bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Amazigh Cultural Movement and Media in Morocco
Authors: El Kadoussi Abdelmalek , Zaid Bouziane , Ibahrine Mohammed
Published: April 2024

The Amazigh, ethnographically known as the local inhabitants of North Africa, constitute more than half of the Moroccan population. As of 2023, the Amazigh question is a pending contention spot in the current political and public debate. The Amazigh’s contribution is evident in the Moroccan premodern political history (11th–17th century), the protectorate period (1912–1956), and the post-independence nation-building period (1956–1975). However, after independence, the linguistic, cultural, and ideological choices of modern Moroccan national identity did not include the Amazigh, since their cultural recognition and visibility remained marginal. Constitutions prior to 2011 denied local and Indigenous languages and prohibited ethnicity-oriented political parties with very few exceptions. Cultural marginalization, underrepresentation, and misrepresentation were far more evident in Moroccan media, especially the government-owned ones.

From its inception, the Amazigh cultural movement (ACM) has militated for both communicative and socioeconomic rights. ACM activists were aware of the importance of Amazigh languages for the construction, consolidation, celebration, and reimagining of the Amazigh collective identity. They were also aware of the centrality of mass media for Indigenous identity politics and cultural representation, articulation, and diffusion.

Drawing on secondary and case study data analysis, quantitative and qualitative indicators testify to Amazigh underrepresentation and misrepresentation in Moroccan public media. They show, for example, that Amazigh broadcast outlets’ poor content quality and amateurish diffusion styles tend to be a disservice rather than a service for indigenous communities and culture.

However, the advent of the internet and digital platforms offered Indigenous cultural activists convenient spaces and effective venues for revitalizing cultural identity politics. Techno-savvy Amazigh youths managed to do in a few years what their ascendants failed to do in many decades: join efforts of home-based and diaspora activism; gather established scholars, academics, artists, and advocacy groups to address that question from different perspectives by engaging in multidirectional digital activism; build a multilayered virtual community that transcends geographical borders; and, most importantly, firmly address the political authorities and hold them to account.
Surrender of Japan’s Empire: Japanese Historiographical Issue
Authors: Koshiro Yukiko
Published: April 2024

A process of evolution is apparent in Japanese scholarship on Japan’s respective defeats in the Sino-Japanese War, the Pacific War, and the Soviet-Japanese War in 1945. By tracing scholars’ conflicting interpretations of Japan’s defeat and surrender in these wars, one can demonstrate Japan’s continuing difficulty in achieving an all-inclusive meaning of its unconditional surrender to the Allied powers. Additionally, new areas of study contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the end of Japan’s empire.
Ancient Egypt and Southwest Asia
Authors: Mynářová Jana
Published: April 2024

Relations between ancient Egypt and the neighboring regions of Southwest Asia, which began to form already in prehistoric and early historic times, underwent a significant development consisting of a series of booms and declines before reaching the Iron Age (c. 1150–586 bc). The geographic conditions stand out as a crucial element in this formation process, as these enabled the essential communication between the respective cultural and political entities. In these historical periods, the relations were realized on several bases, and the presence of Egyptians in the regions of the Levant, as well as “foreigners” in Egypt, is well attested both by means of archaeological and textual evidence.
Ogidi Women’s Market Protest of 1914
Authors: Hollies Tara
Published: April 2024

In March and April of 1914, the women of the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria staged a massive, multiweek protest of the town’s corrupt warrant chief, an Ogidi indigene named Walter Okafo Amobi, as well as the British colonial administration that he represented. The trouble began when Amobi decided to move the sacred Afo Udo market, which was the possession of the Igbo oracle Udo, away from its hallowed location (about a mile and a half from Trunk A Road, the relatively new colonial highway) to a site much nearer that road and Amobi’s palace. Before moving the market, Amobi did not consult Udo, his priest, or the Ogidi women whose duty it was, as intermediaries of the Igbo earth goddess, to protect marketplaces. The women responded by staging protests at the entrance to Amobi’s palace as well as outside the native court and colonial district officer’s post in the nearby city of Onitsha.

The Ogidi women’s market protest of 1914 was one component of a prolonged period of strife between the people of Ogidi and Amobi, which a British colonial official documented in early 1915 as the “Ogidi Palaver.” Afo Udo was a large and popular market held on every Afo day, one of the four days of the Igbo market week, and was regularly attended by traders from within and outside Ogidi. The warrant chief argued that moving the market closer to the recently constructed main road would bring more revenue to the town. Regardless, the people of Ogidi did not trust Amobi due to his consistent maltreatment of them since he was appointed a warrant chief in 1903. By the close of the several-week standoff between Amobi and the women, the market was returned to its original, spirit-sanctioned location, but the colonial authorities failed to acknowledge the coordinated and concerted effort of the town’s women to achieve this end. The colonial record only briefly documents one of the many actions Ogidi’s women carried out, and the rest of the narrative has been reconstructed from local oral histories.
The Hong Kong Housing Market
Authors: Ho Lok Sang , Wang Yonglin
Published: April 2024

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government made a tremendous effort to raise the homeownership rate, starting with Mr. Tung Chee-hwa, the first Chief Executive, who, in his Policy Address in 1997, vowed to raise the homeownership rate from below 50% to 70% in 10 years. The figures showed, however, that while the total homeownership rate had gone up by 18 percentage points in 15 years prior to 1997, from 1997 to Q3 2022, in the space of 25 years, the total homeownership rose from 46.7% to 52.6%, or a mere 5.9 percentage points in 25 years. The nonsubsidized private homeownership rate rose from 30% in 1985 to 36.2% in 1997 (6.2 percentage points in 12 years), yet it rose only from 36.2% in 1997 to 37.2% in 2022Q3, amounting to only 1 percentage point in 25 years.

The puzzle may lie in the SAR government’s mistaken strategy of providing increasing opportunities for public housing tenants and subsidized flat owners to profit from the housing benefits. These benefits turn out to be at the expense of the middle-class people who provide much impetus to economic growth and who bear the brunt of the tax burden. The various transaction taxes meant to curb speculation turn out to impede the trading-up process. By significantly reducing the supply of existing homes, and especially that of starter homes, an unintended consequence is much sharper price increases for starter homes than for larger homes. This leads to the proliferation of so-called nanoflats that are tiny yet very expensive.
Community Directed Approaches for Health Improvement
Authors: Brieger William R. , Orji Bright C.
Published: April 2024

The community-directed intervention (CDI) strategy is an approach in which communities themselves direct the planning and implementation of intervention delivery fostered with support from the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases of the World Health Organization and partners. This approach grew out of the onchocerciasis control effort in Africa and has been piloted in several African countries, such as Nigeria and Kenya. The approach would become a stimulus for developing primary health care (PHC) services in remote and previously unreached rural villages. Empirical works across countries indicated that CDI is an accepted and effective strategy in the mass treatment of schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminths (STH) infections. That will further support technical skill and institutional knowledge on mass treatment across countries using a standard approach. Staff orientation and training were needed to get programs off the ground since few staff had basic training in the benefits and procedures of organizing community participation. However, technical training to perform these health tasks did not guarantee that services would reach communities where participation was not the underlying value of the system. The team aimed to trace the development and evolution of CDI from community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTI), a focused disease control effort for onchocerciasis/river blindness; adapt the approach to address other health and development needs; and examine the challenges CDI has faced, which are not unlike those experienced by PHCs.
Islamic Society of North America
Authors: Unus Iqbal J.
Published: April 2024

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is arguably the most influential of organizations and institutions that represent and serve the interests of the growing community of Muslims in the United States and Canada. ISNA evolved in the early 1980s from the Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada (MSA), founded in 1963 by international students on North American college campuses. ISNA has secured its place among Muslim Americans by opening its membership to all Muslim Americans, regardless of ethnicity or sectarian persuasion. Further, its member-elected leadership facilitates timely and relevant responses to the changing civic and political environment. Headquartered in suburban Plainfield, Indiana, ISNA is governed by a board of directors and managed by an executive director as its chief executive officer. As an Internal Revenue Service–designated tax-exempt charity, ISNA is funded by contributions from members and donors and by revenues from its conventions and conferences.

ISNA claims and promotes leadership and service as its guiding principles and draws from those themes for its most visible activities: an annual convention, its flagship bimonthly publication, two annual education forums, and its active engagement with governmental and religious institutions. A vibrant youth program, an inclusive orientation, a stewardship outlook, and membership open to Muslims of all sectarian persuasions have earned ISNA a prominent place in the American Muslim community. ISNA’s comprehensive work in many areas of Muslim-American life has enabled it to initiate and lead collaborative initiatives among Muslim organizations to advance common goals.

Yet, during the nearly sixty years of their existence, MSA and ISNA have endured a few financial and operational challenges. Funding by core supporters and diligence by committed officers helped strengthen ISNA’s resilience and reinforce its ingrained appeal to North American Muslims.

By thoughtfully collaborating with faith-based organizations, civic-minded activist groups, and governmental entities at national levels, ISNA has secured a preeminent position as the representative voice of Muslim Americans. ISNA’s annual conventions and flagship magazine are recognized as significant contributions to the maturity of the Muslim American presence in North America.
Islamic Relics
Authors: McGregor Richard
Published: April 2024

Relics can be found in every era of Islamic history, throughout the Islamic world. In line with other religious traditions of the Near East, the Qur’an mentions several objects endowed with special power (e.g., Joseph’s coat, the Ark of the Covenant). The earliest Islamic literature, preserving the life and mission of Muḥammad, presents details of several revered objects. These include objects handed down from pre-Islamic prophets as well as the discards of Muḥammad’s person, including clothing, weapons, and hair. Saintly figures, descendants of the Prophet, and his companions have also been sources for relics. Relics are displayed and venerated in devotional contexts such as shrines, tombs, mosques, madrasas, and museums. Relics have been paraded on special occasions such as the festival days of the Muslim calendar, in medieval protest marches, as part of the rituals for relief from drought, and as talismans in battle. Despite the occasional objection from austere doctors of law, devotion to relics has remained commonplace. While a full inventory is impossible, five categories may be proposed for the Islamic relic: (a) Bodily relics include the blood of martyrs, hair, and fingernail parings. Shrines have been built over severed heads—the most famous being that of Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī (d. 680). (b) Contact relics, having collected the baraka (blessing) of their one-time owners, pass those blessings on to any pilgrim who touches them. Several staffs, lances, bows, shields, turbans, cloaks, and sandals attributed to the Prophet have been preserved, some of which were presented as symbols of authority in the early caliphate. (c) Impressions in stone made by feet, hands, fingers, posteriors, and even hooves are preserved. Muḥammad’s footprints saw a brisk trade in the medieval period, and his sandal inspired a minor tradition of devotional iconography first in manuscript copies and later in modern mass production. (d) Inanimate objects, miraculously endowed with speech or locomotion, constitute a fourth category. These animated relics could be speaking stones or moving trees, particularly in the sacred topographies of Medina and Mecca. (e) Many revered places which were the site of important events have been marked off and preserved. More than commemorations, these “stage relics” anchored sacred history and holy bodies in the landscape. The location of Muḥammad’s birthplace in Mecca was until recently a revered stage relic.
Jewish Art in the Modern Era
Authors: Silver Larry , Baskind Samantha
Published: April 2024

Before the 19th century, most artistic productions by Jewish makers were aligned with religious observance (“Judaica”) or consisted of printing Jewish texts after the development of the printing press and publishing houses. Over the course of the 19th century, coinciding with increasing Jewish political and intellectual emancipation, painters, sculptors, and graphic artists began to make contributions to visual culture, sometimes with markedly Jewish content, such as biblical subjects or imagery of Jewish life, but also with original contributions to favored artistic movements, such as Impressionism or 20th-century abstract art. Zionism generated a range of energetic contributions to an emerging culture, and Holocaust traumas produced powerful artistic responses. At the turn of the 20th century, leading centers of Jewish art centered on America and Israel but included the wider Diaspora.
History of the French Lexicon
Authors: Bertrand Olivier
Published: April 2024

The French lexicon of the early 21st century has two main sources: In the early 21st century, approximately 87% of the vocabulary comes from Latin and 13% from many other languages. The French lexicon was created and developed roughly from the 7th–8th century ce up to the early 21st century. There are three ways to create vocabulary: inheritance from popular Latin, borrowing from other languages (as well as from written Latin), and internal creation (through semantic extension, derivation, and compounding).
Focus in Chinese
Authors: Po-lun Lee Peppina , Sun Yueming
Published: April 2024

Focus is a phenomenon intertwined between different levels of linguistics and context/discourse, and different languages appeal to different ways in marking focus. Chinese mainly adopts syntactic structures and focus markers for focus marking. Different from European languages, it is widely acknowledged that Chinese uses more syntax and less phonology in focus realization. It is argued that Chinese is a language that exhibits a reverse relationship between syntactic positioning and phonological prominence of focus, and focus types in Chinese are generally viewed from a grammatical perspective. With syntax as a prominent way of focus marking, Chinese appeals to a wide range of syntactic constructions to mark focus. While sentence-final position by default is taken as the position where new information is located, focus can be grammatically marked by constructions like shi…de ‘be…DE’ construction, bare shi construction, and bare de construction, with bare shi construction seemingly representing the closest to cleft constituent among the three. Apart from the variants in different shi constructions, object preposing is also another way of grammatical focus marking in Chinese, which involves the issue of whether the preposed object marks focus or subtopic, with both bearing a contrastive feature.

Apart from focus marking through syntactic constructions, Chinese appeals to preverbal focus adverbs as their focus particles. Natural language includes two types of focus particles—namely, restrictive and additive particles. For restrictive adverbs, Chinese appeals to the first group through the adjunction of the exclusive adverb, including zhi(-you/-shi) ‘only(-have/be)’, with exclusiveness conducted by grammatical mechanism. Apart from this, the second group includes the widely recognized restrictive focus particles that do not perform restrictive focus marking through adjunction. Typical members include jiu ‘only’, cai ‘only’, and dou ‘all’, which are sensitive to focus and affect the truth condition of a sentence. Among the restrictive focus particles, jiu and cai are most controversial, with both translated as only in English. For additive particles, one widely discussed focus-marking construction is lian...dou/ye ‘even...all/also’, which is argued to mark inclusive or additive focus. Other additive adverbs include at least four—namely, you ‘again/too’, ye ‘also’, hai ‘still’, and zai ‘again’, with their English counterparts taken as also, even, again, still, or too.

Focus markers in Chinese tend to be polysemous in meaning, making their semantics very complicated. On top of this, it is claimed that the linear order of constituents also plays an important role in focus structuring in Mandarin, with discourse and prosody structurally interacting with word order or syntactic structures to determine focus structures in Chinese. Linearity and syntax represent the two major ways of focus marking in Chinese. This is unlike English and other European languages, in which intonation and phonological prominence represent the major way.
Derivation in Germanic
Authors: Hartmann Stefan
Published: April 2024

Derivational word-formation processes play an important role in the Germanic languages. In particular, prefixation and suffixation are highly productive. In accordance with the so-called right-hand head principle, suffixes tend to determine the morphological category of a word, and are therefore often category-changing (e.g., verb to noun), while prefixes can lead to changes regarding the valency or case government of the items to which they attach. Derivational patterns differ in various aspects, including the degree to which they modify the semantics of their bases and their morphological productivity.
Waiting for Disaster? Housing Choices and Disaster Knowledge Among Migrants and Refugees in Istanbul’s Southwestern Districts
Authors: Carpi Estella , Ghaffarian Saman , Hommous Ouaees , Johnson Cassidy
Published: April 2024

This study documents how disaster knowledge among Arabic- and Persian-speaking, Türkiye-based migrants and refugees residing in Istanbul’s southwestern districts (namely Avcılar, Zeytinburnu, Küçükçekmece, Bakırköy, Bağcılar, Fatih, Esenyurt, Bahçelievler, Başakşehir and Beylikdüzü) cannot fully reflect their housing choices. More specifically, by approaching the issue from an interdisciplinary perspective encompassing urban sociology, urban studies, architecture, environmental sciences, and geoscience, housing choices are considered to explore what possibilities and hindrances are available to migrants and refugees when it comes to disaster preparedness and safer living conditions. By this token, a holistic approach to studying disaster-affected societies (e.g., looking at both local displaced people and migrants) should be combined with an approach informed by group specificities. Indeed, while disaster knowledge may be in place, the conditions to aspire to safer housing—and a safer life overall—are proved to be rarely attainable for migrant and refugee groups.

The study shows how increasing levels of disaster knowledge cannot be translated into an active search for safe and verified earthquake-proof housing for many migrants and refugees from Arabic and Persian backgrounds. The main obstacles for accessing safe housing are: legal status, which, instead, is not seen as an important variable for particular groups of refugees who access better legal protection; the impossibility of reaching their workplace—often located in the southwestern districts—with low commuting costs; the economic affordability of presumably safer housing; social discrimination as low-income foreign tenants or buyers; and the trade-off between choosing safer housing in areas where there is no network in place versus benefiting from the support of ingroup members, who have built longstanding networks in some of these districts. Finally, the interviewees deemed their disaster knowledge as generally broad and nonspecialistic, revealing a desire to access more information and specific documentation to evaluate housing safety. The findings point to the importance of rethinking disaster knowledge contextually within societies which have become home to large numbers of migrants and refugees.
The History of Synoptic Meteorology in the Age of Numerical Weather Forecasting
Authors: Harper Kristine  C.
Published: April 2024

Despite some early attempts in the 19th century, national weather services did not regularly create forecasts for public consumption until the early 20th century, and many of those were based on a handful of surface observations of dubious quality. With the invention of the balloon-borne radiosonde in the 1930s, upper-air observations became more common, and knowledge of upper-level processes was melded into forecasting practice. World War II brought its own challenges and opportunities, expanding the number of trained meteorologists worldwide, establishing many new observing stations in tropical and high-latitude locations, and opening the possibility of using radar to identify short-range severe weather. But the big change was the development of digital electronic computers, and with them the opportunity to calculate the weather. The first efforts were marginal at best, but international teams in the United States and Sweden continued their efforts, and by the late 1950s, midatmospheric prognosis charts were being transmitted to forecast offices, which would prepare the final local forecasts. Unfortunately for the synoptic forecasters in the field offices, the new objective numerical weather prediction (NWP) products were not comparable to the old subjective forecast charts that they had used for years. The resulting push and pull between the atmospheric modelers and the synoptic meteorologists ultimately changed both groups: the atmospheric modelers used forecaster feedback to upgrade the models, and the synoptic meteorologists learned to use the objective forecasts. The anticipated improvements in weather forecasting, however, did not follow immediately. As the decades passed, computing power increased and the introduction of satellites with multiple specialized sensors, purpose-built weather radar, and other remote sensing devices increased the availability of ground and upper-air data. As a result, more variables and the physics that defined them were added to NWP models, and the resulting products changed the way synoptic meteorologists made their forecasts, even if they did not change their feel for the atmosphere. Those changes continued into the 21st century, fueling the desire for specialized forecasts from multiple interest groups and the public’s desire for accurate, up-to-the-minute weather forecasts that extend up to 2 weeks into the future.
A case report of entrapment of PentaRay catheter in the mechanical mitral valve: a known complication experienced anew
Authors: Wei Hui-Qiang , Liu Fangzhou , Xue Yumei , Wu Shulin , Zhan Xianzhang
Published: April 2024

Background

Complex atrial tachycardia (AT) is commonly observed in patients with cardiac surgery. High-density mapping is widely adopted for catheter ablation of complex AT in patients with cardiac surgery. Several case reports have described that PentaRay mapping catheter can be trapped in the mechanical valve and sheared off and successful retrieval of the spline by a snare system. We described a rare case in which PentaRay mapping catheter spline was successfully retrieved from the distal anterior tibial artery by direct syringe suction via the diagnostic catheter following entrapment in the mechanical mitral valve (MV) and rupture of the spline.

Case summary

A 70-year-old female with mechanical bileaflet MV underwent catheter ablation for AT. During mapping in left atrium, the catheter was entrapped in mechanical MV and sheared off. We attempted to release the entrapped the spline by advancing the ablation catheter towards the stuck disc and pushing on the hinge portion of the disc with the catheter tip. The stuck and closed disc was opened, and the deeply entrapped spline was released. However, the entrapped PentaRay spline floated through the Valsalva sinus and strayed into the distal left anterior tibial artery. Fortunately, we successfully retrieved the spline from the distal anterior tibial artery by direct syringe suction instead of a snare system.

Discussion

The possibility of the entrapment and subsequent rupture of the spline should always be considered during mapping the site close to mechanical valve. A rapid retrieval of embolized material should be carried out. If the spline strays into the distal and small artery in which the snare system is difficult to advance, a direct syringe suction via the diagnostic catheter may be attempted.
On-X aortic valve replacement patients treated with low-dose warfarin and low-dose aspirin
Authors: Oo Aung Y , Loubani Mahmoud , Gerdisch Marc W , Zacharias Joseph , Tsang Geoffrey M , Perchinsky Michael J , Hagberg Robert Carl , Joseph Mark , Sathyamoorthy Mohanakrishnan
Published: April 2024

OBJECTIVES

To assess if warfarin targeted to international normalized ratio (INR) 1.8 (range 1.5–2.0) is safe for all patients with an On-X aortic mechanical valve.

METHODS

This prospective, observational registry follows patients receiving warfarin targeted at an INR of 1.8 (range 1.5–2.0) plus daily aspirin (75–100 mg) after On-X aortic valve replacement. The primary end point is a composite of thromboembolism, valve thrombosis and major bleeding. Secondary end points include the individual rates of thromboembolism, valve thrombosis and major bleeding, as well as the composite in subgroups of home or clinic-monitored INR and risk categorization for thromboembolism. The control was the patient group randomized to standard-dose warfarin (INR 2.0–3.0) plus daily aspirin 81 mg from the PROACT trial.

RESULTS

A total of 510 patients were enroled at 23 centres in the UK, USA and Canada. Currently, the median follow-up duration is 3.4 years, and median achieved INR is 1.9. The primary composite end point rate in the low INR patients is 2.31% vs 5.39% (95% confidence interval 4.12–6.93%) per patient-year in the PROACT control group, constituting a 57% reduction. Results are consistent in subgroups of home or clinic-monitored, and high-risk patients, with reductions of 56%, 57% and 57%, respectively. Major and total bleeding are decreased by 85% and 73%, respectively, with similar rates of thromboembolic events. No valve thrombosis occurred.

CONCLUSIONS

Interim results suggest that warfarin targeted at an INR of 1.8 (range 1.5–2.0) plus aspirin is safe and effective in patients with an On-X aortic mechanical valve with or without home INR monitoring.
The efficacy and safety of vonoprazan in quadruple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication: a comparative study
Authors: Zhuang Xiaoduan , Jiang Huiyue , Jin Dandan , Sun Meiling , Wang Zhenwu , Wang Xinying
Published: April 2024

Background

The efficacy and optimal dose of the new acid-suppressant vonoprazan (VPZ) for quadruple therapy remain uncertain. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of 20 mg VPZ daily (VOD) and 20 mg VPZ twice daily (VTD) with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) twice daily in quadruple therapy.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed the data of 954 patients treated with quadruple therapy to eradicate Helicobacter pylori. Eradication rates and adverse events were compared between the VOD and VTD groups, and between the VOD and PPI groups. Multivariate analysis was conducted to identify the predictors of eradication failure.

Results

Eradication was successful in 875 (91.7%) of the 954 patients. The total, initial, and rescue eradication rates in the VOD group were 92.1%, 93.3%, and 77.8%, respectively. In both the crude and multivariate analyses, the VOD group showed eradication rates comparable to those of the VTD and PPI groups (all P > 0.05). Age > 60 years (odds ratio [OR] = 2.165, P = 0.012) and use of rescue therapy (OR = 3.496, P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for eradication failure, whereas VPZ at a low dosing frequency of 20 mg daily was not. A total of 787 patients (82.5%) were followed up (mean follow-up time, 6.7 ± 2.0 months). Compared with the VOD group, the VTD group was more likely to experience adverse events (OR = 2.073, P = 0.035).

Conclusion

VPZ at a low dose of 20 mg daily is an effective and safe component of the quadruple therapy for H.pylori eradication.
2-D probabilistic inversion of MT data and uncertainty quantification using the Hamiltonian Monte Carlo method
Authors: Peng Ronghua , Han Bo , Hu Xiangyun , Li Jianhui , Liu Yajun
Published: April 2024

Bayesian methods provide a valuable framework for rigorously quantifying the model uncertainty arising from the inherent non-uniqueness in the magnetotelluric (MT) inversion. However, widely used Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling approaches usually require a significant number of model samples for accurate uncertainty estimates, making their applications computationally challenging for 2-D or 3-D MT problems. In this study, we explore the applicability of the Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) method for 2-D probabilistic MT inversion. The HMC provides a mechanism for efficient exploration in high-dimensional model space by making use of gradient information of the posterior probability distribution, resulting in a substantial reduction in the number of samples needed for reliable uncertainty quantification compared to the conventional MCMC methods. Numerical examples with synthetic data demonstrate that the HMC method achieves rapid convergence to the posterior probability distribution of model parameters with a limited number of model samples, indicating the computational advantages of the HMC in high-dimensional model space. Finally, we applied the developed approach to the COPROD2 field data set. The statistical models derived from the HMC approach agree well with previous results obtained by 2-D deterministic inversions. Most importantly, the probabilistic inversion provides valuable quantitative model uncertainty information associated with the resistivity structures derived from the observed data, which facilitates model interpretation.
Seamount detection using SWOT-derived vertical gravity gradient: advancements and challenges
Authors: Yu Daocheng , Weng Zequn , Hwang Cheinway , Zhu Huizhong , Luo Jia , Yuan Jiajia , Ge Sihao
Published: April 2024

Launched on 2022 December 16, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, using synthetic aperture radar interferometric techniques, measures sea surface heights (SSHs) across two 50-km-wide swaths, offering high-resolution and accurate 2-D SSH observations. This study explores the efficiency of SWOT in seamount detection employing the vertical gravity gradient (VGG) derived from simulated SWOT SSH data. Simulated circular and elliptical seamounts (height: 900–1500 m) are integrated within the South China Sea's 4000 m background depths. Geoid perturbations induced by these seamounts are extracted through the residual depth model principle, subsequently merged with the DTU21MSS model for simulating SWOT SSH observations. For comparative assessment, SSH data from Jason-2 and Cryosat-2 are included. An automatic algorithm (AIFS) is presented to identify seamount centres and base polygons using VGG derived from simulated altimeter SSH data. The analysis reveals SWOT-derived VGGs precisely locate all seamount centres, base polygons and elliptical seamount azimuths. The merged Jason-2 and Cryosat-2 data face challenges with identifying small circular and elliptical seamounts. Detecting long narrow elliptical seamounts remains arduous; however, SWOT-derived VGGs successfully elucidate the approximate shapes and major axis azimuths of the elliptical seamounts. Validated against ‘true values’ of VGG, the root-mean-squared deviation (RMSD) of SWOT-derived VGG stands at 1.33 Eötvös, whereas the merged Jason-2 and Cryosat-2 data exhibit an RMSD of 1.93 Eötvös. This study shows the enhanced capability of SWOT from its high-resolution 2-D SSH observations in advancing seamount detection via satellite-derived VGG. We identify challenges and recommend improved detections using data integration and machine learning.
Shedding light on the MRI-driven dynamo in a stratified shearing box
Authors: Dhang Prasun , Bendre Abhijit B , Subramanian Kandaswamy
Published: April 2024

We study the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) dynamo in a geometrically thin disc (H/R ≪ 1) using stratified zero net (vertical) flux shearing box simulations. We find that mean fields and electromotive forces (EMFs) oscillate with a primary frequency fdyn = 0.017 Ω (approximately nine orbital period), but also have higher harmonics at 3fdyn. Correspondingly, the current helicity has two frequencies 2fdyn and 4fdyn, which appear to be the beat frequencies of mean fields and EMFs, respectively, as expected from the magnetic helicity density evolution equation. Further, we adopt a novel inversion algorithm called the ‘Iterative Removal Of Sources’, to extract the turbulent dynamo coefficients in the mean-field closure using the mean magnetic fields and EMFs obtained from the shearing box simulation. We show that an α-effect (αyy) is predominantly responsible for the creation of the poloidal field from the toroidal field, while shear generates back a toroidal field from the poloidal field, indicating that an α–Ω-type dynamo is operative in MRI-driven accretion discs. We also find that both strong outflow ($\bar{v}_z$) and turbulent pumping (γz) transport mean fields away from the mid-plane. Instead of turbulent diffusivity, they are the principal sink terms in the mean magnetic energy evolution equation. We find encouraging evidence that a generative helicity flux is responsible for the effective α-effect. Finally, we point out potential limitations of horizontal (x − y) averaging in defining the ‘mean’ on the extraction of dynamo coefficients and their physical interpretations.
M. tuberculosis Infection Attributable to Exposure in Social Networks of Tuberculosis Cases in an Urban African Community
Authors: Kiwanuka Noah , Zalwango Sarah , Kakaire Robert , Castellanos Maria Eugenia , Quach Trang Ho Thu , Whalen Christopher C
Published: April 2024

Background

The persistence of tuberculosis today and its global disparity send a powerful message that effective tuberculosis control must respond to its regional epidemiology. Active case finding through contact investigation is a standard protocol used for tuberculosis control, but its effectiveness has not been established, especially in endemic areas.

Methods

To quantify the potential effectiveness of contact investigation in Kampala, Uganda, we used a cross-sectional design to evaluate the social networks of 123 tuberculosis index cases and 124 controls without tuberculosis.

Results

Tuberculous infection was present in 515 of 989 tuberculosis case contacts (52.1%) and 396 of 1026 control contacts (38.6%; adjusted prevalence ratio, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.3–1.6). The proportion of infected participants with known exposure within the social network of the tuberculosis case was 35%. The population-attributable fraction was 11.1% for any known exposure, with 7.3% attributable to household exposure and 3.4% attributable to extrahousehold exposure.

Conclusions

This low population-attributable fraction indicates that contact tracing in the social networks of index cases will have only a modest effect in reducing tuberculous infection in a community. New approaches to community-level active case finding are needed.
Clinical efficacy and safety of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose for treatment of restless legs syndrome: a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial
Authors: Earley Christopher J , García-Borreguero Diego , Falone Mark , Winkelman John W
Published: April 2024

Study Objectives

Iron therapy is associated with improvements in restless legs syndrome (RLS). This multicenter, randomized, double-blind study evaluated the effect of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) on RLS.

Methods

A total of 209 adult patients with a baseline International RLS (IRLS) score ≥ 15 were randomized (1:1) to FCM (750 mg/15 mL) or placebo on study days 0 and 5. Ongoing RLS medication was tapered starting on Day 5, with the goal of discontinuing treatment or achieving the lowest effective dose. Co-primary efficacy endpoints were changed from baseline in IRLS total score and the proportion of patients rated as much/very much improved on the Clinical Global Impression (CGI)–investigator (CGI-I) scale at day 42 in the “As-Treated” population.

Results

The “As-Treated” population comprised 107 FCM and 101 placebo recipients; 88 (82.2%) and 68 (67.3%), respectively, completed the day 42 assessment. The IRLS score reduction was significantly greater with FCM versus placebo: least-squares mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) −8.0 (−9.5, −6.4) versus −4.8 (−6.4, −3.1); p = .0036. No significant difference was observed in the proportion of FCM (35.5%) and placebo (28.7%) recipients with a CGI-I response (odds ratio 1.37 [95% CI: 0.76, 2.47]; p = .2987). Fewer patients treated with FCM (32.7%) than placebo (59.4%) received RLS interventions between day 5 and study end (p = .0002). FCM was well tolerated.

Conclusions

The IRLS score improved with intravenous FCM versus placebo, although the combination of both co-primary endpoints was not met. Potential methodological problems in the study design are discussed.
Fine particulate matter air pollution and health implications for Nairobi, Kenya
Authors: Oguge Otienoh , Nyamondo Joshua , Adera Noah , Okolla Lydia , Okoth Beldine , Anyango Stephen , Afulo Augustine , Kumie Abera , Samet Jonathan , Berhane Kiros
Published: April 2024

Background:

Continuous ambient air quality monitoring in Kenya has been limited, resulting in a sparse data base on the health impacts of air pollution for the country. We have operated a centrally located monitor in Nairobi for measuring fine particulate matter (PM2.5), the pollutant that has demonstrated impact on health. Here, we describe the temporal levels and trends in PM2.5 data for Nairobi and evaluate associated health implications.

Methods:

We used a centrally located reference sensor, the beta attenuation monitor (BAM-1022), to measure hourly PM2.5 concentrations over a 3-year period (21 August 2019 to 20 August 2022). We used, at minimum, 75% of the daily hourly concentration to represent the 24-hour concentrations for a given calendar day. To estimate the deaths attributable to air pollution, we used the World Health Organization (WHO) AirQ+ tool with input as PM2.5 concentration data, local mortality statistics, and population sizes.

Results:

The daily (24-hour) mean (±SEM) PM2.5 concentration was 19. 2 ± 0.6 (µg/m3). Pollutant levels were lowest at 03:00 and, peaked at 20:00. Sundays had the lowest daily concentrations, which increased on Mondays and remained high through Saturdays. By season, the pollutant concentrations were lowest in April and highest in August. The mean annual concentration was 18.4 ± 7.1 (µg/m3), which was estimated to lead to between 400 and 1,400 premature deaths of the city’s population in 2021 hence contributing 5%–8% of the 17,432 adult deaths excluding accidents when referenced to WHO recommended 2021 air quality guideline for annual thresholds of 5 µg/m3.

Conclusion:

Fine particulate matter air pollution in Nairobi showed daily, day-of-week, and seasonal fluctuations consistent with the anthropogenic source mix, particularly from motor vehicles. The long-term population exposure to PM2.5 was 3.7 times higher than the WHO annual guideline of 5 µg/m3 and estimated to lead to a substantial burden of attributable deaths. An updated regulation targeting measures to reduce vehicular emissions is recommended.
The Impact of Visual Abstracts Compared to Automated Tweets on Social Media in Otology & Neurotology
Authors: Fan Caleb J. , Hong Alyssa C. , Bojrab Dennis I. , Lustig Lawrence R. , Hong Robert S.
Published: April 2024

Objective

To analyze the effect of visual abstracts versus automated tweets on social media participation in Otology & Neurotology.

Patients

N/A.

Interventions

Introduction of visual abstracts developed by the social media editorial team to established automated tweets created by the dlvr.it computer program on the Otology & Neurotology Twitter account.

Main Outcome Measures

Twitter analytics including the number of new followers per month, impressions per tweet, and engagements per tweet. The Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance test was used to compare means.

Results

From October 2016 to October 2017 (average of 20 new followers per month), 101 automated tweets averaged 536 impressions and 16 engagements per tweet. The visual abstract was introduced in November 2017. From November 2017 to November 2020 (average of 39 new followers per month), 447 automated tweets averaged 747 impressions and 22 engagements per tweet, whereas 157 visual abstracts averaged 1977 impressions and 78 engagements per tweet. Automated tweets were discontinued in December 2020. From December 2020 to December 2022 (average of 44 new followers per month), 95 visual abstracts averaged 1893 impressions and 103 engagements per tweet. With the introduction of the visual abstract, the average number of followers, impressions per tweet, and engagements per tweet significantly increased (all p-values <0.01; all large effect sizes of 0.16, 0.47, and 0.47, respectively).

Conclusions

Visual abstracts created by a social media editorial team have a positive impact on social media participation in the field of otology and neurotology. The impact is greater than that of social media content generated by Twitter automation tools.
Plasma tissue factor pathway inhibitor levels in coronavirus disease 2019 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Hassani Saeed , Sayyadi Mohammad , Almasi-Hashiani Amir
Published: April 2024

Studies have suggested a relationship between tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity. However, there is inconsistency in the findings of the studies. To enhance comprehension of this relationship, a meta-analysis was conducted. PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched to identify eligible studies. The mean difference was employed as effect measures and the standardized mean difference (SMD) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) were utilized as a summary statistic. Heterogeneity was assessed through the application of the chi-square test and the I
2 statistic. The included studies’ quality and risk of bias were assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa assessment scale, adapted for case–control studies. A total of six studies were included with 684 cases and healthy controls (180 healthy controls and 504 COVID-19 patients with different severity, 76 mild, 292 moderate, and 136 severe). The analysis revealed a significant increase in the TFPI level in COVID-19 patients with moderate severity compared with healthy controls (SMD = 0.95 ng/ml, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.27, 1.63 ng/ml; I
2: 87.2%). The increased TFPI level in mild and moderate COVID-19 was not significant, SMD = 0.68 ng/ml, 95% CI −0.64 to 2.0 ng/ml; I
2 92.9% and SMD = 0.62 ng/ml, 95% CI −0.62 to 1.86 ng/ml; I
2 91.5%, respectively. In addition, most studies indicate an association of the increased TFPI concentrations with increased markers of inflammation, endothelial damage, and hypercoagulation. Considering the anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory roles of TFPI, its increase seems to be aimed at modulating COVID-19-induced hyper-inflammation and hyper-coagulation state.

Systematic review registration

PROSPERO CRD42023437353
Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Fear of Cancer Recurrence in Breast Cancer
Authors: Wei Fangxin , Yang Xin , He Ruiyao , Hu Ziqi , Wang Yu
Published: April 2024

Background

Fear of cancer recurrence is one of the psychological distresses that seriously affects the quality of life of breast cancer patients. However, the evidence for cognitive behavioral therapy on fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer is limited.

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing breast cancer patients’ fear of cancer recurrence.

Methods

Seven databases were searched for randomized controlled studies on cognitive behavioral therapy for fear of cancer recurrence in cancer patients from the inception of the database to April 30, 2023, with no language restrictions. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata MP 17. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool version 2 was used to assess the quality of the included studies. The quality of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation method.

Results

This review includes a total of 13 randomized controlled trials with 1447 breast cancer patients and survivors. When compared with controls, meta-analysis revealed that cognitive behavioral therapy significantly reduced the fear of cancer recurrence (g = −0.44; 95% confidence interval, −0.75 to −0.13; P < .001), whereas subgroup analysis revealed that only mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was significant. The overall risk of bias was high. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation assessment showed a low overall quality of evidence.

Conclusions

Cognitive behavioral therapy may be effective in reducing fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer patients, and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is particularly worthy of implementation.

Implications for Practice

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy may be used as an additional strategy to help manage breast cancer patients’ fears of cancer recurrence.