Paradoxical Phenomenon Research Articles

Ukrainian wall painting of the 1960s-1980s: the evolution of the artistic language

The article is devoted to the analysis of one of the most paradoxical phenomena of artistic culture of the late Soviet era - monumental and decorative art, which, despite its programmatic socio-political involvement, became part of “Soviet modernism”, combining social utopia with a variety of formal, plastic, stylistic, aesthetic directions, which reflected the search for a new national and individual author’s artistic language and imagery. Significant, that exactly murals and architecture put beginning to the processes of the aesthetic updating, that became the signs of social and political thaw in the USSR. Keeping the main tasks “ of leninist plan of monumental propaganda”, monumental -decorative art in Ukraine grew into a certain “aesthetic niche”, where found a display wide address to reasons of folk art and different aspirations of modernism, and at the same time and development of new withcomposition charts of late Soviet iconography. The evolution of wall painting – from mainly planar and decorative solutions of the 1960s to complex figurative and spatial constructions of the 1970s and 1980s, the expansion of wall painting techniques ( mosaics, frescoes, stained glass windows, sgraffito, mosaic reliefs, encaustics, various types of painting, etc.) reflected the demonstration processes in Soviet art, where through wall painting new images, languages and aesthetics entered the public space, which significantly expanded its official canonical dimensions.

Nonlinear mechanism for enhanced and reduced bursting activity respectively induced by fast and slow excitatory autapse

Paradoxical phenomena that inhibitory modulations enhance neuronal firing activity or excitatory modulations reduce firing activity have attracted much attention in recent studies on neurodynamics. The essential mechanism for these paradoxical phenomena is still an open problem. In the present paper, fast and slow excitatory autapses are identified to induce the opposite responses of a “Fold/Homoclinic” bursting activity in a neuronal model. On one hand, the fast decay of the excitatory autapse is identified as the essential factor to induce the reduced bursting activity. In the fast subsystem, the autaptic current is positive only in a short duration around the peak of a spike and is zero in the remaining duration of the spike. With increasing conductance of the autapse, the positive autaptic current around the peak induces an increased maximal membrane potential, which induces the potassium current during the downstroke of the spike increased, resulting in a decreased minimal membrane potential. Such reduced minimal membrane potential induces left shift of the homoclinic bifurcation point of the fast subsystem, leading to a shortened duration of the burst and less spikes per burst. These present the nonlinear and current mechanisms for the paradoxical response of the bursting. On the other hand, for an autapse with slow decay, the autaptic current is positive in the whole duration of a spike of the fast subsystem. Within increasing conductance of the autapse, the autaptic current in the whole duration (containing the downstroke) increases. Then, the total current during the downstroke increases, resulting in the elevated minimal membrane potential. Such elevated minimal membrane potential induces right shift of the homoclinic bifurcation, which then results in a widened burst duration and more spikes per burst. These underlie the nonlinear and current mechanisms for the common response of the bursting. Our results present deep insight and comprehensive recognition to autapse dynamics, enrich the content of nonlinear dynamics, and provide a potential strategy to modulate the neuronal bursting behavior.

UNFOLDING THE REALITY OF SMOKING PARADOX IN PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH STE-ACS UNDERGOING PRIMARY PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY TREATMENT

Objectives: Main objective for this study to unfold this controversy in South Asian population in terms of clinical, angiographic parameters and its in-hospital outcomes.
 Methodology: In this study, we included 1756 consecutive patients diagnosed with STEMI undergoing primary PCI. Patients were classified into smokers and nonsmokers. Comparison was done on the basis of baseline characteristics, clinical presentation, angiographic features and in-hospital mortality between two groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the paradoxical role of smoking.
 Results: Smokers were younger (53.78±11.16 years vs. 56.43±11.17 years; p<0.001) and more frequently male (98.7% vs. 69.9%; p<0.001), and had less diabetes (19.6% vs. 44.8%; p<0.001) and hypertension (38.5% vs. 64.9%; p<0.001). Smokers presented less frequently in Killip III (5.6% vs. 8.1%; p<0.001) and Killip IV (2.5% vs. 4.8%; p<0.001) in smokers group. Smokers mostly had single vessel disease (41.7% vs. 34.4%; p=0.013) whereas non-smokers had complex disease and frequently presented with total occlusion of the culprit vessel (64.6% vs. 58.8%; p=0.040). Complication such as slow flow/no-flow (24.3% vs. 33.2%; p<0.001) and cardiogenic shock (2.3% vs. 4.6%; p<0.001) were also seen less often among smokers. Smokers has significantly lesser mortality (1.8% vs. 4.3%; p=0.009) compared to non-smokers with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.41 [95% CI: 0.21-0.82, p=0.011], however, adjusted OR on multivariable analysis was 0.67 [95% CI: 0.31-1.41, p=0.290]. Independent predictors of mortality were found to be history of CVA/stroke, pre-procedure LVEDP, multi-vessel diseases, and RBS in ER adjusted OR of 3.83 [95% CI: 1.24-11.79; p=0.019], 1.07 [95% CI: 1.03-1.12; p=0.002], 2.2 [95% CI: 1.07-4.54; p=0.033], and 1 [95% CI: 1.0-1.01; p=0.032], respectively.
 Conclusion: The controversial phenomenon of smoking paradox seems to be unfolded in South Asian population in post STE-ACS patients. The paradoxical protective role of smoking is confounding effect of mainly younger age, less coronary artery disease burden and complexity, lower prevalence of diabetes and hypertension and lower rate of Killip III/IV at presentation. Hence, the protective effect is insignificant in multivariable analysis and history of CVA/stroke, pre-procedure LVEDP, multi-vessel diseases, and RBS in ER were found to be independent predictors of in-hospital mortality.

Prognostic Factor of Lower Limb Amputation among Diabetic Foot Ulcer Patients in North-East Peninsular Malaysia.

Lower limb amputation (LLA) is a common complication of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU), which can lead to a higher 5-year mortality rate compared to all cancers combined. This study aimed to determine the prognostic factors of LLA among DFU patients in Kelantan from 2014 to 2018. A population-based study was conducted using secondary data obtained from the National Diabetic Registry (NDR). There were 362 cases that fulfilled the study criteria and were further analysed. The prognostic factors were determined by Multiple Cox Proportional Hazards Regression. There were 66 (18.2%) DFU patients who underwent LLA in this study, while 296 (81.8%) were censored. The results revealed that the factor leading to a higher risk of LLA was abnormal HDL-cholesterol levels (Adj. HR 2.18; 95% CI: 1.21, 3.92). Factors that led to a lower risk of LLA include DFU in patients aged 60 or more (Adj. HR 0.48; 95% CI: 0.27, 0.89) and obesity (Adj. HR 0.45; 95% CI: 0.22, 0.89). In conclusion, our model showed that abnormal HDL cholesterol was associated with a 2 times higher risk of LLA when adjusted for age and BMI. Any paradoxical phenomena should be addressed carefully to avoid wrong clinical decision making that can harm the patient.

Dislocation Dynamics Model to Simulate Motion of Dislocation Loops in Metallic Materials

Dislocation dynamics has been an intensive research subject in materials science and engineering due to the significant roles it plays in plastic deformation and the hardening of metals, fracture mechanics, and the fabrication of semiconductor thin films. However, a long-standing problem from the three-dimensional dislocation dynamics is that the motion and interaction of dislocation loops heavily depend on the loop-segment sizes, which substantially reduces the accuracy of simulation. We herein propose a new three-dimensional dislocation dynamics model together with its physical background. The proposed model incorporates the inherent interactions among differential dislocation segments. The simulation results on motion of Frank–Read sources demonstrate that the proposed model can resolve the paradoxical segment-dependent phenomenon in dislocation dynamics.

The nutritional functions of dietary sphingomyelin and its applications in food.

Sphingolipids are common structural components of cell membranes and are crucial for cell functions in physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Sphingomyelin and its metabolites, such as sphingoid bases, ceramide, ceramide-1-phosphate, and sphingosine-1-phosphate, play signaling roles in the regulation of human health. The diverse structures of sphingolipids elicit various functions in cellular membranes and signal transduction, which may affect cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, and maintain biological activities. As nutrients, dietary sphingomyelin and its metabolites have wide applications in the food and pharmaceutical industry. In this review, we summarized the distribution, classifications, structures, digestion, absorption and metabolic pathways of sphingolipids, and discussed the nutritional functioning of sphingomyelin in chronic metabolic diseases. The possible implications of dietary sphingomyelin in the modern food preparations including dairy products and infant formula, skin improvement, delivery system and oil organogels are also evaluated. The production of endogenous sphingomyelin is linked to pathological changes in obesity, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. However, dietary supplementations of sphingomyelin and its metabolites have been shown to maintain cholesterol homeostasis and lipid metabolism, and to prevent or treat these diseases. This seemly paradoxical phenomenon shows that dietary sphingomyelin and its metabolites are candidates for food additives and functional food development for the prevention and treatment of chronic metabolic diseases in humans.

Elevation of IgE in patients with psoriasis: Is it a paradoxical phenomenon?

Immunoglobulin E (IgE) elevation is a hallmark of allergic conditions such as atopic dermatitis (AD). The pathogenesis of AD is typically associated with high levels of IL-4 and IL-13 produced by activated T helper 2 (Th2) cells. Psoriasis, on the other hand, is an inflammatory skin disease mainly driven by Th17 cells and their related cytokines. Although the immunopathologic reactions and clinical manifestations are often easily distinguished in the two skin conditions, patients with psoriasis may sometimes exhibit AD-like manifestations, such as elevated IgE and persistent pruritic lesions. Given the fact that the effective T cells have great plasticity to re-differentiate in response to innate and environmental factors, this unusual skin condition could be a consequence of a cross-reaction between distinct arms of T-cell and humoral immunity. Here we review the literature concerning the roles of IgE in the development of AD and psoriasis, showing that elevated IgE seems to be an important indicator for this non-typical psoriasis.

Obesity paradox and aging: Visceral Adiposity Index and all-cause mortality in older individuals: A prospective cohort study.

BackgroundThe relationship between body mass index (BMI) and mortality in older adults diminished. It is necessary to examine other factors that may accurately predict mortality in older adults. The visceral adiposity index (VAI) is an uncomplicated marker specific to the gender that incorporates anthropometric data and lipid profiles. VAI has been proposed as a marker of visceral adipose tissue dysfunction and of the related cardiometabolic risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the link of VAI with all-cause mortality among the elderly.MethodsThe present prospective cohort study included data from 1999 to 2014 provided by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in the United States. NHANES participants at or above the age of 65 were included. Data collection was carried out by taking face-to-face interviews, mobile-physical examinations, and lab tests. From the start of the survey to the end of December 2015, mortality-related follow-up statistics are available. The shape of the link between VAI and all-cause mortality was investigated using a restricted cubic spline model. Univariate- and multivariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazard models were estimated for VAI, and the results were presented as regression coefficients and 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsThe 82,091 NHANES participants represented 442.2 million non-institutionalized residents of the United States. A total of 11,173 older individuals (representing 23.3 million; aged 73.4 ± 5.8 years; 56.3% women, 82.7% non-Hispanic Whites, 6.8% non-Hispanic Blacks, and 3.3% Mexican Americans) were included in the study. During the 80-month follow-up period, 4466 fatalities were reported, including 825 deaths from cancer, 867 from heart disease, and 211 from cerebrovascular disease. The restricted cubic spline model demonstrated a robust J-shaped link between VAI and all-cause mortality, revealing a significant decrease in risk within the lower range of VAI, which attained the lowest risk close to 1.7. With VAI greater than 1.7, the risk of mortality increased with the increase of VAI (P for non-linearity = 0.025). In the multivariate-adjusted model, the risk of all-cause mortality was 0.73 (0.56-0.97) and 1.05 (1.01-1.09) in participants with VAI less than 1.7 and VAI greater than or equal to 1.7, respectively.ConclusionThis investigation is a population-based cohort study with high sample sizes and a long-term in older individuals follow-up that showed a J-shaped link between VAI levels and all-cause mortality. Understanding the independent roles of VAI in the relationship between BMI and mortality is crucial to understanding the obesity paradox phenomenon.

ABDOMINAL COMPRESSION IN END-STAGE FIBROTIC INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE (ILD) IMPROVES RESPIRATORY COMPLIANCE

ABDOMINAL COMPRESSION IN END-STAGE FIBROTIC INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE (ILD) IMPROVES RESPIRATORY COMPLIANCE

Interferon-γ induces immunosuppression in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma by regulating programmed death ligand 1 secretion

Interferon-γ (IFN-γ), a key effector molecule in anti-tumor immune response, has been well documented to correlate with the intratumoral infiltration of immune cells. Of interest, however, a high level of IFN-γ has been reported in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC), which is actually a type of immunologically cold cancer with few infiltrated immune cells. Investigating the functional significance of IFN-γ in SACC would help to explain such a paradoxical phenomenon. In the present study, we revealed that, compared to oral squamous cell carcinoma cells (a type of immunologically hot cancer), SACC cells were less sensitive to the growth-inhibition effect of IFN-γ. Moreover, the migration and invasion abilities of SACC cells were obviously enhanced upon IFN-γ treatment. In addition, our results revealed that exposure to IFN-γ significantly up-regulated the level of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) on SACC cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), which subsequently induced the apoptosis of CD8+ T cells through antagonizing PD-1. Importantly, it was also found that SACC patients with higher levels of plasma IFN-γ also had higher levels of circulating sEVs that carried PD-L1 on their surface. Our study unveils a mechanism that IFN-γ induces immunosuppression in SACC via sEV PD-L1, which would account for the scarce immune cell infiltration and insensitivity to immunotherapy.

The Role of Privacy Fatigue in Privacy Paradox: A PSM and Heterogeneity Analysis

Powerful rising trends of mobile media platforms have also resulted in the escalation of users’ privacy concerns. However, there is a paradox between users’ attitudes towards privacy and their actual privacy disclosure behaviors. This study attempts to explain the phenomenon of privacy paradox in the mobile social media context from the privacy fatigue perspective. Based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and employing the method of Propensity Score Matching (PSM), this paper confirmed that privacy fatigue could directly explain the privacy paradox. Among the findings, cynicism turned the relationship between privacy concern and privacy protection behaviors from positive influence to negative influence, while emotional exhaustion would weaken the positive influence relationship between privacy concern and the intention to undertake privacy protection behaviors. In addition, the study also revealed the heterogeneous effects of individual characteristics and usage characteristics variables on how the privacy fatigue influences privacy paradox.

(Un)Doing Critical Theory in Pretoria, 1981–1987

Critical Theory came to occupy pride of place in the curriculum of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Pretoria between 1981 and 1987, at the height of political repression by the apartheid state. This article seeks to unravel this apparently paradoxical phenomenon, examining the assimilations of Critical Theory to other contextually specific discursive formations, including Cold War ideology, neo-Calvinist salvation history, Christian nationalism, occidentalist ideas of “Europe,” and cultural pessimism in the late apartheid era.

Science, engineering, technology, and culture

The purpose of this article is to provide an explanation for a paradoxical phenomenon that we observe on a daily basis—that is, the coexistence of sublime understanding and absurd ignorance. We would also like to discuss why we question our prejudices so rarely; why, after so much evidence in favor of scientific work, we tend to have more confidence in polls and opinions; why it has become ridiculous not to know how to handle the latest products provided by marketing; and, finally, why new generations abhor solitude and silence and, instead, seek refuge in the illusion of notoriety, entertainment, and digital companionship.

Analysis of the potential ferroptosis mechanism and multitemporal expression change of central ferroptosis-related genes in cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Acute myocardial infraction is the most severe type of coronary artery disease and remains a substantial burden to the health care system globally. Although myocardial reperfusion is critical for ischemic cardiac tissue survival, the reperfusion itself could cause paradoxical injury. This paradoxical phenomenon is known as ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI), and the exact molecular mechanism of IRI is still far from being elucidated and is a topic of controversy. Meanwhile, ferroptosis is a nonapoptotic form of cell death that has been reported to be associated with various cardiovascular diseases. Thus, we explored the potential ferroptosis mechanism and target in cardiac IRI via bioinformatics analysis and experiment. GSE4105 data were obtained from the GEO database and consist of a rat IRI model and control. After identifying differentially expressed ferroptosis-related genes (DEFRGs) and hub genes of cardiac IRI, we performed enrichment analysis, coexpression analysis, drug–gene interaction prediction, and mRNA–miRNA regulatory network construction. Moreover, we validated and explored the multitemporal expression of hub genes in a hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced H9C2 cell injury model under different conditions via RT-qPCR. A total of 43 DEFRGs and 7 hub genes (tumor protein p53 [Tp53], tumor necrosis factor [Tnf], hypoxia-inducible factor 1 subunit alpha [Hif1a], interleukin 6 [Il6], heme oxygenase 1 [Hmox1], X-box binding protein 1 [Xbp1], and caspase 8 [Casp8]) were screened based on bioinformatics analysis. The functional annotation of these genes revealed apoptosis, and the related signaling pathways could have association with the pathogenesis of ferroptosis in cardiac IRI. In addition, the expression of the seven hub genes in IRI models were found higher than that of control under different H/R conditions and time points. In conclusion, the analysis of 43 DEFRGs and 7 hub genes could reveal the potential biological pathway and mechanism of ferroptosis in cardiac IRI. In addition, the multitemporal expression change of hub genes in H9C2 cells under different H/R conditions could provide clues for further ferroptosis mechanism exploring, and the seven hub genes could be potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets in cardiac IRI.

Nonlinear mechanism for the enhanced bursting activities induced by fast inhibitory autapse and reduced activities by fast excitatory autapse.

The paradoxical phenomena that excitatory modulation does not enhance but reduces or inhibitory modulation not suppresses but promotes neural firing activities have attracted increasing attention. In the present study, paradoxical phenomena induced by both fast excitatory and inhibitory autapses in a "Fold/Big Homoclinic" bursting are simulated, and the corresponding nonlinear and biophysical mechanisms are presented. Firstly, the enhanced conductance of excitatory autapse induces the number of spikes per burst and firing rate reduced, while the enhanced inhibitory autapse cause both indicators increased. Secondly, with fast-slow variable dissection, the burst of bursting is identified to locate between a fold bifurcation and a big saddle-homoclinic orbit bifurcation of the fast subsystem. Enhanced excitatory or inhibitory autapses cannot induce changes of both bifurcation points, i.e., burst width. However, width of slow variable between two successive spikes within a burst becomes wider for the excitatory autapse and narrower for the inhibitory autapse, resulting in the less and more spikes per burst, respectively. Last, the autaptic current of fast autapse mainly plays a role during the peak of action potential, differing from the slow autaptic current with exponential decay, which can play roles following the peak of action potential. The fast excitatory autaptic current enhances the amplitude of the action potential and reduces the repolarization of the action potential to lengthen the interspike interval (ISI) of the spiking of the fast subsystem, resulting in the wide width of slow variable between successive spikes. The fast inhibitory autaptic current reduces the amplitude of action potential and ISI of spiking, resulting in narrow width of slow variable. The novel example of the paradoxical responses for both fast modulations and nonlinear mechanism extend the contents of neurodynamics, which presents potential functions of the fast autapse.

Formal and Clan Control as Antecedents to Coopetition Under Different Levels of Uncertainty

Coopetition is a paradoxical phenomenon that requires conscious managerial intervention to control its inherent tensions. However, if done right it can yield considerable benefits to the firm as well as the involved teams. Building on agency theory, this study investigates to what extent behavior and outcome control as well as clan control are antecedents to coopetition between teams within a firm. Further, the boundary condition of task uncertainty as a moderator in this relationship is examined. Our findings from a cross-sectional sample of 97 work teams in a large industrial company support the notion that the right control strategy is an important antecedent at specific uncertainty levels. Specifically, we show that outcome and clan control have positive relationships with coopetition. We identify a curvilinear effect of task uncertainty on the outcome control – coopetition link indicating that this control strategy functions best under moderate levels of uncertainty. Further, we find a weakening effect on the clan control – coopetition link. With these findings, the study contributes theoretically to agency theory by examining coopetition and task uncertainty, two instances of complexity for the efficacy of control strategies. Additionally, we contribute to both the control as well as the coopetition literature by offering an explicit theoretical link and empirically supporting this relationship.

Evaluation Model for a Port Hinterland Intermodal Freight Network Considering Environmental Impacts and Capacity Constraints

The huge demand for containerized cargo and the low market share of rail and inland waterway transport in the hinterland freight system in China are causing severe traffic congestion and pollution. Therefore, this paper focuses on innovative modeling to evaluate the effects of transport policies on the reduction of carbon emissions and the mode shift from road to low-carbon modes in a three-mode port hinterland freight network. The proposed model can capture the main characteristics of the freight system such as mode transfer at inland terminals, transport capacity and processing capacity constraints, flow-dependent link performance functions, and shippers’ perceptual error of generalized transport costs. The model assumes that shippers choose transport route, mode, and inland terminal at the same time in a user equilibrium manner, and that bundles of container flow passing competing ports follow the logit formulation. Computational results based on the freight network in the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China indicate that carbon tax, intermodal transport subsidy, and capacity expansion policies can reduce total carbon emissions and promote mode shift from road transport to rail and inland waterway transport, and policy packages show better network performance compared with a single policy type. It is noted that transport policies sometimes lead to the paradoxical phenomenon. Finally, sensitivity analyses are carried out on parameters of cost, time, carbon emissions, and error to test the robustness of the model.

Coopetitive tensions across project phases: A paradox perspective

Coopetition is a paradoxical phenomenon that encapsulates the dynamic interplay between cooperation and competition. Management of tensions, inherent in coopetitive relationships, is a success factor for this type of collaboration. Previous research has extensively examined management of tensions in the implementation phase of coopetitive innovation projects but has paid little attention to the dynamics of these tensions across different project phases. This gap is disconcerting since the innovation management literature recognizes the fuzziness and uncertainty of the pre-project phase as critical to the continuity of an innovation project. We argue that differences between project phases are likely to affect tensions, and qualitatively investigate their nature and management in the pre-project and implementation phases. The findings indicate that companies in mature industries often experience strong intra-organizational tensions during the pre-project phase due to performing and organizing paradoxes. These tensions may harm companies' participation in projects and need to be handled by a working-through strategy at the company level. In contrast, inter-organizational tensions are identified as the dominant type of tensions during the project implementation phase due to performing, organizing and learning paradoxes. Inter-organizational tensions need to be addressed by working-through strategy, splitting-and-integration strategy or a combination of the two strategies, respectively.

Modern Afghanistan: factors of instability

The article analyzes global, regional and internal factors that have a significant impact on socio-political fluctuations and destabilization in Afghanistan. A special attention is paid to the risks associated with regional security, including the problems of terrorism and drug threats. Among the stabilizing factors, a special place is given to the development of Afghanistan’s transit potential (the opportunity to become a connecting bridge between Central Asia and South Asia). The author analyzes the activities of the Taliban during their seven months in power, puts forward a hypothesis about the causes of internal confrontation in the movement and pays attention to the problem of recognition of the new government by the international community. It is noted that a paradoxical phenomenon has developed when negotiations on economic and infrastructure projects are conducted with the illegitimate, unrecognized government of the Taliban (a terrorist organization banned in many countries), investment agreements are concluded, foreign policy relations are established, new diplomats are accepted. Perhaps, on the example of Afghanistan, the world will see a new mechanism for international legitimization of governments that seized power by force and were initially unrecognized by international partners.

Exact calculation of the elastic antiferromagnetic Ising model under static external force on Husimi lattice

We investigate an elastic Ising model with a modified Lennard-Jones potential on the Husimi recursive lattice, where the model can be solved exactly. An external force field to either stretch and press the lattice is applied to approach the elasticity in Ising model in a static way. As expected, both stretching and compressing induce less stability with lower T c, nevertheless due to the asymmetric feature of the LJ well, trivial but realistic destabilization is observed in the stretch case implying the drawing crystallization, and interesting phenomenon of supercooled state and Kauzmann Paradox addressed by zero entropy at finite temperature is observed in the compression case on the left side of the LJ potential well.