bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Implementing a Tribally-Engaged Lung Cancer Screening Pilot Program in Rural Oklahoma
Authors: Nagykaldi Zsolt , Doescher Mark , Rhoades Dorothy A. , Dwyer Kathleen , Chou Ann , Gibson Michele 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The Tribally-Engaged Approaches to Lung Cancer Screening (TEALS) study aimed to co-design and test a community-based lung cancer screening (LCS) program within a large, tribally operated health system. In 2020-2021, we conducted a pre-post quasi-experimental pilot implementation study of a tailored and comprehensive LCS program in two Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) primary care clinics in rural Oklahoma. The program included screening quality assessment, academic detailing, practice facilitation, health system enhancements, technology support, centralized LCS coordination, and community outreach. Eligibility for LCS was based on the 2013 US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines. Participants completed pre- and post-intervention surveys on their knowledge, attitudes, and experiences regarding LCS. All participant charts were extracted to determine LCS completion. Post-implementation semi-structured interviews of patients and clinicians were conducted and practice facilitator notes were analyzed. Participants (N=57) averaged 67 years, and 66% were current smokers. The proportion of participants who were up to date with LCS increased from 39% to 58% (p&lt;0.01). About 18% of patients reported improvement in general care choice and treatment discussions with their doctor and about 40% reported an improvement in their awareness or understanding of lung cancer and receipt of LCS. We also identified several key facilitators and barriers to LCS implementation at the practice and health system levels. LCS acceptance and uptake improved significantly in this community-engaged pilot intervention which informed a subsequent cluster-randomized trial. Comprehensive and community-engaged LCS programs may have the potential to improve the delivery of LCS in underserved community settings.
“What God Has Joined Together, Let No Man Pull Asunder”?
Authors: Forderer Tanja 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
In Mark 10:1–12, Jesus and the Pharisees discuss whether divorce is permissible. The Pharisees’ question and Jesus’s answer seem artificial against the background of ancient discourses on divorce. Particularly Jesus’s answer in Mark 10:9, which forbids divorce without exception, still gives rise to discussion today. It appears uncompromising and unyielding compared to other NT texts dealing with divorce (Matt 19:1–12; 1 Cor 7:10–16). I show that the prohibition of divorce in Mark 10:9 is the result of a conflict of authority between Jesus and the Pharisees that develops in the Streitgespräche in Mark’s Gospel up to Mark 10:1–12.
Ukraine’s Law on National Minorities and ‘Effective’ Participation: Expanding or Diluting Standards?
Authors: Prina Federica , Pentassuglia Gaetano 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This article provides a critique of Law No. 2827-ix ‘On National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine’, adopted in December 2022, with a focus on minority participation. Following an overview of Ukraine’s international commitments and domestic legislation on minority protection, we consider some of the complexities of Ukraine’s minority rights regime, particularly those linked to the enduring challenge in striking a balance between the promotion of Ukrainian as the sole state language and the use of Russian and other languages. These dynamics have frequently resulted in the politicisation of language issues, with polarising effects. Meanwhile, participation of national minorities in these debates – and more generally in devising law and policy on matters affecting them – has been limited. The Law on National Minorities represents a welcome attempt to bring about inclusive decision-making, and for the Ukrainian state to meet the requirement of guaranteeing opportunities for effective minority participation. However, the Law’s provisions also reveal a clear preoccupation with national unity at a time of acute crisis, and over the instrumentalisation of national minorities by kin states for political ends. Hence the need for balancing out two equally legitimate concerns. Placing the Law on National Minorities in the context of international standards on minority rights, the article points to an increasing emphasis, at the international level, on the substantive – rather than procedural – aspect of minority participation, through a new focus on outcomes and joint ownership of decisions. In this sense, the Law on National Minorities, and subsequent legal reform, can lay the foundations for a system that devises, implements, and evaluates concrete measures for effective participation. The article concludes that inclusive debates, and igo s’ role in facilitating them, are more critical than ever in light of the severity of ongoing challenges.
Houses as Churches: Digital Worship among Orthodox in Lebanon
Authors: Arăș Roxana Maria 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Amid the shifting landscape of COVID-19 restrictions and safety protocols, digital worship came to test Eastern Orthodox liturgical practices and embodied experiences of sensory-rich religious spaces. The rise of online infrastructures as alternatives to in-person devotion triggered a series of negotiations on “right” religious practice, interspersed with the uncertainties of precarious living. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted between 2019 and 2022 with Rum Orthodox practitioners in Beirut, this article looks at online worship to examine how Orthodox practices were reimagined outside churches as public spaces, yet in line with an aspirational coherent tradition. It argues that the spatial and sensory dimensions of online devotion were closely linked to the physicality of domestic environments and to normative understandings of liturgical worship. As Rum practitioners sensed and made sense of digitally-mediated liturgies, the formation of digital religious publics intersected with broader Orthodox modes of relationality and ecclesial authority.
What Does Empathy and Understanding Look Like Across Communication Divides?
Authors: Cundill Helena , van Ommen Leon 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
In qualitative research, researchers and participants must understand each other. In hermeneutics, empathy is typically presented as the road to that understanding. In this article, we ask what empathy is and how empathy can contribute to the knowledge needed for practical theology. We also consider empathy between people who communicate in very different ways, such as when a non-speaking autistic person communicates with a speaking non-autistic person. By drawing on insights from philosophy, counseling, and social sciences and by discussing markers of linguistic and non-linguistic empathy, we work towards a theological account of empathy that is practically relevant in research and other situations.
Early response of phloem in naturally regenerated Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) after complete overstorey removal
Authors: Serkova Aleksandra A. , Tarelkina Tatiana V. , Ivanova Diana S. , Kachanova Elena V. , Semenova Ludmila I. , Klimova Anna V. 
Published: February 2025

Summary
Removal of canopy over natural regeneration of Norway spruce is a common silvicultural practice. In response to release, several adjustments in the structure and function of above- and below-ground organs have been described in young spruce trees. However, changes in the anatomy of the conducting phloem have not been previously investigated. We conducted a study at two forest management sites in the boreal zone, comparing phloem traits in released and control (shaded) trees during the first two years after canopy removal. The trees ranged in age from 10 to 22 years old. Immediately after release, small phloem cells formed in treated trees, but phloem increments did not change, indicating a moderate level of water stress. In the second growing season after canopy removal, released trees formed larger phloem increments due to increased cell number and size compared to control trees. The above changes in phloem anatomy had a positive effect on the calculated values of phloem-specific conductivity, which may be related to the more active transport of photosynthates into the root systems of released trees. The effect was more pronounced in the variant with removal of the canopy of adult coniferous trees, compared to the variant of release from the canopy of young deciduous trees. The results are important for understanding tree responses to changing environmental conditions and for selecting the best silvicultural practices to promote the natural regeneration of Norway spruce.
Improved JRA-3Q Soil Temperature in Permafrost Regions
Authors: Lan Shengtao , Cao Bin , Li Xin , Sun Wen , Wang Shengdi , Ma Rui , Sun Ziyong , Guo Xuejun 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Reanalysis is a valuable potential data source for permafrost studies. The latest generation reanalysis JRA-3Q benefits from improved snow and soil schemes and demonstrates encouraging performance for soil temperature in permafrost regions compared to its predecessor, JRA-55, and other state-of-the-art reanalyses. We find JRA-3Q to have an overall mean annual air temperature bias of −0.17 °C, with −0.55 °C in permafrost regions. The snow depth was underestimated by −5.5 cm. In permafrost regions, the mean annual ground temperature bias was about −0.09 °C. The estimated permafrost area from JRA-3Q is between 10.8–15.8 × 106 km2. The active layer thickness is substantial overestimated by about 0.65 m. The JRA-3Q soil temperature exhibits a pronounced warm bias in Alaska, which is very likely due to the overestimated snow insulation and simplified soil organic content. The Decoupled Energy Conservation Parametrization (DECP) method employed in the JRA-3Q soil scheme restricts its suitability for the interpretation of detailed permafrost phenomena, such as zero-curtain effects. This DECP method is used in many state-of-the-art land surface models; our results demonstrate the need for additional contributions to improve the representation of permafrost-specific processes.
Thermohaline interleaving in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current
Authors: Jakes Maya I. , Phillips Helen E. , Cyriac Ajitha , Foppert Annie , Bindoff Nathaniel L. , Rintoul Stephen R. , Polzin Kurt L. 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Interleaving layers are commonly observed in the subsurface ocean near thermohaline fronts. They imply a lateral exchange of water mass properties and have been shown to influence both lateral and vertical mixing rates. We examine a set of in-situ observations, from EMAPEX floats and Triaxus transects, in an energetic meandering region of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The observations reveal strong interleaving features that are ubiquitous on the northern side of the Polar Front. Interleaving layers are of O(10 m) thick and persist for up to 100 km downstream, over timescales of <1-6 days. The features have cross-stream slopes that are much shallower than expected from mesoscale stirring. The strength of the interleaving layers is partly governed by internal wave-driven diapycnal mixing rates that vary spatially and temporally. Generation of the interleaving layers is complex and could be impacted by several processes, including eddy stirring, shear, ageostrophic dynamics and double-diffusion. The ubiquitous nature and magnitude of these features on the warm side of the front attests to their likely role in cross-frontal exchange, mixing and water mass transformation. Depth-averaged lateral heat flux estimates associated with the intrusions are of O(1 kW m−2), while individual values reach O(1 kW m−2), comparable to eddy heat flux estimates from previous studies. A circumpolar observational dataset reveals hotspots of thermohaline interleaving in the Southern Ocean, associated with major topographic features, confluence regions, and areas of elevated eddy activity. Understanding the processes that generate thermohaline variability, influence mixing rates, and drive cross-frontal exchange are key to understanding how the Southern Ocean regulates the global climate.
Yanai waves in the deep East Indian Ocean observed with seismic ocean tomography
Authors: Peng Shirui , Callies Jörn , Nagura Motoki , Mcphaden Michael J. 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Near-surface measurements of meridional velocity suggest that wind forcing excites equatorial waves in the biweekly band in the Indian Ocean. The characteristics of these waves in the deep ocean are poorly constrained, and it is unclear how well models capture the deep variability. In this work, biweekly temperature variations in a few low vertical modes in the deep East Indian Ocean are observed using seismically generated sound waves. These so-called T waves are generated by earthquakes off Sumatra and received by a hydrophone station off Diego Garcia. Changes in their travel time reflect temperature-induced sound speed variations in the intervening ocean. Regression analysis indicates that these variations are caused by westward-propagating Yanai waves. The comparison between T wave data and model output shows generally good consistency in biweekly variations dominated by the first three vertical modes, although the biweekly variance differs by up to a factor of two between the data and the models. A similar degree of discrepancy appears in the comparison between the models and deep-mooring measurements. These results highlight the potential of using T wave data to study biweekly Yanai waves in the deep equatorial ocean and to calibrate numerical simulations of the variability they cause.
REDUCING SOCIAL INEQUALITIES IN HEALTH IN EUROPE
Authors: Mackenbach Johan P. 
Published: February 2025

Reducing inequalities in health between socioeconomic groups within a country is one of the greatest challenges for public health, even in the highly developed welfare states of Europe. Recognizing this, several countries and the World Health Organization have set quantitative targets for reducing these inequalities. Since these targets were set, reports have appeared suggesting that inequalities in mortality have widened instead of narrowed. However, a systematic analysis of progress in reducing health inequalities has not been made. We therefore collected data from 11 European countries to assess whether there has been progress, and if so how much, in reducing inequalities in mortality in the period 1990-2010. Our findings show that remarkable mortality declines have occurred in lower socioeconomic groups in most European countries, but that whether or not progress has occurred is very much dependent on the perspective chosen. Absolute declines in all-cause mortality were often larger in lower than in higher socioeconomic groups (with absolute inequalities narrowing as a result) among men, but not among women. However, relative declines in mortality were almost always smaller in lower than in higher socioeconomic groups (with relative inequalities widening as a result). Narrowing of absolute inequalities was mainly driven by ischemic heart disease, smoking-related causes (men only), and causes amenable to medical intervention, whereas setbacks with widening inequalities can be seen in many countries for alcohol-related causes. Although, as these results show, recent trends in inequalities in mortality in Europe are more encouraging than commonly thought, they also raise important questions, such as whether the observed narrowing of inequalities in mortality can be interpreted as a beneficial effect of explicit policies, e.g. of national programs to reduce health inequalities. Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that that is not the case, and that wherever a narrowing has occurred this has been a side-effect of population-wide behavioural changes and improvements in prevention and treatment of conditions like cardiovascular disease. Another, more fundamental question is whether in public health we should aim for reducing absolute or relative inequalities in mortality. Quantitative targets are usually ambiguous and do not specify whether relative or absolute inequalities should be reduced. Our findings show that since 1990 no country has achieved a reduction of relative inequalities in mortality, but that in terms of absolute inequalities some countries have even surpassed the 25% reduction target that the World Health Organization proposed. Should we be satisfied with reducing absolute inequalities in mortality, or keep striving for a reduction of relative inequalities as well?
IMPACT OF ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES ON ORAL HEALTH INEQUALITIES
Authors: Hakeberg Magnus 
Published: February 2025

The scientific literature shows that there are several pathways in which different types of health services may affect general health and oral health. Moreover, different factors contribute to the use of health services, in particular dental care. National and local organizational issues concerning dental care are important, both with regard to caregiver and patient perspectives. The output of a series of factors has been clearly associated with inequity in oral health among children and adults within and between countries. The presentation will include theoretical, conceptual aspects, and models of health services and access to dental care, but also empirical findings of how access to dental care can have serious impacts on oral health in different countries and different dental care settings, and how oral health inequalities may develop.
ORAL HEALTH INEQUALITY OF HEARING IMPAIRED CHILDREN IN IRAN
Authors: Tahani B. , Heidary A.S. 
Published: February 2025

The aim of this study was to assess the oral hygiene, dental caries and trauma status of 4-12 years old hearing impaired children in Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all of the hearing impaired 4-6 years old children studying in the preschools under the supervision of the Welfare Organization and 6-12 years old children in schools under the supervision of the Education Organization were recruited. Informed consent was obtained from parents and the project got approval of the ethics committee in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Children were clinically examined by one examiner in their preschools and schools and Information about oral hygiene, dental caries and gingival status were recorded using gingival index (GI), oral hygiene index-simplified (OHI-s) and DMFT. Trauma status was also recorded in data reported forms. Descriptive and analytical statistics including, T-test (for comparing DMFT by gender and the two age groups), Chi squared (for comparing the frequency of trauma between the two age groups) and Mann-Whitney (for comparing the GI and OHI-s in two age groups) were used. Linear regression analysis was also used to determine the DMFT predictive factors and their effect size. Results: 137 children including 43 (31.4%) aged 4-6 years, 94(68.6%) 6-12 years including were examined. The means of dmft and the total DMFT were 3.4 ±4.1 and 3.8 ±4.4, respectively. 78(57.5%) had good oral hygiene; OHI-S. Only 15(10.9%) of children had normal gingiva using the GI index with a significant difference between the two age groups (p=0.012). 40(29.2%) of all children had a history of head and neck trauma including 22(51.2%) in age group of 4-6 and 18(19.1%) in age group of 6-12 years (p<0.001). Regression model revealed that the age of children (B-coefficient= -0.5, p=0.04), their level of impairment (complete hearing loss/moderate hearing loss, B-coefficient= 3.4, p<0.001) and the OHI-S (B-coefficient=1.2, p=0.03) were significantly predictors of DMFT. Conclusions: Dental caries status of the children in our study was above the state and province means in the age group of 4-12 years and also their gingival health status was poor. The oral health status and behaviors were improved in older children. Improvement of oral health status of this special group children should be considered more by policy makers. Methods of funding: We express our gratitude to the chancellery of research in dental schoolof Isfahan university of medical sciences and administrative support and also department of education and training of province for administrative cooperation
THE PREVENTION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES IN KOSOVO PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
Authors: Begzati B.A. , Xhemajli-Latifi B. , Doberdoli D. , Begzati R.Aj. , Haliti F. 
Published: February 2025

Aim: To test effectiveness over 2 years of Fluor protector S (7700 ppm fluoride) in the prevention of Early childhood caries (ECC) in Kosovo preschool children. Method: 500 children aged 18-48 months were randomly selected at ten kindergartens in the capital Prishtina. The subjects were randomly divided into equal test and control groups. Fluor protector, was applied in the test group 4 times a year, over two years. The control group was examined similarly to the test group, plus advice given for daily oral hygiene. Exclusion criteria were: uncooperative children, children with special needs, etc. Dental status was recorded based on International caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) index. Examinations were carried out by one profesor, three specialist and a PhD candidate in from preventive dentistry. Diagnostic criteria was calibrated with inter- examiner reliability of kappa = 0.90 based on the examination of 25 children. Statistical tests included T-test or analysis of the variance (One Way ANOVA). This study was approved by the Ethical Board of the Medical Faculty of Kosova. All participants parents gave informed consent. Results: The mean dmfs at base line in the test group was 1.4 teeth in the control group, 0.9 teeth. At the end of 2 years the mean dmfs for the test group was 5.3, and for the control group it was 10. The fluoride varnish had significantly reduced caries by 50%, compared with the control group. At the end of the study, there were 151 (69%) caries free children in the test group and 88 (42%) in the control group, with a significant difference between groups (p<0.001). Conclusions: Early childhood caries with very high prevalence remains a serious medical and social problem, especially in countries where there is no national program of oral health, such as in Kosovo. Application of Fluor protector S, 4 times a year is effective in caries reduction. Fluor protector S application to newly erupted teeth accompanied by education and dietary measures may reduce the high prevalence of ECC.