bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Targeting Aquaporin-5 by Phosphodiesterase 4 Inhibition Offers New Therapeutic Opportunities for Ovarian Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in Rats
Authors: Bozkurt Ayse , Karakoy Zeynep , Aydin Pelin , Ozdemir Bengul , Toktay Erdem , Halici Zekai , Cadirci Elif 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis study aimed to examine the effect of Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibition on Aquaporin-5 (AQP5) and its potential cell signaling pathway in the ovarian ischemia reperfusion (OIR) model. Thirty adult female rats were divided into five groups: Group 1; Control: Sham operation, Group 2; OIR that 3 hour ischemia followed by 3 hour reperfusion, Group 3; OIR + Rolipram 1 mg/kg, Group 4; OIR + Rolipram 3 mg/kg, Group 5; OIR + Rolipram 5 mg/kg. Rolipram was administered intraperitoneally to the rats in groups 3-4 and 5 at determined doses 30 minutes before reperfusion. From ovary tissue; Tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-α), Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), Nuclear factor kappa (NF-κB), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D), Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and AQP5 levels were measured by ELISA. We also measured the level of AQP5 in ovary tissue by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In the OIR groups; TNF-α, NF-κB, IL-6, MAPK inflammatory levels increased, and cAMP and AQP5 levels decreased, which improved with the administration of rolipram doses. Also histopathological results showed damaged ovarian tissue after OIR, while rolipram administration decrased tissue damage in a dose dependent manner. We propose that the protective effect of PDE4 inhibition in OIR may be regulated by AQP5 and its potential cell signaling pathway and may be a new target in OIR therapy. However, clinical studies are needed to appraise these data in humans.
Evaluation and health risk assessment of phthalates in Okpa (cow pea pudding) packaged and cooked with polyethene bags in Nsukka, Enugu state, South-East Nigeria
Authors: Nweze Ekene John , Arazu Amarachukwu Vivian , Nduka Florence O. , Amalunweze Adaude Euphemia 
Published: March 2024

AbstractEnvironmental toxicants enter the body via ingestion, inhalation or dermal absorption. Food is one of the major ways by which these toxicants get into the body. Food packaging has evolved in so many ways that materials made with plastics and its additives (Phthalates) are now used. Phthalates are compounds used to make plastics to enhance its functionality. Some have been associated with some health hazards such as endocrine dysfunction, reproductive problems, skin irritations and cancer. The current study was performed to evaluate the risk associated with consuming phthalates in okpa (cow pea pudding). The phthalate quantification and health risks were evaluated using gas chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC–MS) and models adopted by environmental protection agency (EPA) respectively. The Phthalate identified in okpa were diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-Butyl phthalate (DBP), benzylbutyl phthalate (BBP), di-iso-butyl phthalate (DiBP), and di (2-ethylhexyl)phthalate DEHP. The total concentration of phthalate detected was 0.0653 mg/kg with DEP as the highest (0.0196 ± 0.000 mg/kg) and BBP as the least (0.0077 ± 0.001 mg.kg). The highest THQ evaluated was DiBP for both adults (2.84E−1) and children (1.42E−1). The THI for adults and children was 3.35E−1 and 3.01E−1 respectively. The THQ and THI values obtained for adults and children were all less than 1 implying that it is safe. The carcinogenic risk (CR) evaluated for adults and children were 7.23E−6 and 3.61E−5. These values obtained for the THQ, THI and CR all together were within the safe limits stipulated by USEPA, FAO and WHO. However, it is still pertinent to continuously monitor the level of phthalates that may migrate into okpa because red oil content variations may positively impact on its leaching ability.
Isolating a culture of son preference among Armenian, Georgian and Azeri Parents in Soviet-era Russia
Authors: Schief Matthias , Vogt Sonja , Churilova Elena , Efferson Charles 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
A basic hypothesis is that cultural evolutionary processes sustain differences between groups, these differences have evolutionary relevance and they would not otherwise occur in a system without cultural transmission. The empirical challenge is that groups vary for many reasons, and isolating the causal effects of culture often requires appropriate data and a quasi-experimental approach to analysis. We address this challenge with historical data from the final Soviet census of 1989, and our analysis is an example of the epidemiological approach to identifying cultural variation. We find that the fertility decisions of Armenian, Georgian and Azeri parents living in Soviet-era Russia were significantly more son-biased than those of other ethnic groups in Russia. This bias for sons took the form of differential stopping rules; families with sons stopped having children sooner than families without sons. This finding suggests that the increase in sex ratios at birth in the Caucasus, which began in the 1990s, reflects a cultural preference for sons that predates the end of the Soviet Union. This result also supports one of the key hypotheses of gene–culture coevolution, namely that cultural evolutionary processes can support group-level differences in selection pressures that would not otherwise occur in a system without culture.
Saving sheep – On extinction narratives in Namibian Swakara farming
Authors: Schaumann Eleanor 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
The Namibian Swakara industry, a type of sheep farming focused on the production of lamb pelts for the fashion industry, currently faces a crisis situation. Formerly one of the most important export products from Namibia, a combination of drought, falling pelt prices and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic now threaten the survival of Swakara, the Namibian Karakul. The current crisis is articulated in extinction narratives. The potential end of Swakara farming as a way of life and a set of knowledge practices is narratively interwoven with the potential disappearance of Swakara from the Namibian landscape. Extinction narratives in the context of Swakara farming in Namibia blur the lines of human and nonhuman ways of life and their disappearance.
“Like Seeking out a Lost Friend”: Reconsidering “Pioneer” Arab Feminists and Their Networks as Part of a/the First Wave
Authors: Douglas Roxanne 
Published: March 2024

AbstractContemporary Arab feminist writers such as Margot Badran and Mona Eltahawy describe their personal discovery of Arab “pioneers.” This label positions “pioneers” as exceptional figures, which untethers their legacy from contemporary Arab feminists, and from one another. Drawing on the Warwick Research Collective's concept of “combined and uneven development,” this essay rethinks how we understand the first wave to account for the feminist histories in al-mashreq, and therefore reimagines the feminist wave model to account for waves of transmission, of emotion such as inspiration drawn from solidarity with other women. Through analysis of Anglophone scholarship and biographies, translated autobiographical writings of “pioneers,” and analysis of L'Egyptienne magazine, this article offers a new way of framing the work of “pioneer” feminists as part of a wide network of collaborators, and a wave of feminist activism that is locally and globally imbricated. This paper examines women's journals and salons which contribute to a period of “invisible feminism” from 1860 to the early 1920s. The endeavors of three “pioneer” figures, Huda Sha'rawi (Egypt, 1879–1947), Anbara Salam Khalidi (Lebanon, 1897–1986), and May Ziadeh (Palestine/Lebanon, 1886–1941) are then discussed through the lens of their influential friendships with other women.
Explorando la desigualdad social y sexual en contextos urbanos coloniales a través de la enfermedad degenerativa articular: El caso de Mendoza (Argentina)
Authors: Giannotti P. Sebastián , Chiavazza Horacio D. , Luna Leandro H. 
Published: March 2024

Resumen
La organización social de las colonias españolas en América se caracterizó por la desigualdad, configurando estilos de vida disímiles dependiendo de la casta y estamento de pertenencia. Las investigaciones desarrolladas desde una perspectiva paleopatológica en la ciudad colonial de Mendoza (siglos dieciséis al diecinueve), ubicada en el centro-oeste del actual territorio argentino, permitió identificar estados de salud diferenciados en individuos inhumados en cementerios según su procedencia espacial (interior/exterior de los templos). El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar la distribución de la enfermedad degenerativa articular (EDA) entre grupos de distinta procedencia socioeconómica, inhumados en cinco cementerios católicos coloniales del sitio Área Fundacional de Mendoza. Se relevaron superficies articulares apendiculares de 66 adultos de ambos sexos. No se registraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre individuos de diferentes sectores de inhumación, pero sí niveles de estrés mecánico-funcional diferenciados entre sexos según su procedencia social. Se discute la influencia del sexo, la edad y el tamaño corporal en las tendencias identificadas, siendo este último la variable que mayor influencia presentó. Los patrones de uso del cuerpo son interpretados en función del contexto histórico, el sexo y el estatus social del difunto y su familia.
The political consequences of technological change that benefits low-skilled workers
Authors: Finseraas Henning , Nyhus Ole Henning 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Technological change often increases demand for high-skilled jobs, with low-skilled losers turning to the populist right in response. The political effects of technological change that increases demand for low-skilled workers are largely unknown. The growth of the salmon fish-farming industry in rural Norway improved the labor-market situation for low-skilled workers, and we find that support for the populist right-wing party increased in municipalities that benefitted from the industry growth. The electoral change is due to a right-wing shift on the economic, but not the cultural dimension. Our results support political economy frameworks that point to lower demand for state interventions after positive labor market shocks, but raise the question of in what contexts support for populism will decline.
Associations between disturbed sleep and attenuated psychotic experiences in people at clinical high risk for psychosis
Authors: Formica M. J. C. , Fuller-Tyszkiewicz M. , Reininghaus U. , Kempton M. , Delespaul P. , de Haan L. , Nelson B. , Mikocka-Walus A. , Olive L. , Ruhrmann S. , Rutten B. , Riecher-Rössler A. , Sachs G. , Valmaggia L. , van der Gaag M. , McGuire P. , van Os J. ,   EU-GEI High-Risk Study, Hartmann J. A. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractBackgroundPre-diagnostic stages of psychotic illnesses, including ‘clinical high risk’ (CHR), are marked by sleep disturbances. These sleep disturbances appear to represent a key aspect in the etiology and maintenance of psychotic disorders. We aimed to examine the relationship between self-reported sleep dysfunction and attenuated psychotic symptoms (APS) on a day-to-day basis.MethodsSeventy-six CHR young people completed the Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM) component of the European Union Gene-Environment Interaction Study, collected through PsyMate® devices, prompting sleep and symptom questionnaires 10 times daily for 6 days. Bayesian multilevel mixed linear regression analyses were performed on time-variant ESM data using the brms package in R. We investigated the day-to-day associations between sleep and psychotic experiences bidirectionally on an item level. Sleep items included sleep onset latency, fragmentation, and quality. Psychosis items assessed a range of perceptual, cognitive, and bizarre thought content common in the CHR population.ResultsTwo of the seven psychosis variables were unidirectionally predicted by previous night's number of awakenings: every unit increase in number of nightly awakenings predicted a 0.27 and 0.28 unit increase in feeling unreal or paranoid the next day, respectively. No other sleep variables credibly predicted next-day psychotic symptoms or vice-versa.ConclusionIn this study, the relationship between sleep disturbance and APS appears specific to the item in question. However, some APS, including perceptual disturbances, had low levels of endorsement amongst this sample. Nonetheless, these results provide evidence for a unidirectional relationship between sleep and some APS in this population.
A non-anthropocentric solution to the Fermi paradox
Authors: Rakić Vojin 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
A few dozens of solutions to the Fermi paradox have been proposed in the past. The most relevant ones will be concisely discussed in this paper. They will be classified as follows: exceptionality solutions, annihilation solutions and communication barrier solutions. The argument will be advanced that all existing resolutions to the Fermi paradox are in their essence anthropocentric. The epistemological groundwork of anthropocentrism will be discussed. Conversely, in this paper, a non-anthropocentric solution to the Fermi paradox will be proposed: the ‘lasting human epistemological limitations solution’. This resolution to the Fermi paradox acknowledges that human epistemological capacities are limited to the degree that not only extraterrestrial forms of life may be unobservable to the human perceptive apparatus, but that universes may exist around humans with forms of life, inorganic matter or entities of any other type that humans are incapable of perceiving. In light of the revolutionary developments in theoretical physics, it is likely that in the future these developments will be reflected in increasingly non-anthropocentric solutions to the Fermi paradox.
Consolidating political leadership in healthcare: a mediating institution for priority-setting as a political strategy in a local health system
Authors: Bergstedt Emma , Sandman Lars , Nedlund Ann-Charlotte 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe allocation of resources is a crucial part of political decision-making in healthcare, but explicit priorities are rarely set when resources are distributed. Two areas that have received some attention in research about legitimacy and priority-setting decisions in healthcare are the role of technical expert agencies as mediating institutions and the role of elected politicians. This paper investigates a political priority-setting advisory committee within a regional authority in Sweden. The aim is to explore how a political body can serve as a mediating institution for priority-setting in healthcare by disentangling the arrangements of its work in terms of what role it performs in the organisation and what it should do. The findings illustrate that promoting the notion of explicit priority-setting and the political aspects inherent in priority-setting in political healthcare management can contribute to consolidating political governance and leadership. There is, however, a complex tension between stability and conflicting values which has implications for the role of politicians as citizens' democratic representatives. This paper enhances our understanding of the role of mediating institutions and political properties of healthcare priority-setting, as well as our understanding of political and democratic healthcare governance in local self-government.
The Role of Subjective Socioeconomic Status in Predicting Academic Performance: Exploring the Mediating Influence of Sense of Belonging among Students in a Distance Learning University
Authors: Vázquez Alexandra , Alba Beatriz , Lois David , García-Ael Cristina , Bustillos Antonio 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Building upon existing research conducted in face-to-face universities, our research explored whether, in the context of a distance learning institution, the positive association between subjective socioeconomic status and academic performance can be explained by students’ sense of belonging. To that end, we conducted a three-wave correlational study with 2,261 students enrolled in Social Psychology in a distance learning university. At the start of the academic year, we measured participants’ subjective socioeconomic status relative to other students alongside their initial expectations in terms of time investment and grades and other relevant covariates. Midway through the course, we assessed their sense of belonging to the university and, at the end, we recorded their grades. Results suggested that sense of belonging potentially serves as a mediating factor in the positive relationship between subjective socioeconomic status and grades even after accounting for variables like initial grade expectations, time commitment, gender, age, and employment situation. These findings emphasize the pivotal role of students’ psychological connection to the university in shaping their academic achievement, even within the expanding landscape of distance education.
The Middle Niger Basin in Nigeria Has a Rift Origin, as Revealed by the Inversion and Modeling of Gravity and Magnetic Data
Authors: Salawu Naheem Banji , Omosanya Kamaldeen Olakunle L. , Fournier Dominique 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe NW‐SE oriented Middle Niger Basin, which is a Campano‐Maastrichtian inland basin has been the subject of debate among geoscientists regarding its origin and development. This paper aims to unravel the basin's origin and evolution by using high‐resolution magnetic, gravity, and topographical data. The integration of aeromagnetic and gravity data provides a means to assess the influence of igneous intrusions during the basin's evolution. The study presents a new perspective on the origin of the basin, suggesting a rift origin where orthogonal extension played a crucial role in its evolution. The research also investigates the relationship between intrusive rocks and the formation of the basin, finding these rocks are solely located within the basement. The magnetic and gravity maps reveal anomalies associated with intrusive structures within the Precambrian crystalline basement. This is a common feature shared with rifted basins on a global scale.
3D Stresses and Velocities Caused by Continental Plateaus: Scaling Analysis and Numerical Calculations With Application to the Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Macherel Emilie , Räss Ludovic , Schmalholz Stefan M. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractUnderstanding stresses is crucial for geodynamics since they govern rock deformation and metamorphic reactions. However, the magnitudes and distribution of crustal stresses are still uncertain. Here, we use a 3D numerical model in spherical coordinates to investigate stresses and velocities that result from lateral crustal thickness variations around continental plateaus like those observed for the Tibetan plateau. We do not consider any far‐field deformation so that the plateau deforms by horizontal dilatation and vertical thinning. We assume viscous creep, a simplified plateau geometry, and simplified viscosity and density distributions to couple the numerical results with a scaling analysis. Specifically, we study the impact of the viscosity ratio between crust and lithospheric mantle, a rectangular plateau corner, a stress‐dependent power‐law flow law and Earth's double curvature on the crustal stress field and horizontal velocities. Two orders of magnitude variation in crustal and lithospheric mantle viscosities change the maximum crustal differential stress only by a factor of ≈2. We derive simple analytical estimates for the crustal deviatoric stress and horizontal velocity which agree to first order with 3D numerical calculations. We apply these estimates to calculate the average crustal viscosity in the eastern Tibetan plateau as ≈1022 Pa · s. Furthermore, our results show that a corner strongly affects the stress distribution, particularly the shear stresses, while Earth's curvature has a minor impact on the stresses. We further discuss potential implications of our results to strike‐slip faulting and fast exhumation around the Tibetan plateau's syntaxes.
Perceived Challenges to Tribally Led Shellfish Toxin Testing in Southeast Alaska: Findings From Key Informant Interviews
Authors: Roland Hugh B. , Kohlhoff Jacob , Lanphier Kari , Hoysala Sneha , Kennedy Esther G. , Harley John , Whitehead Christopher , Gribble Matthew O. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractShellfish harvesting is central to coastal Alaska Native ways of life, and tribes in Southeast Alaska are committed to preserving sustainable and safe access to subsistence foods. However, consumption of non‐commercially harvested shellfish puts Alaska Native communities at elevated risk of exposure to shellfish toxins. To address a lack of state or federal toxin testing for subsistence and recreational harvesting, tribes across Southeast Alaska have formed their own toxin testing and ocean monitoring program. In this study, we interviewed environmental managers responsible for tribes' testing and others with shellfish toxin expertise to report on perceptions of barriers to tribally led testing in Southeast Alaska. Tribal staff identified 40 prospective key informants to interview, including all environmental managers responsible for shellfish toxin testing at subsistence sites in Southeast Alaska. All 40 individuals were invited to participate in an interview and 27 individuals were interviewed. The most frequently discussed barriers to shellfish toxin testing in Southeast Alaska relate to logistical and staffing difficulties associated with communities' remote locations, inconsistent and inadequate funding and funding structures that increase staff burdens, risk communication challenges related to conveying exposure risks while supporting subsistence harvesting, and implications of climate change‐related shifts in toxin exposures for risk perception and risk communication. Participants stressed the social origins of perceived barriers. Disinvestment may create and sustain barriers and be most severely felt in Native communities and remote places. Climate change impacts may interact with social and cultural factors to further complicate risk management.
Intermittent Criticality Multi‐Scale Processes Leading to Large Slip Events on Rough Laboratory Faults
Authors: Kwiatek Grzegorz , Martínez‐Garzón Patricia , Goebel Thomas , Bohnhoff Marco , Ben‐Zion Yehuda , Dresen Georg 
Published: March 2024

AbstractWe discuss data of three laboratory stick‐slip experiments on Westerly Granite samples performed at elevated confining pressure and constant displacement rate on rough fracture surfaces. The experiments produced complex slip patterns including fast and slow ruptures with large and small fault slips, as well as failure events on the fault surface producing acoustic emission bursts without externally‐detectable stress drop. Preparatory processes leading to large slips were tracked with an ensemble of ten seismo‐mechanical and statistical parameters characterizing local and global damage and stress evolution, localization and clustering processes, as well as event interactions. We decompose complex spatio‐temporal trends in the lab‐quake characteristics and identify persistent effects of evolving fault roughness and damage at different length scales, and local stress evolution approaching large events. The observed trends highlight labquake localization processes on different spatial and temporal scales. The preparatory process of large slip events includes smaller events marked by confined bursts of acoustic emission activity that collectively prepare the fault surface for a system‐wide failure by conditioning the large‐scale stress field. Our results are consistent overall with an evolving process of intermittent criticality leading to large failure events, and may contribute to improved forecasting of large natural earthquakes.