bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Therapeutic hypothermia augments the restorative effects of PKC-β and Nox2 inhibition on an in vitro model of human blood–brain barrier
Authors: Kadir Rais Reskiawan A. , Alwjwaj Mansour , McCarthy Zoe , Bayraktutan Ulvi 
Published: August 2021

AbstractTo investigate whether therapeutic hypothermia augments the restorative impact of protein kinase C-β (PKC-β) and Nox2 inhibition on an in vitro model of human blood–brain barrier (BBB). Cells cultured in normoglycaemic (5.5 mM) or hyperglycaemic (25 mM, 6 to 120 h) conditions were treated with therapeutic hypothermia (35 °C) in the absence or presence of a PKC-β inhibitor (LY333531, 0.05 μM) or a Nox2 inhibitor (gp91ds-tat, 50 μM). BBB was established by co-culture of human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) with astrocytes (HAs) and pericytes. BBB integrity and function were assessed via transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) and paracellular flux of sodium fluorescein (NaF, 376 Da). Nox activity (lucigenin assay), superoxide anion production (cytochrome-C reduction assay), cellular proliferative capacity (wound scratch assay) and actin cytoskeletal formation (rhodamine-phalloidin staining) were assessed both in HBMECs and HAs using the specific methodologies indicated in brackets. Therapeutic hypothermia augmented the protective effects of PKC-β or Nox2 inhibition on BBB integrity and function in experimental setting of hyperglycaemia, as evidenced by increases in TEER and concomitant decreases in paracellular flux of NaF. The combinatory approaches were more effective in repairing physical damage exerted on HBMEC and HA monolayers by wound scratch and in decreasing Nox activity and superoxide anion production compared to sole treatment regimen with either agent. Similarly, the combinatory approaches were more effective in suppressing actin stress fibre formation and maintaining normal cytoskeletal structure. Therapeutic hypothermia augments the cerebral barrier-restorative capacity of agents specifically targeting PKC-β or Nox2 pathways.
Automated semi-real-time detection of muscle activity with ultrasound imaging
Authors: Sosnowska Anna J. , Vuckovic Aleksandra , Gollee Henrik 
Published: August 2021

AbstractUltrasound imaging (USI) biofeedback is a useful therapeutic tool; however, it relies on qualitative assessment by a trained therapist, while existing automatic analysis techniques are computationally demanding. This study aims to present a computationally inexpensive algorithm based on the difference in pixel intensity between USI frames. During an offline experiment, where data was analyzed after the study, participants performed isometric contractions of the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle, as executed (30% of maximum contraction) or attempted (low force contraction up to a point when the participant is aware of exerting force or contracting the muscle) movements, while USI, EMG, and force data were recorded. The algorithm achieved 99% agreement with EMG and force measurements for executed movements and 93% for attempted movements, with USI detecting 1.9% more contractions than the other methods. In the online study, participants performed GM muscle contractions at 10% and 30% of maximum contraction, while the algorithm provided visual feedback proportional to the muscle activity (based on USI recordings during the maximum contraction) in less than 3 s following each contraction. We show that the participants reached the target consistently, learning to perform precise contractions. The algorithm is reliable and computationally very efficient, allowing real-time applications on standard computing hardware. It is a suitable method for automated detection, quantification of muscle contraction, and to provide biofeedback which can be used for training of targeted muscles, making it suitable for rehabilitation.
Graphical abstract
Biofeedback session based on ultrasound imaging (USI) during muscle training. Novel, computationally inexpensive algorithm based on the difference in pixel intensity between USI frames is used to process the video and provide quantitative feedback on the strength of muscle contraction.
HIV-Therapie – ein Überblick
Authors: Skoll M. 
Published: August 2021

ZusammenfassungBereits mehr als 30 Jahre sind seit der Zulassung der ersten antiretroviralen Therapien vergangen, und die Entwicklungen der medikamentösen Behandlung der HIV-Infektion konnten seither großartige Erfolge verzeichnen. Heutzutage steht HIV-Behandlern ein breites Spektrum an Wirkstoffen zur Verfügung, um für die Patientinnen und Patienten sozusagen individualisierte HIV-Therapien zu verordnen. Es gibt 5 Wirkstoffklassen, die auf jeweils unterschiedliche Angriffspunkte im HIV-Replikationszyklus abzielen. Für eine adäquate Therapie ist stets eine Kombination von Medikamenten aus diesen Klassen erforderlich, wobei neben den bekannten klassischen Dreifachtherapien auch bereits bestimmte duale Therapien für die Behandlung der HIV-Infektion zugelassen sind. Moderne antiretrovirale Therapien sind sehr gut verträglich und einfach einzunehmen, wodurch die Therapietreue der Patienten positiv beeinflusst wird. Entscheidend für die Wahl der passenden antiretroviralen Therapie sind auch die Resistenzbarriere sowie das Interaktionspotenzial der jeweiligen Substanzen. Bei erfolgreicher Behandlung der HIV-Infektion wird die viral RNA im Plasma der betroffenen Person unter die Nachweisbarkeitsgrenze gesenkt, wodurch in weiterer Folge neben den positiven Auswirkungen auf das Immunsystem der Patienten auch die Transmission der HIV-Infektion über sexuelle Kontakte verhindert wird. In diesem Beitrag wird ein Überblick über die wichtigsten Wirkstoffe der jeweiligen Klassen mit entsprechenden Vor- und Nachteilen der Substanzen geschaffen sowie aktuelle Empfehlungen zur Kombination antiretroviraler Medikamente dargestellt.
An Organizational Analysis of the Schismatic Church of Satan
Authors: Foertsch Steven 
Published: August 2021

Background The Church of Satan, the seminal example of organizational Satanism, was founded in 1966. During the 1970s, the Church of Satan was wracked by a history of numerous schisms. Despite the notoriety of Satanism in popular culture, few scholars have analyzed the Church of Satan as a religious organization. Furthermore, not many scholars have directly discussed the schisms that it has undergone. Purpose The purpose of this research is to analyze the Church of Satan, an understudied case in American religious organizational history, and its schisms. A theoretical framework based on religious economies and organizational ecology is introduced to account for schism in Satanism, which hitherto has been dominated by European cultural milieu arguments. Methods A historical case study is performed on the case of the Church of Satan, using primary and secondary documentation, in order to address four theoretical propositions. Results Findings demonstrate costliness, authority, doctrine, and niche/environment were all potential causes for the schisms that impacted the Church of Satan. Conclusions and Implications The Church of Satan conforms to religious economies and organizational ecology theory expectations of schism. Further research is needed to understand organizational aspects of Satanism and other avant garde religious groups.
Legendre polynomial-based robust Fourier transformation and its use in reduction to the pole of magnetic data
Authors: Nuamah Daniel Oduro Boatey , Dobróka Mihály , Vass Péter , Baracza Mátyás Krisztián 
Published: August 2021

AbstractA new inversion based Fourier transformation technique named as Legendre-Polynomials Least-Squares Fourier Transformation (L-LSQ-FT) and Legendre-Polynomials Iteratively Reweighted Least-Squares Fourier Transformation (L-IRLS-FT) are presented. The introduced L-LSQ-FT algorithm establishes an overdetermined inverse problem from the Fourier transform. The spectrum was approximated by a series expansion limited to a finite number of terms, and the solution of inverse problem, which gives the values of series expansion coefficients, was obtained by the LSQ method. Practically, results from the least square method are responsive to data outliers, thus scattered large errors and the estimated model values may be far from reality. A definitely better option is attained by introducing Steiner’s Most Frequent Value method. By combining the IRLS algorithm with Cauchy-Steiner weights, the Fourier transformation process was robustified to give the L-IRLS-FT method. In both cases Legendre polynomials were applied as basis functions. Thus the approximation of the continuous Fourier spectra is given by a finite series of Legendre polynomials and their coefficients. The series expansion coefficients were obtained as a solution to an overdetermined non-linear inverse problem. The traditional DFT and the L-IRLS-FT were tested numerically using synthetic datasets as well as field magnetic data. The resulting images clearly show the reduced sensitivity of the newly developed L-IRLS-FT methods to outliers and scattered noise compared to the traditional DFT. Conclusively, the newly developed L-IRLS-FT can be considered to be a better alternative to the traditional DFT.
Zwischen Regulierung und Repression
Authors: Richter Thomas , Johansson Jessica , Castro Silvia Rojas 
Published: August 2021

ZusammenfassungGesetzliche Maßnahmen im Bereich der Auslandsfinanzierung von zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen werden inzwischen als zentraler Bestandteil von schrumpfenden zivilgesellschaftlichen Räumen angesehen. Allerdings existiert in der Literatur bisher kein Konsens über die Angemessenheit eines expliziten staatlichen Eingriffs in diesem Bereich. Der Artikel entwickelt deswegen einen konzeptionellen Rahmen, um den einschränkenden Charakter von staatlichen Eingriffen empirisch präziser als bisher bestimmen zu können. Wir plausibilisieren unser konzeptionelles Argument anhand von sechs kurzen Fallstudien zu Deutschland, Österreich, der Türkei, Ungarn, Uruguay und Venezuela. Damit tragen wir in dreifacher Art und Weise zur Debatte über schrumpfende zivilgesellschaftliche Räume bei. Wir zeigen erstens, dass gesetzliche Maßnahmen in Bezug auf die ausländische Finanzierung von Zivilgesellschaft nicht zwangsläufig als Teil eines weltweiten repressiven Trends anzusehen sind. Zweitens schlagen wir eine neue analytische Einordnung vor, die über das bisher dominante binäre Verständnis hinausgeht, welches gerade im Global Süden jeglicher Anpassung gesetzlicher Maßnahmen in diesem Bereich repressive Tendenzen unterstellt. Drittens versuchen wir eine Sicht der internationalen Menschenrechte zur Vereinigungsfreiheit mit einer auf nationalen verfassungsrechtlichen Normen fokussierten Perspektive in Verbindung zu bringen, um damit empirisch-analytisch präziser auf die in vielen Ländern existierenden rechtsnormativen Unterschiede zwischen diesen beiden Ebenen aufmerksam zu machen.
Quantifying Disaster Impacts on Local Public Health Agency’s Leadership, Staffing, and Provision of Essential Public Health Services
Authors: Clay Lauren A. , Stone Kahler W. , Horney Jennifer A. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractObjective:The objective of this study is to assess the impact that natural disaster response has on local health departments’ (LHD) ability to continue to provide essential public health services.Methods:A web-based survey was sent to all North Carolina Local Health Directors. The survey asked respondents to report on LHD functioning following Hurricanes Florence (2018) and Dorian (2019).Results:After Hurricane Florence, the positions who most frequently had regular duties postponed or interrupted were leadership (15 of 48; 31.3%), and professional staff (e.g., nursing and epidemiology: 11 of 48; 22.9%). Staffing shelters for all phases – from disaster response through long-term recovery – was identified as a burden by LHDs, particularly for nursing staff. Approximately 66.6% of LHD jurisdictions opened an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) or activated Incident Command System in response to both hurricanes. If an EOC was activated, the LHD was statistically, significantly more likely to report that normal duties had been interrupted across every domain assessed.Conclusions:The ability of LHDs to perform regular activities and provide essential public health services is impacted by their obligations to support disaster response. Better metrics are needed to measure the impacts to estimate indirect public health impacts of disasters.
Issues in Radiation Nursing Education in Japan Before and After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident
Authors: Horiuchi Teruko , Yamada Chieri , Kinoshita Misako , Moriyama Nobuaki , Yasumura Seiji 
Published: August 2021

AbstractBackground:The response of nurses in Japan to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident was deemed inadequate. This study examined the issues in Japanese radiation nursing education.Method:Anonymous, self-administered postal questionnaires were sent to managers and teachers of 1053 basic nursing educational institutions in Japan.Results:Among the 342 institutions that completed the questionnaire, 218 (63.7%) had incorporated Radiological Nursing Education into their curriculum while 124 (36.3%) had not. Based on the time of their incorporation, they were divided into the pre-accident incorporation group and the post-accident incorporation groups. For 89 of 111 institutions (85.6%) in the former group, the main reason for the incorporation was radiotherapy care. For 11 of 26 institutions (42.3%) in the latter group, the incorporation was their response to the nuclear disaster.Conclusion:Nursing education in Japan has been inadequate, and as such, nurses find it hard to respond to nuclear disasters. Examining the current nursing education system and building a new model based on the nuclear disaster experience are urgent issues.
Variability in the antioxidant MSRA gene affects the psychopathology of patients with anorexia nervosa
Authors: González Luz M , García-Herráiz Angustias , Mota-Zamorano Sonia , Albuquerque David , Flores Isalud , Gervasini Guillermo 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe objective is to determine whether variability in the MSRA gene, related to obesity and several psychiatric conditions, may be relevant for psychopathological symptoms common in Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and/or for the susceptibility to the disorder. A total of 629 women (233 AN patients and 396 controls) were genotyped for 14 tag-SNPs. Psychometric evaluation was performed with the EDI-2 and SCL-90R questionnaires. Genetic associations were carried out by logistic regression controlling for age and adjusting for multiple comparisons (FDR method). Two tag-SNPs, rs11249969 and rs81442 (with a pairwise r2 value of 0.41), were associated with the global EDI-2 score, which measures EDI-related psychopathology (adjusted FDR-q = 0.02 and 0.04, respectively). Moreover, rs81442 significantly modulated all the scales of the SCL-90R test that evaluates general psychopathology (FDR-q values ranged from 4.1E-04 to 0.011). A sliding-window analysis using adjacent 3-SNP haplotypes revealed a proximal region of the MSRA gene spanning 187.8 Kbp whose variability deeply affected psychopathological symptoms of the AN patients. Depression was the symptom that showed the strongest association with any of the constructed haplotypes (FDR-q = 3.60E−06). No variants were found to be linked to AN risk or anthropometric parameters in patients or controls. Variability in the MSRA gene locus modulates psychopathology often presented by AN patients.
Physiological threat sensitivity predicts anti-immigrant attitudes
Authors: Mustafaj Matea , Madrigal Guadalupe , Roden Jessica , Ploger Gavin W. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractResearch finds that the perception that immigrants are culturally and economically threatening is associated with negative attitudes toward immigration. In a largely separate body of work, psychophysiological predispositions toward threat sensitivity are connected to a range of political attitudes, including immigration. This article draws together these two literatures, using a lab experiment to explore psychophysiological threat sensitivity and immigration attitudes in the United States. Respondents with higher threat sensitivity, as measured by skin conductance responses to threatening images, tend to be less supportive of immigration. This finding builds on our understanding of the sources of anti-immigrant attitudes.
Risk factors for poor colostrum quality and failure of passive transfer in Scottish dairy calves
Authors: Haggerty Alexandra , Mason Colin , Ellis Kathryn , Denholm Katharine 
Published: August 2021

AbstractFailure of passive transfer (FPT) has health, welfare and economic implications for calves. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration of 370 dairy calf serum samples from 38 Scottish dairy farms was measured via radial immunodiffusion (RID) to determine FPT prevalence. IgG concentration, total bacteria count (TBC) and total coliform count (TCC) of 252 colostrum samples were also measured. A questionnaire was completed at farm enrollment to investigate risk factors for FPT and poor colostrum quality at farm-level. Multivariable mixed effect logistic and linear regressions were carried out to determine significant risk factors for FPT and colostrum quality. Prevalence of FPT at calf level was determined to be 14.05%. Of 252 colostrum samples, 111 (44.05%) failed to meet Brix thresholds for colostrum quality. Of these 28 and 38 samples also exceeded TBC and TCC thresholds, respectively. Increased time between parturition and colostrum harvesting was numerically (non-significantly) associated with a colostrum Brix result <22%, and increased time spent in a bucket prior to feeding or storing was significantly associated with high TBC (≥100 000 cfu/ml and also ≥10 000 cfu/ml). High TBC values in colostrum were significantly associated with lower serum IgG concentrations. This study highlights associations between colostrum quality and FPT in dairy calves as well as potential risk factors for reduced colostrum quality; recommending some simple steps producers can take to maximise colostrum quality on farm.
Disorder-specific cingulo-opercular network hyperconnectivity in pediatric OCD relative to pediatric anxiety
Authors: Becker Hannah C. , Norman Luke J. , Yang Huan , Monk Christopher S. , Phan K. Luan , Taylor Stephan F. , Liu Yanni , Mannella Kristin , Fitzgerald Kate D. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractBackgroundPrior investigation of adult patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) has found greater functional connectivity within orbitofrontal–striatal–thalamic (OST) circuitry, as well as altered connectivity within and between large-scale brain networks such as the cingulo-opercular network (CON) and default mode network (DMN), relative to controls. However, as adult OCD patients often have high rates of co-morbid anxiety and long durations of illness, little is known about the functional connectivity of these networks in relation to OCD specifically, or in young patients near illness onset.MethodsIn this study, unmedicated female patients with OCD (ages 8–21 years,n= 23) were compared to age-matched female patients with anxiety disorders (n= 26), and healthy female youth (n= 44). Resting-state functional connectivity was used to determine the strength of functional connectivity within and between OST, CON, and DMN.ResultsFunctional connectivity within the CON was significantly greater in the OCD group as compared to the anxiety and healthy control groups. Additionally, the OCD group displayed greater functional connectivity between OST and CON compared to the other two groups, which did not differ significantly from each other.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that previously noted network connectivity differences in pediatric patients with OCD were likely not attributable to co-morbid anxiety disorders. Moreover, these results suggest that specific patterns of hyperconnectivity within CON and between CON and OST circuitry may characterize OCD relative to non-OCD anxiety disorders in youth. This study improves understanding of network dysfunction underlying pediatric OCD as compared to pediatric anxiety.
The Limits of Electoralism
Authors: Olufemi Kola 
Published: August 2021

With the declaration of former military ruler, General Olusegun Obasanjo, as the president-elect, the long process of choosing Nigeria’s next civilian leadership finally brought to an end what had been a veritable “transition without end.” Although the elections have been successfully concluded, serious doubts remain concerning the survival and stability of the incoming civil order. It is one thing to hold elections, but establishing an enduring democratic order is a totally different and more challenging task.On at least two grounds, the ongoing transition differed from earlier attempts. First, unlike General Ibrahim Babangida’s model of “guided transition”—in which the government formed the two political parties, wrote their manifestos, provided their funding, and appointed their officials—the current political parties were formed entirely by the political elite through the coalescence and structuring of the different political tendencies that survived General Sani Abacha’s reign of terror.
Political Transition, Ethnoregionalism, and the “Power Shift” Debate in Nigeria
Authors: Ibrahim Jibrin 
Published: August 2021

The Nigerian military has been engaged in a program of transition to democratic rule since 1985. The country’s military rulers developed “transition politics” into a strategy of transitions without end, a ruse to prevent democratization. Hopefully, Nigeria is now at the crossroads. One of the most important issues posed in the transition has been the ethnoregional one: Would entrenched ethnoregional forces allow political power to shift from the North to the South? It is not a new question in Nigerian transition politics.Two broad issues surface when ethnoregional domination emerges as a political issue in Nigeria: control of political power and its instruments, such as the armed forces and the judiciary; and control of economic power and resources.
South Africa 1999: The ANC and Democratic Consolidation
Authors: Southall Roger 
Published: August 2021

Two days before South Africa’s national election on June 2, 1999, Business Day—the country’s “quality” national daily newspaper—pronounced that “on balance” its vote was going to the African National Congress (ANC) for the job it had done since 1994. The government’s performance could have been better, it opined, but it could also have been a lot worse:The ruling party deserves credit for the relative social stability SA has enjoyed since 1994. Its macroeconomic management, while not flawless, has been impressive. It has resisted taking the populist route. That it has been able and willing to do so is thanks, in part, to the strong 62% majority it won at the last election. ANC leaders might have felt less able to resist populist pressures had the majority been narrower.After an uncertain start, the ANC has begun to deliver the improvements to the quality of life of its primary constituency, the black majority. Maintaining fiscal discipline while delivering on at least some election promises in the midst of an emerging markets crisis has been a remarkable balancing act.Nevertheless, we cannot overlook some severe flaws and failures. The school system is a mess. Crime could have been more effectively dealt with. The performance of many ANC-run provincial governments has been abysmal. Notwithstanding its anti-corruption talk, it has displayed a reluctance to act firmly against culprits seen as party loyalists. All of which emphasizes the need for an effective opposition—if one can be found.