The Transcultural Community Resilience Scale: Psychometric Properties and Multinational Validity in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021

Few instruments assess community resilience. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the capacity of communities to support resilience of members deserves to be assessed to develop programs for improving mental health of affected populations. This article presents the development of the Transcultural-Community Resilience Scale (T-CRS), its underlying factorial structure and transcultural validity with a multilingual (English, French, Creole, Kinyarwanda), multinational (DR Congo, Haiti, Rwanda, Togo) and multicultural sample affected by this pandemic. A sample of 1,267 participants (40.9% women) were recruited in the four countries: DRC (n = 626, 43.4% women), Haiti (n = 225, 42.0% women), R…

Rescuing monopronucleated-derived human blastocysts: a model to study chromosomal topography and fingerprinting.

2021

Objective To quantify the percentage of monopronuclear-derived blastocysts (MNBs) that are potentially useful for reproductive purposes using classic and state-of-the-art chromosome analysis approaches, and to study chromosomal distribution in the inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) for intertissue/intratissue concordance comparison. Design Prospective experimental study. Setting Single-center in vitro fertilization clinic and reproductive genetics laboratory. Patient(s) A total of 1,128 monopronuclear zygotes were obtained between June 2016 and December 2018. Intervention(s) MNBs were whole-fixed or biopsied to obtain a portion of ICM and 2 TE portions (TE1 and TE2) and were subse…

In Vitro Evaluation of Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) In Situ Forming Gels for Bedaquiline Fumarate Salt and Pharmacokinetics Following Subcutaneous Inje…

2021

This study evaluated in vitro and in vivo drug release of bedaquiline from in situ forming gels (ISGs) containing 200 mg eq./g bedaquiline fumarate salt prepared with four different grades of poly(d,l-lactide) (PDLLA) or poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) with a lactide/glycolide ratio of 50/50 or 75/25 and acid (A) or ester (E) end-capping in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone at a polymer/solvent ratio of 20/80% (w/w). Mean in vitro drug release in 0.05 M phosphate buffer pH 7.4 with 1% (w/v) sodium lauryl sulphate was 37.3, 47.1, 53.3, and 62.3% within 28 days for ISGs containing PLGA5050A, PDLLA, PLGA7525A, and PLGA7525E, respectively. The data suggested that drug release was primarily controlle…

Exploring the Role of Skeletal Muscle in Insulin Resistance: Lessons from Cultured Cells to Animal Models

2021

Skeletal muscle is essential to maintain vital functions such as movement, breathing, and thermogenesis, and it is now recognized as an endocrine organ. Muscles release factors named myokines, which can regulate several physiological processes. Moreover, skeletal muscle is particularly important in maintaining body homeostasis, since it is responsible for more than 75% of all insulin-mediated glucose disposal. Alterations of skeletal muscle differentiation and function, with subsequent dysfunctional expression and secretion of myokines, play a key role in the pathogenesis of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic diseases, finally leading to cardiometabolic complications. Hence, a de…

Semantic and action tool knowledge in the brain: Identifying common and distinct networks.

2021

Most cognitive models of apraxia assume that impaired tool use results from a deficit occurring at the conceptual level, which contains dedicated information about tool use, namely, semantic and action tool knowledge. Semantic tool knowledge contains information about the prototypical use of familiar tools, such as function (e.g., a hammer and a mallet share the same purpose) and associative relations (e.g., a hammer goes with a nail). Action tool knowledge contains information about how to manipulate tools, such as hand posture and kinematics. The present review aimed to better understand the neural correlates of action and semantic tool knowledge, by focusing on activation, stimulation an…

Rents instead of Land. Credit and Peasant Indebtedness in Late Medieval Mediterranean Iberia: the Kingdom of Valencia

2021

AbstractThe literature on the rural economy of the high and late Middle Ages has long established a close correlation between three significant features of the period: the spread of rural credit, the dynamism of the peasant land market and the expropriation of peasant land by the creditors, usually yeomen or urban landowners. There has even been talk for some countries (northern Italy) of a deliberate strategy of territorial conquest, insofar as the credit provided by urban lenders would aim at the expropriation of land from insolvent debtors. This article studies for the Mediterranean Spain of the late Middle Ages, and in particular for the old kingdom of Valencia, other objectives of rura…

The role of sense of community in harnessing the wisdom of crowds and creating collaborative knowledge during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021

Abstract This study investigates the role of sense of community in harnessing the wisdom of the crowd and creating collaborative knowledge during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also explores the impact of collaborative knowledge creation on the perceived value of social media crowdsourcing in such crises. PLS-SEM was used to analyze the data and test the research model. The results show that sense of community has a significant role in harnessing the wisdom of the crowd and creating collaborative knowledge. The results confirm a significant impact of sense of community, the wisdom of the crowd, and collaborative knowledge creation on the perceived value of social media crowdsourcing in respondin…

Brain erythropoietin fine-tunes a counterbalance between neurodifferentiation and microglia in the adult hippocampus

2021

In adult cornu ammonis hippocampi, erythropoietin (EPO) expression drives the differentiation of new neurons,independent of DNA synthesis, and increases dendritic spine density. This substantial brain hardwareupgrade is part of a regulatory circle: during motor-cognitive challenge, neurons experience ‘‘functional’’hypoxia, triggering neuronal EPO production, which in turn promotes improved performance. Here, weshow an unexpected involvement of resident microglia. During EPO upregulation and stimulated neurodifferentiation,either by functional or inspiratory hypoxia, microglia numbers decrease. Treating mice with recombinanthuman (rh)EPO or exposure to hypoxia recapitulates these changes and…

Disturbed Glucose Metabolism and Left Ventricular Geometry in the General Population

2021

Background: This study sought to investigate the prevalence and clinical outcome of left ventricular (LV) geometry in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the impact of glucose metabolism on the incidence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Methods: 15,010 subjects (35–74 years) of the population-based Gutenberg Health Study were categorized into euglycemia, prediabetes, and T2DM according to clinical and metabolic (HbA1c) information. Clinical outcome was assessed via structured follow-up. Results: The study comprised 12,121 individuals with euglycemia (81.6%), 1415 with prediabetes (9.5%), and 1316 with T2DM (8.9%). Prevalence of LVH increased from euglycemia (10.2%) ove…

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2021

AbstractAs the global health crisis unfolded, many academic conferences moved online in 2020. This move has been hailed as a positive step towards inclusivity in its attenuation of economic, physical, and legal barriers and effectively enabled many individuals from groups that have traditionally been underrepresented to join and participate. A number of studies have outlined how moving online made it possible to gather a more global community and has increased opportunities for individuals with various constraints, e.g., caregiving responsibilities.Yet, the mere existence of online conferences is no guarantee that everyone can attend and participate meaningfully. In fact, many elements of a…

Reviewing 15 years of research on neoliberal conservation: Towards a decolonial, interdisciplinary, intersectional and community-engaged research age…

2021

Abstract In this paper, we undertake an extensive review of the neoliberal conservation literature with the aim to explore and substantiate the principal ways in which conservation is neoliberalized in practice as well as who has studied these processes and through which collaborative patterns. Using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis, we explore selected characteristics of the peer-reviewed scholarship, including most commonly used concepts, methods and topics, geographical and co-authorship patterns, critical readings of key processes of neoliberalization, including commodification, privatization, dispossession, governance rescaling, governmentalities, and its engagement…

Antifungal activity of peracetic acid against toxigenic fungal contaminants of maize and barley at the postharvest stage

2021

Abstract Contamination of maize and barley grain during storage by the toxigenic fungi Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) and Penicillium Verrucosum (P. verrucosum) is both an economic and a public health problem, especially in less industrialized countries. Peracetic acid (PA) is a compound used for the disinfection of food and food contact surfaces. Unlike other disinfectants, it leaves no toxic residues and its decomposition products (CH3COOH, O2 and H2O) are environmentally friendly. In order to apply PA to preserve maize and barley grain during storage, first, the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) against both fungi were determined in a 96-we…

A Push-Pull Mechanism Helps Design Highly Competent G-Quadruplex-DNA Catalysts

2021

International audience; Massive efforts are currently being invested to improve the performance, versatility, and scope of applications of nucleic acid catalysts. G-quadruplex (G4)/hemin DNAzymes are of particular interest owing to their structural programmability and chemical robustness. However, optimized catalytic efficiency is still bottleneck and the activation mechanism is unclear. Herein, we have designed a series of parallel G4s with different proximal cytosine (dC) derivatives to fine-tune the hemin-binding pocket for G4-DNAzymes. Combining theoretical and experimental methods, we have assessed the dependence of catalytic enhancement on the electronic properties of proximal dCs and…

Recensione a: Polipticum quod appellatur Perpendiculum

2021

Recensione alla prima vera e propria edizione critica del Polipticum quod appellatur Perpendiculum di Attone di Vercelli, curata da Giacomo Vignodelli e con un saggio di Luigi G.G. Ricci, apparsa a Firenze, presso la SISMEL – Edizioni del Galluzzo, nel 2019, all'interno dell'Edizione Nazionale dei Testi Mediolatini d’Italia. Review of the first real critical edition of the Polipticum quod appellatur Perpendiculum by Attone di Vercelli

Higher glucose availability augments the metabolic responses of the C2C12 myotubes to exercise-like electrical pulse stimulation

2021

The application of exercise-like electrical pulse simulation (EL-EPS) has become a widely used exercise mimetic in vitro. EL-EPS produces similar physiological responses as in vivo exercise, while less is known about the detailed metabolic effects. Routinely, the C2C12 myotubes are cultured in high-glucose medium (4.5 g/L), which may alter EL-EPS responses. In this study, we evaluate the metabolic effects of EL-EPS under the high- and low-glucose (1.0 g/L) conditions to understand how substrate availability affects the myotube response to EL-EPS. The C2C12 myotube, media, and cell-free media metabolites were analyzed using untargeted nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics. Furt…

The Moderation Effects of Comparative Thinking Between Gratitude and Negative Affect During the COVID-19 Outbreak

2021

The aim of this research was to examine the moderation effects of comparative thinking (CT) across the relationship between gratitude and affect during the COVID-19 outbreak. To this purpose, multiple regression as well as moderation analyses were carried out. Age and sex were also addressed as variables of interest as described in previous literature. A sample of 306 north Americans was recruited by crowdsourcing platform ProA to obtain a representative sample based on age and gender. The participants filled in a questionnaire based on comparative thinking in relation to the emotional experience experienced before and during the COVID-19 outbreak, positive and negative affect schedule for …

Multivariate statistical analysis of heavy metals and physico-chemical parameters in the groundwater of Karak District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

2021

Groundwater heavy metal pollution is a major concern all around the world. For the assessment of heavy metals and physico-chemical characteristics. groundwater samples were collected from different locations of the Karak District, Pakistan. With the help of the global information system device (GIS), groundwater samples were collected and studied from 47 locations. The present study focused on the water table (WT), water source depth (WSD), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), total dissolved solids (TDS), lead (Pb(II)), silver (Ag(I)), iron (Fe(II)) and chromium (Cr(VI)) parameters. Heavy metals were analyzed by the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The Pearson…

Când totul e pierdut, ai grijă să cazi cu stil. Istoria lui Iovănel: note, completări, provocări

2021

I will analyse the correspondences between two critical ambitions cultivated a century apart, those of the liberal ideological critic Lovinescu and of a young literary critic who reads Romanian literature through a minimally progressive grid, sensible to liberal nuances and with leftist interpretative undertones (considering the evolution of class representation and of the “social”) in discussing recent literature, a point of view having a devastating effect on many writers (in light of the fact that the regime change has occasioned an upsurge in racism, sexism, and all other imaginable phobias, which have nonetheless been cultivated in the last stage of nationalist propaganda of the 70s-80…

Synthesis of the Data on COVID-19 Skin Manifestations: Underlying Mechanisms and Potential Outcomes

2021

Abstract The incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related skin manifestations has progressively grown, in parallel with the global severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spreading. The available evidence indicates that cutaneous signs are heterogeneous and can be divided as follows: a) erythematous rashes, b) lesions of vascular origin, c) vesicular rashes, d) urticarial rashes, and e) acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP), erythema multiforme (EM) and other polymorphic/atypical reactions. Most cutaneous manifestations appear simultaneously or after respiratory and/or systemic symptoms such as fever, even if rarely urticaria has been reported as…

Use of walking modifications, perceived walking difficulty and changes in outdoor mobility among community-dwelling older people during COVID-19 rest…

2021

Abstract Background Outdoor mobility enables participation in essential out-of-home activities in old age. Aim To compare changes in different aspects of outdoor mobility during COVID-19 restrictions versus two years before according to self-reported walking. Methods Community-dwelling participants of AGNES study (2017–2018, initial age 75–85) responded to AGNES-COVID-19 postal survey in spring 2020 (N = 809). Life-space mobility, autonomy in participation outdoors, and self-reported physical activity were assessed at both time points and differences according to self-reported walking modifications and difficulty vs. intact walking at baseline were analyzed. Results Life-space mobility and …

The role of hydrology on enhanced weathering for carbon sequestration II. From hydroclimatic scenarios to carbon-sequestration efficiencies

2021

Abstract Enhanced weathering (EW) scenarios are analyzed using the model presented in Cipolla et al. (2020). We explore the role of different hydroclimatic forcing on carbon-sequestration efficiencies. We also investigate whether increasing soil carbon content improves weathering conditions. We link olivine weathering rates to pH variations and quantify the suitability of hydroclimatic regimes to EW, based on rainfall intensity and frequency. The results show that the amount of CO 2 reacting with olivine and ending up in solution in the form of HCO 3 − and CO 3 2 − increases with mean annual precipitation (MAP) up to 2000 mm, but then tapers off for higher MAPs. On the contrary, the sequest…

Days of the Cavemen? : Adorno, Spengler, and the Anatomy of Caesarism

2021

Abstract This article addresses the controversial question of Theodor W. Adorno’s debt to right-wing Zivilisationskritik by a close reading of his essay “Spengler after the Decline” (1950). The article shows that despite Adorno’s harsh polemics against Oswald Spengler’s Decline of the West (1918, 1922), he sought to make Spengler’s analysis of Weimar Germany’s undemocratic tendencies—“Caesarism”—serve progressive ends. However, Adorno’s essay was not just an effort at “coming to terms with the past” in Adenauerian West Germany. Reading the essay’s original 1941 version together with Adorno’s correspondence with Max Horkheimer sheds light on Spengler as an overlooked key (next to Max Weber, …

Prosodic modulation as a mark to express pragmatic values: The case of mitigation in Spanish

2021

Abstract One of the functions of prosody in discourse is to convey pragmatic values that add up to the core semantic meaning of spoken units or segments. Regarding mitigation, Caffi (1999: 890) specifically discusses “the very important prosodic and kinesic means of mitigation, such as changes in pitch prominence, rhythm, speech rate, as well as eye-contact, gaze, gaze aversion, smile, particular postures, etc.” In this paper, I focus on some prosodic factors such as pitch, intensity, duration and speech rate that can be used in European Spanish, in combination with pragmatic meanings. The first aim is to establish a theoretical deliberation on prosody as a clear marker to convey pragmatic …

Failure of OPHL type IIb due to undiagnosed Eagle syndrome

2021

A 52-year-old man with glottic-supraglottic tumour underwent open partial horizontal laryngectomy (OPHL) IIb. On the 12th day postoperative, laryngoscopy showed necrotic tissue at the level of pexy and an increased distance between tongue base and neoglottis; the neck CT showed cricoid arch rupture and rupture of the pexy. By re-examining the preoperative CT images, the ossification of stylohyoid ligament (Eagle syndrome) was detected and supposed as the possible cause of cricoid rupture due to its traction on the hyoid bone and therefore on the pexy. The stylohyoid ligaments were cut at their insertion on the hyoid bone and a tracheohyoidopexy was performed. Two months after surgery, the p…

Structural assessment of a whole toroidal sector of the HELIAS 5-B breeding blanket

2021

Abstract The European roadmap for the realization of fusion energy considers the stellarator line as a possible long-term alternative to a tokamak DEMO. In this context, from the plasma physics standpoint, the most promising option is a five-field period power plant called HELIcal-axis Advanced Stellarator (HELIAS) 5-B. In order to allow the electricity production, the HELIAS 5-B reactor must be endowed with a breeding blanket (BB). Hence, in this paper, the advancements in the HELIAS 5-B BB design are reported. In particular, the structural assessment of a whole BB period, extending along toroidal direction for 72 °, is depicted. A geometric configuration encompassing dummy BB segments has…

A Review of the Current Knowledge of Thermal Stability of Anthocyanins and Approaches to Their Stabilization to Heat

2021

Anthocyanins are colored valuable biocompounds, of which extraction increases globally, although functional applications are restrained by their limited environmental stability. Temperature is a critical parameter of food industrial processing that impacts on the food matrix, particularly affecting heat-sensitive compounds such as anthocyanins. Due to the notable scientific progress in the field of thermal stability of anthocyanins, an analytical and synthetic integration of published data is required. This review focuses on the molecular mechanisms and the kinetic parameters of anthocyanin degradation during heating, both in extracts and real food matrices. Several kinetic models (Arrheniu…

Morpheaform Plaques and an Infiltrated Scar: Challenge

2021

Anxiety symptoms and mild cognitive impairment among community-dwelling older adults from low- and middle-income countries.

2021

Abstract Aim Anxiety may be a risk factor for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) but there is a scarcity of data on this association especially from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Thus, we investigated the association between anxiety and MCI among older adults residing in six LMICs (China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, South Africa), and the mediational effect of sleep problems in this association. Methods Cross-sectional, community-based, nationally representative data from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) were analyzed. The definition of MCI was based on the National Institute on Ageing-Alzheimer's Association criteria. Multivariable logistic regression analy…

Gamma-valerolactone from levulinic acid and its esters: Substrate and reaction media determine the optimal catalyst

2021

13 figures, 7 tables.-- © 2021. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0

Editorial RES 2/2021

2021

Robotic assistance for industrial sanding with a smooth approach to the surface and boundary constraints

2021

[EN] Surface treatment operations, such as sanding, deburring, finishing, grinding, polishing, etc. are progressively becoming more automated using robotic systems. However, previous research in this field used a completely automatic operation of the robot system or considered a low degree of human-robot interaction. Therefore, to overcome this issue, this work develops a truly synergistic cooperation between the human operator and the robot system to get the best from both. In particular, in the application developed in this work the human operator provides flexibility, guiding the tool of the robot system to treat arbitrary regions of the workpiece surface; while the robot system provides…

Development of Removable Visual Impact Indicator or Polymer Composite Materials

2021

The prototype of removable visual impact indicator for thermoset polymer composite materials is developed, and its characteristics are experimentally determined. The indicator is a fabric tape glued by epoxy to the surface of the polymer composite. The tape is impregnated with a composition that provides a visual response at the place of an impact on the composite surface. Ball-drop tests demonstrated the increase of the magnitude of the visual response with the impact energy at different substrate hardnesses. The shelf-life and mode of the tape storage until commissioning are determined. Peel tests showed the ability to remove a used indicator without damaging the surface of the composite.

Differences in Stress and Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Families With and Without Children With Developmental Disorders or Chronic Conditions

2021

Objectives: To compare COVID-19-induced stress and coping in families with and without children diagnosed with developmental disorders or chronic conditions.Methods: In this mixed-method design study, an online survey collected information on parental stress levels before and during COVID-19, sources of stress, and coping strategies using open-ended questions. Qualitative answers were categorized thematically. Multiple linear regression models were built for the association between changes in stress levels (during-before COVID-19) and sources of stress for parents of children of both groups.Results: Answers of 1,827 parents were analyzed; of these, 186 (9.75%) had children with diagnosed pr…

Recent advances on development of portable biosensors for monitoring of biological contaminants in foods

2021

Abstract Background There is a demand for easy, rapid and affordable analysis of biological contaminants in foods to guarantee their safety and quality. Most analysis of food contaminants is commonly performed in a limited number of samples in centralized laboratories by an expert technician. Therefore, developing of alternative techniques such as portable biosensors is of great significance. Scope and approach This review aims to discuss the recent advances in designing and applying of portable biosensors for the detection of biological food contaminants including bacteria, fungi and the related toxins. Also, the review deals briefly the basic knowledge of various portable biosensors which…

Which Factors Modulate Letter Position Coding in Pre-literate Children?

2021

One of the central landmarks of learning to read is the emergence of orthographic processing (i.e., the encoding of letter identity and letter order): it constitutes the necessary link between the low-level stages of visual processing and the higher-level processing of words. Regarding the processing of letter position, many experiments have shown worse performance in various tasks for the transposed-letter pair judge-JUDGE than for the orthographic control jupte-JUDGE. Importantly, 4-y.o. pre-literate children also show letter transposition effects in a same-different task: TZ-ZT is more error-prone than TZ-PH. Here, we examined whether this effect with pre-literate children is related to …

Direct imaging of current-induced antiferromagnetic switching revealing a pure thermomagnetoelastic switching mechanism in NiO

2021

We unambiguously identify the origin of the current-induced magnetic switching of insulating antiferromagnet/heavy metal bilayers. Previously, different reorientations of the Neel order for the same current direction were reported for different device geometries and different switching mechanisms were proposed. Here, we combine concurrent electrical readout and optical imaging of the switching of antiferromagnetic domains with simulations of the current-induced temperature and strain gradients. By comparing the switching in specially engineered NiO/Pt device and pulsing geometries, we can rule out spin-orbit torque based mechanisms and identify a thermomagnetoelastic mechanism to dominate t…