bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Multicomponent Injury Prevention Programs on Children and Adolescents’ Fundamental Movement Skills: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analyses
Authors: Jimenez-Garcia John A. , Miller Matthew B. , DeMont Richard G.
Published: December 2022

Objective

Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are essential to participate in physical activity. Understanding the effects of multicomponent injury prevention programs (MIPP) on FMS may help promote safe physical activity. Our objective was to synthesize the evidence on the effects of MIPP on biomechanical outcomes and neuromuscular performance measured on children and adolescents while performing FMS.

Data Source

We searched PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, and SCOPUS.

Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

We included peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials, published in English, that analyzed the effects of MIPP on biomechanics and neuromuscular performance of FMS in participants under 18 years of age.

Data Extraction

Two reviewers screened the articles, assessed the quality of the evidence using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale, and synthesized the data.

Data Synthesis

We conducted meta-analyses and reported the characteristics, outcomes, and risk of bias of studies.

Results

We included 27 articles that reported data from 1,427 participants. Positive effects on FMS were reported in 23 of the 27 included articles. Vertical Jump, running speed, acceleration, and dynamic balance presented positive-significant pooled effect sizes. Dribbling and horizontal jump presented non-significant pooled effect sizes.

Conclusion

MIPP can positively affect FMS in children and adolescents in sports-related settings. Lack of participant compliance and implementation fidelity may affect MIPP effectiveness. Including MIPP in physical literacy interventions, physical education classes, and organized physical activity may lead to functional adaptations that help promote safe physical activity.
Playing God? Media coverage of CRISPR in the United States
Authors: Stapleton Patricia , Torres Yabar Alessandra
Published: December 2022

Announcements in 2017 and 2018 that scientists used a gene editing technique called Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) to permanently alter human embryos have highlighted the urgency in regulating the technology’s ethical, political, and legal implications. To better understand how a regulatory regime might evolve in response to CRISPR, we must examine how the media covers it. This article reviews online and television news sources in the United States to determine the tone, content, and frequency in media coverage of CRISPR. We find that coverage remained ambiguous and infrequent, as scientific research into CRISPR’s clinical potential for treating human disease surged. This infrequent coverage indicates that the media have not yet established the salience of CRISPR to a degree that engages the public or policymakers, though the issue will continue to gain importance as CRISPR transitions from experimental efforts into clinical practice.
Short term clinical outcomes of a Prochondrix® thin laser-etched osteochondral allograft for the treatment of articular cartilage defects in the knee
Authors: Mehta Vishal M , Mehta Shaan , Santoro Steven , Shriver Ryan , Mandala Cassie , Weess Cameron
Published: December 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the short-term clinical outcomes of Prochondrix® novel thin, laser-etched osteochondral allograft on isolated articular cartilage defects. Methods: Eighteen patients with isolated, symptomatic, full-thickness articular cartilage lesions were treated with marrow stimulation followed by placement of a T-LE allograft. Demographic and intra-operative data was recorded as well as pre- and post-operative International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Short Form-36 (SF-36), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Tegner scores. Pre- and post-operative data was compared at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months post operatively. Failures requiring reoperation were also recorded. Results: At a mean follow-up of 2.5 years (6–43 months), VAS decreased from 6.55 to 2.55 ( p = .02) and subjective IKDC scores increased from 37.61 to 59.65 ( p = .02). Statistically significant increases were also seen in KOOS Function-Sports and Recreational Activities (+26.04, p = .04) and KOOS QOL (+18.76, p = .007) as well as in SF-36 Physical Functioning (+25.20, p = .04), Energy/Fatigue (+16.50, p = .02), Social Functioning (+11.79, p = .04), and Bodily Pain (+25.18, p = .04). There were two failures requiring reoperation: one conversion to a patellofemoral arthroplasty (PFA), and one graft dislodgement which required removal. Conclusion: Treatment of articular cartilage lesions of the knee with ProChondrix® has demonstrated sustained positive results out to a mean follow-up of two and a half years in this prospective case series with a low failure rate that required reoperation (2 patients) in this series. These results are comparable to the short-term results of other cartilage restoration procedures currently in use today. A meta-analysis of osteochondral allografting demonstrated a mean 86.7% survival rate at 5 years with significant improvements in clinical outcome scores reaching MCID values.
Med Sim Studio: An Open-Access Simulation Platform for Running and Sharing Dynamic Display of Patient Data in Package Scenarios
Authors: Blumenberg Adam , Kessler David
Published: December 2022

Background/Objectives

Specialized software may augment in-situ simulation, remote learning, oral boards preparation, and personalized remediation through simulation. Simulation educators often lack access to simulation software that meets their needs because existing software packages are cost prohibitive, have design gaps, or are not user friendly. Additionally, educators require the ability to easily author their own customized cases and share them with colleagues via an integrated software platform.

Methods

A needs assessment was performed by interviewing simulation educators, residents, medical students, and residency assistant program directors. Based on this, the software platform Med Sim Studio was developed to include vital sign monitoring, hundreds of high-resolution medical images, a video ultrasound library, documentation, evaluation tools, packaged cases reflecting the core EM curriculum, case authoring and sharing ability, and an easy-to-use interface. Over the course of a year and a half, the software was programmed using C++ on Microsoft Visual Studio. Users can author cases which are stored as JSON data objects and can be shared via email, portable media, or retrieved through a central MySQL database.

Discussion

Med Sim Studio joins other free software resources for simulation with the addition of unique features including immediate access to a comprehensive suite of medical visual stimuli, automated documentation and data collection, cases pre-loaded with the relevant background information and images, and the ability to customize and share cases instantly. Med Sim Studio allows educators to propagate their own scholarship through case sharing functionality. These can be transferred online (via the embedded database functionality or through email attachments), or via portable media (such as USB drive or optical disk). The case-sharing aspect of Med Sim Studio simplifies the process for simulation educators to contribute novel cases and promote the community of medical education.
The Gendered Work/Role of Program Directors in International Graduate Medical Education
Authors: Dutta Debalina , Ibrahim Halah , Cofrancesco Joseph , Archuleta Sophia , Stadler Dora J.
Published: December 2022

Healthcare organizations offer numerous clinical and academic leadership pathways for physicians, among which the position of program director (PD) is considered to be a prominent educational leadership role. As PDs are instrumental in the recruitment and training of the next generations of physicians, PD gender distribution can affect the present and future of a medical specialty. This study offers a dialectical perspective in understanding how international PDs negotiate gendered understanding of their work/role by using the framework of Relational Dialectics Theory 2.0. Thirty-three interviews of PDs from Qatar, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates were conducted and, using contrapuntal analysis, the competing discourses of meanings of gender in the PD work/role were examined. Competing discourses where structural, cultural, and professional meanings of gender were interrogated revealed inherent multiple meanings of how gender is understood in PD work/roles. In making sense of these meanings of gender, PDs express dilemmas of traditional gender binaries of masculine/feminine work/role meanings to explain the term in different ways in their everyday organizational and cultural struggles. The findings have implications for PD recruitment and retention in teaching hospitals.
The Adolescent Concept of Social Participation—A Qualitative Study on the Concept of Social Participation from Adolescents with and without Physical Disabilities
Authors: Bärwalde Tim , Hoffmann Laura , Fink Astrid , Völlm Carina , Martin Olaf , Bernard Marie , Gebhard Britta , Richter Matthias
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The construct of social participation is still not clearly defined. To reach a better understanding of social participation, the perspectives of adolescents must be taken into account. This study explores the adolescent concept of social participation and expands knowledge of the meaning of subjective components of the term.

Methods

Thirty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescents with and without physical disabilities or chronic diseases between the ages of 12 and 17 and analyzed according to grounded theory.

Results

Adolescents describe social participation as involving reflexive interaction with their social environment. Furthermore, forming a social environment plays an important role. All components of the concept are embedded in a context that influences the ways adolescents participate. Adolescents differentiate between active and passive forms of social participation. The concept of reflexive interaction is situated within an interdependent structure of components such as the “feeling of belonging” and the feeling of “well-being” among adolescents.

Conclusion

The results expand the current state of knowledge regarding the theoretical differentiation of social participation by exploring subjective components of the term. This offers the possibility of supplementing the theoretical frameworks of social participation and supports the understanding of the critical importance of social participation for adolescents.
Semi-Lagrangian 4d, 5d, and 6d kinetic plasma simulation on large-scale GPU-equipped supercomputers
Authors: Einkemmer Lukas , Moriggl Alexander
Published: December 2022

Running kinetic plasma physics simulations using grid-based solvers is very demanding both in terms of memory as well as computational cost. This is primarily due to the up to six-dimensional phase space and the associated unfavorable scaling of the computational cost as a function of grid spacing (often termed the curse of dimensionality). In this article, we present 4d, 5d, and 6d simulations of the Vlasov–Poisson equation with a split-step semi-Lagrangian discontinuous Galerkin scheme on graphic processing units (GPUs). The local communication pattern of this method allows an efficient implementation on large-scale GPU-based systems and emphasizes the importance of considering algorithmic and high-performance computing aspects in unison. We demonstrate a single node performance above 2 TB/s effective memory bandwidth (on a node with four A100 GPUs) and show excellent scaling (parallel efficiency between 30% and 67%) for up to 1536 A100 GPUs on JUWELS Booster.
Race, Class, and Masculinities in a South African Primary School
Authors: Govender Diloshini , Bhana Deevia
Published: December 2022

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, this article examines how 8–9-year-old South African boys construct and negotiate heterosexual masculinities in the primary school. Situated within a racially diverse schooling context comprised of a mixed class of middle and low income Indian and Black boys, we offer insights into how race and class structures intersect with masculinities to create hierarchies of power as boys navigate the pressures of compulsory heterosexuality. Boys’ investment in the male provider role and in aspiring to material shows of wealth—such as wearing expensive clothing—as key ways to engender heterosexual relationships, was also nuanced by race and class. While such practices defined boys’ masculinities, failure to conform to normative masculine behaviour subjected them to homophobic teasing thus pointing to the regulatory mechanisms through which heterosexual masculinity was policed. The study contributes to the growing field of young masculinities in South Africa as we consider its local manifestations and gendered performances.
A feasible and safe standardized protocol for ultrasound and intracavitary electrocardiogram-based tip navigation and tip location during placement of peripherally inserted central catheters
Authors: Liu Bing , Liu Yan , Li Jiaqian , Kang Junren , Sun Wenyan
Published: December 2022

Background:

Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are performed for medium and long term intravenous therapy. The most recent guidelines recommend the use of ultrasound-guided venipuncture to reduce surgery-related complications. In recent years, bedside ultrasound has also been used as evidence of accuracy in tip navigation and tip positioning. This paper is aimed to investigate using tip navigation with the ultrasonic technique and intracavitary electrocardiogram during the catheterization, and to suggest a feasible and safe standardized protocol for clinical practice.

Methods:

A total of 1727 tumor clients who suffered from combined the ultrasonic technique with intracavitary electrocardiogram (ECG + US group) to confirm the tip location of PICC were included in Peking Union Medical College Hospital in 2020. And based on electronic medical records according to the types of cancer as 1:1 to select 1727 cases who only underwent electrocardiogram (ECG group) to verify the tip location of catheters with the same team in 2019. Compared two groups of purpose of catheter, insertion site of upper limbs, times of puncture and delivery catheters, tip location and malposition of peripherally inserted central catheter, and analysis of the safety and feasibility.

Results:

There were no significant differences between the two groups in the purpose of catheter, insertion site of upper limbs, times of puncture, and delivery catheters. The percentage of optimal tip location in ECG + US group was significantly higher than that in ECG group, and the rate of malposition of catheters was obviously lower than that in ECG group ( p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

Tip navigation based with ultrasound and intracavitary electrocardiogram has high accuracy to confirm tip location of PICC, and it is also feasible and safe, which can not only to make up for the deficiency of patients without surface P waves who could not be applied ECG but also to fit for all patients.
Coexistence of Type B Insulin Resistance and Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Various Manifestations With the Same Pathophysiologic Base?
Authors: Heidarpour Maryam , Aria Amir , Javadi Niloofar , Siavash Mansour , Vakhshoori Mehrbod , Shafie Davood
Published: December 2022

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a rarely reported disease. The association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and CIDP has been a matter of controversy. Here we presented a 59-year old male patient with uncontrolled type 2 DM presented with simultaneous type B insulin resistance (TBIRS) and CIDP. Both blood glucose and neurological manifestations responded well to corticosteroid therapies. Although the pathogenesis of CIDP remains to be elucidated, the role of antibodies in the pathogenesis of TBIRS and CIDP might be a promising platform for further studies to provide additional insights into the origin of these 2 rare complications.
Space, nature and hierarchy: the ecosystemic politics of the Caspian Sea
Authors: Beaumont Paul , Wilson Rowe Elana
Published: December 2022

The Anthropocene has given rise to growing efforts to govern the world’s ecosystems. There is a hitch, however, ecosystems do not respect sovereign borders; hundreds traverse more three states and thus require complex international cooperation. This article critically examines the political and social consequences of the growing but understudied trend towards transboundary ecosystem cooperation. Matchmaking the new hierarchy scholarship in International Relations (IR) and political geography, the article theorises how ecosystem discourse embodies a latent spatially exclusive logic that can bind together and bound from outside unusual bedfellows in otherwise politically awkward spaces. We contend that such ‘ecosystemic politics’ can generate spatialised ‘broad hierarchies’ that cut across both Westphalian renderings of space and the latent post-colonial and/or material inequalities that have hitherto been the focus of most of the new hierarchies scholarship. We illustrate our argument by conducting a multilevel longitudinal analysis of how Caspian Sea environmental cooperation has produced a broad hierarchy demarking and sharpening the boundaries of the region, become symbolic of Caspian in-group competence and neighbourliness, and used as a rationale for future Caspian-shaped cooperation. We reason that if ecosystemic politics can generate new renderings of space amid an otherwise heavily contested space as the Caspian, further research is warranted to explore systemic hierarchical consequences elsewhere.
Born out of civil wars: Are former rebel parties an organizationally distinct type of party?
Authors: Ishiyama John , Basnet Post
Published: December 2022

In recent years, there has been a considerable amount of work on the transformation of formerly rebel groups into political parties. However, there is little work that examines the organizational types of parties that formerly armed groups become. Are these parties more likely to exhibit certain organizational characteristics when compared to other parties? This is an important question especially as scholars consider the role these former rebel parties play in the development of peace and democracy in post-civil war politics. Using data from Daly (2020) and Tuncel and Manning (2022) , as well as recently released data from V-Dem on political parties (Coppedge et al 2020) we find that former rebel parties are more clientelistic and personalistic than other parties, even compared to parties in countries where they compete. We suggest that these parties are unlikely to play a constructive role in post-conflict democratization.
Screen agencies as cultural intermediaries: Delivering gender equality in the film and television sectors?
Authors: Noonan Caitriona , Brock Maria
Published: December 2022

This article examines the role of national screen agencies in the realisation of an equitable screen sector. Publicly funded screen agencies like Ffilm Cymru Wales, Screen Ireland, Det Danske Filminstitut (Danish Film Institute) and Hrvatski Audiovizualni Centar (Croatian Audiovisual Centre) directly shape the sector, both on screen and behind the camera. Using interviews with senior decision-makers within several European screen agencies, we critically analyse the logics and practices of these cultural intermediaries in relation to gender equality. We chart how the issue is mediated by screen agencies, including their (in)actions. Alongside formal measures, we observe some staff working in quotidian ways to deliver change through positively leveraging their relationships with the sector. Our research highlights that while most of sampled agencies advocate for gender equality, few recognise ethnicity, socioeconomics, disability or age in their larger policy frameworks, and therefore, questions of intersectionality are rarely addressed formally in institutional approaches. We conclude that for screen agencies to become effective intermediaries for equality, a paradigmatic shift in their logics and working practices would be required. However, this would only represent a first step as wider policy and industrial reform is necessary to redress the exclusionary frames of the screen sector.
“You suck it up and you deal with it”: Blind spots in investigative reporting and how to overcome them
Authors: Kunert Jessica , Brüggemann Michael , Frech Jannis , Lilienthal Volker , Loosen Wiebke
Published: December 2022

Investigative journalism is about uncovering what shall not be covered, yet, blind spots remain. This paper explores what topics investigative journalists consider to be neglected in different regions of the world, why these topics are not covered, and how journalists strive to report them in spite of difficulties. We theorize the blind spots by drawing on the Hierarchy of Influences Model, meaning that blind spots in investigative reporting are deeply rooted in these influences. We explore these issues in a global comparative approach and conducted qualitative face-to-face interviews at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference 2019 with 90 investigative journalists from 60 countries. Our findings show that many topics can’t be worked on due to repercussions from four levels of the Hierarchy of Influences Model (esp. from the wider social system), leading to self-censorship. The journalists overcome these obstacles with resourceful individual actions (e.g. publishing from abroad) since their media outlets and organizations are often not fit to help them due to resource constraints. Thus, journalists may defy the hierarchy and see it as their mission to persist, also and especially in countries in the Global South. However, obstacles are found globally and directly affect the nuts and bolts of journalism, such as access to information and sources.
A relational approach to the ethnographic study of power in the context of the city of London
Authors: Simpson Alex
Published: December 2022

The immersive ethnographic tradition has strong potential to contribute to a deeper sociological understanding of the construction, maintenance and processes of powerful groups. However, ethnography as a method – and sociology as a discipline – has tended to focus more on developing techniques and toolkits for studying what Bourdieu and Wacquant call a “poverty population” rather than elites systems of power. In response, this article builds a much needed ‘toolkit’ for would-be-ethnographers, examining how ethnographic methodologies can be adapted to critically examine the elite cultural fields. It does so by adapting Desmond’s four foci of relational ethnographic: fields, boundaries, processes and cultural conflict. Adopting a relational orientation, this article provides an illustration of how ethnography can be used in the study of powerful cultural fields, using the context of the City of London, and thereby forming the basis for future research.
Design of extended Kalman filter observer coupled to ammonia cross-sensitivity model for an SCR system
Authors: Zhao Jinghua , Zhang Yutong , Wang Haonan , Sun Yao , Hu Yunfeng , Yu Jianhua , Xie Fangxi
Published: December 2022

Commercial diesel vehicles that comply the China/EURO VI emission regulations are generally equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems for reducing [Formula: see text] emission and [Formula: see text] sensors at its downstream for accurate closed-loop control. However, [Formula: see text] sensors have significant ammonia cross-sensitivity pushing up their readings. Moreover, for the closed-loop control of SCR systems effectively estimating the critical states from the [Formula: see text] sensor readings remains a further challenge. In this paper, an ammonia cross-sensitivity model with segmented sin and quadratic composite functions describing high frequency characteristics is established by analyzing the experimental data of an SCR system. A control-oriented three-states model of an SCR system is established, and based on it an extended Kalman filter (EKF) observer coupled to the ammonia cross-sensitivity model is proposed. The simulation results show that from the [Formula: see text] sensor readings the EKF observer can effectively estimate the deterioration trend of the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] emissions, and describe the dynamic change process of the ammonia coverage rate. The experimental results under the four non-excitation cycles show that the EKF observer can effectively estimate the deterioration trend, that the average estimated accuracy of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] during their deterioration stage can respectively reach 86.16% and 54.87%, and that the observer has better robustness to disturbances from the operating conditions.
Study on dynamic performance of wave-powered boat under the action of ocean current
Authors: Deng Chao , Zhang Jiayi , Feng Zhanxia , Zheng Zhongqiang , Jiang Lina , Chang Zongyu
Published: December 2022

Wave-powered boat will be affected by the ocean current when moving forward. In order to study the impact of the ocean current on the dynamic performance of wave-powered boat, the fluid-multibody coupled model of the hydrofoil was established in FLUENT through the dynamic mesh method. The hydrodynamic force and moment of the hydrofoil were introduced into the rigid body dynamic equation of the boat, the motion parameters at that time can be calculated by numerical integration to achieve coupling process. The results shows that, with the increase of counter-current velocity, the propulsion velocity of the wave-powered boat and hydrofoil rotation angle both decrease. The results in co-current conditions are more complicated and the rear hydrofoil will be affected by the superposition of the current and the wake vortex falling off from front hydrofoil, causing fluctuations in its rotation process. Beside, the restoring stiffness has an important influence on the propulsion performance of wave-powered boat, so it is necessary to select the appropriate restoring stiffness to improve the propulsion performance of the device under different current velocities.
U2CrackNet: a deeper architecture with two-level nested U-structure for pavement crack detection
Authors: Shi Pengfei , Zhu Fengting , Xin Yuanxue , Shao Shen
Published: December 2022

Crack detection is important for evaluating pavement conditions. In this paper, we propose an automatic pavement crack detection method called as U2CrackNet. The architecture of U2CrackNet is a two-level nested U-structure which is an encoding and decoding architecture. Firstly, the crack features are extracted by the encoding layer so that the preliminary effective feature layer is obtained. Subsequently, the encoder and decoder are connected by an atrous spatial pyramid pooling (ASPP) model. The atrous convolution with different expansion rates can be used to capture the multi-scale crack information. Besides, in order to make the network pay more attention to the features of cracks, the crack feature map channels are given different weights through the effective channel attention mechanism after upsampling in the decoding layer. Finally, the crack saliency probability maps generated by each layer of the network are fused into the final crack saliency map through cascade operation. The proposed method has been evaluated on an expanded pavement crack dataset containing 8700 images. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed U2CrackNet can obtain more clear and continuous cracks. Specifically, the precision, accuracy, F1-score, and Mean Intersection over Union (MIoU) are 89.51%, 98.95%, 81.45%, and 69.19%, respectively.
c-Src inhibitor PP2 inhibits head and neck cancer progression through regulation of the epithelial–mesenchymal transition
Authors: Lee SunYoung , Park Sunjung , Ryu Jae-Sung , Kang Jaegu , Kim Ikhee , Son Sumin , Lee Bok-Soon , Kim Chul-Ho , Kim Yeon Soo
Published: December 2022

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most common cancer, causing considerable mortality and morbidity worldwide. Although HNSCC management has been extensively studied, the treatment outcomes have not improved – the 5-year survival rate of patients with HNSCC is 40%. Recent studies on the development of a novel HNSCC treatment have highlighted proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src (c-Src) as one of the major therapeutic targets. However, the clinical efficacy of c-Src inhibitors against HNSCC was not comparable to that obtained in vitro. Furthermore, the molecular mechanisms underlying the efficacy of c-Src inhibitors remain elusive. In this study, we assessed the efficacy of 4-amino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-7-(dimethylethyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d] pyrimidine (PP2), a selective c-Src inhibitor on HSNCC. Nine HNSCC cell lines (SNU1041, Fraud, SNU46, SNU1076, SNU899, SCC1483, YD15, YD9, and YD10-) were screened, and the effects of PP2 were evaluated using wound healing, apoptosis, and invasion assays. Western blot analysis of downstream markers was conducted to assess the specific mechanism of action of PP2 in HNSCC. The therapeutic efficacy of PP2 was further evaluated in xenograft mice. PP2 reduced tumor cell growth both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, it enhanced tumor cell apoptosis in cell lines and prevented metastasis in mice. PP2 also regulated the epithelial–mesenchymal transition pathway downstream of c-Src. More specifically, in SCC1483 and YD15PP2 HNSCC cell lines, PP2 exposure downregulated Erk, Akt/Slug, and Snail but upregulated E-cadherin. These results suggest that PP2 inhibits cell growth and progression in HNSCC by regulating the epithelial–mesenchymal transition pathway.
Prevalence, Characteristics, and Factors Associated With Sexual Violence in Adulthood Among Brazilian MSM
Authors: Ferreira Denis Gonçalves , Veras Maria Amelia , Saggese Gustavo Santa Roza , Guimarães Mark Drew Crosland , Magno Laio , Dourado Ines , Maia Macena Raimunda Hermelinda , Leal Andréa Fachel , Kendall Carl , Mércham-Hamann Edgar , Bermúdez Ximena Pamela Díaz , Knauth Daniela , Sansigolo Kerr Ligia Regina
Published: December 2022

Most studies of sexual violence are with women, and although men who have sex with men (MSM) is the group of the men that has been most investigated for sexual violence, there are still several questions to be answered about sexual violence and sexual revictimization among MSM. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of sexual violence in different stages of life and identify factors associated with sexual violence in adulthood among Brazilian MSM. We conducted an analysis with data from the study conducted in 2016 with 4,176 MSM from 12 Brazilian cities recruited through respondent-driven sampling (RDS), who answered a survey to a set of questions, among which some specific about sexual violence. Most participants were under 25 years old (56.5%), with more than 12 years of schooling (71.2%), mixed race (40.8%), single (86.2%), and belonging to some religion (50.9%). The lifetime prevalence of sexual violence was 20.3%. In our analyses, having experienced sexual violence in childhood and adolescence increased the odds of experiencing sexual violence in adulthood (prevalence ratio ratios [PRR] 4.93 (95% CI [1.99, 12.21]), as did experiencing physical violence (PRR 1.99; 95% CI [1.07, 3.71]) and receiving money for sex (PRR 2.26; 95% CI [1.17, 4.36]). In addition to violence in childhood and adolescence being risk factors for sexual violence in adulthood, we also observed that half of the sample experienced sexual violence repeatedly, characterizing sexual revictimization. It is important that health services are prepared to receive boys and men victims in order to reduce the chances of revictimization and other outcomes.
Sclerosing Adenosis of the Prostate—A Benign Lesion Similar to Prostate Cancer: A Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Yao Huibao , Tang Gonglin , Cui Yuanshan , Wu Jitao
Published: December 2022

Sclerosing adenosis of the prostate (SAP) is a rare benign non-neoplastic small acinar hyperplasia. Like sclerosing adenosis of the breast, which is confused with breast cancer, SAP is a trap in the pathological differential diagnosis of benign and malignant lesions of the prostate. We report such a case to help colleagues better distinguish and diagnose such diseases. A 75-year-old patient with SAP had a prostate specific antigen (PSA) level of 11.0 ng/mL, and he had been suffering from progressive dysuria for 3 years. The central glandular area and the right periphery of the prostate were found to have nodular low signals on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Prostate biopsy showed that basal cells were positive for P63 and P504s, few basal cells were positive for S-100, and the positive rate of Ki67 was approximately 2%. We consider that the possibility of SAP is high. The patient was treated conservatively and was discharged in good health, free of dysuria and other problems. SAP is a rare benign lesion that is easily misdiagnosed as prostate cancer. The prostatic gland tube has a complete basal cell layer surrounding it, as well as myoepithelial cell metaplasia of basal cells, which is a key trait in distinguishing it from prostate cancer. Although the latest research indicates that SAP does not require treatment, the question of whether it is a risk factor for prostate cancer remains unanswered.
Plastic deformation-based rolling bearing reliability and sensitivity analysis under incomplete probability information
Authors: Wang Xianming , Zhang Tianxiao
Published: December 2022

It is currently difficult to adequately characterize the probability distribution information of rolling bearings, and research on the reliability of rolling bearings based on plastic deformation is lacking. To address this problem, the Latin hypercube design, BP neural networks, and higher-order moment method are combined, fully considering the randomness of the load, geometry, and material parameters of the rolling bearing. The dynamics model of the rolling bearing was constructed by using the Hertz contact theory and Jones model, combined with a Latin hypercube design to obtain neural network training samples. Based on the rational construction of the neural network structure, the mapping relationship between the equivalent stress and the design variables is obtained. The state function of the rolling bearing is constructed according to the stress–strength interference model, and then, the reliability index and reliability of the rolling bearing are obtained using the higher-order moment method, followed by a reliability sensitivity analysis. Finally, the proposed method is applied to the reliability analysis of a certain type of angular contact ball bearing, and the calculation results are compared with the Monte Carlo method results to demonstrate the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method.
Phenotypic screen identifies the natural product silymarin as a novel anti-inflammatory analgesic
Authors: DuBreuil Daniel M , Lai Xiaofan , Zhu Kevin , Chahyadinata Gracesenia , Perner Caroline , Chiang Brenda M , Battenberg Ashley , Sokol Caroline L , Wainger Brian J
Published: December 2022

Sensory neuron hyperexcitability is a critical driver of pathological pain and can result from axon damage, inflammation, or neuronal stress. G-protein coupled receptor signaling can induce pain amplification by modulating the activation of Trp-family ionotropic receptors and voltage-gated ion channels. Here, we sought to use calcium imaging to identify novel inhibitors of the intracellular pathways that mediate sensory neuron sensitization and lead to hyperexcitability. We identified a novel stimulus cocktail, consisting of the SSTR2 agonist L-054,264 and the S1PR3 agonist CYM5541, that elicits calcium responses in mouse primary sensory neurons in vitro as well as pain and thermal hypersensitivity in mice in vivo. We screened a library of 906 bioactive compounds and identified 24 hits that reduced calcium flux elicited by L-054,264/CYM5541. Among these hits, silymarin, a natural product derived from milk thistle, strongly reduced activation by the stimulation cocktail, as well as by a distinct inflammatory cocktail containing bradykinin and prostaglandin E2. Silymarin had no effect on sensory neuron excitability at baseline, but reduced calcium flux via Orai channels and downstream mediators of phospholipase C signaling. In vivo, silymarin pretreatment blocked development of adjuvant-mediated thermal hypersensitivity, indicating potential use as an anti-inflammatory analgesic.
Non-nociceptive and nociceptive-like trigeminal Aβ-afferent neurons of rats: Distinct electrophysiological properties, mechanical and chemical sensitivity
Authors: Vaden Ryan J , Gu Jianguo G
Published: December 2022

The role of Aβ-afferents in somatosensory function is often oversimplified as low threshold mechanoreceptors (LTMRs) with large omission of Aβ-afferent involvement in nociception. Recently, we have characterized Aβ-afferent neurons which have large diameter somas in the trigeminal ganglion (TG) and classified them into non-nociceptive and nociceptive-like TG afferent neurons based on their electrophysiological properties. Here, we extend our previous observations to further characterize electrophysiological properties of trigeminal Aβ-afferent neurons and investigate their mechanical and chemical sensitivity by patch-clamp recordings from large-diameter TG neurons in ex vivo TG preparations of adult male and female rats. Based on cluster analysis of electrophysiological properties, trigeminal Aβ-afferent neurons can be classified into five discrete types (type I, IIa, IIb, IIIa, and IIIb), which responded differentially to mechanical stimulation and sensory mediators including serotonin (5-HT), acetylcholine (ACh) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Notably, type I neuron action potential (AP) was small in amplitude, width was narrow in duration, and peak dV/dt repolarization was great with no deflection observed, whereas discretely graded differences were observed for type IIa, IIb, IIIa, and IIIb, as AP increased in amplitude, width broadened in duration, and peak dV/dt repolarization reduced with the emergence of increasing deflection. Type I, IIa, and IIb neurons were mostly mechanically sensitive, displaying robust and rapidly adapting mechanically activated current (IMA) in response to membrane displacement, while IIIa and IIIb, conversely, were almost all mechanically insensitive. Interestingly, mechanical insensitivity coincided with increased sensitivity to 5-HT and ACh. Together, type I, IIa and IIb display features of LTMR Aβ-afferent neurons while type IIIa and type IIIb show properties of nociceptive Aβ-afferent neurons.
China’s Confucius Institute and its European counterparts in Africa: A six-dimensional comparative study
Authors: Li Siyuan
Published: December 2022

In the field of international education and development, International Language and Culture Promotion Organisations (ILCPOs) have played an important part for more than a century. More than 40 countries and regions have set up such organisations. Despite the diversity of these ILCPOs, few comparative studies have been conducted to examine their operations and impacts. In contrast to the existing literature that usually evaluates the role of these organisations from the perspectives of cultural diplomacy, public diplomacy and soft power, this research proposes a ‘smart power’ analytical framework and compares China’s Confucius Institute with its European counterparts – France’s Alliance Française, the UK’s British Council and Germany’s Goethe-Institut – in Africa from six critical dimensions: relationship with parent countries; operational mode; accessibility to local people; scope of activities; main internal issues; and local people’s needs, in an attempt to evaluate their operations and performance.
How motivational constructs predict reading amount and reading achievement: The role of reading attitude and reading self-concept
Authors: Xiao Xiao-Yun
Published: December 2022

This study investigated the constructs of reading motivation (i.e., affective and cognitive reading attitude, and reading self-concept) and examined their relations with reading behavior and performance. Hong Kong data from PIRLS 2016 were analyzed to address the questions. A special attention was paid to the indirect influences of the motivational constructs on reading performance via the influence of reading amount. Results confirmed that reading attitude could be further distinguished into the affective and cognitive components. These components of reading attitude along with reading self-concept were demonstrated to have differential relations with reading amount and achievement. Results also found significant relations between reading attitude and reading self-concept on one hand, and reading achievement on the other hand mediated by reading amount.
Plasma tumor mutation burden is associated with clinical benefit in patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with anti-programmed death-1 monotherapy
Authors: Lee Jii Bum , Park Hyung Soon , Choi Su Jin , Heo Seong Gu , An Ho Jung , Kim Hye Ryun , Hong Min Hee , Lim Sun Min , Chang Kyle , Quinn Katie , Odegaard Justin , Shim Byoung Yong , Cho Byoung Chul
Published: December 2022

Background:

The clinical utility of plasma tumor mutational burden (pTMB) requires further validation. Herein, the pTMB and genetic alterations were investigated as predictive biomarkers for anti-PD-1 monotherapy outcome in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods:

The GuardantOMNI panel (Guardant Health) was used to identify pTMB and genetic alterations. Data from 99 patients with metastatic NSCLC treated with pembrolizumab or nivolumab in first-, second-, or third-line settings between June 2016 and December 2020 were collected. Associations between pTMB and clinical benefit rate (CBR, stable disease ⩾6 months or partial response), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were assessed.

Results:

Median pTMB in 84 patients was 10.8 mutations/megabase (mut/Mb). Histological analyses revealed that 61 and 36% of the patients had adenocarcinomas and squamous NSCLC, respectively. Most patients were treated with nivolumab (74%) and most anti-PD-1 agents were administered as second-line treatment (70%). The median follow-up duration was of 10.9 months (range, 0.2–40.7). Patients with high pTMB (⩾19 mut/Mb) had a higher CBR (69%) compared with low pTMB patients (33%; p = 0.01). ARID1A ( p = 0.007) and either ERBB2 or KIT mutations ( p = 0.012) were positive and negative determinants, respectively, for clinical benefit. Multivariate analysis further showed that high pTMB was an independent predictive biomarker for both PFS [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.44, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.22–0.88, p = 0.02] and OS (HR = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.18–0.76, p = 0.007).

Conclusion:

High pTMB (⩾19 mut/Mb) is significantly associated with CBR in patients with NSCLC treated with anti-PD-1 agents.
Combatting acquired resistance to osimertinib in EGFR-mutant lung cancer
Authors: Lee Jiyun , Piotrowska Zofia , Soo Ross , Cho Byoung Chul , Lim Sun Min
Published: December 2022

The discovery of activating mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in non-small-cell lung cancer transformed the care and prognosis of patients and heralded the era of ‘personalized medicine’ in thoracic oncology. Osimertinib, a third-generation EGFR inhibitor, has been established as the preferred EGFR inhibitor for newly diagnosed patients which urged the need to develop treatment options for patients progressing on first-line osimertinib. However, acquired resistance invariably emerges and numerous efforts have been attempted to delay or overcome acquired resistance. In this article, we thoroughly reviewed the current understanding of osimertinib resistance mechanisms and explored the established and emerging treatment options. Newer treatment strategies targeting EGFR-dependent or -independent resistance mechanisms, novel approaches using bispecific antibodies and antibody–drug conjugates will be discussed. Moreover, what to do with brain only progression, and how to incorporate immunotherapy in EGFR-mutant lung cancer will be discussed. Lastly, future perspectives on the ongoing clinical trials and combination of front-line therapy will be introduced.
The Association between Radiographic Features and the Duration of Effectiveness of a Single Injection of Extended-Release Hyaluronic Acid (HANOX-M-XL) in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: Preliminary Results of a Prospective Trial
Authors: Perruchet Solène , Balblanc Jean-Charles , Rapp Charles , Bourgoin Charlotte , Guillochon Cerise , Lohse Anne , Conrozier Thierry
Published: December 2022

Background

Advanced radiological stage of knee osteoarthritis (OA) is predictive of poor response to viscosupplementation (VS). To date, the impact of x-ray features on the duration of effectiveness (DE) of VS has not been investigated.

Objectives

To investigate the radiological features associated with DE of VS in patients with knee OA.

Methods

Cross-sectional study in patients with knee OA treated with 1 injection of cross-linked hyaluronic acid (HA). The primary outcome was DE, self-assessed by the patients in weeks of effectiveness. Radiological features (joint space narrowing—JSN topography and Kellgren-Lawrence [K-L] grade) associated with DE were studied.

Results

Fifty-one patients—33 females (76 knees)—were analyzed. The average DE was 52.0 (24.7) weeks (range, 13-155 weeks). In the bivariate analysis, DE was 14 weeks longer in those with K-L grades 1 and 2 (62.6 ± 36.4 weeks) than in those with K-L 3 and 4 (48.9 ± 18.6) ( P = 0.03). DE was not significantly different according to the involved compartment(s). It was significantly longer in men than in women (60 ± 31.4 vs. 47 ± 16 weeks; P = 0.035). In multivariate analysis, K-L grade (1-2 vs. 3-4) ( P = 0.007), male gender (0.02), and older age (0.04) were independently associated with a longer DE.

Conclusion

DE of a single injection of extended-release HA is longer in K-L 1-2 than in K-L 3-4 OA knees, regardless of the JSN topography. However, even the patients with more advanced OA benefited from HANOX-M-XL injection for an average duration barely less than 1 year.