bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A machine learning approach to predict the S&P 500 absolute percent change
Authors: Rodriguez F. S. , Norouzzadeh P. , Anwar Z. , Snir E. , Rahmani B.
Published: January 2024

Models of the stock market often focus on predicting the direction of the stock market. Instead of following this approach, we created a model to predict the daily absolute percent change of the S&P 500. An accurate model of this metric would greatly increase profitability of option trading strategies such as straddles and iron condors. In this project, novel features were created based on historical data and fed to machine learning algorithms such as Decision Trees, Rule Based Classifiers, K-mean Clusters, and Kernels. Based on our findings, Decision Trees and Kernels showed an accuracy of 80% when predicting absolute percent change, while Rule Based Classifiers had an accuracy of 88%.
Perioperative multimodal analgesia: a review of efficacy and safety of the treatment options
Authors: Kianian Sara , Bansal Jahnvi , Lee Christopher , Zhang Kalissa , Bergese Sergio D.
Published: January 2024

Pain in the postoperative period is a common patient experience that can subsequently lead to other postoperative complications if not managed appropriately. While opioids are a common pharmacologic tool for managing pain, there are risks associated with liberal opioid use. Multimodal analgesic strategies, however, can adequately manage postoperative pain and minimize the risks associated with opioids. In this review, common pharmacological treatments for multimodal analgesia will be reviewed for efficacy, risks, and benefits, including gabapentinoids, opioids, alpha-2 agonists, ketamine, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids. While this may not be a comprehensive list of medication options, it represents some of the most commonly used pharmacologic techniques for managing pain in the perioperative period. In addition, newer regional anesthetic techniques will be discussed to review their efficacy, risks, and benefits as well. The goal of this review is to summarize the various options for a multimodal analgesic protocol that we encourage providers to utilize when managing postoperative pain to facilitate conservative opioid usage and improve patient outcomes overall.

Graphical Abstract
Impact of climate variability and environmental policies on vegetation dynamics in the semi-arid Tigray
Authors: Tefera Amare Sisay , Siyum Zenebe Girmay , Berhe Daniel Hagos , Gebru Belay Manjur
Published: January 2024

Anthropogenic and climate-related phenomena are among the main factors responsible for variations in vegetation structure and composition worldwide. However, studies that integrate the effects of human activities and climate variability in fragile tropical ecosystems, including the semi-arid Tigray region, are lacking. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of climate variability and environmental policy changes on the spatial distribution and pattern of vegetation cover in the semi-arid Tigray region of Ethiopia over the past four decades. We used satellite-based vegetation index (normalized difference vegetation index) and monthly rainfall data to analyze the relationship between vegetation cover and climatic variability. Residual analysis was also used to further disentangle the effects of climatic variability and environmental policy on vegetation cover. The regression analysis (r2 = 0.19) showed an insignificant causal relationship between vegetation dynamics and precipitation over the 41-years study period. This study also highlighted negative impact of the global rise in temperature on vegetation cover due to water stress caused by evapotranspiration. On the other hand, the residual analysis results (r = − 0.55, z-stat = − 11.58, p < 0.01) indicated a strong relationship between vegetation change and environmental policies implemented within the specified study period. Overall, the study revealed that environmental policies had a greater impact than climate variables on vegetation. Policymakers should, therefore, prioritize implementing effective environmental policies to restore degraded ecosystems and mitigate the effects of climate change.
The dynamics and functional mechanisms of H2B mono-ubiquitination
Authors: Li Yiqing , Ma Tianling , Jiang Jinhua , Hahn Matthias , Yin Yanni
Published: January 2024

H2B mono-ubiquitination (ub1) is an important histone modification attaching a ubiquitin moiety to the small histone H2B and changing the biochemical features of the chromatin. The dynamic equilibrium between H2B ub1 and deubiquitination (deub1) has been shown to affect nucleosome stability, nucleosome reassembly and higher chromatin structure. The above changes mediated by H2B ub1 regulate transcription activation and elongation, and play key roles in multiple molecular and biological processes including growth, development, pathogenesis and aging. In this review, we summarize our current knowledge in regulation of H2B ub1/deub1 equilibrium, and how this modification affects chromatin dynamics and gene expressions. We also discuss the roles of H2B ub1/deub1 cycle in plant-pathogen interactions, and point out the questions that remain to be resolved in future studies.
Willingness-to-Pay for Rationed Goods: Bobcat Harvest Permits in Indiana
Authors: Lancaster Nicholas A. , Reeling Carson J. , Lee John G. , Melstrom Richard T. , Caudell Joe N. , Albers Geriann
Published: January 2024

We use contingent valuation to estimate hunter and trapper willingness to pay (WTP) for a hypothetical bobcat harvest permit being considered in Indiana. Harvest permits would be rationed, with limits on aggregate and individual harvests. A model of permit demand shows that WTP may be subject to “congestion effects” which attenuate welfare gains from relaxing harvest limits. Intuitively, relaxing limits may directly change an individual’s expected harvest and, hence, WTP. Participation may subsequently change, with congestion offsetting welfare increases. These effects may lead to apparent scope insensitivity that may be endemic in the context of rationed goods.
Improving the Usability of Archaeological Data through Written Guidelines
Authors: Austin Anne , Faniel Ixchel M. , Brannon Brittany , Kansa Sarah Whitcher
Published: January 2024

Archaeologists frequently use written guidelines such as site manuals, recording forms, and digital prompts during excavations to create usable data within and across projects. Most written guidelines emphasize creating either standardized datasets or narrative summaries; however, previous research has demonstrated that the resulting datasets are often difficult to (re)use. Our study analyzed observations and interviews conducted with four archaeological excavation teams, as well as interviews with archaeological data reusers, to evaluate how archaeologists use and implement written guidelines. These excavation team and reuser experiences suggest that archaeologists need more specific best practices to create and implement written guidelines that improve the quality and usability of archaeological data. We present recommendations to improve written guidelines that focus on a project's methods, end-of-season documentation, and naming practices. We also present a Written Guidelines Checklist to help project directors improve their written guidelines before, during, and after fieldwork as part of a collaborative process. Ideally, these best practices for written guidelines will make it easier for team members and future reusers to incorporate their own and others’ archaeological data into their research.
Precedential Value of Judicial Decisions in Increasingly Hybridised Civil Law Systems: Chinese Choreographies at the WTO
Authors: Vecellio Segate Riccardo
Published: January 2024

Pursuant to Article 63 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), a state may require other treaty parties to disclose their intellectual property case law ‘of general application’. While most domestic judgments in common law are indeed of general application, civil law systems theoretically employ judgments as reference only. Nevertheless, to value consistency and predictability, the hybridisation of civil law jurisdictions is increasingly leading them to devise special lists of judgments that acquire formal or factual binding status on lower-ranked courts. This trend is particularly evident in China, whose Supreme People's Court's ‘Guiding Cases’ join other specific categories of holdings within ‘Judicial Interpretations’ and further guideline documents that are factually binding domestically. When the United States and the European Union requested, through the World Trade Organization, that China disclose the full range of its case law of general application, China responded that civil law jurisdictions do not issue judgments that are binding beyond the parties. This article examines the limitations and merits of the Chinese stance.
Genetic Association Studies in Restless Legs Syndrome: Risk Variants & Ethnic Differences
Authors: Tan Brendan Jen-Wei , Pang Xin-Ler , Png Sarah , Zhou Zhi Dong , Tan Eng-King
Published: January 2024

Background:

Genetic association studies have not produced consistent results in restless legs syndrome (RLS).

Objectives:

To conduct a systematic review on genetic association studies in RLS to highlight the common gene variants and ethnic differences.

Methodology:

We conducted Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane search using terms “Genetic association studies” and “restless legs syndrome” for candidate gene-based studies. Out of the initial 43 studies, 18 case control studies (from 2012 to 2022) were included. Thirteen studies including 10794 Caucasian subjects (4984 RLS cases and 5810 controls) and five studies involving 2009 Asian subjects (796 RLS cases and 1213 controls) were tabulated and analyzed. In addition, three Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) in Asians and Europeans/Caucasians were included for comparisons.

Results:

In the Asian population, gene variants in BST1, SNCA Rep1, IL1B, BTBD9, and MAP2K5/SKOR1 increased the risk of RLS (odds ratio range 1.2–2.8). In Caucasian populations, examples of variants that were associated with an increased risk of RLS (odds ratio range 1.1–1.9) include those in GABRR3 TOX3, ADH1B, HMOX1, GLO1, DCDC2C, BTBD9, SKOR1, and SETBP1. Based on the meta-analysis of GWAS studies, the rs9390170 variant in UTRN gene was identified to be a novel genetic marker for RLS in Asian cohorts, whereas rs113851554 in MEIS1 gene was a strong genetic factor among the >20 identified gene variants for RLS in Caucasian populations.

Conclusion:

Our systemic review demonstrates that multiple genetic variants modulate risk of RLS in Caucasians (such as MEIS1 BTBD9, MAP2K5) and in Asians (such as BTBD9, MAP2K5, and UTRN).
On the history of NPIs and Negative Concord
Authors: Herburger Elena
Published: January 2024

This article aims to better understand how Negative Polarity Items (NPIs) come into existence and how they change over time. It argues that an expression can become an NPI if its semantics makes it pragmatically useful in negative or downward entailing contexts, often because the meaning leads to pragmatic strength, but sometimes because its semantics leads to pragmatic attenuation. Special attention is given to two patterns involving pragmatic strength that can emerge historically: Negative Concord (NC) and what I call NPI Dualization. Both patterns, I argue, involve a pairing between an NPI that has an existential-like or low scalar semantics with a homophonous but semantically different expression with a freer distribution; the homophone is semantically negative in Negative Concord but semantically universal in NPI Dualization. The article argues that pragmatic strength plays an important role in the history of NPIs, both in their origin and in NPI Dualization, but is not directly relevant for their licensing synchronically. Instead, it argues for a return to the view that NPIs are lexically marked by a semantically meaningless distributional feature that needs to be valued syntactically. On a conceptual level, the article argues that historical shifts may be matters of likelihood.
Corporate Responses to Racial Unrest Editors’ Introduction
Authors: Thate Michael J. , Maddox Tyesha
Published: January 2024

The year 2020 set into motion a perfect storm that would lead to the global panic ignited by the murder of George Floyd in late May of that year. The COVID-19 virus impacted billions of people around the world. With many forced to shelter in place at home, some Americans for the first time (and an exhaustingly innumerable time for others) observed up close the inequality apparent in American policing. On average, Black Americans are 2.9 times more likely to be shot and killed by the police, with very few officers held accountable and prosecuted for these deaths.1 One cannot make sense of this special section on Corporate Responses to Racial Unrest without an examination of this fact and the events leading up to Floyd’s murder. Statistically speaking, however, the year 2020 did not signal anything unusual. In that year, according to Statistica.com, U.S. police killed 1,020 people. Fatalities had been rising steadily from 981 in 2017 to 983 in 2018 and 999 in 2019. 2 It is not immediately apparent how best to interpret these numbers. What justifies police use of deadly force, and in turn, what is an acceptable rate of police killings per year? Or is this even a productive line of thought? The effectiveness of police power in the United States has been a standing debate since the foundations of American government.3 And the nature of inequality marked by race within policing has been demonstrated countless times in the literature.4 Reforming the phenomenon of “policing” in the United States, however, though simple to call for, is complicated to enact—not least owing to the “blue wall of silence” that protects police officers from the consequences of misconduct and the near-term spikes in crime and expenses that the very communities who are most disadvantaged by current policing practices are forced to bear.
The Business of Abortion: Referral Services, Cross-Border Consumption, and Canadian Women’s Access to Abortion in New York State, 1970–1972
Authors: Elvins Sarah , Parkin Katherine
Published: January 2024

This article explores the growth of abortion-related businesses in New York State that emerged to encourage Canadian women to travel across the border to access care. Referral agencies and clinics advertised their services, publicized their fees, and competed with each other. Canadian women living near the border were used to crossing to access goods and services not available in their home market. Their practice of traveling to New York for abortions was shaped by their experiences as consumers. The media used the language of commerce to explain this phenomenon, describing those involved in referral agencies as entrepreneurs and businessmen, highlighting the profits being made and evaluating the services being offered.
Assessing clinicians’ and trainees’ knowledge and practice of the IDSA guidelines for asymptomatic bacteriuria in older adults
Authors: Smith Eleanor E. A. , Nachimuthu Nagakrishnal , Flynn John , Balasubramanyam Ashok , Negrete Jose A. , Trautner Barbara W. , Al Mohajer Mayar
Published: January 2024

A survey of advanced practice clinicians (APCs), physicians, residents, and medical students at an academic medical center and community practices in southeastern Texas revealed a gap in knowledge and practice related to testing and treatment for asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) in older adults.
Jurassic Trigoniida (Bivalvia) from Gebel Maghara, northern Sinai, Egypt
Authors: Ayoub-Hannaa Wagih S. , Cooper Michael R. , Abdelhady Ahmed A. , Fürsich Franz T.
Published: January 2024

The Jurassic trigoniid bivalves of Gebel Maghara, northern Sinai, Egypt are described and figured. They belong to 14 species, nine genera, and two families. The identified taxa occur in rocks ranging in age from the Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) to the lower Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic). Five genera and one species are new:Magharitrigonia asymmetricanew genus new species;Cotswoldellaaff.C.hemisphaerica(Lycett, 1853);Cornbrashella pullus(J. de C. Sowerby, 1826);Parorthotrigonia lepidomorpha(Abdallah and Fahmy, 1969); andRetetrigonia imbricata(J. de C. Sowerby, 1826). Five species,Trigonia reticulataAgassiz, 1840,T.cf.T.castord'Orbigny, 1849,Promyophorella tuberculata(Agassiz, 1840),Orthotrigonia exortiva(Kitchin, 1903), andO. gracilis(Kitchin, 1903) are recorded from the Jurassic rocks of Gebel Maghara for the first time.

UUID:http://zoobank.org/4dc3cc67-6bc3-406f-a022-6a05ed97efc6
Processing manner under high cognitive pressure: Evidence from French–English and English–French simultaneous interpreting
Authors: Combe Christophe , Stosic Dejan
Published: January 2024

The expression of manner has been extensively studied in the case of motion event descriptions, unveiling significant typological differences between satellite-framed and verb-framed languages and cognitive differences between speakers of these languages. However, far from being restricted to this semantic domain, the expression of manner extends to other types of event descriptions and across virtually all verb classes. In this paper, by considering all the means of expressing manner and grounding our research in a domain-independent definition of this component, we investigate the expression and the transfer of manner under high cognitive pressure as evidenced by corpus data from French–English (FE) and English–French (EF) simultaneous interpreting. Unexpectedly, both French and English displayed an overall cross-domain preference for the verbal-lexical coding of manner in event descriptions, while still differing in the degree to which it was favored. In addition, although our study does not allow a direct measure of cognitive load, the FE interpreters transfer more manner from the source to the target speeches than the EF interpreters do, despite high pressure on cognitive resources, supporting the claim that manner can be cognitively more salient and accessible for English than for French speakers, not only in the domain of motion but also at a more general level, potentially in any semantic domain.
Cuticular lipid profiles of selected species of cyclocephaline beetles (Melolonthidae, Cyclocephalini)
Authors: Santos Geanne Karla N. , Navarro Daniela Maria do Amaral F. , Maia Artur Campos D.
Published: January 2024

Neotropical cyclocephaline beetles, a diverse group of flower-loving insects, significantly impact natural and agricultural ecosystems. In particular, the genus Cyclocephala, with over 350 species, displays polymorphism and cryptic complexes. Lacking a comprehensive DNA barcoding framework, accessible tools for species differentiation are needed for research in taxonomy, ecology, and crop management. Moreover, cuticular hydrocarbons are believed to be involved in sexual recognition mechanisms in these beetles. In the present study we examined the cuticular chemical profiles of six species from the genus Cyclocephala and two populations of Erioscelis emarginata and assessed their efficiency in population, species, and sex differentiation. Overall we identified 74 compounds in cuticular extracts of the selected taxa. Linear alkanes and unsaturated hydrocarbons were prominent, with ten compounds between them explaining 85.6% of species dissimilarity. Although the cuticular chemical profiles efficiently differentiated all investigated taxa, only C. ohausiana showed significant cuticular profile differences between sexes. Our analysis also revealed two E. emarginata clades within a larger group of ‘Cyclocephala’ species, but they were not aligned with the two studied populations. Our research underscores the significance of cuticular lipid profiles in distinguishing selected cyclocephaline beetle species and contemplates their potential impact as contact pheromones on sexual segregation and speciation.
Optimisation of reduction for prolapsed silicone tube after lacrimal intubation
Authors: Shen Xiao , Huang Chunlian , Wang Shili , Wen Jing
Published: January 2024

Background

A common complication of bicanalicular intubation is dislocation of the silicone tube.

Methods

Eleven patients with prolapsed silicone tubes who had undergone bicanalicular nasal intubation were injected with a 2 per cent lidocaine solution to infiltrate the lacrimal duct mucosa. A memory wire probe was used to pull a 4-0 suture through the lacrimal passage retrogradely, allowing the suture to grab the silicone tube. Paraffin oil was applied to the contact part of the rope and the silicone tube, then the distal end of the silk thread was removed from the nostril until the tube was pulled into place.

Results

The prolapsed silicone tubes were restored by surgery in nine patients, with the drainage tube in the correct position in the eye and the lacrimal duct irrigation unobstructed.

Conclusion

The optimisations made in this study are considered effective adjustments of reduction surgery for a prolapsed silicone tube.
Observations on the transmission of Dientamoeba fragilis and the cyst life cycle stage
Authors: Hall Luke M. , Munasinghe Varuni S. , Vella Nicole G. F. , Ellis John T. , Stark Damien
Published: January 2024

Little is known about the life cycle and mode of transmission of Dientamoeba fragilis. Recently it was suggested that fecal–oral transmission of cysts may play a role in the transmission of D. fragilis. In order to establish an infection, D. fragilis is required to remain viable when exposed to the pH of the stomach. In this study, we investigated the ability of cultured trophozoites to withstand the extremes of pH. We provide evidence that trophozoites of D. fragilis are vulnerable to highly acidic conditions. We also investigated further the ultrastructure of D. fragilis cysts obtained from mice and rats by transmission electron microscopy. These studies of cysts showed a clear cyst wall surrounding an encysted parasite. The cyst wall was double layered with an outer fibrillar layer and an inner layer enclosing the parasite. Hydrogenosomes, endoplasmic reticulum and nuclei were present in the cysts. Pelta-axostyle structures, costa and axonemes were identifiable and internal flagellar axonemes were present. This study therefore provides additional novel details and knowledge of the ultrastructure of the cyst stage of D. fragilis.
Institutional investors in the Portuguese credit market (1550–1800): The case of the Misericórdias
Authors: Rodrigues Lisbeth
Published: January 2024

This article questions the drivers behind the distribution of savings in different capital markets in Portugal between 1550 and 1800. A novel dataset of credit transactions, interest rates and debt service documents a shift in the lenders' investment behaviour. By 1712, one of the leading institutional creditors—the Misericórdias—had ceased to allocate funds to the sovereign debt market. Data reveal that this disinvestment was neither related to the poor performance of debt service nor to the lure of potentially higher returns on private credit. We argue that changes in the rationales for issuing debt justify the drop in the number of institutional investors in the public credit market, and this correlates with the heavy allocation of funds into private lending.
A review of bioinspired locomotion in lower GI endoscopy
Authors: Ahmed Jabed F. , Franco Enrico , Rodriguez Y. Baena Ferdinando , Darzi Ara , Patel Nisha
Published: January 2024

Flexible endoscopy is the gold standard modality for diagnosis and therapeutic intervention of various colorectal conditions. A high bar is currently set for any new technology to replace the current modern colonoscope, but limitations do exist. For a robotic system to gain acceptance, ideally a clear advantage over the established standard needs to be demonstrated. The application of robotic technology inspired by locomotion observed in animals has been demonstrated in many fields including colonoscopy. A myriad of novel concepts has been proposed, which can overcome the anatomical and technical challenges.

This review discusses novel and innovative examples of bioinspired robotic locomotion in the colon with a detailed comparison of studies alongside separating the discussion by animal sections of insect, marine and reptile locomotion. We also discuss the current advantages and challenges a bioinspired robot will bring to the colon.

Bioinspired robotics in the colon is an exciting field of research with the potential to improve upon current existing high standards of practice in colonoscopy. By addressing areas that the conventional colonoscope is weaker in, studies are demonstrating improvement upon current limitations of standard practice and providing an insight into new methods of engineering and fabrication. Focus on the technological, mechanical and regulatory barriers is key to achieve acceptance into standard practice and will allow the aspiration of a safe, low discomfort, low cost and potentially fully autonomous robotic colonoscope to be not too distant in the future of colonoscopy.
Fostering retention of word learning: The number of training sessions children retrieve words positively relates to post-training retention
Authors: GORDON Katherine R. , LOWRY Stephanie L.
Published: January 2024

During vocabulary instruction, it is important to teach words until their representations are robust enough to be retained. For adults, the number of training sessions a target item is successfully retrieved during training predicts the likelihood of post-training retention. To assess this relationship in children, we reanalyzed data from Gordon et al. (2021b, 2022). Four- to six-year-old children completed six training days with word form-object pairs and were tested one month later. Results indicate that the number of training sessions that a word form was retrieved was positively related to post-training retention. We discuss implications for vocabulary instruction and interventions.
Study of the applicability of radio signals emitted by lightning for long-range navigation
Authors: Kovář Pavel , Puričer Pavel , Mikeš Jan
Published: January 2024

The complementary radio navigation system based on the Very Low Frequency signals produced by lightning is an alternative to today's Global Navigation Satellite Systems. The system operates on different principles and uses different radio frequency bands. The signals have higher availability in problematic places. The analyses based on the historical data of Word Wide Lightning Location Network demonstrated the good availability of the service, sufficient number of lightning strokes and good geometry calculated for a 10-second time window for positioning based on the Time of Arrival principle. The geometry was evaluated with the help of the Geometric Dilution of Precision coefficient. The Geometric Dilution of Precision median for the reception of the lightning signal from a range of 10,000 km moves around one except at the southern polar regions and the probability of the service availability exceeds 80%.
Pushing through the pandemic portal with care ethics: Possibilities for change
Authors: Dalmiya Vrinda
Published: January 2024

This paper begins with specific articulations of ‘care’ by three prominent care theorists - Eva Kittay (1999), Joan Tronto (2013), and Maria Puig de la Bellacasa (2017) - to analyze aspects of the Covid-19 reality in the US and in India. The central concern is to explore whether a care analysis of the pandemic can initiate radically different imaginings of ‘living with’ in a post-Covid world. After examining some roadblocks to adopting the deeply relational nature of life that Covid-19 foregrounded, I explore whether our response to the crises contains an implicit self-refutation of entrenched neoliberal frameworks based on atomized selfhood, individualized responsibility, and the values of market fundamentalism.
“100,000 Unarmed Men in Washington”: Public Opinion and the 1876 Election Compromise
Authors: Korzi Michael J.
Published: January 2024

This article examines how public opinion—notably political activism and protest, as well as threats of violence, and violence itself—shaped the eventual resolution of the 1876 election. While not discounting the bargaining or machinations of party elites in forging an ultimate compromise, the standard explanation in the scholarly literature, the emphasis here adds important texture and nuance to the conversation, and strongly suggests that public opinion (broadly construed) played a significant, if not exclusive, role in pressuring party leaders to compromise on the eventual Electoral Commission Act that resolved the crisis. In particular, a series of January 1877 demonstrations held across several key states, coupled with the threat of “menace” at the heart of the Southern rifle clubs that were prominent in the campaign and its aftermath, provided strong incentives to partisan leaders and especially members of Congress to seek compromise to resolve the electoral crisis. The article also addresses the contested nature of mass meetings and protests in this era—and in general—and how partisans seek to define terms and behaviors to suit their political positions.
The role of environmental sensitivity in post-traumatic stress symptoms in Lebanese children and adolescents
Authors: Karam Elie G. , Fayyad John , Huang Yuanyuan , Saab Dahlia , Al Barathie Josleen , Pluess Michael
Published: January 2024

Children differ substantially in their sensitivity to the quality of their environment. Some are more sensitive and more likely to develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in response to Childhood Adversities (CAs), but might also benefit more from Positive Home Experiences (PHE). The aim of this study is to investigate the role of Environmental Sensitivity (ES), CAs and PHEs in PTSD development in children and adolescents. Data was collected from N = 2,569 children/adolescents. PTSD symptoms, CAs, PHEs and ES were assessed with self-report measures. We found that higher ES and CAs emerged as risk factors for PTSD development whereas higher levels of PHEs protected against PTSD. ES moderated the effects of CAs (β = 1.08, p < .001) on PTSD symptoms in the total sample. This moderating effect was more pronounced in girls, suggesting that highly sensitive girls with high childhood adversities were more likely to have higher PTSD symptoms than girls with low levels of sensitivity (β = 1.09, p < .001). In conclusion, Environmental Sensitivity played an important role as a risk factor for PTSD and as a moderating factor that accentuated the main effects of childhood adversities, particularly in girls.
Preliminary examination of the effects of an early parenting intervention on amygdala-orbitofrontal cortex resting-state functional connectivity among high-risk children: A randomized clinical trial
Authors: Korom Marta , Valadez Emilio A. , Tottenham Nim , Dozier Mary , Spielberg Jeffrey M.
Published: January 2024

We examined the long-term causal effects of an evidence-based parenting program delivered in infancy on children’s emotion regulation and resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) during middle childhood. Families were referred to the study by Child Protective Services (CPS) as part of a diversion from a foster care program. A low-risk group of families was also recruited. CPS-involved families were randomly assigned to receive the target (Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up, ABC) or a control intervention (Developmental Education for Families, DEF) before infants turned 2. Both interventions were home-based, manualized, and 10-sessions long. During middle childhood, children underwent a 6-min resting-state functional MRI scan. Amygdala seed-based rs-fc analysis was completed with intervention group as the group-level predictor of interest. Fifty-seven children (NABC = 21; NDEF = 17; NCOMP = 19; Mage = 10.02 years, range = 8.08–12.14) were scanned successfully. The DEF group evidenced negative left amygdala↔OFC connectivity, whereas connectivity was near zero in the ABC and comparison groups (ABCvsDEF: Cohen’s d = 1.17). ABC may enhance high-risk children’s regulatory neurobiology outcomes ∼8 years after the intervention was completed.
Associations between forms of aggression and peer victimization: Does prosocial behavior matter?
Authors: Sanchez Carlos R. , Cooley John L. , Winters Drew E. , Ricker Brianna T. , Fite Paula J.
Published: January 2024

Relatively little is known regarding factors that may mitigate the strength of the associations between forms of aggressive behavior and peer victimization. The goal of the current study was to investigate prosocial behavior as a moderator of these links over a 2-year period during middle childhood. Participants included 410 third-grade students (53% boys) and their homeroom teachers. Results indicated that prosocial behavior was associated with lower initial levels of victimization, whereas relational aggression was associated with higher initial levels of victimization. Physical aggression predicted more stable patterns of victimization over time, and prosocial behavior moderated the prospective link from relational aggression to peer victimization; specifically, relational aggression predicted decreases in victimization at higher levels of prosocial behavior and more stable patterns over time when levels of prosocial behavior were low. Further, gender differences were observed in the moderating effect of prosocial behavior on the prospective link from physical aggression to peer victimization, such that it served as a risk factor for boys and a protective factor for girls.
Discrete equational theories
Authors: Rosický J.
Published: January 2024

On a locally
$\lambda$
-presentable symmetric monoidal closed category
$\mathcal {V}$
,
$\lambda$
-ary enriched equational theories correspond to enriched monads preserving
$\lambda$
-filtered colimits. We introduce discrete
$\lambda$
-ary enriched equational theories where operations are induced by those having discrete arities (equations are not required to have discrete arities) and show that they correspond to enriched monads preserving preserving
$\lambda$
-filtered colimits and surjections. Using it, we prove enriched Birkhof-type theorems for categories of algebras of discrete theories. This extends known results from metric spaces and posets to general symmetric monoidal closed categories.
Paternalism, petitions and the politics of church construction in Alsace, c. 1850–1885
Authors: Clement Will
Published: January 2024

This article builds on recent works which challenge the dichotomy between religion and modern urban planning. The article focuses on a case-study in the Alsatian city of Mulhouse during the nineteenth century. Over a period of 30 years, Catholic parishioners and clergy repeatedly petitioned the town’s Calvinist industrial and municipal elite for a church to be built in the paternalist cités ouvrières housing district, culminating in the eventual construction of the church of Saint-Joseph by 1883. Through a close analysis of the archival records of these petitions, the discussions they sparked and the shifting local and national political dynamics of the city, this article argues that religious groups used myriad tactics to engage in modern planning and that municipal authorities were won over by these tactics if they were politically expedient.
Estimating minimum dietary diversity for children aged 6–23 months: a comparison of agreement and cost of two recall methods in Cambodia and Zambia
Authors: Hackl Laura S , Du-Skabrin Lidan , Ok Amry , Kumwenda Chiza , Sin Navy , Mwelwa-Zgambo Lukonde , Dhakal Ramji , Thandie Hamaimbo Bubala , Reynolds Elise C , Adams Katherine P , Arnold Charles D , Stewart Christine P , Milner Erin M , Pedersen Sarah , Yourkavitch Jennifer
Published: January 2024

Objective:

To compare the agreement and cost of two recall methods for estimating children’s minimum dietary diversity (MDD).

Design:

We assessed child’s dietary intake on two consecutive days: an observation on day one, followed by two recall methods (list-based recall and multiple-pass recall) administered in random order by different enumerators at two different times on day two. We compared the estimated MDD prevalence using survey-weighted linear probability models following a two one-sided test equivalence testing approach. We also estimated the cost-effectiveness of the two methods.

Setting:

Cambodia (Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, Battambang, and Pursat provinces) and Zambia (Chipata, Katete, Lundazi, Nyimba, and Petauke districts).

Participants:

Children aged 6–23 months: 636 in Cambodia and 608 in Zambia.

Results:

MDD estimations from both recall methods were equivalent to the observation in Cambodia but not in Zambia. Both methods were equivalent to the observation in capturing most food groups. Both methods were highly sensitive although the multiple-pass method accurately classified a higher proportion of children meeting MDD than the list-based method in both countries. Both methods were highly specific in Cambodia but moderately so in Zambia. Cost-effectiveness was better for the list-based recall method in both countries.

Conclusion:

The two recall methods estimated MDD and most other infant and young child feeding indicators equivalently in Cambodia but not in Zambia, compared to the observation. The list-based method produced slightly more accurate estimates of MDD at the population level, took less time to administer and was less costly to implement.
Food environment trajectories: a sequence analysis from the CARTaGENE cohort
Authors: Adamou Habila , Robitaille Éric , Paquette Marie-Claude , Lebel Alexandre
Published: January 2024

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to create a typology of longitudinal exposure to food environment based on socio-economic context.

Design:

Food environment trajectories were modelled using a sequence analysis method, followed by a logistic regression to describe those trajectories.

Setting:

The study took place in Quebec, Canada, using food environment data from 2009, 2011 and 2018 merged with participants’ demographic and socio-economic characteristics.

Participant:

At recruitment, 38 627 participants between the ages of 40 and 69 years from six urban areas in Quebec were included in the CARTaGENE cohort study. The cohort was representative of the Quebec urban population within this age range.

Results:

Our study revealed five trajectories of food access over time: (1) limited access to food stores throughout the study period, (2) limited access improving, (3) good access diminishing, (4) good access throughout the period and (5) low access throughout the period. Logistic regression analysis showed that participants who were unable to work (OR = 1·42, CI = 1·08–1·86), lived in households with five or more persons (OR = 1·69, CI = 1·17–2·42) and those living in low-income households (OR = 1·32, CI = 1·03–1·71) had higher odds of experiencing a disadvantaged food environment trajectory. Additionally, the level of education and age of participants were associated with the odds of experiencing a disadvantaged food environment trajectory.

Conclusions:

The study demonstrates that people facing socio-economic disadvantage are more likely to experience a disadvantaged food environment trajectory over time.
Turkish adaptation, validation and reliability of the US Adult Food Security Survey Module in university students
Authors: Açar Yasemin , Sukan Karaçağıl Betül , Demirkoparan Meleknur , Şeref Betül , Kalaycı Zeynep , Uçar Ayda , Yıldıran Hilal
Published: January 2024

Objective:

To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the US Adult Food Security Survey Module (AFSSM).

Design:

A cross-sectional study collected data from 117 university students. The AFSSM questionnaire was completed by all participants. Psychometric evaluation for scale, content, construct, and convergent validity and reliability of the scale was tested. The construct validity was assessed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on data collected from university students. Cronbach’s α (internal consistency) and composite reliability were used to assess the reliability (P < 0·05).

Setting:

Students were recruited from the university.

Participants:

This research was conducted with volunteer university students with a mean age of 22·74 ± 4·19 years.

Results:

Three factors were extracted from eight items through EFA: (1) inadequate nutrition, (2) economic concern and (3) hunger. These factors accounted for 77·4 % of the total variance, and factor loadings ranged from 0·755 to 0·953. Cronbach’s α was 0·769. The results of the CFA suggested the fit indices were acceptable (χ2/sd = 0·235, root mean error of approximation: 0·034, goodness-of-fit index: 0·994, comparative fit index: 0·992 and normed fit index: 0·986).

Conclusions:

This is the first study that validates and reports the Turkish version of AFSSM in university students, and the results of our study show that the Turkish AFSSM is a valid and reliable tool for determining food security in university students. AFSSM can be used by researchers to examine the food security of university students.
End-of-life conversations about death and dying from volunteer perspectives: A qualitative study
Authors: Rodríguez-Prat Andrea , Wilson Donna M.
Published: January 2024

Objectives

Although often unrecognized, volunteers fulfill many essential roles in hospices and other end-of-life care settings. Volunteers complement the actions of professionals in fulfilling many extra care needs, such as delivering newspapers and tidying bedsides. We explored end-of-life conversations about death and dying between hospice volunteers and terminally ill people, with a particular emphasis on any expressed desire to die. Our 2 research questions were as follows: (1) What is the nature of end-of-life conversations between hospice patients and hospice volunteers? and (2) How do hospice volunteers experience conversations about death and dying with patients who are at the end-of-life?

Methods

We conducted semi-structured interviews using an interpretive phenomenological analysis. We recruited hospice volunteers from 4 hospices in Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer; 3 larger cities in the province of Alberta, Canada.

Results

We interviewed 12 participants to saturation. Four themes emerged: (1) trusting conversations about death and dying in the context of a safe place; (2) normalcy of conversations about death and dying; (3) building meaningful relationships; and (4) end-of-life conversations as a transformative experience. Our results emphasize the importance of preparing volunteers for conversations about death and dying, including the desire to die.

Significance of results

The safe environment of the hospice, the commitment to patient confidentiality, and the ability of volunteers to meet the basic and emotional needs of dying people or simply just be present without having formal care duties that need to be completed contribute to volunteers being able to participate in timely and needed conversations about death and dying, including the desire to die. In turn, hospice experiences and end-of-life conversations provide a transformative experience for volunteers.
Man-making and World-making on Two Wheels: Indian ‘Globe Cyclists’ in the Interwar Years
Authors: Fischer-Tiné Harald , Naha Souvik
Published: January 2024

Around 20 cyclists from India embarked on long and arduous intercontinental journeys between 1923 and 1942 individually or in groups. Many of these ‘globe cyclists’, as they were often referred to by the Indian press, later wrote media articles and longer travelogues about their expeditions. This article examines the narratives of these long-distance cycling expeditions to argue that these journeys can illuminate new histories of the bicycle’s socio-cultural impact beyond the West, the self-fashioning of Indian cyclotourists as an example of complicit masculinity, and world tours as a novel form of anti-imperial counter-mobility. It does so by drawing on several historiographical subfields that have hitherto rarely been mobilized together, namely the histories of sports, masculinity, colonialism and decolonization, tourism, and (everyday) technology. The article focuses pars pro toto on the tours of Adi Hakim, Jal Bapasola, and Rustom Bhumgara (1923-1928) and Ramnath Biswas (1931-1940) that were strongly over-determined by the contexts of colonialism, anti-colonialism, and decolonisation, while nationalist masculinity represented another recurring trope.
The institutional environment and gig platform transaction cost solutions
Authors: Golovanova Svetlana , Pontual Ribeiro Eduardo , Styrin Evgeny , Makarov Ivan
Published: January 2024

A growing number of labour market participants transact through gig platforms. This choice should reflect a reduction in transaction costs for platform users, compared to costs they meet when using alternative modes of governance. We exploit a unique cross-platform, cross-country data set of gig platform users to test the impact of the institutional environment in one of its dimensions – the strictness of labour market regulation (LMR) – on the ability of gig platforms to reduce users' transaction costs. According to our findings, the regulation indicator of both the user and platform countries influences transaction costs for platform users, even controlling for platform and user characteristics. The platform appears to reduce transaction costs most when users face stricter or weaker LMR, in a U-shaped effect. In the former case, the platform may provide an escape from labour regulations when hiring for tasks, while in the latter case, the platform can economize on the usual transaction costs of private contracting by administrating some types of users' activities.
Modal analysis and higher order mode suppression of a high impedance surface-based bowtie antenna
Authors: Kamili Jagadeesh Babu , Bhattacharya Amitabha
Published: January 2024

The present work studies the design of a high impedance surface (HIS)-based bowtie antenna in the framework of characteristic mode analysis (CMA) and proposes the method of higher order mode suppression. A triangular-elliptical bowtie antenna operating in the frequency range of 1.6–6 GHz is designed. The radiating and higher order modes of the proposed antenna are identified using CMA, and an HIS structure is used to enhance the desired mode and to suppress the higher order mode in order to get high gain, good front-to-back ratio (FBR), and stable radiation characteristics. The final designed HIS-based bowtie antenna gives stable radiation patterns from 1.7 to 5.5 GHz with a maximum boresight gain of 10.5 dB. Also, gain from 6.5 to 12 dB and FBR from 8 to 18 dB are obtained in the operating bandwidth. The proposed antenna features the advantages of low profile, wideband and high boresight gain making it suitable for ground-penetrating radar applications.
Pragmatic Monism: The Practice of the Indonesian Constitutional Court in Engaging with International Law
Authors: PALGUNA I Dewa Gede , WARDANA Agung
Published: January 2024

The relationship between international and domestic law in Indonesia is the subject of prolonged debate caused by the silence of the Indonesian Constitution on the choice between monism and dualism, which affects constitutional adjudication. This article discusses how the Constitutional Court engages with international law in its decisions and how the debate between monism and dualism is affected by it. It argues that the practice of the Court falls neither within the traditional scope of monism nor dualism but tends to be eclectic, which can be termed pragmatic monism. Here, the Court considers an international treaty part of domestic law upon ratification. However, its contents are only applicable if they are consistent with the Constitution, the highest law in the country. Nevertheless, such pragmatism is not without consequences where the consistency of the constitutional system as a whole is compromised for the instrumentality of its individual decisions on societal well-being.