the first integrated dance company in South Africa to incorporate differently abled dancers. This discussion will take into account the effects generated by the affective performance techniques employed, as well as the discomfort experienced by spectators when familiar perceptions are disrupted. It will be argued that these disruptions have a liberatory dimension in that they can trigger cognitive shifts which are productive for conceptualizing critical hope.
(Re)considering the Rainbow
Authors: McLean Nyx
Published: May 2021

This article seeks to interrogate the Rainbow Nation Project and its ties to the LGBTIAQ movement in post-1994 South Africa. In particular, the paper looks at Joburg Pride between 1990 and 2013, and explores the fragmentation of Pride, and how this was tied up with the Rainbow Nation project. Joburg Pride is South Africa's longest running Pride event, and is unique in that it was the first LGBTIAQ Pride march in South Africa at a time when there were no legal protections for lesbian and gay South Africans The paper proposes that the LGBTIAQ community in South Africa were strategically granted rights in order to further the Rainbow Nation project, and through this came to participate in the erasure of the pain and violence experienced by South Africans under apartheid rule. This research was conducted through a critical discourse analysis of Exit articles, Exit is South Africa's longest running gay newspaper. In addition, interviews were conducted with people involved in the organizing of Joburg Pride and Johannesburg People's Pride.
National Institutions, Spatial Differentiation and Race: Variation in Cuba's Political Regime
Authors: Domínguez Jorge I.
Published: May 2021

Does territorial variation matter for institutional inclusion, how do officials discuss it and, given racial heterogeneity, how do interacting spatial and racial variations affect institutional design? This article examines the spatial anchoring of Cuba’s Council of State members in 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018. There has been little official public discussion regarding Council member territorial districts. Fidel Castro’s presidency scored low on spatial inclusion, displaying marked territorial disparities in Council membership. Such disparities narrowed under Raúl Castro and Miguel Díaz-Canel, improving spatial inclusion. Selectors have also decoupled racial and territorial factors in choosing Council members. Relative to each province’s Afrodescendant population share, there have been more Afrodescendant Council members than demographically to be expected in Afrodescendant-minority provinces. Through 2013 Council Afrodescendants were fewer than demographically to be expected in the three Afrodescendant-majority provinces. Only in 2018 did Afrodescendant population shares and Council membership shares match in Afrodescendant-majority provinces.
Pérez Prado: A Story of Rhythm, Drumming and Dancing
Authors: Fernández Raúl
Published: May 2021

Despite his success or perhaps because of it, the renowned Cuban musician pérez prado was the target of criticism from some of his contemporaries. For some jazz musicians prado’s compositions lacked substance, were commercial even bordering on corny. Yet he also composed “concerts” which hardly had commercial success as an object. If his mambos are judged as lacking in quality, how to explain the interest classical musicians expressed in them? These questions led me to consider an idea advanced in popular music circles as to whether there was not one but several “pérez prados”, i.e. one that composed mambos; another dedicated to marketing light commercial tunes; yet a third focused on “serious” concert music. An analysis of three central elements in all of his work do not reveal several “pérez prados”. Rather it demonstrates that prado was a single composer with different facets arising from diverse circumstances and artistic and economic needs, but based on the same musical foundations. prado was a maestro whose variations never abandoned the main themes: rhythm, drums and dancing.
Engineering arbitrarily oriented spatiotemporal optical vortices using transmission nodal lines
Authors: Wang Haiwen , Guo Cheng , Jin Weiliang , Song Alex Y. , Fan Shanhui
Published: May 2021

It has been recently demonstrated that optical pulses can hold transverse orbital angular momentum (OAM). Generation of such vortices typically requires bulky optics, and only OAMs that are fully longitudinal or transverse have been demonstrated until now. Here we investigate a general family of spatiotemporal vortices with arbitrarily oriented OAM and introduce a compact device for its generation. The device operates by having a transmission nodal line, which is a topological defect in the wavevector-frequency spectra of the transmission coefficient. We show that the position and dispersion of the transmission nodal line can be controlled by structural symmetry of the device. By transmitting a Gaussian pulse through the device, we can generate spatiotemporal vortices with its nodal line and OAM oriented along any arbitrary direction. This ability to generate a full family of spatiotemporal vortex pulses may find application in pulse shaping or sensing in the spatiotemporal domain. Our work also provides a novel approach of engineering topological response functions in photonic crystal slabs.
Causal graph analysis of COVID-19 observational data in German districts reveals effects of determining factors on reported case numbers
Authors: Steiger Edgar , Mussgnug Tobias , Kroll Lars Eric
Published: May 2021

Several determinants are suspected to be causal drivers for new cases of COVID-19 infection. Correcting for possible confounders, we estimated the effects of the most prominent determining factors on reported case numbers. To this end, we used a directed acyclic graph (DAG) as a graphical representation of the hypothesized causal effects of the determinants on new reported cases of COVID-19. Based on this, we computed valid adjustment sets of the possible confounding factors. We collected data for Germany from publicly available sources (e.g. Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s National Meteorological Service, Google) for 401 German districts over the period of 15 February to 8 July 2020, and estimated total causal effects based on our DAG analysis by negative binomial regression. Our analysis revealed favorable effects of increasing temperature, increased public mobility for essential shopping (grocery and pharmacy) or within residential areas, and awareness measured by COVID-19 burden, all of them reducing the outcome of newly reported COVID-19 cases. Conversely, we saw adverse effects leading to an increase in new COVID-19 cases for public mobility in retail and recreational areas or workplaces, awareness measured by searches for “corona” in Google, higher rainfall, and some socio-demographic factors. Non-pharmaceutical interventions were found to be effective in reducing case numbers. This comprehensive causal graph analysis of a variety of determinants affecting COVID-19 progression gives strong evidence for the driving forces of mobility, public awareness, and temperature, whose implications need to be taken into account for future decisions regarding pandemic management.
Mortality, morbidity and economic growth
Authors: Rocco Lorenzo , Fumagalli Elena , Mirelman Andrew J. , Suhrcke Marc
Published: May 2021

The question of whether and how changes to population health impact on economic growth has been actively studied in the literature, albeit with mixed results. We contribute to this debate by reassessing–and extending–[1], one of the most influential studies. We include a larger set of countries (135) and cover a more recent period (1990–2014). We also account for morbidity in addition to mortality and adopt the strategy of providing bounding sets for the effects of interest rather than point estimates. We find that reducing mortality and disability adjusted life years (DALYs), a measure which combines morbidity and mortality, promotes per capita GDP growth. The magnitude of the effect is moderate, but non negligible, and it is similar for mortality and DALYs.
Adequacy of measures of informed consent in medical practice: A systematic review
Authors: Sherman Kerry A. , Kilby Christopher Jon , Pehlivan Melissa , Smith Brittany
Published: May 2021

As a critical component of medical practice, it is alarming that patient informed consent does not always reflect (1) adequate information provision, (2) comprehension of provided information, and (3) a voluntary decision. Consequences of poor informed consent include low patient satisfaction, compromised treatment adherence, and litigation against medical practitioners. To ensure a well-informed, well-comprehended, and voluntary consent process, the objective and replicable measurement of these domains via psychometrically sound self-report measures is critical. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the adequacy of existing measures in terms of the extent to which they assess the three domains of informed consent, are psychometrically sound and acceptable for use by patients. Extensive searching of multiple databases (PsychINFO, PubMed, Sociological Abstracts, CINAHL, AMED) yielded 10,000 potential studies, with 16 relevant scales identified. No existing scale was found to measure all three consent domains, with most only narrowly assessing aspects of any one domain. Information provision was the most frequently assessed domain, followed by comprehension, and then voluntariness. None of the identified scales were found to have adequate evidence for either high quality psychometric properties or patient user acceptability. No existing scale is fit for purpose in comprehensively assessing all domains of informed consent. In the absence of any existing measure meeting the necessary criteria relating to information, comprehension and voluntariness, there is an urgent need for a new measure of medical consent to be developed that is psychometrically sound, spans all three domains and is acceptable to patients and clinicians alike. These findings provide the impetus and justification for the redesign of the informed consent process, with the aim to provide a robust, reliable and replicable process that will in turn improve the quality of the patient experience and care provided.
Determinants of in-hospital mortality in COVID-19; a prospective cohort study from Pakistan
Authors: Sarfaraz Samreen , Shaikh Quratulain , Saleem Syed Ghazanfar , Rahim Anum , Herekar Fivzia Farooq , Junejo Samina , Hussain Aneela
Published: May 2021

A prospective cohort study was conducted at the Indus Hospital Karachi, Pakistan between March and June 2020 to estimate the in-hospital mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients and its determinants. A total of 170 adult patients were enrolled and all-cause mortality was found to be 39% (67/170). Most non-survivors were above 60 years of age (64%) while gender distribution was quite similar in both groups (males: 77% vs 78%). Most (80.6%) non-survivors came with peripheral oxygen saturation less than 93% while 95% of them had critical disease on arrival. Use of non-invasive ventilation in emergency room was higher among non-survivors (56.7%) versus survivors (26.2%). Median Interleukin-6 levels were higher among non-survivors (78.6: IQR = 33.8–49.0) compared to survivors (21.8: IQR = 12.6–36.3). Most patients in the non-survivor group (86.6%) required invasive ventilator support during hospital stay compared to 7.8% in the survivors. The median duration of ICU stay was longer for non-survivors (9: IQR = 6–12) compared to survivors (5: IQR = 3–7) days. Univariable binary logistic regression showed that age above 60 years, oxygen saturation below 93%, Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio above 5, procalcitonin above 2ng/ml, unit increase in SOFA score and arterial lactate levels were associated with mortality. We also found that a unit decrease in Pao2/FiO2 ratio and serum albumin were associated with mortality in our patients. Multivariable regression showed that age above 60 years (aOR = 3.4: 95% CI = 1.6–6.9), peripheral oxygen saturation below 93% (aOR = 3.5:95% CI = 1.6–7.7) and serum pro-calcitonin above 2ng/ml (aOR = 4.8; 95% CI = 1.9–12.2) were associated with higher odds of mortality when adjusted by month of admission. Most common cause of death was multisystem organ failure in 35 (56.6%) non-survivors while 22 (35.5%) died due to respiratory failure. Larger prospective studies are needed to further strengthen these findings.
Incidence and predictors of Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) among adult HIV positive patients on anti-retroviral treatment in Arba Minch town public health facilities, southern Ethiopia: A retrospective cohort study, 2020
Authors: Sherfa Abdulbasit , Haile Dereje , Yihune Menaye , Sako Sewenet
Published: May 2021

Background

Besides its contribution in the treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-infected patients, anti-retroviral drugs may also cause mild to serious adverse effects. It is the main causes for poor drug adherence, treatment discontinuation and changes in Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) regimens. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the incidence and predictors of adverse drug reaction among adult Human Immunodeficiency Virus positive patients on anti-retroviral treatment from January 1, 2013 up to December 30, 2018 at Arba Minch town public health facilities, Southern Ethiopia.

Methods

An institution based retrospective cohort study was conducted on 456 charts. Secondary data was collected by structured questionnaire. Data were entered in Epi-data version 4.4.2 software and exported to STATA Version 14 for analysis. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve with Log-rank was used to estimate survival time. Bi-variable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models were fitted to identify predictors of adverse drug reaction. In the bi-variable analysis, the variables with p-value < 0.25 were eligible for multivariable analysis. Finally, variables with p-values less than 0.05 in the multivariable Cox regression were considered as independent predictors. The statistical significance was declared at p-value<0.05.

Results

Out of 456 patients observed for 14,903 person-months (pm), 79 experienced adverse drug reactions and the overall incidence density rate was 0.53/100 pm, CI: 0.42–0.66/100 person’s month or 6.36 per 100 Pearson year of observation. Females were at higher risk of experiencing adverse drug reactions (ADRs) compared to males [AHR = 2.35; CI (1.18, 4.69)]. The risk of experiencing ADRs among patient with advanced WHO clinical stage (stage III and IV) was higher compared to stage I and II [AHR = 3.0, CI (1.22, 7.37)]. The risk of experiencing an ADR was at any given time higher among AZT and NVP containing regimens compared to TDF and EFV containing regimens. Finally, the risk of ADR among those patients from the health center was reduced by 59% compared to hospital patients, [AHR = 0.41, CI (0.17, 0.97)].

Conclusion and recommendation

The incidence rate of ADRs was reduced among patients on ARVs compared to previous studies and it was high during the early years of ART initiation. HIV patients should be closely followed in the early years of ART initiation, since this is the time of highest risk ADRs and emphasis should be given for female and clinically advanced patients.
Incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in HIV patients on ART in a developing country: Case of Zimbabwe’s Chitungwiza Central Hospital—A retrospective cohort study (2010–2019)
Authors: Cheza Alexander , Tlou Boikhutso , Zhou Danai Tavonga
Published: May 2021

Introduction

The incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has been reported to be rising over the years leading up to 2010. In Zimbabwe, there are few studies done to examine the incidence of NCDs in people living with HIV (PLHIV) on anti-retroviral treatment (ART).

Objective

To determine the incidence of NCDs in HIV patients on ART at the Chitungwiza Central Hospital over ten years and the associated risk factors.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study using data from 203 patients enrolled on ART at the Chitungwiza Central Hospital between 2010 and 2019. All 500 records were considered and the selection was based on participants’ consenting to the study and their strict adherence to ART without absconding. The incidence of NCDs was determined and generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to estimate the association between NCDs and the selected risk factors.

Findings

Data collected at the study’s baseline (2010) showed that the most prevalent NCD was hypertension, found in (18/203) 8.9% of the study participants, followed by diabetes (6.9%), then followed by cardiovascular diseases (CVD) (3.9%), and the least common NCD was cancer (1.9%). Incidences of all of these NCDs showed an increasing trend as the time of follow-up progressed. The factors found to be significantly associated with the development of NCDs were gender (p = 0.002) and follow-up time (p<0.001). Geographical location was a significant risk factor as urban patients were more likely to develop hypertension as compared to the peri-urban patients (p = 0.001).

Conclusions

NCDs and HIV comorbidity is common with women more likely than males to develop NCDs as they advance in age. There is need to devise targeted intervention approach to the respective NCDs and risk factors since they affect differently in relation to the demographic details of the participants.

Recommendations

This paper recommends a multi-stakeholder approach to the management of NCDs, with researchers, clinicians and the government and its various arms taking a leading role.
Social capital and cognitive decline: Does sleep duration mediate the association?
Authors: Wang Liqun , Li Jiangping , Wang Zhizhong , Du Yong , Sun Ting , Na Li , Niu Yang
Published: May 2021

Background

Studies have found that social capital (SC) is associated with the risk of cognitive decline; however, the mechanism explaining how SC leads to cognitive decline is unclear. The current study examines the mediation effect of sleep duration on the relationship between SC and cognitive decline in Chinese older adults.

Methods

A cross-sectional study of 955 community-dwelling aged 60 or over was conducted. The mini-mental state examination (MMSE), self-report sleep duration questionnaire, and social capital scales were administered during the face-to-face survey. The Bootstrap methods PROCESS program is employed to test the mediation model.

Results

After controlling for covariates, both social cohesion and social interaction were positively correlated with the MMSE score (p<0.001), and social cohesion was negatively correlated with sleep duration (p = 0.009); On the contrary, sleep duration was negatively correlated with MMSE score (p<0.001). Linear regression analysis showed social cohesion was positively associated with the MMSE score (β = 0.16, p = 0.005), while sleep duration was associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline (β = -0.72, p<0.001). Sleep duration has mediated the relationship between social cohesion and cognitive decline (explaining 21.7% of the total variance).

Conclusions

Social capital negatively associated with the risk of cognitive decline in this Chinese population, and sleep duration may partly explain this relationship. It may be a suggestive clue to identify those at a higher risk of progressing to cognitive impairment. Further prospective study in need to confirm this finding due to the cross-sectional design.
Patient-reported outcome measures for pain in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: A systematic review
Authors: Natale Patrizia , Hannan Elyssa , Sautenet Bénédicte , Ju Angela , Perrone Ronald D. , Burnette Eva , Casteleijn Niek , Chapman Arlene , Eastty Sarah , Gansevoort Ron , Hogan Marie , Horie Shigeo , Knebelmann Bertrand , Lee Richard , Mustafa Reem A. , Sandford Richard , Baumgart Amanda , Tong Allison , Strippoli Giovanni F. M. , Craig Jonathan C. , Rangan Gopala K. , Cho Yeoungjee
Published: May 2021

Pain is a common symptom in people with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), but it is assessed and reported inconsistently in research, and the validity of the measures remain uncertain. The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics, content, and psychometric properties of measures for pain used in ADPKD. We conducted a systematic review including all trials and observational studies that reported pain in people with ADPKD. Items from all measures were categorized into content and measurement dimensions of pain. We assessed the general characteristics and psychometric properties of all measures. 118 studies, we identified 26 measures: 12 (46%) measures were developed for a non-ADPKD population, 1 (4%) for chronic kidney disease, 2 (8%) for polycystic liver disease and 11 (42%) specifically for ADPKD. Ten anatomical sites were included, with the lower back the most common (10 measures [39%]), four measurement dimensions (intensity (23 [88%]), frequency (3 [12%]), temporality (2 [8%]), and sensory (21 [81%]), two pain types, nociceptive including visceral (15 [58%]) and somatic (5 [20%]), and neuropathic (2 [8%]), and twelve impact dimensions, where the most frequent was work (5 [31%]). The validation data for the measures were variable and only the ADPKD Impact Scale reported all psychometric domains. The measures for pain in ADPKD varied in terms of content and length, and most had not been validated in ADPKD. A standardized psychometrically robust measure that captures patient-important dimensions of pain is needed to evaluate and manage this debilitating complication of ADPKD.
Local economies and household spacing in early chiefdom communities
Authors: Berrey C. Adam , Drennan Robert D. , Peterson Christian E.
Published: May 2021

Archaeological research has by now revealed a great deal of variation in the way early complex societies, or chiefdoms, developed. This variation is widely recognized, but our understanding of the forces that produced it remains relatively undeveloped. This paper takes aim at such understanding by exploring variation in the local economies of six early chiefdoms; it considers what implications this variation had for trajectories of chiefdom development, as well as the source of that variation. Economic exchange is a primary form of local interaction in all societies. Because of distance-interaction principles, closer household spacing within local communities facilitated more frequent interaction and thus encouraged productive differentiation, economic interdependence, and the development of well-integrated local economies. Well-integrated local economies, in turn, provided ready opportunities for aspiring leaders to accumulate wealth and fund political economies, and pursuit of these opportunities led to societies with leaders whose power had a direct economic base. Wider household spacing, on the other hand, impeded interaction and the development of well-integrated local economies. In such contexts, aspiring leaders were able to turn to ritual and religion as a base of social power. Even when well-integrated local economies offered opportunities for wealth accumulation and a ready source of funding for political economies, these opportunities were not always taken advantage of. That variation in the shapes of early chiefdoms can be traced back to patterns of household spacing highlights the importance of settlement and interaction in explaining not just chiefdom development, but societal change more generally.
Implications of spirituality and Islamic Shari’a law for workers’ well-being in luxury hotels: A eudaimonic view
Authors: Koburtay Tamer , Alzoubi Abedelkareem
Published: May 2021

This article explores the extent to which luxury hotels operating in Jordan (Dead Sea) follow Islamic Shari’a law and offer spiritual facilities, and it aims to understand how this obligation (or otherwise) may enhance or adversely affect employees’ psychological well-being (PWB). This article draws on Ryff’s theory of PWB and Stephenson’s model of Islamic-spiritual hotels. Eighteen managers who were working in five-star hotels participated in this study, which follows a qualitative-inductive method. The results show that five-star hotels operating in Jordan (Dead Sea) do not adhere to the Islamic guidelines with the exception of serving halal food and not allowing gambling machines. However, they offer spiritual facilities for workers, and these facilities enhance Ryff’s six dimensions of well-being for workers. The findings show that compliance with Islamic Shari’a law and the availability of spiritual facilities enhance workers’ PWB. The importance of this article lies in presenting a fresh understanding of the linkages between spirituality in the workplace and employees’ PWB.
Reading aloud: The role of the reader and the conception of ‘self’
Authors: Wichmann Anne
Published: May 2021

In this article I examine the prosody associated with different ways of reading aloud, in particular the speaker’s exploitation of pitch range, and I consider the way in which different styles project different speaking roles and with them different conceptions of self. I have chosen four different speaking styles: storytelling, newsreading, prayer and poetry-reading. They represent different degrees of markedness and are the styles that are referenced most frequently in a wide range of sources, allowing a comparison and synthesis of the different characterizations they contain. The sources from which I draw my evidence include impressionistic descriptions of ‘delivery’ in classical writings on rhetoric, and instructions in nineteenth- and twentieth-century manuals for recitation, public speaking and elocution training. All these accounts are aimed at improving the performance of individual speakers, but I also draw on more recent studies of intonation, which are motivated largely by potential applications in speech technology – speech recognition and speech synthesis. They combine qualitative and quantitative accounts based on acoustic analysis and include, for example, research on intonation and emotion and on the prosodic parameters of charismatic speech. Stylistic variation has traditionally been understood as variation according to situational context or setting, as is evident in the choice of styles for this article. An alternative view discussed here is Goffman’s notion of ‘participant roles’, important in socio-pragmatics, which relates ways of speaking to whether the speaker is acting for themselves or, for example, as a spokesperson, as in reading the news. Finally, in order to account for the overlap of prosodic features in ostensibly very different settings, such as poetry-reading and liturgy, I propose a unifying factor underlying the different styles, based on degrees of subjectivity and objectivity in the voice. I conclude that speakers respond not to a physical setting but to the kind of ‘self’ they wish to project.
Teaching Classroom Mathematics: Linking Two Pedagogical Models for Promoting Student Engagement and Conceptual Connections
Authors:   Edith Cowan University, Ormond Christine A.
Published: May 2021

This paper explains how an original conceptual framework model for mathematics pedagogy, the Australian Curriculum Conceptual Rubric (ACCR), has continued to be used successfully by the author in pre-service and in-service teacher education programs over the past ten years or more. Now further enhanced by a deeper reflection upon Peter Sullivan’s Six Principles (2011) for the effective teaching of classroom mathematics, the ACCR is based on four preparatory “big questions” that the teachers may ask of themselves and their students. The model is also a sequenced system of conceptual “rubrics” whose aim is to encourage, in new teachers especially, a beginning sense of hierarchical mathematics concept building and connectedness. Using Sullivan’s Principles for corroboration, the ACCR presents some useful ideas for helping teachers to keep track of the important elements of practical, effective teaching, and to use engaging and meaningful language in their classrooms.
What to Do in Financial Markets? Preferences and Incoherences of Future Investors
Authors: Lobão Júlio
Published: May 2021

The beliefs and strategies to be mobilized by individuals who are about to start their activity as investors in financial markets have been an issue scarcely explored in the field of sociology of finance. In this paper we present new evidence about the opinions of future investors recurring to a survey administered to 177 Master students of financial markets. Our results highlight the structural incoherence in the values adopted by future investors and the centrality of these social actors’ beliefs in the constitution of the prevailing practices in financial markets.
Political Participation, Volunteering During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hungary
Authors: Mikecz Dániel , Oross Dániel
Published: May 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has had massive, global-scale impacts. For the
realization of policy goals, the pandemic calls for citizen co-production. Since
most policies are voluntary, levers for encouraging compliance with them oblige
public servants to find ways to activate residents’ civic sense of duty. Such
efforts are likely to be more effective if they harness the popular legitimacy
of intermediaries – from civic organizations to for-profit companies – that can
exert normative pressure for compliance. With the aim of the management and
reduction of health, economic risks, and damages, several initiatives have been
organized in Hungary. Initiators included political parties, registered NGOs,
companies and informal groups and communities.
EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF UPWARD MOTION OF OBJECT INSIDE LIQUID
Authors: Shrestha Sanjay
Published: May 2021

Density of a substance is defined as the amount of mass contained per unit volume. And the force which opposes the motion object inside liquid is termed as Drag force.