bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Boundedness in a two-dimensional chemotaxis system with signal-dependent motility and logistic source
Authors: Hu Yanmei , Du Wanjuan
Published: August 2023

In this paper, we study the following chemotaxis system with a signal-dependent motility and logistic source: $$ \textstyle\begin{cases} u_{t}=\Delta {\bigl(\gamma (v)u\bigr)}+\mu u\bigl(1-u^{\alpha}\bigr), &x \in \Omega , t > 0, \\ 0=\Delta v-\ v+u^{r} , &x\in \Omega , t > 0, \\ u(x, 0) = u_{0}(x), &x\in \Omega \end{cases} $$

{

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=

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under homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions in a smooth bounded domain $\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^{2}$
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, where the motility function $\gamma (v)$
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satisfies $\gamma (v)\in C^{3}([0,\infty ))$
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with $\gamma (v)>0$
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, and $\frac{|\gamma '(v)|^{2}}{\gamma (v)}$

|

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is bounded for all $v > 0$
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>
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. The purpose of this paper is to prove that the model possesses globally bounded solutions. In addition, we show that all solutions $(u, v)$
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,
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of the model will exponentially converge to the unique constant steady state $(1, 1)$
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1
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as $t\rightarrow +\infty $
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→
+
∞
when $\mu \geq \frac{K}{4^{1+r}}$
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≥

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4

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with $K=\max_{0< v\leq \infty} \frac{|\gamma '(v)|^{2}}{\gamma (v)}$
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=

max

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<
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≤
∞

|

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.
Traumatic brain injury induces TDP-43 mislocalization and neurodegenerative effects in tissue distal to the primary injury site in a non-transgenic mouse
Authors: Bjorklund George R. , Wong Jennifer , Brafman David , Bowser Robert , Stabenfeldt Sarah E.
Published: August 2023

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) initiates tissue and cellular damage to the brain that is immediately followed by secondary injury sequalae with delayed and continual damage. This secondary damage includes pathological processes that may contribute to chronic neurodegeneration and permanent functional and cognitive deficits. TBI is also associated with an increased risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as indicated by shared pathological features. For example, abnormalities in the TAR DNA-binding Protein 43 (TDP-43) that includes cytoplasmic mislocalization, cytosolic aggregation, and an increase in phosphorylation and ubiquitination are seen in up to 50% of FTD cases, up to 70% of AD cases, and is considered a hallmark pathology of ALS occurring in > 97% of cases. Yet the prevalence of TDP-43 pathology post-TBI has yet to be fully characterized. Here, we employed a non-transgenic murine controlled cortical injury model of TBI and observed injury-induced hallmark TDP-43 pathologies in brain and spinal cord tissue distal to the primary injury site and did not include the focally damaged tissue within the primary cortical injury site. Analysis revealed a temporal-dependent and significant increase in neuronal TDP-43 mislocalization in the cortical forebrain rostral to and distant from the primary injury site up to 180 days post injury (DPI). TDP-43 mislocalization was also detected in neurons located in the ventral horns of the cervical spinal cord following a TBI. Moreover, a cortical layer-dependent affect was identified, increasing from superficial to deeper cortical layers over time from 7 DPI up to 180 DPI. Lastly, RNAseq analysis confirmed an injury-induced misregulation of several key biological processes implicated in neurons that increased over time. Collectively, this study demonstrates a connection between a single moderate TBI event and chronic neurodegenerative processes that are not limited to the primary injury site and broadly distributed throughout the cortex and corticospinal tract.
Mucin1 induced trophoblast dysfunction in gestational diabetes mellitus via Wnt/β-catenin pathway
Authors: Cui Shuang-Shuang , Zhang Ping , Sun Lu , Yuan Yu-Lin-Lan , Wang Jingyun , Zhang Feng-Xiang , Li Ruiman
Published: August 2023

Background

To elucidate the role of Mucin1 (MUC1) in the trophoblast function (glucose uptake and apoptosis) of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) women through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Methods

Glucose uptake was analyzed by plasma GLUT1 and GLUT4 levels with ELISA and measured by the expression of GLUT4 and INSR with immunofluorescence and Western blotting. Apoptosis was measured by the expression of Bcl-2 and Caspase3 by Western blotting and flow cytometry. Wnt/β-catenin signaling measured by Western blotting. In vitro studies were performed using HTR-8/SVneo cells that were cultured and treated with high glucose (HG), sh-MUC1 and FH535 (inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling).

Results

MUC1 was highly expressed in the placental trophoblasts of GDM, and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway was activated, along with dysfunction of glucose uptake and apoptosis. MUC1 knockdown resulted in increased invasiveness and decreased apoptosis in trophoblast cells. The initial linkage between MUC1, the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, and glucose uptake was confirmed by using an HG-exposed HTR-8/SVneo cell model with MUC1 knockdown. MUC1 knockdown inhibited the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and reversed glucose uptake dysfunction and apoptosis in HG-induced HTR-8/SVneo cells. Meanwhile, inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling could also reverse the dysfunction of glucose uptake and apoptosis.

Conclusions

In summary, the increased level of MUC1 in GDM could abnormally activate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, leading to trophoblast dysfunction, which may impair glucose uptake and induce apoptosis in placental tissues of GDM women.
The effect of reflection supported learning of writing on students’ writing attitude and writing achievement goal orientations
Authors: Deti Taddese , Ferede Tekle , Tiruneh Dagne
Published: August 2023

This study investigates how reflection-supported learning of writing affects students' writing attitudes and writing achievement goal orientations. First-year natural sciences students from Jimma University were study participants. In the study, a quasi-experimental design was used. Consequently, from 25 sections in the first year of natural sciences, two sections were selected using lottery method. A coin was flipped to assign them to the control and the experimental groups. In the study, a control group of 49 and an experimental group of 50 participants participated. A questionnaire was administered to both groups before and after treatment to measure writing attitudes and writing achievement goal orientations. A one-way between groups Multivariate Analysis of Variance was calculated using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 24. The SPSS software was also used to calculate Paired samples t-test in determining the differences in mean scores within each group pre and posttreatment. There was a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the combined dependent variables, writing attitudes and writing achievement goal orientations. Thus, reflection-supported learning of writing has a positive effect on students’ writing attitudes and writing achievement goal orientations. Hence, EFL instructors are called on to support their writing teaching with students’ guided reflection on the pieces of writing that they produce.
Reporting quality of abstracts and inconsistencies with full text articles in pediatric orthopedic publications
Authors: Kamel Sherif Ahmed , El-Sobky Tamer A.
Published: August 2023

Background

Abstracts should provide a brief yet comprehensive reporting of all components of a manuscript. Inaccurate reporting may mislead readers and impact citation practices. It was our goal to investigate the reporting quality of abstracts of interventional observational studies in three major pediatric orthopedic journals and to analyze any reporting inconsistencies between those abstracts and their corresponding full-text articles.

Methods

We selected a sample of 55 abstracts and their full-text articles published between 2018 and 2022. Included articles were primary therapeutic research investigating the results of treatments or interventions. Abstracts were scrutinized for reporting quality and inconsistencies with their full-text versions with a 22-itemized checklist. The reporting quality of titles was assessed by a 3-items categorical scale.

Results

In 48 (87%) of articles there were abstract reporting inaccuracies related to patient demographics. The study's follow-up and complications were not reported in 21 (38%) of abstracts each. Most common inconsistencies between the abstracts and full-text articles were related to reporting of inclusion or exclusion criteria in 39 (71%) and study correlations in 27 (49%) of articles. Reporting quality of the titles was insufficient in 33 (60%) of articles.

Conclusions

In our study we found low reporting quality of abstracts and noticeable inconsistencies with full-text articles, especially regarding inclusion or exclusion criteria and study correlations. While the current sample is likely not representative of overall pediatric orthopedic literature, we recommend that authors, reviewers, and editors ensure abstracts are reported accurately, ideally following the appropriate reporting guidelines, and that they double check that there are no inconsistencies between abstracts and full text articles. To capture essential study information, journals should also consider increasing abstract word limits.
The impact of social media branding and technology adoption on green tourism: the role of tourist behavior as a mediator in developing countries post-COVID-19—context of Zimbabwe
Authors: Chiwaridzo Option Takunda , Masengu Reason
Published: August 2023

Green tourism, social media branding and technology adoption have recently become the most powerful elements in the tourism world during and post-COVID19 pandemic. This paper aims to investigate the effects of social media branding and technology adoption on green tourism with tourists’ behavior as a mediator post-COVID 19 in developing countries such as Zimbabwe. The positivism philosophy was adopted in line with the quantitative nature of the study. The research embraced an explanatory survey research design, and a structured questionnaire was used to gather primary data. The survey’s population was drawn from tourists who visited Zimbabwe post-COVID 19 era. This research used (PLS-SEM) on a sample of 408 as guided by the Krejcie and Morgan table for determining sample size. The findings indicate that social media branding and technology adoption have a positive impact on green tourism and that tourists’ behavior partially and fully mediates the two indirect relationships. The distinctiveness of the current papers lies on fact that it can be a guideline to policymakers, green tourism supply chain and environmentalists in developing strategies that promote green tourism in Zimbabwe and other developing countries.
Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Improves Outcome in Myelodysplastic Syndrome Across High-Risk Genetic Subgroups: Genetic Analysis of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network 1102 Study
Authors: Versluis Jurjen , Saber Wael , Tsai Harrison K. , Gibson Christopher J. , Dillon Laura W. , Mishra Asmita , McGuirk Joseph , Maziarz Richard T. , Westervelt Peter , Hegde Pranay , Mukherjee Devdeep , Martens Michael J. , Logan Brent , Horowitz Mary , Hourigan Christopher S. , Nakamura Ryotaro , Cutler Corey , Lindsley R. Coleman ,   on behalf of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network
Published: August 2023

PURPOSE

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) improves overall survival (OS). We evaluated the impact of MDS genetics on the benefit of HCT in a biological assignment (donor v no donor) study.

METHODS

We performed targeted sequencing in 309 patients age 50-75 years with International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) intermediate-2 or high-risk MDS, enrolled in the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network 1102 study and assessed the association of gene mutations with OS. Patients with TP53 mutations were classified as TP53multihit if two alleles were altered (via point mutation, deletion, or copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity).

RESULTS

The distribution of gene mutations was similar in the donor and no donor arms, with TP53 (28% v 29%; P = .89), ASXL1 (23% v 29%; P = .37), and SRSF2 (16% v 16%; P = .99) being most common. OS in patients with a TP53 mutation was worse compared with patients without TP53 mutation (21% ± 5% [SE] v 52% ± 4% at 3 years; P < .001). Among those with a TP53 mutation, OS was similar between TP53single versus TP53multihit (22% ± 8% v 20% ± 6% at 3 years; P = .31). Considering HCT as a time-dependent covariate, patients with a TP53 mutation who underwent HCT had improved OS compared with non-HCT treatment (OS at 3 years: 23% ± 7% v 11% ± 7%; P = .04), associated with a hazard ratio of 3.89; 95% CI, 1.87 to 8.12; P < .001 after adjustment for covariates. OS among patients with molecular IPSS (IPSS-M) very high risk without a TP53 mutation was significantly improved if they had a donor (68% ± 10% v 0% ± 12% at 3 years; P = .001).

CONCLUSION

HCT improved OS compared with non-HCT treatment in patients with TP53 mutations irrespective of TP53 allelic status. Patients with IPSS-M very high risk without a TP53 mutation had favorable outcomes when a donor was available.
Cholecalciferol Use Is Associated With a Decreased Risk of Incident Morphometric Vertebral Fractures in Acromegaly
Authors: Chiloiro Sabrina , Frara Stefano , Gagliardi Irene , Bianchi Antonio , Giampietro Antonella , Medici Margherita , Allora Agnese , di Filippo Luigi , Ambrosio Maria Rosaria , Pontecorvi Alfredo , Zatelli Maria Chiara , De Marinis Laura , Giustina Andrea
Published: August 2023

Context

Skeletal fragility is observed in 30% to 60% of acromegaly patients, representing an emerging complication of the disease that increases disability. Despite several studies having investigated the clinical and hormonal prognostic factors for the occurrence of vertebral fractures (VFs) in acromegaly, very few data are available on their prevention/treatment including the effect of vitamin D (VD) supplementation, which has been reported to have a fracture-protective effect in several studies in patients with osteoporosis.

Objective

We aimed to investigate the role of cholecalciferol (D3) supplementation in the prevention of incident VFs (i-VFs) in acromegaly.

Methods

A longitudinal, retrospective and multicenter study was performed on 61 acromegaly patients treated and untreated with D3 supplementation.

Results

Twenty-six patients were treated with D3 supplementation according to clinical guidelines. The median D3 weekly dosage was 8500 IU (interquartile range [IQR]: 3900). The median duration of D3 supplementation was 94 months (IQR: 38). At last follow-up, i-VFs were diagnosed in 14 patients (23%). I-VFs were less prevalent in patients on D3 supplementation (14.3% of cases) compared to patients not treated with D3 (85.7%; P = .02). The final level of serum V25OH-D was significantly lower in patients who developed i-VFs (28.6 ng/mL, IQR: 4.1) compared to patients who did not develop i-VFs (34.2 ng/mL, IQR: 9.6; P = .05). The logistic regression confirmed the protective role of D3 supplementation on the occurrence of i-VFs (odds ratio: 0.16; 95% CI, 0.03-0.79; P = .01).

Conclusion

It is likely that D3 supplementation could lead to a reduction in i-VFs in acromegaly.
It Is Surprisingly Difficult to Measure Income Segregation
Authors: Leung-Gagné Josh , Reardon Sean F.
Published: August 2023

Recent studies have shown that U.S. Census– and American Community Survey (ACS)–based estimates of income segregation are subject to upward finite sampling bias (Logan et al. 2018; Logan et al. 2020; Reardon et al. 2018). We identify two additional sources of bias that are larger and opposite in sign to finite sampling bias: measurement error–induced attenuation bias and temporal pooling bias. The combination of these three sources of bias make it unclear how income segregation has trended. We formalize the three types of bias, providing a method to correct them simultaneously using public data from the decennial census and ACS from 1990 to 2015–2019. We use these methods to produce bias-corrected estimates of income segregation in the United States from 1990 to 2019. We find that (1) segregation is on the order of 50% greater than previously believed; (2) the increase from 2000 to the 2005–2009 period was much greater than indicated by previous estimates; and (3) segregation has declined since 2005–2009. Correcting these biases requires good estimates of the reliability of self-reported income and of the year-to-year volatility in neighborhood mean incomes.
Tomkins in Tension
Authors: Frank Adam J. , Wilson Elizabeth A.
Published: August 2023

It has been common in the last decade to pit some affect theories against others. One effect of this combative style of theorizing is that various affect theories have built up epistemological worlds in isolation from other ideas, data, and imaginations. This chapter follows more closely the idea that theories in tension stretch each other, that they remain in relation with each other, and that they pull each other in surprising directions. Specifically, the chapter addresses the give-and-take between Silvan Tomkins's affect theory and a number of important twentieth-century psychoanalytic thinkers. The goal is to investigate psychoanalytic scenes that are rich in theorizing subjective affective experience and that can be read in tension with Tomkins's more structuralist, American, and cybernetic theory. How might one affect theory draw from another affect theory, straining that theory, reorienting it, and reconceiving it but without definitively breaking from it?
Unlearning Affect
Authors: Hamner M. Gail
Published: August 2023

This chapter traces a genealogy of affect as the logic of racial enclosure writ as universal possibility. It begins by offering close readings of force, feeling, sense certainty, and affective quality in the philosophies of J. G. Herder, G. W. F. Hegel, and C. S. Peirce. The argument is that these philosophers' work cannot be extricated from its rational and dispositional entrapment in whiteness. The second section of the chapter seeks sources and tools for unlearning the logics of enclosure by unlearning affect, in resonance with Denise Ferreira da Silva's and Sylvia Wynter's scholarship. The chapter aims to unlearn affect theory's tendencies to articulate affect as a generally shareable force and to unlearn one's own scholarly and lived affectscape. Drawing on Tomkins's script theory, it maps lived connections between social valuation and affect in order to revise the tendency to theorize affective possibility in disavowal of racial logics of enclosure.
Nonconscious Affect
Authors: Sampson Tony D.
Published: August 2023

This chapter begins with theoretically contested notions of the neurological nonconscious that have produced two differently oriented strands in the posthumanities: a remodeled cognitive theoretical framework and a new materialist rendering of affect theory. The chapter probes these two strands and then sketches out a Whiteheadian nonconscious. The first observation notes the differing ways in which the neuroscientific nonconscious has stirred up debate. The aim is to place a small range of varied new materialist work alongside Katherine Hayles's recent concept of the cognitive nonconscious. More specifically, the second observation asks if new materialism, as Hayles claims, conspicuously ignores conscious cognition. The third observation outlines a Whiteheadian nonconscious, intended to upset the anthropocentricism that arguably persists in theories of embodiment. The discussion concludes by examining how a theory of the nonconscious can avoid the neurocentric and phenomenological trap of the subject-predicate-object by mapping out a nonbifurcated experience.
Catch an Incline
Authors: Manning Erin
Published: August 2023

Through an amplification of minor sociality—a modality of existence indebted to the concept of Black life and the ways in which Black life always forces a rethinking of sociality—the chapter expands on the less comfortable aspects of conviviality. This chapter adopts a logic of approximation of proximity as it sidles Black sociality and process philosophy. This approximation of proximity recognizes gaps and moves through them, interested in the differential that produces complexity. However, the overlap is hardly seamless. It is the seam, in fact, that textures the encounter. The claim here is that process philosophy, the study of the relational imbrications through which worlds form themselves, echoes with the call for a sociality that is Black in its ethicoaesthetic commitment to worlding and, further, that this call inclines via the force of the impersonal.
Virgin Mary and the Neutrino
Authors: Stengers Isabelle , Goffey Andrew
Published: August 2023

In Virgin Mary and the Neutrino, first published in French in 2006 and here appearing in English for the first time, Isabelle Stengers experiments with the possibility of addressing modern practices not as a block but through their divergence from each other. Drawing on thinkers ranging from John Dewey to Gilles Deleuze, she develops what she calls an “ecology of practices” into a capacious and heterogeneous perspective that is inclusive of cultural and political forces but not reducible to them. Stengers first advocates for an approach to sciences that would emphasize the way each should be situated by the kind of relationships demanded by what it attempts to address. This approach turns away from the disabling scientific/nonscientific binary—like the opposition between the neutrino and the Virgin Mary. An ecology of practices instead stimulates an appetite for thinking reality not as an arbiter but as what we can relate to through the generation of diverging concerns and obligations.
Towards implementing telemedicine in Tunisia: Results of a knowledge, attitude and practice study among medical doctors
Authors: Nouira Mariem , Souayeh Nesrine
Published: August 2023

Background: The use of information and communication technology such as telemedicine occupies nowadays a huge place in modern medicine practice all over the world, mainly after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, its implementation in Tunisia and other developing countries has achieved little success with low utilization and can be challenging for several reasons. In this study, our aim was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practice of Tunisian medical doctors regarding telemedicine.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional web survey, administered to medical doctors in Tunisia in October 2022. Respondents’ level of knowledge of telemedicine was assessed by calculating a knowledge score (0 to 12). Attitude subsections were about perceived telemedicine attributes of relative advantage, compatibility, trial ability and complexity.

Results: A total of 243 participants were included. The mean age was 45 ± 9.6 years old, and 57.2% were female, with a mean of 14.3 ± 10.3 years of professional experience. The majority (95.9%) had an average or high level of computer skills. More than half (59.3%) had a poor level of telemedicine knowledge. A good level of knowledge was significantly associated with age category over 50 years (p = 0.02) and with years of experience over 10 (p = 0.03). The majority (89.3%) had a moderate or high score about perceived advantages. The majority (88.5%) accepted use of telemedicine in their future practice. Almost half (46.9%) had practiced telemedicine activities before using a mobile phone (91%) or social media (64%). The principal limitations of applying telemedicine were challenges of organization and implementation, and incomplete patient examination. 

Conclusions: Although Tunisian doctors’ knowledge and practice of telemedicine were unsatisfactory, their positive attitude and willingness to try it in their future practice were encouraging. There is an urgent need for implementing telemedicine in Tunisia to improve health care coverage in some unprivileged areas.
Effects of white matter hyperintensities on isolated executive function assessed by the Trail Making Test
Authors: Nagayama Tomiko , Yamaguchi Shuhei , Nakayama Takuya , Yang Sunghoon , Inagaki Seiichi , Nagayama Masao
Published: August 2023

Background: White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) on MRI are associated with cognitive dysfunction, particularly slow processing speed and executive dysfunction. However, it is not clear whether WMHs burden affects isolated executive function independent of aging when WMHs are assessed separately in periventricular hyperintensity (PVH) and deep and subcortical white matter hyperintensity (DSWMH).

Purpose: To assess the relationship between the degree of WMHs and the performance on the Trail Making Test (TMT), which can evaluate isolated ability of set-shifting and working memory.

Methods: 74 participants who visited our memory clinic and underwent the TMT subtests (TMT-A and TMT-B) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). All subjects performed the TMT within the time limits and their MMSE scores were 24 or higher, and they were diagnosed as having normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment. The extent of PVH and DSWMH was graded from 0 to 3 using the Fazekas scale. We obtained testing time to complete the TMT-A and TMT-B, and calculated TMT-B minus TMT-A. We performed correlation analyses between the degree of WMHs and the time measures of the TMT subtests with adjustment of age.

Results: Average scores of the MMSE were not different among the groups either by PVH grade or by DSWMH grade. In contrast, average time required for the TMT-A, TMT-B, and TMT-B minus TMT-A increased along with exacerbation of PVH and DSWMH grade. After the adjustment of age we found significant association between only DSWMH grade and the time difference of TMT-B minus TMT-A.

Conclusions: Exacerbation of PVH and DSWMH differentially affected isolated executive functions assessed by the TMT subtests independent of age and general cognitive function.
Manual cervical therapy and vestibular migraine: A case series
Authors: O'Toole Roger , Watson Dean
Published: August 2023

Background: Vestibular migraine (VM) is a relatively new diagnostic entity with incomplete knowledge regarding pathophysiological mechanisms and therapeutic guidelines. By reporting the effect of manual cervical therapy (MCT) on people with VM, we suggest a possible role for upper cervical afferents in VM treatment and/or pathogenesis. The objective was to describe the change in clinical presentation and self-reported symptoms of VM corresponding to MCT and followed up to six months.

Methods: A nonrandomised *ABA design was utilised to consecutively and prospectively evaluate selected patients with diagnosed VM. Symptom characteristics (frequency and intensity) were recorded along with standardised patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to document the response to MCT.

Results: Three patients were recruited who met the diagnostic criteria for VM. All three patients demonstrated improvement in both migraine attack and interictal symptom frequency. These improvements mirrored changes in PROs and were sustained over a six-month follow-up period.

Conclusions: The improvement that coincided with the intervention including MCT was rapid, observable and sustained. This suggests that the upper cervical spine could be a therapeutic target in VM and may have implications for future research into the pathogenesis of VM.
Demographic and socioeconomic predictors of religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviours in a prospective cohort study (ALSPAC) in Southwest England: Results from the parental generation
Authors: Major-Smith Daniel , Morgan Jimmy , Halstead Isaac , Tohidinik Hamid Reza , Iles-Caven Yasmin , Golding Jean , Northstone Kate
Published: August 2023

Background: We explored associations between possible demographic and socioeconomic causes of religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviours (RSBB) in the parental generation of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).

Methods: We used a prospective birth cohort study (ALSPAC) in Southwest England with 14,157 enrolled mothers and 14,154 associated partners. Three RSBB outcome measures collected during pregnancy were examined: religious belief (belief in God/a divine power; yes/not sure/no), religious affiliation (Christian/none/other) and religious attendance (frequency of attendance at a place of worship). Multiple demographic and socioeconomic exposures were assessed (23 in mothers and 22 in partners). We explored age-adjusted associations between each exposure and outcome using multinomial regression, in addition to exposure-age interactions.

Results: Many demographic and socioeconomic factors were associated with RSBB, including age, ethnicity, marital status, education, income and deprivation. Overall, higher socioeconomic position was associated with increased levels of RSBB, particularly regarding religious attendance. For instance, compared to mothers with the lowest level of educational attainment, a degree-level education was associated with a six-fold increase in the relative risk ratio of religious attendance at least once a week, relative to not attending at all (RRR=5.90; 95% CI=[4.44; 7.86]). The magnitude of these associations often varied by outcome, e.g., income was associated with religious attendance, but only weakly with religious affiliation. Although results were demographically and socially patterned, overall effect sizes were relatively small, with a largest pseudo-R2 value of 2.4%. Patterns of association were similar for mothers and partners.

Conclusion: The observed positive association between socioeconomic position and RSBB is contrary to much previous theoretical and empirical work. Potential reasons for these differences are discussed, including cross-cultural variation in religiosity and state support, and differences between RSBB measures. This descriptive paper can also help inform future studies using these data regarding the consideration of appropriate confounders.
Reconstruction of a skull base defect with cutaneous nasocranial communication using a combination of an anterolateral thigh free flap and galeal flap division: a case report
Authors: Kim Yo Han , Hong Jong Won
Published: August 2023

Soft tissue defects can occur in the head and neck due to various causes, and head and neck surgery is often performed to reconstruct soft tissue defects. However, head and neck reconstruction remains delicate and complex as a surgical procedure. The reconstruction of a large defect at the base of the skull, especially after resection of cancer in the anterior base of the skull that has invaded adjacent tissues, is particularly difficult. We present a case of successful reconstruction of a large skull base defect using an anterolateral thigh (ALT) free flap and galeal flap division after tumor resection in the anterior skull base. Paranasal sinus cancer involving the bilateral frontoethmoidal sinuses was resected, and an anterior skull base defect was noted, with communication between the intracranium and nasal cavity and a skin defect at the glabella. A galeal flap was divided to create an anatomical and functional barrier to communication between the nasal cavity and intracranium. The soft tissue defect at the anterior skull base was then reconstructed using an ALT free flap containing the vastus lateralis muscle, and the skin defect at the glabella was covered. No postoperative complications, such as cerebrospinal fluid leakage, developed. The reconstructed flap remained intact after subsequent radiation therapy. Based on this study, we propose that using a galeal flap and ALT free flap in a large skull base defect can yield a robust flap that can endure postoperative radiotherapy with a minimal risk of complications.
Sobre a essência relacional da palavra: A superação do paradigma linguístico designacional na fenomenologia da linguagem de Martin Heidegger
Authors: Gonçalves Lucas De Lima Cavalcanti
Published: August 2023

Com estas reflexões desenvolvemos a tese segundo a qual o mundo não é feito de objetos, mas de relações, colocando-a em conexão com o problema de como aceder à essência da linguagem enquanto potência de criação. A renovação da potência originária da linguagem passa, então, por uma superação do paradigma designacional, pelo qual ela decaiu em mero veículo de transmissão de informações, em direção a uma experiência da própria realidade como sendo estruturalmente linguística. Através dos enigmas da porta fechada, da margem obscura da clareira e do acesso vetado à árvore da vida, compreendemos por que a filosofia é avessa à fixação do pensamento em respostas, consistindo sua virtude em manter resolutamente a existência na preservação de seu caráter de insuperável questionabilidade.
A constituição passiva de Gustave Flaubert em L’Idiot de la famille ou da maternagem insuficiente de Caroline Fleuriot Flaubert
Authors: Fujiwara Gustavo
Published: August 2023

O objetivo do presente artigo é perscrutar a tese sartreana da constituição passiva do escritor francês pós-romântico Gustave Flaubert através de algumas passagens da primeira parte “La Constitution”, do primeiro tomo da última grande obra de Sartre, L’Idiot de la famille. Dando especial enfoque à tese de Sartre segundo a qual a relação entre a mãe e o lactente é fundamental para o vir a ser ativo ou passivo deste, mostraremos como o filósofo francês está muito próximo de algumas teses propaladas pelo psicanalista e pediatra inglês Donald Wood Winnicott. Assim, partindo da maternagem insuficiente da mãe de Flaubert, veremos como a criança, constituída passivamente, é incapaz de adentrar no universo comunicativo da linguagem. Ao fim e ao cabo, tentaremos responder à seguinte questão: a filosofia de Sartre, mobilizando a constituição a partir da pré-história e da proto-história de um indivíduo, não incorreria em um tipo de determinismo avesso à liberdade?
Resenha de Arte e existência em Heidegger, de Marco Aurélio Werle
Authors: Kahlmeyer-Mertens Roberto S.
Published: August 2023

Resenha informativa da edição de Arte e existência em Heidegger, de Marco Aurélio Werle, obra publicada pelo Discurso Editorial em 2023.
Clinical study of extrahepatic biliary adenoma
Authors: Li Wei , Tao Jie , Song Xiao-Gang , Hou Mei-Rong , Qu Kai , Gu Jing-Tao , Yan Xiao-Peng , Yao Bo-Wen , Qin Yuan-Fa , Dong Fang-Fang , Sha Huan-Chen
Published: August 2023

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and neurodegenerative illness which results in alterations in cognitive development. It is characterized by loss/dysfunction of cholinergic neurons, and formation of amyloid plaques, and formation of neurofibrillary tangles, among other changes, due to hyperphosphorylation of tau-protein. Exposure to pesticides in humans occurs frequently due to contact with contaminated food, water, or particles. Organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids and neonicotinoids are associated with the most diagnosed incidents of severe cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of these pesticides on the phosphorylation of tau protein, and its cognitive implications in the development of AD. It was found that exposure to pesticides increased the phosphorylation of tau protein at sites Ser198, Ser199, Ser202, Thr205, Ser396 and Ser404. Contact with these chemicals altered the enzymatic activities of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta, and protein phosphatase-2A. Moreover, it altered the expression of the microtubule associated protein tau gene, and changed levels of intracellular calcium. These changes affected tau protein phosphorylation and neuroinflammation, and also increased oxidative stress. In addition, the exposed subjects had poor level of performance in tests that involved evaluation of novelty, as test on verbal, non-verbal, spatial memory, attention, and problem-solving skills.
Acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis treated using the Feibi recipe: Two case reports
Authors: Liu Zhao-Heng , Li Guo-Dong , Hao Qing-Xun , Cao Fang , Cheng Yu , Kou Meng-Jia , Jiao Yang
Published: August 2023

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and neurodegenerative illness which results in alterations in cognitive development. It is characterized by loss/dysfunction of cholinergic neurons, and formation of amyloid plaques, and formation of neurofibrillary tangles, among other changes, due to hyperphosphorylation of tau-protein. Exposure to pesticides in humans occurs frequently due to contact with contaminated food, water, or particles. Organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids and neonicotinoids are associated with the most diagnosed incidents of severe cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of these pesticides on the phosphorylation of tau protein, and its cognitive implications in the development of AD. It was found that exposure to pesticides increased the phosphorylation of tau protein at sites Ser198, Ser199, Ser202, Thr205, Ser396 and Ser404. Contact with these chemicals altered the enzymatic activities of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta, and protein phosphatase-2A. Moreover, it altered the expression of the microtubule associated protein tau gene, and changed levels of intracellular calcium. These changes affected tau protein phosphorylation and neuroinflammation, and also increased oxidative stress. In addition, the exposed subjects had poor level of performance in tests that involved evaluation of novelty, as test on verbal, non-verbal, spatial memory, attention, and problem-solving skills.
Intraoperative sudden arrhythmias in cervical spine surgery adjacent to the stellate ganglion: A case report
Authors: Seo Jong-Hun , Cho Su-Yeon , Park Ji-Hwan , Seo Jin-Young , Lee Hyun-Young , Kim Dong-Joon
Published: August 2023

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and neurodegenerative illness which results in alterations in cognitive development. It is characterized by loss/dysfunction of cholinergic neurons, and formation of amyloid plaques, and formation of neurofibrillary tangles, among other changes, due to hyperphosphorylation of tau-protein. Exposure to pesticides in humans occurs frequently due to contact with contaminated food, water, or particles. Organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids and neonicotinoids are associated with the most diagnosed incidents of severe cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of these pesticides on the phosphorylation of tau protein, and its cognitive implications in the development of AD. It was found that exposure to pesticides increased the phosphorylation of tau protein at sites Ser198, Ser199, Ser202, Thr205, Ser396 and Ser404. Contact with these chemicals altered the enzymatic activities of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta, and protein phosphatase-2A. Moreover, it altered the expression of the microtubule associated protein tau gene, and changed levels of intracellular calcium. These changes affected tau protein phosphorylation and neuroinflammation, and also increased oxidative stress. In addition, the exposed subjects had poor level of performance in tests that involved evaluation of novelty, as test on verbal, non-verbal, spatial memory, attention, and problem-solving skills.
Persistent postoperative hypotension caused by subclinical empty sella syndrome after a simple surgery: A case report
Authors: Zhao Kang-Mei , Hu Jia-Sheng , Zhu Sheng-Mei , Wen Ting-Ting , Fang Xiang-Ming
Published: August 2023

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and neurodegenerative illness which results in alterations in cognitive development. It is characterized by loss/dysfunction of cholinergic neurons, and formation of amyloid plaques, and formation of neurofibrillary tangles, among other changes, due to hyperphosphorylation of tau-protein. Exposure to pesticides in humans occurs frequently due to contact with contaminated food, water, or particles. Organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids and neonicotinoids are associated with the most diagnosed incidents of severe cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of these pesticides on the phosphorylation of tau protein, and its cognitive implications in the development of AD. It was found that exposure to pesticides increased the phosphorylation of tau protein at sites Ser198, Ser199, Ser202, Thr205, Ser396 and Ser404. Contact with these chemicals altered the enzymatic activities of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta, and protein phosphatase-2A. Moreover, it altered the expression of the microtubule associated protein tau gene, and changed levels of intracellular calcium. These changes affected tau protein phosphorylation and neuroinflammation, and also increased oxidative stress. In addition, the exposed subjects had poor level of performance in tests that involved evaluation of novelty, as test on verbal, non-verbal, spatial memory, attention, and problem-solving skills.
"Climate Change Is an Everything Issue"
Authors: Hayhoe Katharine , Giemza Bryan , Schmidt Emma C.
Published: August 2023

Abstract: In this interview, Katharine Hayhoe discusses the regional dimensions and impacts of climate change on the American South. Topics discussed include Texas and the energy sector, the pandemic, climate dismissives, solution aversion, political polarization, Christian identity and climate change, solutions to the climate crisis, definitions of environmentalism, and conducting productive climate conversations.
Flexible optical tactile sensor based on a liquid-membrane lens structure
Authors: Hu Ronghua , Yang Hui , Wang Lihui , Fan Longfei
Published: August 2023

Based on the liquid lens focus mechanism, a novel, to the best of our knowledge, optical tactile sensor is designed by taking advantage of the structure simplicity, fast response, and environmental immunity. The design of the tactile sensing mechanism used the liquid-membrane lens structure. To integrate the tactile sensing system, we designed a data acquisition circuit unit. A performance test platform was built, and performance testing and two application demonstrations were conducted. The experiment’s result showed that the linear fitting degree was greater than 0.988, the load response time was 0.078 s, the target mass was accurately measured, the maximum error was less than 0.02 N, and the fine adjustment of the LED light intensity was achieved.
Enhancing infrared imaging systems with temperature-dependent nonuniformity correction via single-frame and inter-frame structural similarity
Authors: Wang Yu , Wang Yihong , Liu Tong , Sui Xiubao , Gu Guohua , Chen Qian
Published: August 2023

Temperature-dependent nonuniformity in infrared images significantly impacts image quality, necessitating effective solutions for intensity nonuniformity. Existing variational models primarily rely on gradient prior constraints from single-frame images, resulting in limitations due to insufficient exploitation of intensity characteristics in both single-frame and inter-frame images. This paper introduces what we believe to be a novel variational model for nonuniformity correction (NUC) that leverages single-frame and inter-frame structural similarity (SISB). This approach capitalizes on the structural similarities between the corrected image, intensity bias map, and degraded image, facilitating efficient suppression of intensity nonuniformity in real-world scenarios. The proposed method diverges fundamentally from existing strategies and demonstrates superior performance in comparison with state-of-the-art correction models.
Target-surface multiplexed quantitative dynamic phase microscopic imaging based on the transport-of-intensity equation
Authors: Cheng Weizhe , Cheng Haobo , Feng Yunpeng , Zhang Xiaowei
Published: August 2023

Microscopic phase digital imaging based on the transport of intensity equation, known as TIE, is widely used in optical measurement and biomedical imaging since it can dispense with the dependence of traditional phase imaging systems on mechanical rotational scanning and interferometry devices. In this work, we provide a single exposure target-surface multiplexed phase reconstruction (SETMPR) structure based on TIE, which is remarkably easy to construct since it directly combines a conventional bright-field inverted microscope with a special image plane transmission structure that is capable of wavefront shaping and amplification. In practice, the SETMPR is able to achieve dynamic, non-interferometric, quantitative refractive index distribution of both static optical samples and dynamic biological samples in only one shot, meaning that the only limitation of measuring frequency is the frame rate. By comparing the measurement results of a microlens array and a grating with a standard instrument, the quantitative measurement capability and accuracy are demonstrated. Subsequently, both in situ static and long-term dynamic quantitative imaging of HT22 cells were performed, while automatic image segmentation was completed by introducing machine learning methods, which verified the application prospect of this work in dynamic observation of cellular in the biomedical field.
Sound source direction-of-arrival estimation method for microphone array based on ultra-weak fiber Bragg grating distributed acoustic sensor
Authors: Luo Zhihui , Lu Bo , Huang Jianglou , Ran Changyan , He HuiLing
Published: August 2023

A sound source direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation method for microphone array based on ultra-weak fiber Bragg grating (UW-FBG) distributed acoustic sensor is proposed. The principle of acoustic signal demodulation is introduced, the sound pressure sensitivity and frequency response range of a single UW-FBG microphone are analyzed, and a series linear array with three UW-FBG microphones is designed. Combined with convolutional recurrent neural networks, the DOA estimation method is developed. Log-Mel spectral features and SCOT/PHAT joint weighting generalized cross correlation features are used for DOA estimation. The corresponding system is established and experimentally verified. Results show that the measured sound pressure sensitivity of the UW-FBG microphone is in the range of 0.1032–3.306 rad/Pa within the frequency range of 1000–3000 Hz, and the peak sound pressure sensitivity is about 3.306 rad/Pa. The estimated mean error of 2D DOA estimation is about 2.85°, and the error of 3D DOA estimation is about 5.465°. This method has good application prospects in distributed sound source localization.
Underwater single photon 3D imaging with millimeter depth accuracy and reduced blind range
Authors: Wang Jie , Hao Wei , Chen Songmao , Zhang Zhenyang , Xu Weihao , Xie Meilin , Zhu Wenhua , Su Xiuqin
Published: August 2023

Mono-static system benefits from its more flexible field of view and simplified structure, however, the backreflection photons from mono-static system lead to count loss for target detection. Counting loss engender range-blind, impeding the accurate acquisition of target depth. In this paper, count loss is reduced by introducing a polarization-based underwater mono-static single-photon imaging method, and hence reduced blind range. The proposed method exploits the polarization characteristic of light to effectively reduce the count loss of the target, thus improving the target detection efficiency. Experiments demonstrate that the target profile can be visually identified under our method, while the unpolarization system can not. Moreover, the ranging precision of system reaches millimeter-level. Finally, the target profile is reconstructed using non-local pixel correlations algorithm.